GREAT ESCAPE PREVIEW – PART DEUX

BENEFITS

Fronted by captivating polemicist Kingsley Hall – the Middlesborough self-described “issues-based music collective” have been on the receiving end of very high praise for their debut album NAILS. They’ve also gained some pretty notable fans along the way including Pixies’ Black Francis, Sleaford Mods, Garbage, Billy Bragg and Elijah Wood. Balancing the band between working in factories and caring for his daughter, Kingsley’s diatribes against modern Britain are unflinchingly honest and brutal, with lyrics tearing into the discourse around the ever-growing division across the country, touching on socio-political themes such as classism, nationalism, patriotism, poverty, as well as opening up about his own mental health and anxieties. This is all delivered via the band (made up of two brothers on synth and former Mogwai live drummer, Cat Myers) who traverse an unusually hypnotic mix of lo-fi danceable electronica, hardcore avant-punk, hip-hop, and crushing noise. Hear debut album Nails HERE.

PLAYING: Thursday: 19:15 – 19:45 – One Church
Friday: 14:30 – 15:00 – The MVT Stage

BIG SPECIAL

Black Country’s heavy-hitting meld of punk and spoken word poetry is wound up tight and set free with soul as its guide, making for a raw and direct experience with a unique primal energy. Big Special bottle the realities of life in working-class Britain, with Joe Hicklin’s undeniable vocal bringing their underdog storytelling to life in the most vivid and visceral of ways. With no music online yet – their first single arrives 10^th May – their gripping live performances have quickly turned them into a must-see. Come and experience them for yourself next week.

PLAYING: Thursday: 19:30 – 20:00 – Brighton Youth Centre (Alt Escape)
Friday: 15:20-15:50 – Grand Central (Alt Escape)
Saturday: 20:00 – 20:30 – Volks

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CHAPPAQUA WRESTLING

They’ve just released their debut album Plus Ultra and will be out on a headline tour of the UK through May. Tapping into the dark energies of our current dystopia, Chappaqua Wrestling conjure an era-spanning sound that routinely erupts into blissfully distorted euphoria. They lean on melodic 90s indie sounds so if big choruses and a heaving crowd (plus a decent pint at UnBarred Brewery) sounds like your thing it would be great to see you there. Hear debut album Plus Ultra HERE.
PLAYING: Friday 21:00-21:45pm at UnBarred Brewery
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DAUDI MATSIKO

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Ugandan / British songwriter Daudi Matsiko carefully crafts modern albeit reverent folk. Deft, melancholic picking reminiscent of Nick Drake is tempered by contemporary percussion and instrumentation, with Matsiko’s vocals deriving their strength from their seeming fragility. With every song, his confessional lyrics cut to the marrow. After releasing the double EP An Introduction to Failure with Naim Records, Matsiko has toured with GoGo Penguin, Keaton Henson, and Portico Quartet while also being a successful participant of the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal. Alongside currently playing in Do Nothing’s live set-up, 2023 will see the release of his much-anticipated debut solo album. Hear new single ‘Fool Me As Many Times As You Like’ HERE.
PLAYING: Friday: 20:30 – 21:00 – Unitarian Church
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DEADLETTER

Fresh from selling out London’s Lafayette and currently sitting on the BBC6 Music Playlist, DEADLETTER produce a strain of darkly grooving post-punk (drawing comparisons to Gang of Four and Talking Heads), aiming to explore the darker side of existence through a lens of narrative-driven levity. They’ve just shared new single ‘The Snitching Hour’ via SO Recordings and the 6 piece even took to Paris Fashion Week, attending the CELINE menswear S/S 23 launch and playing live at Hedi Slimane’s personal afterparty alongside NYC’s Gustaf and Cumgirl8. Hear new single ‘The Snitching Hour’ HERE.

PLAYING: Thursday: 15:31 – 16:31 The MVT Stage
Thursday: 00:15-00:45 – Komedia Basement

GENGAHR

Gearing up to release their fourth album Red Sun Titans (9th June), Gengahr entered the studio with Matt Glasbey (alt-J, Coldplay) producing and mixing – with executive production by Charlie Andrew (Wolf Alice, London Grammar, Bloc Party, alt-J). The band saw a chance to revisit the origins of where their creativity came from, and the album developed out of self-analysis into a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde experience, emotionally. One side ponders coming to terms with great loss, the other a more naive counterpart longing to exist in a simpler state. Recent single ‘A Ladder’ has been cleaning up across BBC Radio 1. Hear recent single ‘A Ladder’ HERE.

