New music search - Red Room hits Brighton
- By Adam Holden -
- Feb 17, 2012
There aren’t many better things in life than Brighton and new music, you’ve guessed it, here’s a guest blog on the two of them…
Living in the sleepy seaside town of Eastbourne means finding new music can be a robust mission, at the best of times. Thankfully, however, Brighton is bursting to the seams with new guitar riffs, harmonies and drum beats and is only a short journey along the coast away.
Arriving late, via train, (insert generic English whine) due to a thirst for a methanol-like poison that legally prevents me from driving, we made our way across town to the ‘Latest Music Bar’, a venue that claims to have had the likes of Amy Winehouse and The Kooks bless their stage, while attracting visitors such as Paul McCartney and Fat Boy Slim.
With dim-low key lighting, the ambience and atmosphere was perfectly set for the bar’s beatnik punters, my only problem was that I had no idea what genre of music was set to come on stage – although, being a betting man, my money wouldn’t be on anything too heavy and judging by the decor, it was pretty prognostic.
Due to Southern Railways ineptitude to run trains on time, I only caught the latter part of Travis Eddie, and judging by the crowds reactions, they must have been adequate. The Zoe Konez Band finished the night’s musical entertainment; a two piece band comprising of a beautiful and soft-singing-female vocalist, along with her guitar and drummer. With such insightful lyrics, told in such a narrative manner, her music was easily listenable and occasionally powerful when she let her full voice bellow out. Although talented, it seemed slightly too generic.
However, the best of the evening’s unsigned bands was sandwiched in the middle. The Steven Roberts Band stole the show with their acoustic folk set. Told by the crowd they were conventionally a four-piece band, the group sat on stage in a three –piece, apparently minus their base player. Nonetheless, the group still managed a thoroughly enjoyable set that even managed to squeeze in some charisma and comedy through the smiling faces of both guitarists. With a likeable attitude, the band was easily able to grab your attention and make you listen. But was their set actually good?
Well, you can be the judge of that when I tell you I was still singing the chorus of one of their songs in the shower the next morning. With powerful and fetching lyrics, elegant harmonies, capitulating riffs and drum beats that make you want to get involved and move (slightly – this is folk music), the group has captured the pure essence of folk-infused-indie-pop music, and the acoustic set more than connoted their sound. With an apparent new EP just recorded, and a South East and London tour scheduled this year, The Steven Roberts Band are well worth a listen.
Image by gareth1953 on Flickr
By Adam Holden.
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