Live Review
The Bright Ones
The Monarch, London
November 7 2013
Words & photos: Linn Branson
Having only seen one video of The Bright Ones - for their first single, 'Does She Make Noise?' - I'll admit to not being particularly au fait with what the four members of this Brighton post-punk outfit look like. Bar the obviously easily recognisable front presence of Christian Jegard - closely cropped dark hair, dark skinny jeans, dark jacket, dark shades - the others, more or less, just seemed to employ the generally punkish demeanor. They looked the part, anyway; complementing each other as a unit. So on seeing them live for the first time here at The Monarch, I was a little confused and bemused to say the least, for the band that pitch up on stage seem to resemble nothing of the band that was on the video, except for the vocalist.
Now I could be mistaken, but was this actually the same band? Jegard, all edgy-don't-touch persona was unmistakable, but the staid, bespectacled (nothing wrong in glasses mind; very now, in fact) look of the two guitarists and drummer, seemed at odds: while he looked like a band's frontperson, they look...well, they look like anything but what one would have expected, going by the aforementioned video. No criticism on how they sound, just the visual appeal was lacking for me. Were these guitarists even the original one from the video or replacements drafted in for the gig for some reason, I found myself questioning?
As to the actual music content, that stands up with the best. They kick off with the blistering new single 'Your Words Don't Bother Me But The Killing Hurts'; which, ad unlike 'Does She Make Noise?' (not in the set tonight) as 'Wrecking Ball' is from 'I See Fire' - and from what can be gathered, far more representative of their style in general. It's a killer of a two-minute tune; instantly recognisable on its opening guitar-driven psych punk chords. From hereon in there follows a touch of shoegaze ('Can You See Me') and a more rockier approach on 'Nothing To Say' and 'Control', which perhaps may indicate a band still to find their preferred niche? For my money, it's on the psych/shoegaze side which is where they would seem to excel. That is what held my attention at least. On leaving the venue, still puzzled by seeing a somewhat different sort of band to what I'd envisaged, I asked myself would I want to see them again? On the basis of the material and Jegard's delivery, both which hold up and are imminently entertaining, the answer is definitely yes. With an image adjustment and a little more pzazz insofar as the other members go to equate with the video (which you can view below for your own comparison), then the future of The Bright Ones could be very bright indeed.
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