PLAYING: Sat 21:30-22:00pm at Chalk
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HUMOUR

In the summer of last year So Young Records – whose recent releases have included Vlure, Been Stellar and Lime Garden among others – announced the signing of Humour, a Glaswegian group still in their relative infancy, but one who arrived musically fully-formed, pairing together fragments of off-kilter post-punk, erratic indie-rock and discordant post-hardcore, delivering a sound that lands somewhere between The Walkmen, Viagra Boys and At The Drive-In. They’ve a sound that is at once disorientating and immediate, and already been marked out as a must see live band, propelled by the unhinged lyrical energy of front man Andreas Christodoulidis. New material will follow in the coming months. Hear debut EP Pure Misery HERE.
PLAYING: Friday – 21:30 – 22:00 – The Beach
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LAMBRINI GIRLS

Inspiration is drawn from the likes of Savages, Le Tigre, The Spice Girls and unresolved trauma; not only do Lambrini Girls plan on setting your bin on fire- they want to create spaces at shows for anyone who feels like there isn’t a place for them there already. No one deserves to feel uncomfortable, no one deserves to feel invisible, start conversations with your mates, never let anyone stop you existing authentically and most importantly: Gays to the front. 19th May sees the release of their debut EP You’re Welcome via Big Scary Monster. A live band not to be missed. Hear recent single ‘White Van’ HERE.
PLAYING: Friday: 20:30 – 21:00 – Chalk
FOLLOWING: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Twitter

MILITARIE GUN

LA’s much-tipped Militarie Gun are managed by Jay Z’s Roc Nation. Radio 1’s Track Of The Week last week, the four-piece are a leading name in the hardcore resurgence – they were the lead in an NME feature last month also featuring the likes of Scowl and Zulu – but with arguably a higher ceiling than their peers with a sound that has all the energy and brevity of the genre but with a significant influence from 90’s alt. Calling both Nirvana and Guided By Voices key influences, this melodic immediacy and ascendant progress has seen the recent Roc Nation link-up and signing to Loma Vista (Iggy Pop, St Vincent, Show Me The Body etc.), ahead of a debut album, “Life Under The Gun”, coming June 23rd. Here new single ‘Very High’ HERE.
PLAYING: Friday – 0:00 – 0:30 – Rossi Bar Basement
Saturday – 23:30 – 0:00 – Prince Albert
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MODERN WOMAN

Based around the songwriting of frontperson and guitarist Sophie Harris, Modern Woman are an enigmatic four-piece from London, championed by the likes of black midi and the first signing to End Of The Road Festival’s label arm. They returned with a new single this week, ‘Achtung’, that follows on from the band’s acclaimed debut EP Dogs Fighting In My Dream and previous single ‘Ford’ which saw them win early praise for their sonic eclecticism and ferocious live show earning a diverse array of comparisons from Sonic Youth via Black Country, New Road to Kate Bush. Hear debut EP Dogs Fighting In My Dream HERE.
PLAYING: Wednesday – 21:00 – 21:30 – The Green Door Store
Thursday – 16:00 – 16:20 – UnBarred Brewery
Friday – 14:30 – 14:50 – North Laine Brewhouse
Friday – 17:15 – 17:35 – The Music Venue Trust Stage
FOLLOWING: Facebook | Instagram

MOREISH IDOLS

South London’s Moreish Idols – signed to Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground – arrived fully-formed last year with the absurdist smarts of ‘Speedboat’ and the contorted thrill of ‘Hangar’, two highlights from a debut EP for Speedy Wunderground, Float, that was packed full of them and saw international support from the likes of Stereogum, The FADER, NME, BBC 6 Music and more. Latest EP for the Cornish genre-hoppers landed last Friday, Lock Eyes & Collide.
Hear recent single ‘Nocturnal Creatures’ HERE.
PLAYING: Thursday – 18:15 – 18:45 – The Beach
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Signed to the immaculate Speedy Wunderground and despite no studio material until their debut single form the label at the tail end of last year, O. haven’t needed it to cause a buzz, feverish word spreading about the communal joy of their live performances alone. After a debut show at Brixton’s Windmill, the venue owner was so impressed he promised to offer them a second show there – this time in support of black midi. After going on first to an audience who had no idea who they were, they left the stage only to be approached this time by the virtuoso drummer of the band, Morgan Simpson, asking them perhaps the best question he could in that moment: “What are you doing in November? Want to come on tour with us?” As well as cutting their teeth on a full EU tour with black midi and recent supports with the likes of Gilla Band and PVA, O. built ties to their DIY ethics further by organising regular O Zone nights at The Windmill, inviting creatives to step out of their comfort zone and try something new, culminating in a live collaboration between O. and their guest. Bridging further the gap between jazz, live improvisation and alternative music, since August 2021 they’ve hosted the eclectic likes of Wonky Logic (Steam Down, Nala Sinephro), Shunaji, Rosie Turton (Nerija), Izzy Burnham (Steam Down), Tal Janes (Waaju), Pete Wareham (Melt Yourself Down) and Edna (Goat Girl). Hear debut single ‘OGO’ HERE.
PLAYING: Thursday – 21:15 – 21:45 – The Beach
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PERSONAL TRAINER

