THE SERFS + WINTER GARDENS + HOLY CLANG – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 19.3.23
Locally based label and promoter Love Thy Neighbour are always one’s to watch if you wish to discover new exciting acts. Back in early January they announced that they were bringing Cincinnati synth trio The Serfs to town and I just knew that this was going to be one of my gigs of the year!
The Serfs consist of Andie Luman, Dylan McCartney and Dakota Carlyle who interestingly are all also in a five-piece American post-punk band from Cincinnati, going by the name of Crime Of Passing, the remaining members being Brad Kennedy on drums and Chuck Walden on bass. Collectively they dropped their self-titled debut album last year, which had followed on from their 2019 ‘Winter Nineteen’ cassette and 2017’s three tune ‘Dancing Prick’ release. Check out Crime Of Passing releases on their Bandcamp page HERE.
Tonight it was the turn of The Serfs to entertain the punters at The Hope & Ruin on Queens Road as the final one of only half a dozen UK gigs, having already won over fans in Bristol, Nottingham, Glasgow, Liverpool and London. There were 13 other European gigs as well.
True fans of Minimal Wave, Post-Punk, and Coldwave were certainly in for a treat this evening for The Serfs circa 50 minute headlining set from around 9:22pm to 10:13pm.
This evening they are a quartet and as far as I could tell, the kit that I was most impressed with was in the hands of Dakota Carlyle, which was the Elektron Digitone Eight Voice Polyphonic Digital Synthesizer which was right in front of me (stage left, our right), this was often the holder of all the pumping backbeats. Also in his control were a Behringer TD-3 Computer Controlled Analog Bass Line Synthesizer, plus a Roland SP-404 MKII Sampler. When he wasn’t busy with these, he would play his 6-string Fender Stratocaster, and he even once took care of the drums that Dylan had been playing, as well as lead vocals on one tune.
Andie Luman on stage right (our left) was in charge of Korg Modwave Synthesizer, and occasional vocals, one of which was lead vocals, but not that we could hear her, as the sound engineer I was informed was texting on his phone and probably failed to notice the change of singer!
Centre stage and very much central figure and attitude in the band was main vocalist Dylan McCartney, who adopted the standing position for knocking the life out of his two drums and corrugated metal sheet, he notably achieved more noise via holding the drumsticks the wrong way round, thus the thick end hits the drum. When not knocking seven bells out of his drums, he was on his 6-string Fender Stratocaster, and his harmonica also made an occasional appearance.
Completing the lineup was a guy at the back, but my brain failed to remember his name. He was on the Arturia Keystep keyboard and occasional distorted vocals via an old taxi driver style mic.
They jointly took to the stage and played their tunes with only one very short interaction with the crowd during the set. Their music did all of the talking. They kicked off with ‘Politics Of Emptiness’ (from the 2022 ‘Primal Matter’ album) and this sounded like a heavier version of New Order.
This was followed by a trio of cuts from 2019’s ‘Sounds Of Serfdom’ album, in the form of ‘Vanishing Act’, ‘Caged And Bound’ (the most enjoyable tune thus far and possibly the whole set) and the more discoey ‘Dart Through The Shadows’, which had a hint of ‘Turn The Heater On’ from New Order’s June 1982 John Peel Session recording. In fact a few tunes, guitar and bass wise could have been very early New Order or late Joy Division homages.
A few songs later and when Dylan took to the guitar there were several chords that suddenly got me reminiscing of ‘Spirit’ by Bauhaus, which is a mighty damn fine tune. Also when Dakota took to the drums, it had the feel of Moon Duo. A few more songs along and there was more than a hint of Cabaret Voltaire circa 1984’s ‘Micro-Phonies’ album go on, e.g. ‘Do Right’ and ‘Sensoria’.
When Andie took to the lead vocals that were hidden in the mix, the number suddenly took on the feel of Cozy Powell’s ‘Dance With The Devil’ due to the drumming, but before long the drum machine kicked in. The numbers kept coming at us and was eagerly lapped them all up!
It had been a truly thrilling dozen song set, not just for myself, but all those present. So in summary, if you are a fan of Nation Of Language, Working Mens Club, TVAM, Sextile, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, PVA, Gary Numan, The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, LoneLady, Joy Division, The Cure, The Pink Diamond Revue, Portion Control, Nitzer Ebb, Sisters Of Mercy….then The Serfs are for you!!!
