PYNCH + PHN-TM + BIGHEAD TEA DRINKERS – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 22.4.23
London-based lo-fi four-piece Pynch have come a long way since frontman Spencer Enock first began recording demos in his parents’ basement in Ramsgate. Encouraged by plays on BBC Introducing and 6 Music, he moved to London and met up with keyboard player James and drummer Julianna. The addition of younger brother Scott on bass completed the band as a functioning live unit, and in 2019 they released a debut single ‘Disco Lights’ on the highly-regarded Speedy Wunderground label. The 2020 follow-up ‘Somebody Else’ scored considerable press attention, and has since clocked a creditable two million plays on Spotify.
It’s taken a few years, but the debut album ‘Howling At A Concrete Moon’ was finally released on 14th April 2023 on Chillburn Recordings, and the band are currently touring to promote it. Appropriately enough, the tour started in Margate, whose iconic brutalist block of flats Arlington House features on the album’s sleeve art. Following a London date at The Moth Club, tonight’s stop is Brighton at The Hope & Ruin, in a three-band show promoted by Love Thy Neighbour. The upstairs room has a capacity of 150, and it’s clear from the start that there’s been a pretty impressive turnout.
Opening proceedings tonight are Bighead Tea Drinkers, an interestingly monikered four-piece playing a poppy sort of indie rock. Originally formed in Essex as a duo with Freddie on guitar and Marshall on drums, they are now based in Brighton, augmented by the addition of Ellie on lead guitar and Kian on bass. The band are clearly still in the first flush of youth, and looking good on it.
Big stabs and drum hits launch ‘The Way She Goes’, which is propelled along with thumping floor tom and embellished with wailing lead guitar from Ellie, who flails her hair about whilst digging into a left-handed Strat. Marshall is busy round the kit again on ‘Hours’, which jogs along pleasantly enough with a naggingly catchy guitar motif. Freddie, who sports a nascent mullet hairstyle, has all the insouciance required of a classic indie vocalist, and bassist Kian looks like he’s having a lot of fun prowling the stage house right.
After the steady-paced ‘Why Don’t I Care?’, there’s quite a contrast with ‘You’re Not Gangster’, a thrashy piece with a shed-rock punk vibe worthy of The Chats. Written whilst still at school, we’re told it is rarely played these days. I’d put it straight back in the set, as for me it’s the best song by a country mile. Back to the present mode, recent single ‘Where Is the Love?’ features plenty of effective stops, pushes and fills, and some pleasing backing vocals. Final number ‘Tokyo’ elicits a crowd singalong, before a huge snare role ushers in an expansive playout. It’s been an impressive start to the show from a young band with plenty of potential.
Bighead Tea Drinkers:
Freddie Brindle – vocals, guitar
Ellie Hart – guitar, vocals
Kian Ramsey – bass, vocals
Marshall Tyce – drums, vocals
Bighead Tea Drinkers set:
‘The Way She Goes’
‘Hours’
‘Cowvas So’
‘Why Don’t I Care?’
‘You’re Not Gangster’
‘Where Is The Love?’
‘Tokyo’
Next up are PHN-TM, a six-piece psychedelic funk rock band from Brighton. The name seems to be a text-speak way of writing “Phantom”, doubtless to avoid confusion with already extant artistes of that name. An internet search reveals a surprising amount of acts using variations of PHNTM, which probably explains the hyphen. I’m told the band members all live together in a shared house (like The Monkees), which sounds unlikely but I’d like it to be true. They’re a fairly new outfit, formed in 2021, and their debut single ‘Prangatang’ is out on 28th April.
They open with the new single, which has a pleasing pop-psych vibe. Arranged across the stage, left to right, are Luke on guitar, Alex on keyboards, Ben on guitar, George or GMAN on bass, and Charlie on percussion. Behind the kit, drummer Martin has broken ranks with the general sartorial trend toward black and grey, wearing a red England football shirt (soon discarded) and brightly coloured shorts. A drum break leads us into the second number ‘Funk Tune’ which is an instrumental and does what it says on the tin. It is becoming clear that all the band members are very capable players indeed. GMAN stands out with some exceptional bass work.
‘Little Birdie’ is a bit of a treat. Opening with some beautifully played piano and expanding into a lilting groove, this impressive song puts me in mind of Steve Mason fronting The Beta Band, which is the highest praise I have available for modern-era pop-psychedelia. ‘Elevator Down To Earth’ is interesting, its languid vocal drifting over lots of rhythmic variations. ‘Lucidity’ is an uptempo psych-funk romp, notable for some stunningly high-speed thumb-slapped bass, and the excellent set concludes with ‘GMAN’, a piece named in honour of the fast-fingered bass wrangler. It’s a riff-based slab of jazzy funk, which gives the whole band scope for one last bit of showboating.
I have found PHN-TM’s material tremendously enjoyable, and judging by the crowd’s reaction, they have too. I’ll definitely be looking out for this band in future.
