It’s a Saturday night in Brighton and band-on-the-up LibraLibra are back in town, so it would be terribly rude to stay indoors and miss them wouldn’t it! Thus we did the decent thing and headed down to Queens Road to grab some liquid refreshment and some aural pleasure!
First up this evening at The Hope & Ruin are trio Leibniz, who are not to be confused with the Mexican band of the same name or the chocolate biscuits or even Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz who was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. Tonight’s band are a queer-fronted grunge/alt-rock band from right here in Brighton. They officially came together back in August 2021, but since October of that year features Erin Munn (vocals/guitar), Elisha McKay (drums) and Jack Roberts (bass).
They released their debut single ‘Prove’ on 4th February last year and this was followed by ‘Pinocchio’ on 1st June. We understand that there is some new material in the pipeline that should hopefully see the light of days within the next few months.
It was good to see the venue pretty crowded for the first band this evening. It can be a bit of a worry when on early, but the audience were obviously keen to check them out.
Each member displayed a different energy tonight, with drummer Elisha remaining hidden behind their hair for the most part, bassist Jack was laid back throughout, and singer Erin was highly energetic. Their sound is grungy and this band would certainly appeal to fans of 90s alternative rock, but they aren’t just derivative of that era, as their sound is infused with the energy of a young, current band who have a genuine love for what they do. Suffice to say that they blitzed through their 8-song set list with an understated confidence. Their last single ‘Pinocchio’ was a stand out track tonight, and one which they’ve made a music video for, which you can watch HERE. Their set was a blast – an excellent start to energise the crowd.
You can next catch Leibniz in Brighton when they celebrate Erin’s birthday with a headline set at the East Street Tap on Saturday 8th April along with supporting acts Rolling Thunder and Hot Shame – Tickets available HERE. Following that they will be appearing at The Pipeline along with Cosmic Kitten, Shallow Honey and Fighting Colours on Saturday 29th April – Tickets currently available HERE.
Leibniz:
Erin Munn – guitar and vocals
Jack Roberts – bass
Elisha McKay – drums
Leibniz setlist:
‘Intro’ (unreleased)
‘New Cross Gate’ (unreleased)
‘Sandcastle’ (unreleased)
‘Prove’ (a 2022 single)
‘Parasite’ (unreleased)
‘No Body No Home’ (unreleased)
‘Pinocchio’ (a 2022 single)
‘Cold And Calculated’ (unreleased)
Next up it’s the turn of Headshrinkers who proudly announce to tonight’s crowd that they hail from the Black Country (West Midlands). These are not to be confused with the similar sounding ‘Thee Headshrinkers’ or the Toronto based outfit who used to share the same name, but now go under ‘Carpet Noise’. Our Headshrinkers are made up of Garran Hickman (vocals), James Knott (guitar), Xavier Al-Naqib (bass) and Scarlett Churchill (drums).
According to their Bandcamp profile, they state that they play “Unflinching poetry set atop confrontational searing lead guitar riffs, thunderous, driving bass-lines and pummelling drums is the unmistakable sound of Headshrinkers. Having formed in 2019 built on a vision of capturing modern life within their music, Headshrinkers have been quick to create a name for themselves in their local music scene and beyond”.
This evening they have a commanding presence and a slightly brutal edge, with singer Garran very much in the zone with their stage persona, which is very much like the headliner’s vocalist tonight, so Headshrinkers are a fitting support act for them.
My inkling on this matter is that Headshrinkers would work well as, and certainly deserve, a support slot with a band like Fontaines D.C. Tonight they sounded great, and have developed their style well – consistent, but not samey, and not predictable.
At one point vocalist Garran launched into a shouty, acapella verse, which the rest of the band joined in with after a short while. They did have one complaint about Brighton, which was a comment on how bad the parking is… A fair and honest criticism though! But hopefully they enjoyed their visit “down South” as much as the audience enjoyed their 8-tune set.
