(Reviews by Nick Linazasoro, Christian Le Surf, Richie Nice, Ben ‘Jerry’ Robinson, Peter Greenfield & Martin J Fuller)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – ‘BRIGHTON PSYCH FEST’, VARIOUS VENUES, BRIGHTON 30.8.24
Brighton’s very own JOY. Concerts teamed up with the people behind the ‘Manchester Psych Fest’, and together they successfully managed to bring together no less than 36 acts for the inaugural ‘BRIGHTON PSYCH FEST’ which took place across multiple iconic Brighton venues last Friday (30th August) as a celebration of all things psychedelic.
Imagine cramming ‘The Great Escape’ or ‘Mutations Festival’ into a single one day event and voila you have it! Some serious planning was required by our team and no doubt by everyone else who attended the Psych Fest. With questions that required answering including such:
“Were there any clashes of acts that you wanted to see?”
“Would you be able to whizz across town from one venue to another in time?”
“Once there, will you be able to secure entry into the venue in time to see your fave psychedelic outfit?”
In order to get the best reward from the day, which commenced at 4pm and ran until 2am, some serious military planning was the order of the day for us! It’s our pleasure to bring you reports on 21 of the ‘Brighton Psych Fest’ performances and so without further ado, let’s get going with the opening act….
This article is part one of two and covers 11 of the Brighton Psych Fest acts. Part two can be found HERE.
JUNIORE – The Arch (4:00pm – 5:00pm)
Having collected my wristband from New Road I wandered in the sunshine down to The Arch on Brighton seafront in order to catch the first gig of Brighton Psych Fest. This being Juniore from Paris who are performing as a quartet for the first time, with the addition being Lou on bass who is playing her first gig with them, not that you’d know it. Historically, Juniore was created in 2013 and is the brainchild of vocalist Anna Jean who sings in French and flits between the Nord Electro 6 and Mellotron keys, and the guitar and tambourine throughout the set. Accompanying her is Sonia on drums and adding to their air of mysticism and trademark image is “The Thing” on keys and guitar (when Anna isn’t on them) whom I reckon is likely to be producer Samy Osta who sports a tall hat and keeps his face hidden.
This evening is as far as I can recall my third encounter with Juniore, having previously enjoyed their 2018 set at The Rialto Theatre (now Alphabet) and then as part of The Great Escape the following year. So it is certainly about time that I drowned myself in their sensual French melodies which are drenched in reverb, sweet and sour harmonies which are offset in a 60’s surf, psychedelica and yé-yé style and is all wrapped up together and presented in a present day take. In fact next month (13th September) they drop their first post Covid album in the form of ‘Trois, Deux, Un’ and this afternoon the absolutely rammed Arch punters are treated to a couple of teasers from the 13 track album as part of their 13 song 48 minute set.
Suffice to say, that the longer their performance went on for, the more enjoyable it became, with my colleague opting for tune ten their 2018 ‘Magnifique’ single as his highlight, whereas my earworm was not surprisingly that theme to the TUI ‘Live Happy’ TV advert, which is the twangy guitar friendly ‘Ah Bah D’Accord’, as found on their ‘Un Deux Trois’ album from back in 2020. A terrific band to open up Brighton Psych Fest!
