Brighton’s showcase of the best up and coming artists opened its doors once again for three and a half days of sweaty rooms, sweltering beach stages and the excited buzz of discovering the best new music from across the globe.
The first of many sets across the weekend was kicked off on Wednesday, a packed Patterns basement waited in anticipation for the classic rock’n’roll sound of Holiday Ghosts. Playing their beloved socially and politically aware tracks like ‘Mr Herendi’, the band proved themselves to be a great first taste of what was to come. Pete Doherty took to headline the festival’s Deep End beach stage with an enthusiastic showmanship that reflected the crowd’s energetic atmosphere in anticipation for the remaining days of The Great Escape.
Photo by Barnaby Fairley
Thursday being the first full day of acts meant for a stacked schedule, with Sorry Girls opening the Patterns upstairs stage for the Montreal showcase. Vocalist Heather Foster Kirkpatrick’s dreamy vocals led the indie pop group to a warm reception at the start of the festival. Heading to the Komedia basement, Australia’s Folk Bitch Trio played beautifully in front of a full crowd, expertly mastering their vocal harmonies in tracks like ‘God’s a Different Sword’, amongst acoustic instrumentals in a room so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After spotting some Alt Escape acts throughout the afternoon, the evening was spent securing a space in a consistently full capacity Charles Street Tap for the So Young takeover.
First on the lineup was green star, playing their recently released rock fueled songs like ‘four-o-five’ to enthusiastic heads in the crowd, displaying their effortlessly cool aesthetic reminiscent of noughties emo and grunge. With a lot of recent buzz around the group, they proved themselves worthy of the excitement surrounding them. Still hot off the release of their debut EP, ‘The Country’, Mên An Tol were the next act to follow. Blending elements of folk and indie rock to the audience’s surprise that they unconventionally originated from Cornwall, thanks to frontman Bill Jefferson. Rabbitfoot took to the Charles Street Tap stage, one of the only acts across the weekend to shock yet draw in their audiences with the uniqueness of their act. Bouncing from spoken word, to delicate vocals, to screams, River Fernandez led the group as they merged violin with synth bass, switching from heavy post-punk to elements of baroque in their live performance, making them one of the most memorable acts across the week.
Rounding off Thursday’s festivities, a fair few worn-out feet and addled minds seek restoration at the Green Door Store to catch a performance from the hotly-tipped Silver Gore. An alt-pop duo centred around the production wizardry of Ethan P. Flynn and the melodic fantasies of Ava Gore, the band were as slick and polished as anything for what was basically their debut show. Their set offers a hamper of instant earworms varying from pounding synth-anthems to soaring acoustic flourishes, and the venue’s beleaguered bricks and cobbles soon shone like gold.
For the unlucky rabble queuing outside tiny basement venue Rossi Bar at 1am and who failed to gain entry to a late night Thursday set from much hyped newcomers R.I.P Magic, Friday afternoon at the sunnier, and much more spacious Deep End stage on the shorefront provided a gracious second opportunity. And it quickly becomes clear they’re a band worth queueing for. Clad in baggy clothes, grounded in massive, stadium-sized hip-rock/rock drums, and churned up by grinding bass rumbles and badass electro swells, absorbing the attention in front ‘floating’ 3D holograms of spinning lamborghinis is lead vocalist Marco Pini (of Sorry), flopping and swaggering about like an inflatable air dancer at zero gravity, domineering the mic, and owning the hustle.
TTSSFU took to the Charles Street Tap on Friday, instantly capturing the crowd’s attention in one of the most energetic shows seen over the weekend. Mixing indie pop and shoegaze, Tasmin Stephens was an undeniable force onstage, from belting her tongue-in-cheek songs to mingling with the crowd throughout. Liverpool’s Courting powered through a slick setlist of their take on experimental alt-rock for the Deep End stage, smashing through tracks from their latest album. In a fun blend of rock, shoegaze and indie-pop with nonchalance, the band proved their ambition and place on the stage. Ending the night, Deep End headliners English Teacher returned to Great Escape to play a lengthy and expert set, showcasing their award winning debut album, ‘This Could Be Texas’. Keeping their crown as one of the UK’s best indie bands, the group continue to be the ones to watch at any festival lineup due to their fresh take on alternative rock and eclectic stage presence from Lily Fontaine.
The fourth and final day began at Dust, barely able to fit into the basement where Martial Arts played a hectic midday set to a completely full room, pumping with heavy guitars and feedback with raw and expressive vocals from Jim Marson. Following this, Mould took to the same stage with the Bristol rockers’ infectious energy presenting itself in their short bursts of music, once again packing out the room for a loud and frantic start to the end of the festival. After making our way to the end of the pier, shoegaze-inspired band Hank played the stage at Horatio’s – pacing their way through a fuzzy, guitar heavy set that easily set them up as one of the best alternative acts in the London music scene right now.
LEMONSUCKR were an unexpected surprise to watch, with their set at The Three Cats catching the word-of-mouth treatment. Getting the crowd moving from the get-go, their upbeat indie-pop turned into an immediate earworm as they electrified the stage with a solid presence. Turning our step towards club Revenge, instrumental trio wing! are in transcendent spirits. Applying the groovy mannerisms of vintage trip-hop to the winding narrative ecstasies of post-rock, their lack of vocals is more than made up for by an exuberant charisma. Far from a pensive, moody experience, wing! are gloriously uplifting – the band themselves are all smiles, living the music’s highs and lows as much as their audience.
Icelandic outfit Spacestation were next onto the Revenge stage and became instant standouts, playing groovy rock tunes reminiscent of early 2010’s indie pop with a fresh, bouncy sound as audience members gathered piling outside the door. Eterna played little ways down the road at Patterns, sharing pensive shoegaze to the intimate room with a moody sound. In the evening we were back at the end of the pier, with KuleeAngee kicking off the SubCat showcase at Horatio’s. Immediately filling up the bar, the Scottish duo had an outrageous energy that kept everyone on their toes throughout their set with consistent electro-pop hit after hit.
Flip Top Head were the perfect goodbye to the long weekend’s activities, being true representatives of the distinctive talent Brighton has to offer. The six-piece masterfully played their signature mix of folk-rock accompanied by the tender vocals of Bowie Bartlett and are a must-have experience live.
Photos by Cameron JL West. Words on Silver Gore, RIP Magic and wing! from Elvis Thirlwell.
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Issue Fifty-Five features Model/Actriz, YHWH Nailgun, The Orchestra (For Now), Westside Cowboy, Car Seat Headrest, Real Farmer, School Fair, Elias Rønnenfelt, feeble little horse, Kissing On Camera, Pooneh Ghana and Rhi Dancey.
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