TRAMHAUS + IDEAL LIVING – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 21.11.24
Tramhaus, who have just dropped their ‘First Exit’ album (check it out HERE), are the daring post punk sensation from the restless and ever-innovative city of Rotterdam. In the span of their relatively short existence, Tramhaus has managed to make a name far beyond the borders of their hometown. Marked by their joyous and energetic experience, the band have proven to be able to convey this message both in live and recorded settings. The music of Tramhaus feels like a soundtrack to a vivacious, mysterious, and dangerous story. There is no room to lean back as the band takes you with them in a drag race full of emotions and euphoria driven by streamlined, fiery songs mixed with fragile and abstract tones. This whole spectacle is fueled by the near-symbiotic relationship between the five band members.
Tramhaus played in Brighton last year as part of ‘The Great Escape’ and our team managed to catch their performances at the Waterbear venue on 12th May and at Three Wise Cats on 13th May. Our account of the 12th May concert ended by reviewer Richie Nice stating “It’s the first time in the UK for Tramhaus, and I very much hope they come back soon” and the 13th May reviewer, Mark Kelly, concluded his review by saying “At the end of the gig I feel like I’ve just played a particularly tough rugby match. This is actually testament to what a great live band Tramhaus are. Sadly they have no further UK dates booked at the moment. Surely there’s a promoter with some decent musical taste who could do something about that?”. With such positive feedback, I felt it essential that I go and see for myself what Tramhaus have to offer!
We make our way to The Hope & Ruin on Queens Road in order to catch Tramhaus’ headline set, which has been organised by Acid Box promoters. Present and correct from the band were Lukas Jansen (vocals), Julia Vroegh (bass), Micha Zaat (guitar), Nadya van Osnabrugge (guitar) and Jim Luijten (drums). They are set to deliver a 64 minute, 16 tune set for us that commenced at 9:10pm. The first floor venue room is busy but sadly not at full capacity. I spy that Gretsch and Fender guitars are instruments of choice along with a Fender bass. I’m sure that many folks’ first impressions are exactly how tall frontman Lukas actually is as he opens with “Hello Brighton, glad to be back!”. In fact within literally a few seconds of starting up, Lukas showed us exactly how much energy he has, but then he topples over one of the floor speakers and ends up flailing around like an upturned tortoise. He tells us that he has hurt his wrist, but the show must go on and no further mentions of this occurred.
Also at the beginning, it was notable that one of the guitars wasn’t sounding quite right, and I was wondering whether it had been tuned correctly, but a giveaway smile and shaking of the head would indicate that someone had played the wrong notes! Oh well…move on! Their opening number this evening was ‘The Cause’ which is the first of all nine tracks played this evening off of their latest from ‘The First Exit’ album, which dropped back on 20th September. It dawns on me how much Lukas moves around like Mick Jagger and at a few times during the night, even sounds like him for a few split seconds here and there. He has the magnetism and I find myself continually watching him, so much so to the detriment of his bandmates.
Their 2022 ‘I Don’t Sweat’ single is the band’s second choice and was followed by two more cuts from their new debut album in the form of ‘Once Again’ and ‘Semiotics’. It’s evident that these guys can seriously rock on out when they want to and there’s certainly copious amounts of guitar riffage and deep bass guitar vibes going on here, which thankfully lasts for their entire set. As a reward back, the punters are rockin’ away nicely and there’s a joyous feeling in the air. We next get, I think, two cuts from their ‘Rotterdam’ EP from back in 2022, with the first being ‘Marwan’ and I’m endeavouring to decipher their written setlist for the second of these, which I’m guessing was ‘Seduction, Destruction’. There certainly can be an urgency in their sound, that on occasions builds and builds and the punters are lapping it up, especially when we are served a wall of noise!
The next block of tunes come what seems fast and furious with ‘Worthwhile’ from ‘The First Exit’ album coming next which, like many of their tunes is where indie rock meets grunge. This is followed by ‘Make It Happen’ which is located on their ‘Rotterdam’ EP and is another decent tune. Then there’s last year’s ‘The Goat’ single, followed by 2022’s ‘Karen Is A Punk’ which is from their ‘I Don’t Sweat’ single. Suffice to say that judging by the applause after these, they are going down a storm. I’m however getting a tad worried as I notice that Lukas has hit his forehead a few times on the overhead lighting at the front of the stage, the last of these received a rub from the palm of his hand. Not perturbed, the guitarist kicks off the next tune ‘Past Me’, which is the first of three in a row from their long-player, the other two being ‘A Necessity’ and ‘Beech’.
