The next monthly instalment of up-and-coming bands to watch out for from ‘Hidden Herd’ promoters has been announced this morning and will feature a varying quartet of artists headed by Mandrake Handshake and will also feature live sets from Tinman, Baby Gem and Ruby Doomsday. This will be taking place at The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday 18th September and tickets for this event and all the other ‘Hidden Herd’ shows can be located HERE.
Brighton & Hove News are certainly no strangers to Mandrake Handshake having reviewed them a couple of years ago at the Sebright Arms, which is located at 31-35 Coate Street, London, E2 9AG, and is considered one of London’s finest small venues. As our reviewer claimed at the time “I most certainly had to go just to ensure that they are as brilliant as I remember”. In fact, here is his account of that night……
MANDRAKE HANDSHAKE – SEBRIGHT ARMS, BETHNAL GREEN, LONDON 28.1.22
Mandrake Handshake were formed in Oxford where they lived, hung out and rehearsed together on campus. The eclectic group were christened after a song by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, incorporating their influences of krautrock, funk, Japanese animation and Latin pastoral poetry to create a unique brand of ‘Flowerkraut’ that vividly defines their sound.
Tonight at the Sebright Arms, they take to the stage with the guitarist wearing a ‘Fire Warden’ armband. It’s comforting to know that someone is looking after health and safety. With eight musicians onstage things are a bit snug, but they all know where their respective stations are. Vocalist Trinity Oksana and percussionist Elvis Thirlwell are effectively joint frontpeople. Elvis is no Bez however. He is clearly a proper musician, despite his somewhat ‘out there’ onstage persona, and a closer comparison would be Ray Cooper, Elton John’s percussionist, and indeed, percussionist to the stars. A proper musician!
It becomes clear that Mandrake Handshake are greater than the some of their influences. There’s a bit of Jefferson Airplane here, a bit of Sly And The Family Stone there. It’s easy to overlook the band’s jazz influences though. A number of their songs feature bars in 5/4. One song has no lyrics, but features Trinity indulging in some scat singing. The musicianship throughout is superb. One gets the impression that these people could do pretty much anything musically. At one point the guitarist, bassist and drummer appear to be jamming like Crazy Horse, whereas the rest of the band just carry on. It looks chaotic, but at no point is the music’s cohesion lost.
This band is absolutely fascinating, and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone who likes music outside of the mainstream. I don’t know where the band are going next, but one thing is clear – they could really do with a bigger stage. If they carry on the way they are, I don’t think it will be too long before they get one.
The Mandrake Handshake ‘Shake the Hand That Feeds You’ EP can be streamed HERE or you can purchase the physical 12” vinyl edition (out 15th March) HERE.
Now let’s meet the other bands that will be performing at The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday 18th September:
TINMAN is the moniker of songwriter and frontman Austin Pritchard, who leads an ensemble of exceptional musicians from bands such as Skydaddy, Ideal Living and Soft Top. Delving into psychedelic folk, the five-piece blends acoustic guitar, piano synthesizer, bass and drums to craft dreamy melodies that sway like rowboats on rivers. Their cathartic sound, enriched with chorus-soaked sounds and four-part vocal harmonies, lends a timeless feel to lyrics that reflect Pritchard’s personal experiences of modern life. Formed in early 2023, TINMAN have quickly made their mark on the South Coast scene and beyond, performing alongside The Goa Express, CIEL, Langkamer and AtticOmatic, and selling out their debut headline show at The Folklore Rooms. They released their wondrous debut single ‘Lady By The Lake’ via Crafting Room Recordings last year and are currently gearing up to its eagerly-awaited follow-up.
www.instagram.com/thebandoftinman
Brighton-based group Baby Gem are a five-piece that weave together avant-garde prog, folk and rock to create cinematic 70s-esque sounds. Once described as “Future Fleetwood Mac” (or “Future Mac”), the band’s music comprises dark, otherworldly tones of introspection and contemplative realism alongside soft and melancholic beauty. On the back of three excellent singles – ‘Gypsy Boy’, ‘Eve Was Framed’ and ‘Thick Heat’ – Baby Gem have built significant momentum on the Brighton live circuit, supporting the likes of Helen Ganya, Dana Gavanski and Cordelia Gartside, as well as playing the sold-out Homegrown Festival and Slack City’s Slackscape with Hutch and Holiday Ghosts.