The Serfs:
Andie Luman – vocals, synthesizer
Dylan McCartney – vocals, guitar, bass, drums, synthesizer, electronics
Dakota Carlyle – synthesizer, melodica, bass, drum programming, electronics, guitar
A.N. Other – synthesizer, vocals
The Serfs setlist:
‘Politics Of Emptiness’ (from 2022 ‘Primal Matter’ album)
‘Vanishing Act’ (from 2019 ‘Sounds Of Serfdom’ album)
‘Caged And Bound’ (from 2019 ‘Songs Of Serfdom’ mini-album)
‘Dart Through The Shadows’ (from 2019 ‘Sounds Of Serfdom’ album)
‘Electric Like An Eel’ (unreleased)
‘Baroque’ (from 2019 ‘Sounds Of Serfdom’ album)
‘Stimuli’ (from 2022 ‘Primal Matter’ album)
‘Order Imposing Sentence’ (unreleased)
‘This Chorea’ (from 2022 ‘Primal Matter’ album)
‘Club Deuce’ (unreleased)
‘Debt World’ (from 2021 ‘Angelic Ritualistic Cruelty’ EP)
‘Is There An Exit’ (unreleased)
Main support this evening came in the form of Sussex based Winter Gardens, who formed back in 2017 and we have had the pleasure of witnessing flourish over the past few years, to become one of Sussex’s must see live bands!
Tonight is the band’s first gig in Brighton with their brand new lineup (and third overall), which features the founding duo of Ananda Howard (vocals, keys/synth) and Jamie Windless (Fender and Squier Telecaster Deluxe guitars), plus new additions Jasmine Ardley (backing vocals), Will Luchford (Fender bass guitar) and Connor McCorkindale (drums). This evening they are all dressed in black, bar Ananda who is sporting a plum coloured dress.
My esteemed colleague clocked that Jasmine (aka BIMM student Jasmine Hornblower-Ardley) is also a member of 4-piece Brighton rock band Fighting Colours, which also features Pete, Stan and Leo. They dropped their debut EP ‘Wishing Well’ EP – check it out HERE.
This evening the Winter Gardens‘ varied eight song set ran for 33 minutes from 8:17pm to 8:50pm. The quintet kicked off with an unreleased number called ‘Dot To Dot’, which is initially a quieter shoegaze number. This is followed by, as Ananda informs us, their latest single, ‘Crystallise’, which is a far more upbeat number which benefits from a distinctive retro vibe.
Things get a little rocky for ‘Coral Bells’, which allows Jamie to start to show off all of the guitar-rock poses that are required for photographing one of their concerts. The longer their set runs for, the more animated he becomes. Here is a man that clearly enjoys his music, as did the crowd, who heartily applauded after every composition.
We certainly can see how versatile the new unit has already become, clearly this is a step in the right direction and are now a band that you can see going from strength to strength. Song four was a Neil Young cover in the form of ‘Into The Black’, which has a quiet melodic start and then BANG we’re into ‘Zigzanny’, the first of two consecutive numbers from their 2020 ‘Tapestry’ EP. Suddenly it had become listen to us muthaf*kkas. It was like putting a Cocteau Twins album on a 78rpm! It was fabulous.
‘Wonders Bleak’ is up next and it flows with fabulously echoey guitar work as found on many songs from The Cure and The Passions ‘I’m In Love With A German Film Star’. The joint female vocals on this number were rather good as well. This tune builds and builds and is one of the highlights on the set, which in my mind was only eclipsed be the next number, the penultimate track, that being their 2021 single ‘Laminar Flow pt. II’. Initially this makes good use of the Korg and other keyboard, before giving way to the guitar, bass and drums, which sound like the faster PiL tracks. The pleasant joint harmonies are on offer again. The tune has a vibe of U2’s very first recordings meets the aforementioned PiL, and I certainly would have loved these guys to have bowed out here at the top.
There was just one more tune to offer us, that being the unreleased ‘Hyacinth’, which has a tape intro and a melodic vibe accompanied with more proto U2 guitar sounds, which allowed Jamie to really go for it, although I thought that this was the weakest song of their set. But a set that was enjoyable!
In summary, they have absorbed influences from 80’s post-punk, Factory, Postcard, 4AD, Creation era bands, and mixed it all together to come up with their own blend of shoegaze dreampop. This is solid indie fare, with a healthy dose of keyboards and some fine samples to complement quality vocals and some energetic guitar and bass work. If you get the chance to witness this young band perform live, then I would definitely say go and enjoy!
