One Inch Badge Presents: The Best of Brighton

The Best of Brighton. This is one that anyone who is interested in the international music scene would be curious about. For years the Brighton music scene has been one synonymous with new music and has often been the trendsetter for ‘hip’ new music. The Great Escape, one of the world’s foremost music industry showcases is held there each year, so Brighton’s claim to be a home for music is well placed. Sea Monsters: The Best of Brighton is a snapshot of some of the key bands in the Brighton scene in 2011.

Now, to me, if you’re trying to show off how great the music of your area is, you don’t start your compilation CD with an out of tune guitar on a track that sounds like it was recorded on cheap tape recorder from the seventies. It sounds like a poor attempt at a demo by an old-school Californian dance hall act. But alas, these are the sounds of The Sticks and their “cool surf-rock” instrumental track, Night of Pleasure.

Thankfully, Pope Joan’s offering, Ground Is Shaky, follows and it’s altogether more together as a song. It’s exactly what one would expect from a new British band, guitar jabs, bouncing bass lines, and Vampire Weekend-esque rim hits and vocals. Innovative it is not, but as indie-pop goes, it’s very well done. The following track by Nullifier can be placed in the same Indie category. It adds a more synth edge to the genre, but really it’s just a variation on a theme and the same can be said for Hind Ear’s track. Here’s hoping that the standard Indie-pop ends with these bands…

Some respite comes in the form of Sons of Noel and Adrian and their quietly epic song, Black Side of the River. Almost Scandinavian orchestration gives way to an intimate, stripped down vocals, guitar and harp piece and is perhaps the most sweet and endearing of the compilation. There is something sweet about Us Baby Bear Bones’ Encore to a Fictional Idea, that precedes this, but the Sons’ track outstrips Bones’ contribution in both composition and sentiment. The upbeat and lo-fi Curly Hair has a charm to it too, and the tone of their lyrics definitely adds to this charm.

There then follows a number of tracks that are again a variation on a theme, but this time the theme is folk. They range from introspective, string driven songs like Jane Bartholomew’s Fiery Son, to the folk rock, full band songs like Salter Cane. They range in quality also, Stuart Warwick is chilling and beautiful, Bird Engine is somewhat cringeful, and Crowns on the Rats Orchestra nine minute epic, The Markov Charade/Markov Parade lies somewhere in between.

Brighton’s electro is represented by Soccer 96. ‘California’ blips and grooves along in the way electro tends to do. It’s quite a melodic track and shows that Brighton’s electronic underbelly can stand up with some of the best. The instrumental prog of Illness follow with the track ‘The Guardian’. As instrumentals go it ticks the all the boxes; the variety of parts, the odd times signatures, and the distorted guitars but besides that there isn’t anything spectacular here. The same can be said for the furious ‘Proof of Man’ by Cold Pumas. They attempt to channel old-school punk from both sides of the pond here, but all I hear is something brash and disjointed.

Drum Eyes are another 8-bit group, similar to the sounds of Soccer 96, but they’re altogether heavier which gives them an added edge, but as with a lot of heavy music, they tend to stray from the point and their offering clocks in at five minutes twenty, which is a good deal longer than it needed to be. Squadron Leader’s longwinded closer echoes The Sticks’ opener and that is one track I wish I hadn’t been reminded of…

I know I’m being hard on some of these bands, but I was hoping for something more spectacular from the home of new music in the UK. It seems to me that you could have gone into any town in England and picked out eighteen bands that sound exactly like this. In every town you’ll have your heavy bands, your electro bands, your gritty core of acoustic folk bands, your tight alt-pop bands and you’re left of centre soul/jazz/funk bands. Brighton is no different. Sons of Noel and Adrian and Soccer 96 are a notable exception, offering something a bit more than the standard, and maybe that’s enough, maybe that’s what makes Brighton shine. Yet I think that this compilation isn’t what makes Brighton stand out, but what makes it like everywhere else.

Drop-D Rating: 5/10

Published on Drop-D.ie, 13th June, 2011

Toy Soldier - An Réalt Dearg, April 10th

Local electro-pop champions Toy Soldier performed in the intimate setting of Barrack Street’s An Réalt Dearg last Sunday night as a warm-up show for the myriad of appearances that await them in the coming months.

The show was divided in two, the first was a stripped back, most acoustic orientated set but it still maintained a good deal of the electronic elements that the band are known for. The set was eight songs long and encompassed all the best parts of their full on set, as well as a few new tracks to keep things fresh. Songs like Goldigger, Summertime, and new track Run stand out, the third being perhaps the most recent addition to the set and led entirely by singer Ciara. The purpose of these stripped down songs is to prepare the band for an appearance in Los Angeles’ infamous Viper Room next week as the Soldiers march off to the states for a string of shows on the West Coast. The shrewd use of programming, perfectly harmonising vocals, and incredible guitar precision show that the band are sure to impress in the highly competitive atmosphere of the City of Angels.

Once the acoustic set was concluded, the crowd were treated to the full on Toy Soldier set. We were met with the true heart of the pop aficionados, and they are truly in their element when they’re fully electronic. Nothing against the more stripped back material, but Toy Soldier were made to get you grooving with their incredibly energetic, synth-pop swagger. They have a beautifully constructed set list, with intro music that leads seamlessly into the opening track, We Are Soldiers. The band’s past releases , Battles and Climbing Trees drop in and out of the set and hold their own with new tracks like My Oh My and Heat. The flow of the set is absolutely perfect, and the lucky few who saw them are treated to an encore in the form of So Far Away, a glittering way to end the evening.

I also picked up a copy of the band’s current single, Sunset Girl, which is a brilliantly infectious track. Edgy synth lines run throughout the song as Cian and Ciara’s vocals intertwine expertly, adding a nice depth to the light-hearted gem that the song is. The band released the track last month and it came in conjunction with a beautiful music video. It was shot by local director Shaun O’ Connor, whose previous work includes videos from Exit: Pursued By A Bear, Ladydoll, and local rap hero, Grandmaster Cash. The quality of the video is incredibly high, and the slow movements of the camera make a nice contrast to the upbeat track. The video is linked below, and you can find more of his work at www.shaunoconnor.com.

Well, in summary, Toy Soldier are perhaps one of the most enjoyable live acts I have seen locally in a long time. They are experts at their craft, and the quality of their material, both live and on record, is something to be marvelled at. Definitely a band to check out. Links below.

http://www.myspace.com/toysoldier

http://www.facebook.com/toysoldierband

Published on Drop-D.ie, April 12th, 2011