ENGLISH TEACHER – RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 12.4.24
On the day they released their debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’, Leeds indie band English Teacher played Brighton’s Resident Records with a spectacular stripped-back instore show.
Brighton concert goers had a foretaste of some of the songs from the album, when English Teacher headlined at The Hope & Ruin last year (review HERE) and at ‘Mutations Festival’.
Well before the doors opened, a long queue of record buyers had formed along Kensington Gardens eager to see this hotly tipped band. Eagle eyed people in that queue may have noticed the band on the store’s roof terrace before their performance inside.
There was a sense of excited anticipation within the store as people waited for the band to appear. At the start of their set, singer Lily Fontaine admitted they were very emotional with it being the release day of their album. She later confided it had been “the weirdest day of our lives”, before one of the band wryly admitted breakfast had been paracetamol’s.
Their first song of the evening, and the album, was ‘Albatross’. The song started gently with beautiful vocals from Lily, a key feature throughout the evening.
The band’s personnel was the usual line up, but a slightly different arrangement. Douglas Frost swapped his drum kit for keyboards behind the counter, with Lily sitting in front with guitarist Lewis Whiting and bassist Nicholas Eden. As the band usually stood at concerts, a seated Lily joked, “I might start learning to play drums, rather than running around the stage.” Referring to the evening’s stripped-back set, she announced they’d be back with “a full rock format”, a phrase that set off her giggles. That was a reference to opening their biggest UK tour to date in Brighton at Concorde 2 on Wednesday 8th May. Unsurprisingly this show, along with the rest of the tour, has already sold out.
Back to the music and the instore show. The second song ‘I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying’ was a quicker song. The fast vocal part where Lily sang as if there were two people going back and forth with “You’re crying”, “Not crying” could’ve been a tongue twister, but was delivered perfectly.
The third song ‘Mastermind Specialism’, we were told was about indecision. It began with Douglas’s subtle clever keyboard and beautifully simple arrangement. Early in the song Lily’s delivery was like reading a poem, and at other times on this song more like chanting.
Next was the title track of the album ‘This Could Be Texas’, which was about writing an album, well-trodden paths, and places seeming similar even though they are far apart. The lucky crowd in Resident were the first to hear this song played live. Lily started with spoken words over the keyboards at the start of this song. Douglas played a clever clipped section on keyboards later as the song built, which reminded me a little of ABBA’s ‘Mamma Mia’. There were intricate musical changes skilfully worked throughout the tune. This song may have been new and less familiar to the audience, but its clever structure and flawless delivery got one of the biggest applause of the evening thus far.
Lily explained the next track ‘You Blister My Paint’ was inspired by the novel ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Anthony Burgess. Lily sang softly at the start with her voice becoming more powerful as the track built. This was the quietest song they played, and there was respectful silence from those watching at Resident.
The next song and the final one on the album ‘Albert Road’ was about Lily’s home town of Colne, Lancashire. We were told it was about “Chips, gravy, cheese, everyday life there and how it changes”. English Teacher are masters of clever wordplay around their observations of apparently unremarkable and commonplace things. When the band asked if anybody had been to Colne, they were surprised when somebody on the south coast said they had. Lily jokingly replied defending her home town with “What are you doing down here then?” raising a laugh from the Brighton crowd.
At the start of ‘Albert Road’ Lily sang softly to Lewis’s guitar and Nicholas’s bass. As the song built and the keyboards joined, it became a rousing tune as Lily soaring vocals screamed out lyrics near the end before its climatic ending.
Before the last song, there was a burst of ‘Happy Birthday’ for their manager Peter, with the band admitting they had bought him a Pot Noodle as a birthday present.
Lily thanked the audience saying “We’re just four silly little guys. And we love that you’ve come out to see us.” She added “I’ve really enjoyed myself”. From the real buzz around the store, I’m sure everybody in Resident on Friday evening enjoyed themselves too with that special performance.
They closed with ‘Nearly Daffodils’, their recent single release and the quickest song of their set, which had many people in the audience moving along to the song’s beat. It was a fitting song to close on.
English Teacher gave a musical masterclass with Lily’s stunning vocals across a range of styles. There was clever word play married with creative song structures, all delivered by superb musicianship. It was one of the best instore performances, I’ve had the pleasure to see.
You can get yourself a copy of English Teacher’s debut album, ‘This Could Be Texas’ from Brighton’s Resident Records.
English Teacher:
Lily Fontaine – vocals
Douglas Frost – keyboard (usually drums too)
Nicholas Eden – bass
Lewis Whiting – guitar
English Teacher setlist:
‘Albatross’
‘I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying’
‘Mastermind Specialism’
‘This Could Be Texas’
‘You Blister My Paint’
‘Albert Road’
‘Nearly Daffodils’
All the songs from the 2024 ‘This Could Be Texas’ album.
www.instagram.com/englishteacherband