It’s around this time, that I spy one of the guitarists hits her instrument with a guitar pick and then immediately afterwards puts the palm of her hand over all of the strings, which gives off a “whooo” sound which is novel and very effective. The quintet then next unleash their ‘Minus Twenty’ single from last year and then sign off with the final two cuts from their album, in the form of ‘The Big Blowout’ and ‘Ffleur Hari’. Tramhaus actually offer up a varied sound during this evening’s enjoyable set and they have more energy than any Duracell battery. They are a must see band!
Tramhaus:
Lukas Jansen – vocals
Julia Vroegh – bass
Micha Zaat – guitar
Nadya van Osnabrugge – guitar
Jim Luijten – drums
Tramhaus setlist:
‘The Cause’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘I Don’t Sweat’ (a 2022 single)
‘Once Again’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘Semiotics’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘Marwan’ (from 2022 ‘Rotterdam’ EP)
‘Seduction, Destruction’ (from 2022 ‘Rotterdam’ EP)
‘Worthwhile’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘Make It Happen’ (from 2022 ‘Rotterdam’ EP)
‘The Goat’ (a 2023 single)
‘Karen Is A Punk’ (from 2022 ‘I Don’t Sweat’ single)
‘Past Me’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘A Necessity’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘Beech’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘Minus Twenty’ (a 2023 single)
‘The Big Blowout’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
‘Ffleur Hari’ (from 2024 ‘The First Exit’ album)
Support this evening came from Ideal Living who we last reviewed back on 29th September as part of the Green Door Store’s annual ‘234 Fest’. I must confess that I thought that these were a peculiar choice for this evening’s event as they certainly do not sit in the same (or even similar) mould to Tramhaus and yet there are a number of other Brighton bands that would have fitted the bill. It’s a busy stage this evening, even without their keyboardist Miles Goodall, who is unavailable tonight. This leaves frontman Billy Marsh (lead vocals, bass), Austin Pritchard (guitar, backing vocals), Alyx Ashton (bass, backing vocals), Bertie Beer (drums, backing vocals), Jamie Broughton (trumpet, egg shaker, drum) and Freddy Willis on saxophone in action for their 31 minute set tonight which commences at 8:17pm.
Ideal Living are very much Billy’s band and they fall under the art-rock category. They have had a relatively busy year having dropped a trio of singles ‘O.F.D’, ‘Roam’ and ‘Loving And Still’. Tonight’s set begins with Billy stating “Hello, alright, we’re Ideal Living” and Freddy kicks off with his sax before the others join in and it builds from there and becomes a loud crescendo. Whilst Billy’s bandmates deliver the tunes in the usual jazz freestyle amble fashion, Billy operates differently and can appear agitated and even angry as he solely builds up a sweat during the set. His spoken word delivery ranged from a softer side as if reciting a poem to the other extreme via shouting and even screaming out desperately to get his message across without delay. This can happen and vary from within a single tune. He’s clearly a sensitive soul and one who is aware of the problems of the world, an instance being when Palestine gets a mention. Billy’s mannerisms and facial expressions are often theatrical and thus at that moment match his delivered vocals, which some would say add to the performance. There’s even some Ian Curtis (Joy Division) style ‘dancing’, going on as well. Jamie flits between his trumpet and joining Bertie on the drums.
After the first song finishes only one person applauds, which is a telling sign that maybe they don’t fit the bill. However, as the more tunes follow and Billy does his stuff, the applause after each number increases at an impressive rate. It’s clear that after the initial shock of their sound, the punters were starting to get the vibe. This unfortunately does not include yours truly and in all honesty they have lost me! I can’t help it if they aren’t my cup of tea, coffee or anything, we are all different, and although by the end of the final number, they received a hearty applause from the audience, I remained unconvinced. Strangely, the only part of their set I enjoyed was their stunning a cappella section which would certainly give Steeleye Span’s ‘Gaudete’ or The Housemartins’ ‘Caravan Of Love’ a run for their money.
Ideal Living:
Billy Marsh – lead vocals, bass
Austin Pritchard – guitar, backing vocals
Alyx Ashton – bass, backing vocals
Bertie Beer – drums, backing vocals
Jamie Broughton – trumpet, egg shaker, drum
Freddy Willis – saxophone
Miles Goodall – keyboard, backing vocals (not present tonight)