Juniore setlist:
‘Bizarre’ (from 2020 ‘Un Deux Trois’ album)
‘La Route’ (from 2016 ‘Juniore’ compilation cassette)
‘La Vérité Nue’ (from 2020 ‘Un Deux Trois’ album)
‘L’Accident’ (from 2017 ‘Ouh Là Là’ album)
‘Bowling de Diano Marina’ (from 2020 ‘Un Deux Trois’ album)
‘En Retard’ (from 2017 ‘Ouh Là Là’ album)
‘Méditerranée’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Trois, Deux, Un’ album)
‘Le Silence’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Trois, Deux, Un’ album)
‘Panique’ (from 2017 ‘Ouh Là Là’ album)
‘Magnifique’ (a 2018 single & bonus track on 2017 ‘Ouh Là Là’ album)
‘Ah Bah D’Accord’ (from 2020 ‘Un Deux Trois’ album)
‘Monumental’ (from 2020 ‘Un Deux Trois’ album)
‘Sauvage’ (from 2020 ‘Un Deux Trois’ album)
(Nick Linazasoro)
TTSSFU – The Prince Albert (5:30pm – 6:00pm)
Starting the evening upstairs in The Prince Albert we have TTSSFU, the vehicle for Manchester songwriter Tamsin Stephens. I’d been expecting a solo performance but I’m very pleased to find that these days she fronts a kicking live band. Clad in a floaty white dress, she plays a kitsch-looking guitar with a circular body and a heart-shaped pickguard, whilst the remaining players are rocking a band uniform of white shirts and black ties.
The moody intro build of droning guitar effects on opener ‘California’ builds steadily, overlaid with plenty of jangle from lead guitarist Paddy. On ‘At All’, drummer Matthew lays down a massively stomping beat. The groove has sufficient force to relieve bassist Reubin of his specs, and there’s a tasty lead line of brisk tremolo strumming. ‘Growing Older’ is slower and moodier, with chiming harmonics and a dreamy vocal. Tamsin’s guitar is off for ‘Studio 54’, and she makes a brief foray into the audience, with washes of guitar underpinned by a satisfyingly intense bass throb. “Have you ever wanted to murder someone?” the vocalist enquires, introducing ‘I Hope You Die’. A glowering lead riff overshadows scudding kick drum punctuated with big tom hits, as the number alternates between brooding menace and manic screaming intensity. The band does this particularly well, and there’s more of the same for set closer ‘Remember’. With a piercing scream of “Thank you!”, Tamsin rushes off stage, concluding a particularly enjoyable set.
TTSSFU setlist:
‘California’ (a 2022 single)
‘At All’ (a 2022 single)
‘Growing Older’
‘Baggage’ (from 2024 ‘Me, Jed And Andy’ album)
‘Studio 54’ (from 2024 ‘Me, Jed And Andy’ album)
‘I Hope You Die’ (from 2024 ‘Me, Jed And Andy’ album)
‘Remember’ (a 2023 single)
(Richie Nice)
THE ORCHESTRA (FOR NOW) – Green Door Store (5:00pm -5:30pm)
My first jaunt at the Brighton Psych Fest came in the form of The Orchestra (For Now) at Green Door Store. Now, other than the illustriously cool band name and a tagline of “fidgety experimental power-pop”, I had very little to go on going into the band and their sound. Just from the opening track to the set alone, The Orchestra (For Now) display a beautifully turgid and haunting sound of post-rock bent cinematography and enigmatically dark lead vocals. Instrumentally, the band have a colourful arrangement of violin and cello against more conventional rock instrumentation of guitars, bass, keys and drums, with their song structures and dynamics reminiscent to that of early Black Country, New Road material.
Despite the somewhat harrowing, yet explorative soundscape, the septet aren’t afraid to show their sense of camaraderie and enjoyment, throwing each other looks and smiles at select moments in songs. There’s also a strong knack of dynamic awareness across the setlist as many performances see the band stretch from one quiet end of the galaxy to the loudest fever pitches. Also, the drummer is, by far, the coolest person in the band, completely locked in with his grooves and maintaining the best concentration faces from any band of this calibre.
The Orchestra (For Now) setlist:
‘Hattrick’
‘Zero Percent’
‘The Administration’
‘Bunny Doesn’t Ride A Thing’
‘Wake Robin’
(Christian Le Surf)
DIVORCE – Concorde 2 (6:00pm – 6:45pm)
This is my third time catching the wonderful humans of Divorce after seeing them support both The Vaccines and Everything Everything towards the earlier leg of the year. However, this was my first time catching the band at arms length finding myself right at the front of Concorde 2! This time around for me, the four-piece seems to be a lot tighter and in sync in their performances, amplifying their stellar blend of alternative country and indie rock – particularly on the track ‘Birds’, whose grouped vocal calls in the song’s titular lyric section and the monumental closing leg continue to be a set favourite of mine!
