NORTH LONDON’S GIFTHORSE GALLOP INTO A PACKED ELEPHANT’S HEAD TO CELEBRATE ‘LOVE IS A LANDSLIDE’

North London’s buzziest new quintet, GIFTHORSE, galloped into a packed Elephants Head on Friday night to celebrate the release of their empowering new breakup anthem, ‘Love Is a Landslide‘.

Formed by the songwriting partnership of Naomi Mann (lead vocals) / Charlie Butler (guitar, backing vocals), twins Zak (drums) and Iggy (bass) and Hilton (synth), the group have released three singles, received praise from BBC 6 Music, Radio X, and So Young Magazine and become hotly-tipped on the London circuit. They’re imminently preparing to tour with FEET, Tough Cookie and Altered Images. They’ll also be making an appearance at Kendal Calling, a festival we’re very fond of.

Their latest offering, Love is a Landslide, is sharper, bolder and more sonically adventurous, expanding on their self-coined style of ‘Frazzled English Pop‘ which started in 2025. The single introduces a noisier edge to the band’s pop-focused foundations.

Left To Right: Iggy, Charlie, Hilton, Zak and Naomi (Charlie Wright, @photos.bycharlie)

Written from singer Naomi’s reflections on ill-fated teenage relationships, but narrated from adult clarity, the synth-led anthem transforms youthful heartbreak into a triumphant moment of self-empowerment. It channels classic pop nostalgia while feeling unmistakably modern, a theme which runs through everything they do, from the way they dress to their flower-decorated live presence.

To celebrate on release day, the band hosted a launch party at Elephant’s Head with support from Lost Alice. The Camden pub is known for hosting some of the most exciting new bands, with Bleech 9:3 playing just days prior. GIFTHORSE put the call-out online, inviting fans to join the party. And, they showed up in their masses.

The group squeezed their way through the excited crowd to decorate the stage with flowers, while receiving cheers and applause from eager punters.

Without much hesitation, the group dove into their nine-track setlist, starting with the glistening ‘Please Love Me’ before showcasing an abundance of unreleased music (‘Silent Disco‘, ‘Friday’s Girl‘, ‘Stranger Baby‘ and ‘Spring In London‘). All of which encouraged the room to dance, wave their arms in the air and lose themselves to the music on a warm Friday evening.

Between this new material was the coming-of-age anthem ‘13 Going On 30‘, which was released late last year and has already become a fan-favourite.

Elsewhere, ‘Love is a Landslide‘ went down a storm, followed by ‘Gregory’s Girl‘ and ending on one of our favourites, ‘Hackney Northern Soul‘, with Naomi tossing her flowers into the audience to round things off (something the band have adopted as a show tradition).

Speaking to the band afterwards, they explained:

“Friday couldn’t have gone better. We’ve played to 5 people so to have a packed room of people there to see us was a privilege not lost on us. It was extra special to do it at the Elephant’s Head, a venue which has supported us from the beginning and provided a welcome stage for us to hone our craft.

It’s incredible what they’ve done with the place, transforming it from an old man’s pub no one touched to the venue every buzzy band goes through. It’s put Camden back on the musical map once more. Shout out to sound man Jeffrey and booker Martin, who have both helped us out endlessly.

It was a thrill to see so many people in the crowd singing back our songs and flailing around Naomi’s flowers. We even had people sending us photos from their tube ride home with tulips in hand! It was a night we will never forget and it’s only the beginning.“

While the show was dedicated to celebrating their latest gift, we can’t help but also fall in love with everything to come. The group have a growing catalogue of unreleased material, which they chop and change, and catching them live is the only way you can hear many of these charming new additions.

GIFTHORSE are already cultivating something special, and now is the time to join them on their journey.