CHASTITY BELT + MEAGRE MARTIN – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 8.6.24
The Hope & Ruin is a hugely popular central Brighton venue. Renowned for nurturing new music it is invaluable to the music scene both locally and to the wider scene as a whole. According to the Music Venues Trust (MVT), the UK lost 125 venues in 2023 alone (over half shutting permanently) and most of the 835 remain at risk from soaring costs, plummeting profits and developers. The Hope & Ruin itself has fought off several threats in recent years but remains due to the unerring support of the community it supports and those who frequent the venue.
On our arrival at The Hope & Ruin, it was as usual (for a Saturday night in Brighton) extremely busy. The downstairs bar was full to the brim with a DJ playing, and the main music venue upstairs was filling quickly for the sold-out Chastity Belt gig. The stage was set up for the arrival of support band Meagre Martin.
Berlin-based alt-indie-rock trio Meagre Martin is led by singer-songwriter Sarah Martin. The band formed after Martin relocated to Germany in 2017. The trio found each other in Berlin having all followed their music careers to the German capital. Recruiting fellow American bandmates Max Hirtz-Wolf and Federico ‘Freddy’ Corazzini to form the three-piece in 2022, the band quickly became a fixture on the Berlin music scene. The band describe their 2023 album ‘Gut Punch’, as having a sound inspired by shoegaze, 90’s indie, or ‘faux country’. Their references smatter their work, with tones of Fleetwood Mac, Big Thief, Snail Mail, Cate Le Bon, Mac Demarco, and Lomelda rising to the surface as enjoyable snippet’s the trio have melded together with a light touch. Much to my enjoyment their form of dream-pop-Americana is having a bit of a moment with many bands mixing the genres to produce new and inventive hybrid. The band have been with Chastity Belt for the European leg of their tour describing the headliners as “Lovely”.
Opening the set with ‘Manic Pixie Girl Dream’, a lament on never fulfilling the ‘ideal’ of the M.P.D.G for an object of desire. Wistful, dreamy and introspective the song served as an introduction to the band. It connected with the audience immediately and underlined the warmth and likability of Martin’s vocal tones complimented by the musicianship of the trio. The bittersweet lyrics flowed over the reverb-tinged guitar licks and the steady flow of the bassline and drums.
Opening with a guitar lick which was pure distilled sunshine, the musical composition seemingly contradicting the title, ‘The Big Death’ featured the repetitive refrain of a wish to survive despite the chaos. ‘Mountain’ was a beautiful, melodic, heartfelt and dreamy plea to a lover. We’ve all laid awake as the face of a lover drifts across our mind’s eye. It’s a track that will be on repeat for some. It’s upbeat and delivers what the band describe as ‘faux country’. There are some great guitar riffs which bring home the meaning of the lyrics.
Martin then paused to tell the gathered crowd the story behind the next song, ‘Please Clap’. “This next song is based on a viral moment. On Jed Bush, and a speech that he made”. In fact when he finished there was no response from the crowd, so he had to say “Please clap”. It was very funny so it became the inspiration for this song. Slightly parred down compared to previous tracks, the music delivered the disappointment of a failed oration. The lyrics repeating a need to be wanted. The as-yet-unreleased ‘Ever That’ was introduced by Hirtz-Wolf who added that it may appear on the next project.
‘All My Thoughts’ was another standout in the set which is firmly stuck in my head. A meditation on grief, (or loss in general) and the feelings we explore as we attempt to understand and untangle the absence it creates. The track has a great bassline which transitions into the band’s signature ‘faux country’ dream-pop meets indie-rock fusion. Before introducing the next track Martin paused to thank the audience for attending telling them that the band was happy to be here for the second time in a year. Hirtz-Wolf then added that it was their second time at The Hope & Ruin in 2024. The first time they had been downstairs playing the pub stage, and now they were on the ‘real’ stage.
‘Never Wanted’ was reverb-heavy and punchy and ‘Frankie’ was upbeat with a repetitive, catchy chorus, heavier drums beat and a slowed vocal delivery from Martin. A music breakdown before reprise with even stronger vocal and music delivery and harmonies from Hirtz-Wolf.
Before that final song, the band thanked the crowd for coming with Martin checking that the audience remembered the band’s name. Which they did. The final song of the set was the new single ‘Malcolm’. Opening with a much heavier start, the rest of the track meanders between a slower mid-tempo and a heavier punchier up-tempo alternately ebbing and swelling instrumentally towards the end before finally fading out to reverb.
Though a relatively short set featuring only nine songs, (most of which were also on the shorter side) with the occasional reverb-rich, but mostly abrupt outro’s.The band left the stage without another word leaving those gathered suitably uplifted and warmed-up for the main act.