Towards the start of the set, they teased us with a brand new song, which hit me like a freight train with its gorgeous heartland chord progression and marching snare drum groove, with lead vocalist Tyger Cohen-Towell captivating the audience with their powerful vocal performance. Talking of captivating, one of my personal favourite tracks of the band, ‘Sex & The Millennium Bridge’, is delivered with full hearts and emotion (I remember welling up hearing them play this at the Brighton Dome in February), complete with analog synth drones, waltzing rhythms and heartwrenching harmonies between Tyger and Felix Mackenzie-Barrow. Oh, and ‘Gears’ is pop perfection. That is all.
Divorce setlist:
‘Scratch Your Metal’ (from 2023 ‘Heady Metal’ EP)
‘Birds’ (from 2023 ‘Heady Metal’ EP)
‘All My Freaks’
‘My Room’ (a 2024 single)
‘Hangman’
‘Sex & The Millennium Bridge’ (from 2023 ‘Heady Metal’ EP)
‘Lord’
‘Gears’ (a 2024 single)
‘Antarctica’
‘Eat My Words’ (from 2023 ‘Heady Metal’ EP)
‘Checking Out’ (from 2022 ‘Get Mean’ EP)
(Christian Le Surf)
THUS LOVE – Green Door Store (6:00pm – 6:45pm)
Thus Love are a post punk band from Vermont, USA formed of Echo Mars (vocals and guitar), Lu Racine (drummer), Ally Juleen (Bass) and recent addition Shane Blank (guitar and synth). They are no strangers to Brighton having played here twice in 2023, one of those dates being at the Komedia Studio as part of Independent Venue Week, they headlined that night with Sprints. But since then…. Oh, what a bit of time can do. Their name and sound have grown, so much so that I totally underestimated how popular they would be this evening, they most definitely pulled the largest crowd at the Green Door Store, I had left it far too late to arrive and couldn’t get even into the bar area, it then took 20 minutes of one in one out before I could stand in the back doorway.
Ultimately though, I could hear the band and I must declare their sound has massively grown over the past year since I last saw them. Their first album ‘Memorial’ seemed to slip under the radar but with their second album ‘All Pleasure’ due to drop in November and already getting airplay on BBC6 Music their stock really is rising, quite rightly so.
Whereas at some gigs you get chatting (something I hate), this set really had everyone in the venue totally locked on to the performance on stage, it was mesmerising stuff. Their live sound is so much fuller, having the additional live band member Shane Blank in the mix really shows.Their sound has that whole new element, the synths adding a nice juicy base layer.
As a live band, their set was incredibly polished and tight, no real chat between songs, Echo Mars was bang on with crisp vocals and lively guitar work. This really is a band on the up and I think could have commanded a bigger venue today. I really liked what I heard and am going to have to make sure I turn up far earlier to one of their shows in the future.
Thus Love setlist:
‘In Tandem’ (from 2022 ‘Memorial’ album)
‘Birthday Song’ (a 2024 single)
‘Get Stable’
‘Put On Dog’ (from 2023 single)
‘Show Me Patience’
‘On The Floor’
‘Centerfield’ (a 2023 single)
‘Repetitioner’ (from 2022 ‘Memorial’ album)
‘Lost In Translation’
(Ben ‘Jerry’ Robinson)
PLANTOID – The Prince Albert (6:30pm – 7:15pm)
Brighton’s Plantoid never fail to impress, and tonight is no exception. Their jazzy fusion with proggy guitar psych somehow manages to be super fluid and locked-tight simultaneously, and all four band members are supremely accomplished players. For opener ‘Modulator’, Chloe’s vocal skips, trips and soars over a jazzy groove that builds to an utterly glorious solo by lead guitarist Tom, drummer Louis gets busy with tumbling fills, and Bernado’s bass is deep, rich and warm. The angular ‘Dog’s Life’ is punctuated by a section of impossibly brisk triplet rolls. I enjoy the dancing riff of ‘Pressure’, accented with shimmering flurries of hi-hat. A procession of urgent stabs ushers in a carnivalesque swirl and a breathtaking drum break. We’re treated to a new number which is a work in progress, still instrumental at this stage. It’s an amazing piece framing an interestingly jolting progression. Dramatic staccato rolls introduce ‘G.Y. Drift’. It’s manically busy and rhythmically tricky, and Tom seems to be channelling Carlos Santana with his lead work. It all breaks down to a section of gorgeous lolloping bass. This fine set is topped off with the Zepplinesque riffage of ‘Demons’, punctuated by intricate stops and occasional clanks of cheeky cowbell. Stabs of jazz chords and wailing lead draw us inexorably to a climactic conclusion.