PHN-TM:
Ben Archibald – vocals, guitar
Charlie Chatfield – percussion
Alex Lemonidis – keyboards
Luke Harewood – guitar
GMAN (George Daniel) – bass
Martin Slade – drums
PHN-TM setlist:
‘Prangatang’
‘Funk Tune’
‘Little Birdie’
‘Two Steps South’
‘Elevator Down To Earth’
‘Lucidity’
‘GMAN’
It’s time for the headliners, and Pynch take the stage at 10pm. Lead vocalist Spencer is out front, slinging a salmon-pink Squier Strat and looking cool with a rakish ‘tash and a pair of ‘Monkey’ boots, a style of footwear I haven’t seen for a while. House right is younger brother Scott, a long scale player whose short scale bass emphasises his impressive height. He is lively and very animated, throwing plenty of cool poses from the start. Retro synth noises are an integral part of the Pynch sound, and house left is the bearded James. His array of tiny keyboards is arranged on a wooden board to facilitate their placement on a folding stand. Behind the kit, drummer Julianna looks prim and proper, hair tied back and with a black cardigan over a plaid culottes twin-set. She’s giving the kit a prim and proper thumping though, laying down a fluid and powerful beat.
Opener ‘Disco Lights’ moves along at a steady lick, overlaid with skittering electronics and clanging guitar chords. The vocals have a beautifully plaintive quality that contrasts with the insistent drums and busy bass line. I like it straight away, especially when some impressive lead guitar kicks in towards the end. Recent single ‘Tin Foil’ is brisk and catchy, and I’m rather taken with the lyrics, which are clearly audible and clearly clever. “I’m saving up for the apocalypse, ‘cos there are going to be deals…” A flurry of stops and pushes are underlined by thumping toms, and James gives the tiny synths a good workout. Two are by Roland, and seem packed with the squelchy swooshy tones of the Juno range from the 1980s, and there’s also a Yamaha with rotary knobs plus a white OP-1 which is about the size of a large mobile phone.
The room is impressively full, and Pynch are going down a storm, each number inspiring enthusiastic cheering. ‘Maybe’ has a particularly satisfying four chord progression and a catchy melody. I find ‘2009’ mildly amusing, with its wistful nostalgia for a time that seems like five minutes ago to someone my age. That date is fourteen years back now though, which is probably more than half a lifetime for most people here, so fair enough.
Spencer seems genuinely delighted to finally have the album released, and is effusive in his thanks to the audience for coming out to celebrate with the band. Album opener ‘Haven’t Lived A Day’ launches in an intoxicating swirl of synth arpeggios, and again there’s a strong melody line. I get a brief flashback of listening to Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera in the early 1980s.
“Do you guys like to dance?” enquires Spencer, as the electronics gently decay at the end. Of course we do. “Okay, in about four songs we’ll play one you can dance to,” he quips mischievously, introducing the rather downbeat ‘The City (Part 2)’. He assures us that the song is not about Brighton. The melancholic groove gives way to a big brash wig-out with lots of phasey noise swooping over the top.
We don’t actually have to wait four numbers for a bop, as ‘The City (Part 1)’, which counter-intuitively follows, is perfectly danceable. The rhythm is supplied electronically, freeing the smiling Julianna to stand up and dance whilst providing deft flourishes on the cymbals. Former single ‘Karaoke’ is another fine number, driven along by chugging bass and choppy rhythm guitar, the ending of each line punctuated by a well-placed tom hit.
‘How You Love Someone’ is introduced as a new number. Apparently it didn’t go well in the soundcheck, but it’s sounding mighty fine here, with a strong melody line. ‘London’ opens with a heavy beat and a synth bass that sounds deep enough to have originated in the bowels of the earth. Scott has put down his bass guitar and is grooving around the stage shaking a tambourine. As the song progresses he joins James behind the smorgasbord of tiny keyboards and the pair double up, with an organ-like lead sound eddying over the abyssal depths of the bottom end.
‘The Supermarket’ is another newish composition, with its reflective lyric underpinned by a descending chord pattern. Things are looking good for the second album, whenever that may be. They’ve saved the ‘hit’ for last, and ‘Somebody Else’ draws a rousing cheer when announced. It gets underway with thumping floor tom, and everyone seems to be having a dance, including me.
It’s been an excellent evening’s entertainment, and it’s gratifying to see the gig so well attended. I’ve been very impressed by all three bands, and have enjoyed Pynch’s witty and stylish take on melancholic indie pop enough to go and purchase myself a vinyl copy of their album.
Pynch:
Spencer Enock – vocals, guitar
Julianna Hopkins – drums
James Rees – synths
Scott Enock – bass
Pynch setlist:
‘Disco Lights’
‘Tin Foil’
‘Maybe’
‘2009’
‘Haven’t Lived A Day’
‘The City (Part 2)’
‘The City (Part 1)’
‘Karaoke’
‘How You Love Someone’
‘London’
‘The Supermarket’
‘Somebody Else’