A Personal Trainer show is always a memorable one – an ever-shifting seven or eight or sometimes nine piece, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement is a fan of frontman Willem Smit’s writing, Marc Riley is a big supporter who has played them relentlessly on his 6Music show and, above anything else, the band is about the songs. Selling out their UK tour here earlier this year and a supergroup in their native Netherlands, Smit is already an indie lifer, even in his early 20’s, his other band Canshaker Pi working with the aforementioned Malkmus (he produced Canshaker Pi’s debut record) when he was just a young teenager, and other members of the group playing in a whole variety of other bands, signed and unsigned, locally. If you can name a current Dutch band member, they’ve probably been a part of Personal Trainer at some point. Their debut album Big Love Blanket landed at the tail-end of last year and is a greatly varied, always accessible mix of indie-rock, post-punk, post-pop and anything else they might think fits the bill to serve the song. Hear debut album Big Love Blanket HERE.
PLAYING: Saturday – 22:30 – 23:00 – The Beach
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PVA

Having already earned a GRAMMY-nomination, as well as recently appearing on Later… with Jools Holland, being added to the BBC 6 Music playlist, and receiving plaudits across The Guardian, NME, The Times, Evening Standard, The Telegraph, Rolling Stone UK, DIY, The Quietus, Dazed, Dork, and more, South London trio PVA recently released their new album BLUSH via Ninja Tune. Queer-coded electro, disco and punk, they’ve grown from that fervent Windmill scene further and further into club culture, with frontperson Ella crediting queer nights for fostering and growing that interest. Built on a bed of acid, industrial-sized beats, blistering synths, the release of the dancefloor, and cathartic post-punk, the band have been going from strength to strength thanks to their inimitable ability to merge beating pulse of the club with the raw power of a life-affirming gig. However, whilst their music carries that same energy from the live circuit, the album also sees them building out a holistic world full of texture and heart – the often hushed, contemplative lyrics touch on very personal topics looking at gender, sexuality, mental health, identity, and personal growth. Hear new album BLUSH HERE.
PLAYING: Saturday: 20:30-21:00 – Chalk
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TRAAMS

Having made a huge return in 2020 with their motorik single ‘The Greyhound’, which saw them collaborate with Black Country, New Road’s Lewis Evans. The influential Chichester trio recently released their first album in 7 years titled personal best via FatCat Records. With guest spots from the liked of Protomartyr frontman Joe Casey, Menace Beach’s Liza Violet, and Lowly’s Soffie Viemose, TRAAMS earned widespread acclaim from fans and media alike for the new album, which marked a real rebuilding and evolution of their sound. They’ve had a big impact on so many since their last release, with the likes of Protomartyr, Gilla Band, IDLES, Dry Cleaning and more all citing them as an influence, and whilst the new album still channels the same propulsive rhythms, discordant riffing, off-kilter pop melodies, and hypnotic bass lines that the band have previously been heralded for, it is also far more considered and nuanced. Here the band experiment with the introduction of synths, drum machines, softer vocal tones, and a stripping back of their previous dynamics and writing style due to limitations during lockdown and unavailability of equipment such as drum-kits (e.g. only two songs on the album contain live drums; previously a huge staple of their sound). Hear new album personal best HERE.
PLAYING: Saturday: 22:30 – 23:00 – Horatios
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WILLIE J HEALEY

Make no mistake about it, Willie J Healey is something special. Bringing songs from his forthcoming album ‘Bunny’ (25th Aug, YALA! Records) to Brighton for the weekend, his latest material leans more into his funk, soul, rock and R&B influences. His songwriting has won him fans including fans Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Joe Talbot of IDLES, Jamie T (who actually appears on Willie’s new album too), Orlando Weeks and Florence Welch. This summer he opens for Jamie T in Finsbury Park before touring through Europe as special guest to Arctic Monkeys. His own UK headline tour begins in November. Each of his latest singles have landed on the 6 Music playlist and his live show is really something – see him in a small venue next week. Listen to recent single ‘Thank You’ (ft. Jamie T) HERE.

WITCH FEVER

Covering both Kerrang! Magazine and UPSET Magazine, Manchester’s Witch Fever are a force to be reckoned with. They shared debut album Congregation last year via Sony’s Music For Nations to high praise. While the subject matter of their songs is often heavy, Witch Fever’s attitude certainly isn’t. Their videos have always been vivid and playful, showing the band having as much of a laugh on set as they do at their shows or in the studio, plus a wardrobe that’s very London Fashion Week meets Berlin club night. Hear recent single ‘Congregation’ HERE.

PLAYING: Friday: 22:00 – 22:30 – Volks

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All details for the full Great Escape Festival are at the Great Escape Website