Plantoid setlist:
‘Modulator’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘It’s Not Real’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘Dog’s Life’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘The Jam’
‘Pressure’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
“New One”
‘Wander/Wonder’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘Don’t Worry’
‘G.Y. Drift’ (from 2024 ‘Terrapath’ album)
‘Demons’ (a single)
(Richie Nice)
THE BUG CLUB – The Arch (7:00pm – 7:45pm)
I’m back at The Arch for a 45 minute set from Welsh indie rockers The Bug Club, who we first caught up with back in 2022, when they were playing their then largest headline gig, which was at the Scala in London. This evening it’s a more compact event at the former Zap Club of old, in fact we are like sardines in a tin such is the trio’s pull. It was also an intimate affair yesterday as they played an instore gig at Resident in Kensington Gardens – Review HERE. The trio being founder members Sam Willmett (guitar, vocals) and Tilly Harris (bass, vocals), along with new drummer Tom Rees.
Today is an exciting one for the outfit as not only are they playing Brighton Psych Fest but also they have dropped their brand new long player, which is titled ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ and this evening we are served no less than 10 cuts from it, as part of their 14 song set. Suffice to say, none of the tunes outstay their welcome and the outfit begin with the talky alternative vocal narrative style delivery of ‘Suck It’ and continue rockin’ on out tune after tune. Their subject matter jumps from marriage, death and James Bond and in the main post punk riffage being their vibe, including even sounding like the earliest Squeeze records. The punters were well behind The Bug Club throughout their set, but on a personal level I could have done without the occasional short stray into heavy rock guitar play from Sam. They signed off with their fastest and for me their best number, this being newbie ‘Quality Pints’ which would go down an absolute storm at the Rebellion punk festival.
The Bug Club setlist:
‘Suck It’ (from 2023 ‘Mr Anyway’s Holey Spirits Perform! One Foot In Bethlehem’ album)
‘War Movies’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘Pop Single’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘Best Looking Strangers In The Cemetery’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘Marriage’ (from 2023 ‘Rare Birds: Hour Of Song’ album)
‘A Bit Like James Bond’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘We Don’t Care About That’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘Lonsdale Slipons’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘Better Than Good’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘Short And Round’ (from 2023 ‘Rare Birds: Hour Of Song’ album)
‘Actual Pain’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
‘It’s Art’ (from 2022 ‘Green Dream In F#’ album)
‘Quality Pints’ (from 2024 ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ album)
(Nick Linazasoro)
GEORDIE GREEP – Concorde 2 (7:15pm – 8:00pm)
Over a couple weeks ago, experimental rock band Black Midi announced their indefinite split on social media, leaving many fans devastated, particularly myself having been an avid fan of the group since their 2019 ‘Talking Heads’ single. However, a few days later, lead singer Geordie Greep rolled out his debut solo release in the form of ‘Holy, Holy’ from his upcoming album ‘The New Sound’, infusing the sounds of Latin music, prog rock and salsa among others in a single six-minute cut. Already, I became enthralled by the sound and desperately waited to see him perform his solo material… that moment finally came at my second stint for the day at Concorde 2, a half hour after Divorce had departed the stage. It’s safe to say that the 45 minutes of Greep that followed was nothing short of spellbinding!
