Our editor, Mike, is part of the management team for the promotions at Digital in Brighton, but this ‘gig list’ post isn’t some self-serving attempt to push ticket sales. No, no, no. For one thing it’s an external promoter running this show, Brighton’s Lout Promotions, who seem to be about as on the money with their bookings as you could be, managing to make credible selections, whilst still keeping one eye on their commercial business. The other reason is that this show is going to be so packed with energetic bands that there’s a risk the sea’s tide could well be forced back from our beach-fronted venue. They come to town on February 15th and you can purchase the last few tickets right here. Like. Now.
SLEIGH BELLS
We all know that this Brooklyn duo were one of the biggest features on 2010′s landscape, having released their debut album, Treats; a piece of outstanding work that topped The Recommender’s ‘Album Of The Year‘ chart. Alexis Krauss seems like an icon in the making, looking killer in photo shoots, whilst being full of energetic showmanship on stage. To think this shades-wearing, baseball-bat-swinging vixen used to be a school teacher. That’s one class you would never skive. Their music is often an immature crash at full volume, but with the latest single, ‘Rill Rill‘, we see them pushing to the front the nursery rhyme style that also flows through the album. The accompanying video arrived this week and instantly swirled around the blogs. It shows the band are just as deadly alongside each other as they are with a crowd when playing live. This upcoming headline show, at the largest venue they’ve played in Brighton to date, is one where we hope they come armed with their full array of weapons.
SLEGH BELLS – A/B MACHINES
TEETH
If you can survive the earlier onslaught of You Love Her Coz She’s Dead, then prepare yourselves well for this London trio. Not only is their sound an avalanche of maxed-out synths and crashing cymbals, but nutty lead singer, Veronica, will be guaranteed to launch herself into the crowd at some point. Yes they’re very noisy, and yes they’re very hipsters-go-nuts, but amongst the left and right hooks there’s their signature set of laser-beam house chords that help their powerful live sets take the roof off. There’s been some decent remixes floating around of their ‘See Spaces‘ single too, particularly from producer de jour, Dreamtrak, and also from hot property, Visions Of Trees. Both are excellent and soften the harsher edges of the original.
TEETH – TIME CHANGES
YOU LOVE HER COZ SHE’S DEAD
You wonder if this British duo would exist were it not for Crystal Castles, so similar is both their aesthetic and their music. Admittedly there are far worse inspirations and where they lack originality, they more than make up ground with tight productions. Aggressive pogo beats, Gameboy samples and simple synth chords are interrupted with mantra-like burnt vocals that are always, always shouted. At worst it sounds like the noises made by tapes loading for the ZX Spectrum 48k, but at best they can go toe to toe with Hearts Revolution or the aforementioned Crystal Castles, although they’d probably end up headbutting Alice Glass in the face. Signed to Kitsune, you can hopefully expect the self-titled début album in August.
YOU LOVE HER COZ SHE’S DEAD – SUNDAY BEST
BLONDES IN TOKYO
This three piece group from Brighton are aiming to be a genuine crossover band between punk and electro, fusing metallic guitars, with machine-punched beats and samples. The singer can’t sing particularly well, but it doesn’t stop him trying, and it actually adds to their punk attitude; and let’s face it, Jonny Rotten was hardly operatic! There’s a snarled style woven into every track and with early examples, such as ‘Running Miles‘, you get a well-constructed tune that shows us they also have a more matured song-writing ability. They’re first on at this show, so expect them to get the crowd pumped from the outset. (MB)
BLONDES IN TOKYO – RUNNING MILES