Meagre Martin:
Sarah Martin – vocals, guitar
Max Hirtz-Wolf – bass
Federico ‘Freddy’ Corazzini – drums
Meagre Martin setlist:
‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ (from 2024 ‘Gut Punch’ album)
‘The Big Death’ (from 2024 ‘Gut Punch’ album)
‘Mountain’ (from 2024 ‘Gut Punch’ album)
‘Please Clap’ (from 2024 ‘Gut Punch’ album)
‘Ever That’ (unreleased)
‘All My Thoughts’ (from 2024 ‘Gut Punch’ album)
‘Never Wanted’ (unreleased)
‘Frankie’ (unreleased)
‘Malcolm’ (a 2024 single)
The headliners of the night ‘Chastity Belt’ have been playing together for thirteen years and they have released five studio albums. Their fifth and most recent album, ‘Live, Laugh, Laugh’, was released in March this year. The new album made up the bulk of their set, with a few tracks from their older catalogue. The Washington (Walla Walla to be precise), four-piece combine alt-rock, noise-pop and pop-rock. The multi-instrumentalists were able to swap instruments with each other repeatedly between songs throughout the set.
As the band have matured so have the themes of their lyrical themes. The group self-describe their sound as “a balancing act between melancholy and optimism”. During their set, it was the points at which they found equilibrium that they were at their best. Their set featured tracks with longer instrumental sections full of contemplative and sometimes dreamy atmospheres and melodies that lift the more downbeat sections. Truscott’s basslines and Lund’s upbeat melodies coupled with their harmonies to lift Shapiro’s more spartan and introspective delivery. Occasionally a little too wispy Shapiro’s vocals were rendered largely indistinct until they became more forceful towards the latter half of the set.
As the band made their appearance on stage, Shapiro warming up her vocals the capacity crowd chatted among themselves almost oblivious to the band’s presence. It was only when Shapiro forcibly signalled that the set was about to start by greeting the audience that the din of voices started to die down.
The first track on the new album and of the set ‘Hollow’ opened with an upbeat intro in contrast to the reflective nature of the lyrics exploring a state of feeling unanchored and at a loss of how to move forward. The uplifting guitar and bass conjured the essence of a summer breeze and the moments of clarity they can bring when lost in thought. The second song ‘Laugh’ (found towards the end of the album) was again upbeat musically and introspective vocally. ‘Tethered’ had a haziness to it, a composition which somehow gives the distinct feeling of the dizziness, confusion and indecision that attraction can bring. A false break moved the song into a more optimistic refrain that had more throttle behind it.
‘It’s Cool’ featured a lead-in from Truscott on bass with a much lighter more optimistic composition, the lyrics discussing how it’s okay to be despondent, it needn’t mean anything bad. Once the applause diminished after ‘Ann’s Jam’ Shapiro took the opportunity to interact with the audience, “Thank you everyone! Is everyone ‘Live, Laugh, ‘Loving’? A little too much maybe?” (There was perhaps an indication that the band themselves had enjoyed themselves a little too much after a few of their previous shows and were now feeling it.) Shapiro continued, “We’re just in Europe for a week. This is our first show in the UK! Anyways, we’re happy to be in the UK, we love it! Playing here!” The audience applauded the band’s appreciation.
‘Kool-Aid’ one of the standout songs of the set and offers more dour, slightly discordant arrangements for both the lead and the bass. Truscott gave a slightly lower tone to her vocal, which blended with the instrumental to foster an undisclosed level of anxiety. ‘Kool-Aid’, synonymous with deception, and blind devotion ever since the ‘Jonestown Massacre’. The song pondered the difficulty of saying no. Just before ‘Funny’ there was a quick story about how the band had been swimming in the sea, during which one member had emerged covered in ‘slime’. The audience informed her this was the infamous Sussex ‘May Rot’ bemusing and amusing the band in equal measure. As soon as the opening bars of ‘Different Now’ played the audience reacted enthusiastically with whistles and cheers. The lyrical content resonated.
Swapping instruments for what I think must have been the third time in the night, Lund took the lead on the vocal for ‘I-90 Bridge’. The intro had something a little special, the hook sinking its claws in from the get-go. The change in vocal delivery made it stand out from other tracks. The steady rocky drumbeat carrying the song along is accompanied by a delightfully chewy bass line. The lyrics recall youthful romantic missteps.
‘Blue’, the last track of the set drew a huge amount of applause from the audience to Shapiro’s seeming surprise. “Thank you, WOW, what a treat playing for you all!” Clear that this was likely the last song, but holding out for the traditional encore the audience called out for the band to stay and play longer. Rather than playing the final song on the setlist as the encore ‘Joke’ from the 2015 ‘Time To Go Home’ album, the band took their leave of the stage.
Chastity Belt:
Julie Shapiro – vocals and guitar.
Lydia Lund – guitar
Annie Truscott – bass.
Gretchen Grimm –drums
Chastity Belt setlist:
‘Hollow’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Laugh’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Drown’ (from 2019 ‘Chastity Belt’ album)
‘Fear’ (from 2021 ‘Fake/ Fear’ single)
‘Chemtrails’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Tethered’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘It’s Cool’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Ann’s Jam’ (from 2019 ‘Chastity Belt’ album)
‘Kool-Aid’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Funny’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Different Now’ (from 2017 ‘I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone’ album)
‘I-90 Bridge’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
‘Time To Go Home’ (from 2015 ‘Time To Go Home’ album)
‘Blue’ (from 2024 ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ album)