Backed by bass, drums, keys and cello (which wasn’t too audible for the most part, unfortunately), Geordie commandeered the show with some staggering explorations of his unique blends of jazz fusion, progressive music and his utterly original storytelling, performing material from the upcoming album, including ‘Holy, Holy’, as the previously Black Midi-labelled cut ‘Lumps’. The grand theatricalities that adorned many a Black Midi album are still present in Geordie’s solo material and shows, but are amped up to dizzyingly blissful heights, with intense lyrical mantras that pull the audience into every breath, note and beat!
See you in Bristol, Geordie! TBE.
Geordie Greep possible setlist:
‘Blues’ (preceded by intro jam)
‘Walk Up’ (preceded by jam)
‘Holy, Holy’ (outro jam extended)
‘The New Sound’
‘Alaska’ (extended jam at outro)
‘Bongo Season’
‘Terra’
‘Through A War’
‘As If Waltz’
geordiegreep.com
(Christian Le Surf)
PASTEL – Green Door Store (7:15pm – 8:00pm)
Pastel are a 5-piece guitar band based in Swansea, made up of Mancunian cousins Jack Yates (vocals) and James Yates (rhythm guitar), plus Joe Anderson (lead guitar), Rhys Wheeler (drums) and Liam O’Shea (bass guitar) and they are signed to the independent Manchester Label; Spirit of Spike Island.
Now I have to be honest, until a couple of weeks ago, I’d not heard of them, but what I found in my searches made me instantly fall in love with their sound. They already have two EP’s under their belt, both which are incredibly hard to find on vinyl and now sought after. Their sound reminds me of early The Verve, perhaps some Stone Roses and dare I say a bit of Oasis in there, talking of which did you know they supported Liam Gallagher at Knebworth last year!
Tonight I believe marks their first time playing in Brighton, and whilst not it’s Knebworth, the room is fully packed with folks ready to appreciate their sound. The band opened with ‘Your Day’ a track taken from the forthcoming album and what a fine opener it was too, with Joe’s guitar riffs throughout really adding to it. In fact throughout the rest of their set, that guitar sound, catchy riffs, memorable melodies were very much present. The songs have great structure, nothing is rushed or raced through. Jack’s vocals are sublime, really channeling those baggy 90s Manchester vibes.
The band had good banter and quips with each other throughout their set, and seemed a band very at home on the stage with great swagger and seemingly up for a laugh. One example of this came when James joked before the song ‘Escape’ that they normally have bongos for this one, but due to the lack of space he’ll be using Jack’s head, to which lead to Jack obligingly kneeling down, thankfully his head was not used.
Jack did apologise a few times during the set “sorry if we all sound rough”, but to be honest, I’d not have known, they sounded bloody good to me and if this was them being rough, I most definitely would like to see them on a good day. It later transpired the band had been busy filming a music video the day before which had led to some late night celebrating and sore heads.
Pastel were the one band I had earmarked as my must see during ‘Brighton Psych Fest’ and they did not let me down, I really do think they are going to be massive and are ones to watch. Their debut album ‘Souls In Motion’ looks to be coming very soon, something I will 100% be buying, fingers crossed they come back to Brighton soon.
Pastel proposed setlist:
‘Your Day’ (from 2024 ‘Deeper Than Holy’ EP)
‘Running On Empty’
‘Escape’ (from 2022 ‘Isaiah’ EP)
‘IOU’
‘Psycho Filler’
‘Angel Meadow’
‘Soho’
‘Deeper Than Holy’ (from 2021 & 2024 ‘Deeper Than Holy’ EP’s)
‘Isaiah’ (from 2022 ‘Isaiah’ EP)
www.instagram.com/pastelbanduk
(Ben ‘Jerry’ Robinson)
PORCHLIGHT – The Prince Albert (8:00pm – 8:30pm)
Next on in The Prince Albert are Porchlight, a five-piece from Brighton. There’s a lot going on, right from the get-go. It’s arty, angular and urgent, and I like it a lot. I’m reminded of early XTC, from back in the day, or contemporary art punk outfit KEG. Moustachioed frontman Sam has a strong look. His fashion choices of tank top and pegs wouldn’t seem out of place at my school disco in the mid 1970s. ‘Shiftstep’ opens the set with a skittering intro of synth and clipped guitar, provided by two players, both called Tom, whilst drummer Harry adds an urgent shuffle beat punctuated by tumbling fills. It’s messing with my head in a most delightful way.
