It was hot, it was sweaty and it absolutely bloody rocked. Jeremy, Jessica and I were privileged to be among the 150 folks squeezed into Brighton’s Freebutt to see British Sea Power perform one of their famous intimate gigs. I took some rubbish photos.
Not a smile between them, but five guys clearly enjoying themselves and utterly immersed in their craft, from the hushed beginnings of the Smallest Church in Sussex to the frantic finale of Lately. Pogo-ing along with the crowd, bashing marching drums with heads and guitars with teeth, they know how to connect an audience to their music. And what music: emotive and visceral, hints of Joy Division, Pixies and crescendos of Spiritualized, moving from the psychedelic noise of Apologies to Insect Life to the searing riff-driven anthems of Remember Me and Carrion. I’m told their appearance at SxSW was something to behold and based on last night’s performance that doesn’t surprise me. Get a taste of British Sea Power for yourself with a free download of The Lonely.
It would be utterly remiss of me not mention the first support act, Morton Valence. Sounding a little like the Postal Service spiced up with trumpet and bouts of frustrated noise, they’ve got the quirkiness and the looks to be noticed. I couldn’t find a website or any releases as yet – if anyone knows otherwise please speak up.
Update: Morton Valence now have a website and a MySpace page, you can also find them on Last.fm. Morton Valence are also taking on the music industry.
Colly wrote:
In total agreement. Took me a while to get into the recent album (with lots of “He sounds like Bowie” comments from colleagues) but it fair rocks. Fear of Drowning is incredible, but I really dig “...Insect Life” as a first (proper) track – busts my ears wide open. They played up here in Nottingham a while back and took the roof off.
Lee Hickman wrote:
British sea power are a great band. Their album was on my ipod a great deal last year. I’m yet to see them live so I’ll make an effort to get out and be amazed.
In other music news. Check out Bloc Party if you haven’t already. They can be found at www.blocparty.com/ Their first single Banquet is an absolute belter. You could also check out my favourite band (and one of colly’s) at www.earththecalifornianlovedream.com
Happy listening