Headshrinkers are back in the studio soon, and will have an EP coming out later this year called ‘Judgement Day’ – keep your eyes peeled!
Headshrinkers:
Garran Hickman – vocals
James Knott – guitar
Xavier Al-Naqib – bass
Scarlett Churchill – drums
Headshrinkers setlist:
‘Plasticine’ (unreleased)
‘Doorway Conversation’ (from 2022 ‘Doorway Conversations’ EP)
‘Haggard Muggins’ (from 2022 ‘Doorway Conversations’ EP)
‘A Fallen Clown’ (unreleased)
‘My Dear’ (a 2022 single)
‘Bang Bang’ (unreleased)
‘How They Built Rome’ (a 2023 single)
‘Monocle’ (from 2022 ‘Doorway Conversations’ EP)
Next up were LibraLibra, our headliners, and this partial hometown gig marked the beginning of a UK tour for the band. These days the trio are I believe split based between Brighton and London. The band members are Beth Cannon (lead vocals), Guy Jones (keyboard, guitar, vocals) and Joe Caple (drums, keys, electronics).
They have been on the Brighton & Hove News radar for a few years now and at last they deservedly seem to be doing well at the moment, with their ‘CUT’ EP due to drop on 23rd March, which will feature a number of their live set highlights. The forthcoming tracks are both recent ‘Sadface’ and ‘Mother’s Ruin’ singles, as well as ‘Brainbeast’, ‘Hydra’, and ‘End Scene’.
LibraLibra have now certainly been getting a number of welcomed attention in the music press of late, including serious interest from Kerrang!’ and from BBC Introducing.
Singer Beth merges into character when she performs – with an intensity that is utterly mesmerising, especially when combined with her powerful vocals. She began the show by performing ‘Brainbeast’ amongst the audience, and immediately commanded our attention. The drumming from Joe was completely enthralling and brilliant and Guy switched between instruments tonight with ease, sounding fantastic – such a talent.
Next up was the recent single ‘Sadface’, which for me personally was a set highlight, and judging by it, also for many of the punters here this evening, as they were joyfully singing along to this relatively new tune. After ‘Hydra’, the as yet to be released ‘Kings Mansions’ and ‘Drugs’, we were served up ‘Lonely Girl’ which was equally as good as ‘Sadface’.
The crowd’s enjoyment of the show clearly affected Beth, as in between songs she stated she “really needed this tonight…” and seemed about to divulge further, before stopping herself and just simply saying “I won’t talk, I’ll just sing instead”.
LibraLibra concluded their set with a thrilling trio consisting of ‘Alchemy’, which can be located on last year’s ‘Modern Millennial’ EP; then their 2023 single ‘Mothers Ruin’ – which will reappear on their forthcoming ‘CUT’ EP – and they signed off with ‘End Scene’ (also from ‘CUT’), which is a joint vocal epic tune and when released in a few days time deserves wider coverage and was the perfect way to round off the night, albeit loudly!
All three members were incredible tonight – the band are on top form and it’s wonderful to see them flourishing. They certainly produced some magic and alchemy for us this evening!
LibraLibra:
Beth Cannon – lead vocals
Joe Caple – drums, keys, electronics
Guy Jones – keyboard, guitar, vocals
LibraLibra setlist:
‘Brainbeast’ (from forthcoming ‘CUT’ EP out 23rd March)
‘Sadface’ (a 2023 single & from forthcoming ‘CUT’ EP)
‘Hydra’ (from forthcoming ‘CUT’ EP)
‘Kings Mansions’ (unreleased)
‘Drugs’ (unreleased)
‘Lonely Girl’ (from 2020 ‘Hail Mary’ EP)
‘The Garden’ (unreleased)
‘Alchemy’ (from 2022 ‘Modern Millennial’ EP)
‘Mothers Ruin’ (a 2023 single & from forthcoming ‘CUT’ EP)
‘End Scene’ (from forthcoming ‘CUT’ EP)
