LOVE FOR THE PEACHES + HEIGHTS + HONGZA – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 28.2.24
February may be the shortest month, yet ‘Hidden Herd’ promoters still managed to fit in a third night of emerging new bands. On Wednesday at The Prince Albert, they showcased exciting local artists Love For The Peaches and HEIGHTS with London based Hongza completing the line up.
I’ll start with the headliners, indie band Love For The Peaches. Brighton concert goers will recognise their band members from the band Thyla. Their vocalist Millie Duthie, bassist Dan Hole and drummer Danny Southwell reformed as Love For The Peaches after the birth of Millie’s child. The new band’s line up was completed by their producer Josh Harrison on guitar. Brighton & Hove News were at Thyla’s last show. You can read our review HERE.
Back to the present. Love For The Peaches opened their set with their latest single ‘Wishing Well’ released only the previous week. When Millie and Josh swapped guitars before the next song, they partook in a bit of maypole dancing to avoid getting tangled in the leads from their instruments. With Millie on acoustic guitar, that next song ‘Blazers’ soon built to an alt-rock tune.
The next four songs were from their 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP. Millie told us she wrote ‘Closure’ two days before her baby was born, about how her world was about to change. She explained that ‘Carmen’ was about her alter-ego, and we had two of her on that track. There were influences of 1990’s alternative rock bands such as Sixpence None The Richer on those songs.
There was a distinct change in sound on the new unreleased material, which completed a very entertaining set. ‘Do The Hairs Still Stand Up’ was written by bassist Dan. Its thumping drums, strong bass line with haunting vocals by both Millie and Dan created an interesting unique sound.
The band started the next song, while Millie was still taking her shoes off to dance. Unlike most of the set, where Millie started singing to one other instrument, ‘Enjoy The Show’ had a loud opening with a synth part added. Her vocals, which included a spoken word narrative, danced between the music, which soared to a loud alt-rock track. Her freeform dancing reminded me of early Kate Bush videos. The change in sound may have caught the audience by surprise, as there was a moment’s silence after the track, as they took in what they’d heard before loudly applauding.
Another new song, ‘Is It Real’, which was written during lockdown, closed the set. That was closer in style to their earlier material.
It was a quality entertaining show from Love For The Peaches, enjoyed very much by the crowd at The Prince Albert. The variety between their released and new material worked well, and bodes well for them.
Love For The Peaches:
Millie Duthie – vocals and guitar
Dan Hole – bass
Josh Harrison – guitar
Danny Southwell – drums
Love For The Peaches setlist:
‘Wishing Well’ (a 2024 single)
‘Blazers’ (a 2023 single)
‘I Need A Medic’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Caravan Girl’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Closure’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Carmen’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Do The Hairs Still Stand Up’ (unreleased)
‘Enjoy The Show’ (unreleased)
‘Is It Real’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/loveforthepeaches
Brighton-based HEIGHTS (real name Chelsie) creates emotive alt-pop by combining 80s new wave with 90s dream pop, sprinkled with 00s alternative indie. I first caught HEIGHTS at last year’s Alternative Escape playing Unbarred Brewery. Since that promising performance, she has played The Great Escape’s First Fifty, and been named as one of SoundCloud’s Artists To Watch.
On Wednesday, she was joined by Kieran on drums and Jamie on bass. Those two were on stage as the synth part of ‘Let Me Show You’ started, with HEIGHTS entering the room and stage a few bars in. Her stunningly beautiful vocals shone with the song’s delicate arrangement. ‘Glow’, from the EP of the same name, was another mellow song, before the tempo increased on ‘Astronaut’, which was more of a dance track.
HEIGHTS moved to play the next song solo on keyboards. The ballad ‘If You Notice’ was the softest of the set, and beautifully delivered with such warmth in her voice. It was one of those dreamy songs you can lose yourself in.
The tempo increased on the next few songs, as HEIGHTS became more animated dancing along to those songs.
HEIGHTS announced ‘Swinging As I Go’ as her next single released on 8th March. It was a lively song with a great beat and powerful vocals, pop music at its best. ‘Breathe’ was one of the more complex songs in the set with clever changes through the song. That saw HEIGHTS swapping between singing centre stage and keyboard.
For the final track, and her latest single, ‘Dreaming Of You’, there was a return to the dreamier feel with an upbeat tune.
HEIGHTS delivered one of the most beautiful vocal performances I’ve heard in a long time. From dreamy ethereal to upbeat alt-pop, her celestial voice was pure class from start to finish. The contribution of Kieran and Jamie should not be overlooked, as they provided great rhythms to showcase her amazing voice. It was a treat to see how HEIGHTS has developed over the last year since that slot at The Alternative Escape. She’s most definitely one to watch.
If you missed HEIGHTS at Hidden Herd’s showcase, she’s headlining at The Folklore Rooms on Thursday 11th April. Tickets are available HERE.
HEIGHTS:
Chelsie – vocals and keyboards
Kieran – drums
Jamie – bass
HEIGHTS setlist:
‘Let Me Show You’ (from 2020 ‘LMSY’ EP)
‘Glow’ (from 2023 ‘Glow’ EP)
‘Astronaut’ (a 2023 single)
‘If You Notice’ (from 2023 ‘Glow’ EP)
‘Hell Bent’ (unreleased)
‘Swinging As I Go’ (unreleased)
‘Breathe’ (from 2020 ‘LMSY’ EP)
‘Dreaming Of You’ (a 2024 single)
Opening on Wednesday night was British-Vietnamese artist Hongza. The North London singer previously led shoegaze band DAZE. For his live set at The Prince Albert, he was part of a five-piece band featuring another guitarist, bassist, drummer and a keyboard player with the laptop.
Hongza had a very accomplished indie guitar sound with plenty of emotions and feelings in his vocals. The keyboardist added an ethereal note with both her backing vocals and instrument. There were also hints of post-punk from the likes of Bauhaus in some of the guitar parts.
Among the energetic upbeat numbers, there was quiet personal reflection on ‘I Hate My Skin’. Hongza explained it was about growing up searching for an identity as an Asian youth picked on at school because of the way he looked.
After that slower song, the new single out soon, ‘She Changes The Weather’ took the tempo back up. The set was based around powerful guitar-based pop songs, none more so than the impressive closing song ‘Kill You’.
It was an assured, energetic start to a great evening’s entertainment from Hongza. It certainly went down well with the audience judging by their cheering at the end of the set.
You can catch Hongza, when he returns to Brighton as part of The Great Escape Festival in May.
It was another night of exciting new artists from ‘Hidden Herd’, who keep finding undiscovered gems month after month. As well as their showcase evenings, they have an all-day event at Green Door Store on Saturday 9th March. Tickets available HERE.