Bassist Ollie initially takes the vocal on the manic ‘Spin Doctor’ while Sam clanks a woodblock, counter-intuitively made of red plastic. The frontman grabs an acoustic guitar for the vibey breakdown of new number ‘Birds And Biplanes’. Unfortunately, the strap comes off the back peg, leaving him to adopt an Ian Anderson pose standing on one leg, the other bent knee trying to support the instrument. ‘Blue Chalk’, from a previous EP, has a spoken intro, and for ‘Richer’, another new number, a Roland drum machine provides the main beat, leaving Harry to add delicate embellishments on the hi-hats. Sam has a sampler to add trippy electronic sounds to a busy sequenced synth part. Keyboard player Tom has enough hands free to get percussively busy on a shaker and the plastic woodblock. The set ends with an as yet unnamed new song, listed on the setlist by its time signature: ‘7/8’. There’s thudding bass and chiming acoustic guitar, and a hugely satisfying outro of big ascending chords to wrap up a fine set. I’ll definitely be looking out for Porchlight from now on.
Porchlight setlist:
‘Shiftstep’
‘Spin Doctor’ (from 2023 ‘Wives Tales & Hymns Of The Earth’ EP)
‘Birds And Biplanes’
‘Blue Chalk’ (from 2023 ‘Wives Tales & Hymns Of The Earth’ EP)
‘Richer’
‘Stepshift’
‘Unnamed New Song’
linktr.ee/porchlightporchlight
(Richie Nice)
BDRMM – The Arch (8:30pm – 9:15pm)
I missed the opportunity to catch Mogwai perform at the Brighton Dome in the promotion of their last record, so naturally, I missed support act, and Rock Action signees bdrmm, a shoegaze group from Solihull who have been enjoying relative success from their only two studio albums to date. They had already commenced their performance by the time I got to the Arch, so I wandered into the dense layers of guitars and rhythmic stomping, entering a post-punk momentum by the time the band were in my eyeline. In front of me stood a completely mesmerised crowd, entranced by the walls of reverberated chords and disjointingly anthemic vocals from brothers Jordan and Ryan Smith.
Sonically, bdrmm have a somewhat familiar post-punk quality; I could easily see fans of The Cure and later-era Mogwai vibing with the band’s sound. There’s a very potent homegrown charm to the quartet that I admire a lot, just from their swagger and their musical interactions alone, as well as the Smith brothers complimenting each other vocally. bdrmm prove to be capable of fitting their sound within a wide emotional range of sound, with some tracks stretching towards the noisy and despondent, and other songs climbing ladders of the heartfelt and nostalgic.
BDRMM setlist:
‘It’s Just A Bit Of Blood’ (from 2023 ‘I Don’t Know’ album)
‘Be Careful’ (from 2023 ‘I Don’t Know’ album)
‘If….’ (from 2020 ‘Bedroom’ album)
‘Standard Tuning’ (a 2024 single)
‘Lake Disappointment’
‘Push/Pull’ (from 2020 ‘Bedroom’ album)
‘Happy’ (from 2020 ‘Bedroom’ album)
‘(Un)happy’ (from 2020 ‘Bedroom’ album)
‘Port’ (from 2022 ‘Port’ EP)
(Christian Le Surf)
Part two of Brighton Psych Fest can be found HERE.
Brighton Psych Fest will return on 29th August 2025. Early bird tickets have just gone on sale from HERE.
