Live
Sick Joy + Big Spring + GLOO
Hope & Ruin, Brighton
November 20 2019
Words/Pictures: Steve Willcox
A triple whammy of some of the south coast's best indie rockers, all diverse in their output, are brought seamlessly together by local promoters Lout for a close to capacity Wednesday night in Brighton, which shows the commitment the crowd have for all these acts and their draw potential.
First up are Littlehampton’s indie pop-punks GLOO, who have been making a few waves recently with a recent guest spot on BBC Introducing South.
Starting off with a brand new song ‘Work So Hard’, vocalist Tom Hartfield does just that, singing at the top of his lungs while the bass kicks in with a pounding rhythm. They continue to ramp up the energy with latest single ‘Act My Age, where drummer Mark Hartfield keeps in time with his brother's driving guitar riffs. Last year’s chorus thumping ‘Hit It’ and the instantly catchy ‘Holiday’, both get the punters heated and on their toes. Closing with ‘Force You’, with bassist Simon Keet providing backing vocals along with a thumping bass line, ends
a pretty excellent set.
Local guys Big Spring - described by Radio 1’s Dan P Carter as “the best new band in Britain” a few years back - prove their worth with set starter ‘New Wave’, showing their sound is as big as their name. Singer Ollie Loring, who has an almost operatic twang to his rock vocals, thunders on ‘Cold Foot’, where rock riffs are put on display by guitarist Jack Rowan, alongside an already bare-chested bassist Alex Loring, whose towering bass lines have the crowd creating mini-mosh pits all around the room. Chris Steele's drums beat furiously on debut single ‘Buzzards Leave The Bones’, while the crowd dance along to its hypnotic melody. Ending the set with ‘On a Bamboo Sleeping Mat’ shows that you shouldn’t just rely on the new guns to bring you great music.
Newcastle formed, but now Brighton relocated, Sick Joy bring their wild energy to this boisterous crowd of revellers. With the room now heaving, the trio soon start giving them plenty to get into, with ‘Playing Dead’, taken from their new EP ‘Them Days’, being just the beginning. Frontman Mykl Barton’s guitar riffs envelop the crowd while the drums tap into the room's collective feet as they all begin to move in unison. The thumping bass of ‘Shoot Your Lover’ soon drives the fans at the front into an early mosh while those at the back surge forward. eager to get in the throng. ‘Stars’ shows a softer, slower side to the band that’s reminiscent of Nirvana and is embraced warmly by the crowd, but soon gets pushed aside for the harder edged song ‘Dirty Water’, with Dan Pitson's bass providing deep, pulsing tones that makes this song so dark and moody.
Lifting the spirits with latest single ‘Vibe Sucker’ has the room dancing with its spirited alt-rock homage that is full of guitar distortions and heady riffs. New drummer Samuel Rattray (also Five Kites) cimes into his own on ‘Dissolve Me’, banging on the edge of his kit in the style of an early Adam and the Ants' ‘Antmusic’ era, with soaring distorted guitars and pumping bass lines. After ‘Smiling Shame’ draws to a close, the crowd sets up a chanting “one more song!" as the band leave the stage. As the room continues to reverberate on the call, the band duly come back out to encore with ‘Heaven’; a suitable finale as slacker riffs and explosive choruses sees the room erupt into a frenzy with energetic moshing and stage diving fans. What a night!
No comments:
Post a Comment