ROSIE ALENA + THE LEANING + JELLY CLEAVER + LADYLIKE – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 22.2.23
Brighton’s monthly new music discovery night, ‘Hidden Herd Presents’ returned to The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday night. This event spotlights emerging artists and ones-to-watch and for February it featured four up-and-coming new bands Rosie Alena, The Leaning, Jelly Cleaver and Ladylike.
Ladylike
Local Brighton-based four-piece band, Ladylike opened February’s ‘Hidden Herd Presents’. They are Georgia on vocals and guitar with Archie on a six-string bass, Spencer on synth and guitar and James on drums.
Ladylike have had a busy start to 2023 appearing at Love Thy Neighbour’s “Triptych” series (you can read our report HERE) and supporting Shady Baby at The Green Door Store (review HERE). I was looking forward to seeing them again, and listening to their “dream wave new gaze” sound.
There was a gentle introduction to the Ladylike set and first song ‘Losing Pace’. Ladylike’s playful shifting sound was showcased on this track and throughout their set, with an intricate guitar section mid-song and later the jangle guitars familiar in 80’s indie music.
Another notable feature of Ladylike’s performance was the splendid vocals of frontwoman Georgia, which were captivating and quite haunting at times. On the second song ‘Language Unknown’ there were hints of Kate Bush in her singing.
Their third song ‘Independent Wrestler’ was more up-tempo with a funkier sound. Archie provided a great bassline, and James’s drumming was more obvious, without overpowering the rest of the band. By contrast ‘Shame’ started quietly with Georgia on guitar with Spenser on synth and Archie on bass providing a simple understated backing, before the song mixed loud and quiet sections.
Towards the end of Ladylike’s set a louder upbeat side of their sound emerged. ‘Operation Repeat’ was a thumping number, which mixed 60’s pop and post-punk influences. On the final song of their set ‘Motorcar Racing’, the band went up through the gears increasing the tempo, with Georgia and Archie on guitars matching the speed of Spenser on synth and James on drums.
Both Georgia’s sublime vocals and the band’s musicianship were comfortable with the mix and shifting sounds within their songs and across their set from dream pop to faster up-tempo songs.
When Ladylike came on stage just after 8pm, there were only a few people upstairs at The Hope & Ruin to see their set. People started arriving during the set and seemed appreciative and impressed with Ladylike’s performance. I think it was Ladylike’s best performance I’ve seen, keeping that dreamy, melodic sound, while becoming more assured and sharper as a band. One to watch, I think.
Ladylike:
Georgia – vocal and guitar
Archie – bass
Spenser – synth and guitar
James – drums
Ladylike setlist:
‘Losing Pace’
‘Language Unknown’
‘Independent Wrestler’
‘Shame’
‘Operation Repeat’
‘Left Out’
‘Motorcar Racing’
Jelly Cleaver
Next on stage was Jelly Clever with just her electric guitar and a laptop on a chair. Jelly Cleaver is a guitarist, activist, producer and singer-songwriter from South London. She uses music to address community and the need to change society.
Jelly Cleaver’s sense of politics and wanting to change the world was obvious from her opening song ‘Windrush’ about racism and immigration with a focus on how the asylum system treats children.
Before playing her latest release ‘Dream Manifesto’, Jelly Cleaver quoted Angela Davis, the American political activist and academic on how you need to dream of a better future before you can make it happen. The song started with a clip of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.
Her political lyrics were sung in a wonderful soulful voice.
Musically there was an interesting mix of style through Jelly Cleaver’s set. Her style moved freely across different genres, from spiritual jazz to raw and rebellious post-punk. She went from hip-hop beats to playing Jimi Hendrix inspired guitar solos. For example, while the second track was a folk cover, the third track her debut release ‘Feeling Fine’ had a late-night jazz club feel about it. The mix of styles didn’t detract from the performance, but added variety.
The tradition prescribed setlist seemed to have been foregone, in favour of an improvised approach.
Jelly Cleaver included her interpretation of The Velvet Underground’s ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’, which worked very well. She closed her set with a new song ‘The Mirrors‘ which was a beautiful soul number, with an intricate guitar section.
The audience were very quiet and respectful during Jelly Cleaver’s set. Saying that she got a very good and well-deserved reception at the end.
The Leaning
On these “Hidden Herd Presents” monthly showcase events, they like to mix up the musical styles of the bands in the bill. So next up, The Leaning were a distinct change from Jelly Cleaver.
The Leaning are a local band formed by Sam Jordan, an ex-ballet dancer, and Ez Stone, a tattoo artist. Later and for live shows, the larger group included a rotating musical collective. Like Ladylike, The Leaning also appeared at the Triptych events in January – Read our report HERE.
Apart from the obvious that the stage was a lot more crowded with a five-piece band, but their sound was very different to Jelly Cleaver. The Leaning’s style sound was much louder and mixed psych-noise, surf pop and yacht rock.
The subject matter of the songs between the two acts was also a contrast. Jelly Cleaver’s political lyrics contrasted with The Leaning’s more abstract topics and mentions of the moon and stars.
