Brighton after dark: 5 August 2014
BEN BAILEY
On bass chaos and twee nostalgia
Coming on like a vigilante gang of urban Jawas, MoRkObOt (Green Door Store, Sun 10 Aug) reveal their real-life nerdity by insisting on awkward capitalisation and by being capable of delivering such a super-tight prog-metal onslaught. “Since the dawn of the first galaxies,” explains the band’s press gumph, “the voice of MoRkObOt resounded solemn over the saturated atmospheres of the planets in evolution.” Sound like your sort of thing? Instrumental and experimental, this Italian trio make a chaotic sound that repays closer listening: behind the noise and sludge you’ll find controlled arrangements and delicate dynamics worthy of a muso jazz band. The one-drummer, two-bassist set-up might mean their sound is limited to the lower register, but we guess this is music that needs to be felt as well as heard.
After a decade of putting out wordy and wonky records for the benefit of a smallish-but-growing following, Kevin Devine (Green Door Store, Wed 6 Aug) cashed in his hard-earned audience with a Kickstarter campaign last year to fund the recording of two new albums. He reached the target in less than a day, eventually raising over twice the amount needed. The resulting albums were pretty divergent, like the double persona of a cracked mind: one was a collection of bouncy noise pop; the other saw Kevin in singer songwriter mode pouring out searching lyrics themed on political and personal crises. These include reflections on Hurricane Sandy and an exploration of Private Manning’s bravery in leaking US military secrets: “If it was you, you might wish you’d been born a liar, a coward.” There’s an honesty in this Brooklyn singer’s music that demands honesty from its listeners.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Sat 9 Aug) have carved a nice niche for themselves since their first release in 2007 by appealing to people who were still into indiepop and shoegaze bands from twenty years previous. The New Yorkers’ third effort came out at the start of the summer and only partially succeeded in putting a defining stamp on the band’s sound. You can’t pin a direct plagiarism on them – except patches of Heavenly and shades of My Bloody Valentine – but still the band’s appeal seems to rely on how much they evoke the era of those bands. A time when guitars were jangly or fuzzed out and vocals were sweet and swooning. Good times.
Brighton Noise
Chris Kuzmiski on the week’s best gigs
It’s a cliché to say we have a bumper week of gigs ahead of us, but honest mum, we do. Absolute banner wavers of all things that are great about old skool hip-hop, De La Soul are allowing us to grace their presence at Concorde 2 on Tuesday. So it’s positive vibes, big smiles, bigger choruses and massive waves of nostalgia all round. Let’s hope the weather keeps up its magic. We are already at the beach, after all.
If you wheedle out the stuffy old men, Wolf Eyes are probably the biggest noise act in the world. Why did they get to such an exalted place in such a competitive market? (And trust us here at Brighton Noise, there are a lot of noise acts.) By being amazing, of course! They are playing at the particularly intimate Sticky Mike’s on Wednesday. Bring earplugs. Although the lovely staff there might spare you a pair if you ask nicely.
Flamingods are at Sticky Mike’s on Thursday. There is a thoroughly exciting scene of post-millennial psychedelia kicking about at the moment, and Flamingods are one of its finest proponents. Accordingly, support comes from Brighton psych-hop types Hypnotized and krautrockers Merlin Tonto. Any of these bands are headliner material, so you are getting crazy value for your fiver. The only problem left is – is it odd flamingos or gods aflame?
Probably the only true indiepop band that don’t have day jobs, New Yorkers The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are striking their upbeat but melancholy chords at Sticky Mike’s on Saturday. There is a very good chance you might see a lot of Sticky Mike’s this week.
On Saturday at Concorde 2 there’s none other than the elder gentlemen of pub sing-alongs, Chas & Dave. There is a very American line up to this week. Well, C&D are about the least American thing there is. They’re so cockney, they sell fruit and unlock phones backstage. Out of habit more than cause they need the nicker, mind.
Much like last Sunday, there is sizzling rockabilly tearing apart the Prince Albert. This week it’s the none-more-ruckus Koffin Kats. They are badass. So badass they come from Detroit. Which is right now turning into a real life post-apocalyptic landscape. They won’t unlock your phone. Not for any amount of cash.