You can next catch Winter Gardens in action when they play the new alt music ‘Seaview Festival’ on Saturday 8th July in the grounds of the iconic De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea with Warmduscher, BC Camplight, Pale Blue Eyes, Aircooled, Snayx, Office For Personal Development, James Endeacott (DJ Set) + more TBA – Find your tickets HERE and HERE.
We at Brighton & Hove News have previously covered the band’s live performances on a number of occasions, one of the early ones being at the defunct Richmond Bar in Brighton back in March 2019. You can read the account of their headline show HERE.
Check out Winter Garden’s releases on their Bandcamp page HERE.
Winter Gardens:
Ananda Howard – vocals, keys/synth
Jamie Windless – guitar
Jasmine Ardley – backing vocals
Will Luchford – bass guitar
Connor McCorkindale – drums
Winter Gardens setlist:
‘Dot To Dot’ (unreleased)
‘Crystallise’ (2022 single)
‘Coral Bells’ (2019 single)
‘Into The Black’ (Neil Young cover)
‘Zigzanny’ (from 2020 ‘Tapestry’ EP)
‘Wonders Bleak’ (from 2020 ‘Tapestry’ EP)
‘Laminar Flow pt. II’ (2021 single)
‘Hyacinth’ (unreleased)
First up tonight were Holy Clang who formed a year ago as a trio, but have since October slimmed down to a Fender Mustang bass guitar being played by Thomas Himsworth and drums by Dave Osborne. In their own words they offer up “A Dancey rampage of beats, bass and fuzz”.
They dropped their debut EP ‘HolyClang ep1’ on 24th October last year, which consisted of four tunes that had been available days earlier. Less than a month later ‘HolyClang ep2’ was unleashed. On 24th February this year their third instalment was available to purchase…yep you’ve guessed it ‘HolyClang ep3’. That a dozen tunes out in a period of six months which is rather respectable for a new Brighton outfit. You can locate all of these on their Bandcamp page HERE.
As the duo graced the stage, we noted for the first time that the square lighting panels at the rear of the stage were spelling out the word “HOPE”, which was a nice touch. The Holy Clang jaunty eleven song set ran for 31 minutes 7:32pm until 8:03pm. It was delivered along the lines of funky jazz punk sounds with accompanying vocals in the style of Sleaford Mods meets Devo and Talking Heads. The Fender Mustang bass was rumbly and the drumkit was solid and Dave clearly knows what he is doing.
It was sad to report that from the start of their set, we were almost the only people in attendance, but by the end of their set, the room was heading towards half to three-quarters full. I do wish people would support the early acts! I know it’s difficult racing home from work and gulping down your tea and heading into Brighton and trying to find somewhere to park and so on, but this evening it seemed almost embarrassing at the initial lack of punters. I salute Holy Clang for going for it as though the room was full, and those present in the main were enjoying what they were hearing. I, myself, did however feel that they were unfortunately rather samey and weren’t really my cup of tea, but that’s not to say that you will feel the same!
You can decide for yourselves as Holy Clang have a number of up-and-coming Brighton gigs already planned. The first of these will be at Brighton’s only Anarchist Cooperative Social Centre, the Cowley Club, at 12 London Road on Saturday 25th March. After this they will be performing a free entry stripped back/semi-acoustic show at ‘An Alternative Gathering’ event at Shortt’s Bar on Wednesday 5th April between 8pm and 10:30pm along with ‘Torrid; A Love Affair’ and ‘Hybrid Kid’. There are a number of other concerts planned, you can learn more about these by clicking the ‘linktree’ link below.
Holy Clang:
Thomas Himsworth – bass
Dave Osborne – drums
Holy Clang setlist:
‘No Evolution’ (from 2022 ‘HolyClang ep2’ EP)
‘Oppose This’ (from 2022 ‘HolyClang ep2’ EP)
‘Regression Succession’ (from 2022 ‘HolyClang ep2’ EP)
‘Clean Up’ (from 2023 ‘HolyClang ep3’ EP)
‘Ghost’ (unreleased)
‘Listening Booth (Swing D’n’B)’
‘Disrupt’ (from 2023 ‘HolyClang ep3’ EP)
‘Fresh Hell’ (unreleased)
‘Doom Loop’ (unreleased)
‘Vivienne’ (unreleased)
‘Now Yr Talking’ (from 2023 ‘HolyClang ep3’ EP)
