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Venues
It’s a sparkling new season and so this equals ... out with promoters holding back and in with some dazzling new line ups to maximise the return of the cities learned book worms. The Green Door Store is a reliable candidate to step forward with its solid reputation for supporting new and innovative music. Teaming up with quirky local promoters Be Nothing who put on and grow bands like Sun Glitters, Outfit, Gross Magic and Com Truise as well as Club Zygotic with their new bi-monthly club night called Spirit of Gravity that aims to liberate electronica. The GDS is also one of the venues that tends to put on some of the best up and coming, musically astounding bands and artists such as welsh weirdo rock Islet (15 November), retro looking bluesy rockers Danny & the Champions of the World (17 November), home grown performance based musician Gazelle Twin (18 November), indie popsters Summercamp (19 November), epic sounding art rocksters Post War Years (6 December) and Danish punks Ice Age (7 December).
Then there's the arts hub of Sticky Mike’s Frog bar leaping ahead with it’s unique take on what a venue should be about by smudging the boundaries between live art and music. They invite local artists to regularly collaborate on the interiors of the venue, mixing drinks with doodles, along with playing host to a wide range of touring acts like the psych beats of Neon Indian (15 November) and the laidback west coast steppings of TOKiMONSTA (17 November).
And what would Brighton be without another new venue to keep things fresh? The latest project comes from the Playgroup collective who have turned Hector’s House into the multi functioning Blind Tiger Cub, part cafe, part live music venue (note the Japanese psychedelic freakers Acid Temple Mothers 18 November), part audiovisual host see Ninja Tune’s Hexstatic (25 November) and part place to indulge in retro computer games (13 November) and art.
Bands
Dream pop band Fear of Men have to be Brighton’s most wanted of late. They have been busy constructing new creations and have recently put out a few limited cassette releases on Sex is Disgusting, streaming the lead track from their latest one, it's called 'Doldrums', they also are currently on a UK tour with Bos Angeles, finishing up at the GDS on 16 December.
Another Brighton favourite has to be Hind Ear with their loosely constructed rhythms of technicolour akin to The Foals and the Fair Ohs, they have recently updated their Soundcloud with a double A-side track release of Coconut and Origami.
Regal Safari on the other hand have just released their debut album powered by a combination of aloofly swaying melody and edgy beats and and and it’s free to download. Well worth the bandwidth.
And then there is is the Sussex bred shouty punkings of Shrag who are in the process of completing their third LP ‘Canines’ to be released early 2012 on WIAIWYA and Fortuna POP. In the meantime you can check them out live, doing what they do best - they will be taking over the Lexington (gasp that’s a London venue, surely not allowed here) on 15 November, Wilmington Arms on 16 December and finish with a homecoming show on 17 December at the GDS. Lastly there is the experimental fry up of Peepholes, have they got their album done yet? Yes indeed. It's called 'Caligula' and will be available for consumption on 28 November signed to that something a bit amazingly different label Upset the Rhythm. In the meantime a sneaky taster track called ‘Tunnels’ is available for your lug holes.
PEEPHOLES - Tunnels by Upset the Rhythm
Labels
New to the Brighton guild is the Love They Neighbour imprint run by Esben & the Witches’ Daniel Copeland and general happener behind Sticky Mike’s Frog bar Andy Rossiter. Their first release is from local singer/songwriter Abi Wade who draws upon investigations into acoustic cello sounds for her unique compositions. The record goes out on 28 November and is entitled Blood and Air EP. Minimal strings, earthy vocals and basic beats, you got it.
Fat Cat offshoot Palmist are soon to put out their 7th release with limited edition 12” split single from New York’s Dustin Wong and London’s Gentle Friendly on 5 December. Following the thread of the lo-fi ethos laid down by Palmist the artists featured follow a path like no other. Dustin Wong (founding member of Ponytail and Ecstatic Sunshine) provides a circular sonic journey around the human body and Gentle Friendly gives us layers of fuzzed out atmospheric melodies. Soak it up.
So Sex is Disgusting what are they up to? Well one half of the duo behind this label has buzzed off to San Fran for a while, like Brighton wasn’t San Fran enough? Aaah well no matter his girlfriend’s band La La Vasquez are racking up notoriety. They recently released a split 7" with Neonates on OneC Records, recorded a radio show for the prestigious Maximum Rock & Roll zine and played shows with Bleached, Dunes, Neonates, Cool Moms and Veronica Falls all across America. Meanwhile the Brighton half of the duo is keeping on with Brighton based shows having recently put on Not Not Fun’s Maria Minerva and Upset the Rhythm’s Cold Pumas in conjunction with DJ/record label/do gooders Where to now? There are also all sorts of plans bubbling away for more releases in 2012, in the meantime SiD leave us with a Sex Tapes cassette release from super fine post punks King Alfred, Man Of Leisure.
The Brighton based collective that is Willkommen Records have been busy this year and to round things off are releasing a brand new single to show off the upbeat folky tinklings of Laish with track ‘She Is Clever’ on 5 December. This is preceded with a gig at the Unitarian Church in Brighton on 19 November and a full 2012 Euro/UK tour to follow. And then there is the debut EP offering from this good time raucous folk girl/boy vocal led band called Dancehalls due at the beginning of the new year.