A sizeable crowd had arrived for the start of The Leaning set, ‘Surf And Destroy’. There was a mixed reaction to the band’s entrance, while a sizeable section greeted the band with noisy cheers; others continued their between-band conversations.
The Leaning’s songs were relatively longer than the other bands on the bill. The first song’s outro blended into the intro of ‘Beyond The Second Door’.
Their third number ‘Angle Of The Moon’ had a quieter start with Sam singing a capella, and the whole band singing a capella at the end of the track. It wasn’t just the similarly of song title to The Waterboys ‘Whole Of The Moon’, but also The Leaning’s sound has hints of The Waterboys about it.
The next song ‘Voices’ started with Sam on his acoustic guitar before the whole band joined in ending in a musical frenzy to close.
The final song from The Leaning ‘Ladies Dance’ started with a melodic introduction, and saw Sam and Ez break out into their own dance moves. A key feature of this song in particular, and the set in general, was Declan Haughian’s quality drumming.
It was a decent performance by The Leaning. They created a good atmosphere in the audience, the majority of whom clearly enjoyed the band’s set. The Leaning seem to be building a following on Brighton’s live music scene.
The Leaning:
Sam Jordan – lead vocals and acoustic guitar
Ez Stone – lead guitar, vocals
Fred Helmer – bass
Declan Haughian – drums
Jamey Bullers – keyboard
The Leaning setlist:
‘Surf And Destroy’ (from 2022 ‘Long Lost Lagoon Collection’ EP)
‘Beyond The Second Door’ (unreleased)
‘Angle Of The Moon’ (unreleased)
‘Voices’ (unreleased)
‘Ladies Dance’ (unreleased)
Rosie Alena
Headlining February’s “Hidden Herd Presents” event was Rosie Alena, a singer-songwriter from London. For her first appearance in Brighton, she was joined on stage by four musicians, Casper Miles on guitar, Stella Alkan on drums, Haydon Wynn on cello and Michael Dunlop on bass.
When Rosie Alena and her band came on stage many of the audience from The Leaning’s set hadn’t returned. Their loss.
Rosie Alena started the set with an atmospheric, moody synth soundtrack, before ‘Who Do I Call’. The song had ethereal vocals with a simple but beautiful melody. Both singer and band stood very still during this song, which fitted the mood of the song.
Before the next track, Rosie announced that she was excited to be playing her first ever show in Brighton.
The volume and tempo increased for the second song ‘Cruel Lover’ with the song closing with a gentle guitar outro. After two songs from Rosie Alena’s debut EP, ‘Loophole’ was a new song. By this stage of the performance Rosie became more animated breaking into dance, in line with the music.
By now many more people had returned upstairs to catch the final act.
‘The Light’ had a cheeky feel about it reminiscent of 1960’s French psychedelic pop, while ‘God’s Garden’ was a lively up-tempo number.
Rosie explained that she’d written the next song ‘Equal Plains’ was written with guitarist Casper Miles. Rosie’s vocals were set to an unpretentious arrangement of guitar and cello accompaniment. This wasn’t the only time in the set that Haydon Wynn’s cello played a key role in the band’s sound. The addition of his electric cello added depth to the sound.
Rosie hinted that the next song ‘Everyman’ is likely to be her next single release. It was a highlight of the set.
‘Adore Me’ was another special song. Rosie’s hauntingly beautiful vocals built throughout the song, Musically the match was spot on with its laid-back French psychedelic cinematic sound including shimmering cymbal and cello. Rosie Alena closed their very enjoyable set with another new song, ‘Sun’.
Rosie and her band seemed to grow into their set. It was more than just another indie dream pop sound; there was an elegance and certain chic about Rosie’s vocals and her music.
Although Rosie Alena has no dates in the diary to play Brighton soon. Based on their “Hidden Herd Presents” performance, it will be worth watching out for their return to the city.
Rosie Alena:
Rosie Alena – vocals
Casper Miles – guitar
Stella Alkan – drums
Haydon Wynn – cello
Michael Dunlop – bass
Rosie Alena setlist:
‘Who Do I Call’ (from 2022 ‘Pixelated Images’ EP)
‘Cruel Lover’ (from 2022 ‘Pixelated Images’ EP)
‘Loophole’ (unreleased)
‘The Light’ (from 2022 ‘Pixelated Images’ EP)
‘God’s Garden’ (from 2022 ‘Pixelated Images’ EP)
‘Equal Plains’ (unreleased)
‘Everyman’ (unreleased)
‘Adore Me’ (from 2022 ‘Pixelated Images’ EP)
‘Sun‘ (unreleased)
Next month’s ‘Hidden Herd Presents’ will be taking place at The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday 22nd March 2023 with none other than Pixx headlining, and joined on the bill by Flip Top Head, TV Room and Coco And The Lost. You can purchase your tickets HERE. For more about ‘Hidden Herd’ visit HERE.
Last month’s Hidden Herd’s ‘New Music Spotlight’ event took place on 18th January and featured Legss, Welly, Oslo Twins and Paris Blue. Read the Brighton & Hove News account of that night HERE.
