LABYRINTHINE OCEANS + CORDELIA GARTSIDE + M.WOODROE + FAESER – DALTONS, BRIGHTON 2.7.25
SOUND // VISION was a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable mix of live post-rock music and live abstract art at Brighton’s Daltons. The sounds featured female and non-binary post-rock from Labyrinthine Oceans, Cordelia Gartside, M.Woodroe and Faeser; while the visions, in the form of live abstract art projected on the stage, was provided by Madison Heyes.
All four bands featured strong exceptionally good vocalists with different styles, which worked well both within their sets and across the line up. Let’s start with the bands in the order in which they appeared.
With Faeser first on stage, there was never going to be a slow start and gentle introduction to the evening’s proceedings. Faeser (formerly known as Rottweiler) are a grunge-pop outfit with a fierce attitude and a uniquely theatrical sound.
Fronted by powerhouse vocalist Jessica, the five-piece commanded the attention of the Daltons audience from the appropriately titled opening song ‘My House Is On Fire’. Through the set Jessica had a captivating presence both on and off stage, as her painted face could be seen singing among the crowd as early as their second song.
Within their electrifying set, Faeser mixed up their style and tempo with the mellower start to their second song, ‘Sarah’. A softer side also came out on ‘Love Sick’, introduced as a “sad song”. These showcased other aspects to Jessica’s vocal range, such as the pained emotions in ‘Love Sick’, contrasting well with her screaming. They also allowed the band’s musicians to shine, such as the guitar solos from Willow, the softer guitar from Emia on ‘Love Sick’ and some funkier bass lines from Matthew on ‘Punkunova’.
A highlight of Faeser’s set was their recently released debut single ‘No Such Thing’, a real belting rock number which Jessica ended up singing on her knees and on her back.
Their infectious, high-energy performance was a great opening, not only to SOUND // VISION, but the first leg of their “DALTONS WORLD TOUR”. You can catch Faeser back at Daltons on Monday 14th July (Half Blind’s Bigger Gay Fundraiser – Tickets HERE) and Saturday 19th July (Loud Women Fest – Tickets HERE).
Faeser:
Jessica James – vocals
Willow Simpson – lead guitar
Emia Demir – rhythm guitar
Matthew Sherren – bass
Nathan Hayward – drums
Faeser setlist:
‘My House Is On Fire’ (unreleased)
‘Sarah’ (unreleased)
‘Toulouse’ (unreleased)
‘Love Sick’ (unreleased)
‘No Such Thing’ (a 2025 single)
‘Punkunova’ (unreleased)
Next up were M.Woodroe, an emerging Brighton-based alternative indie band consisting of ‘M’ on vocals, ‘B’ on guitar, ‘J’ on bass and ‘O’ on drums. Their start caught some people by surprise as they were enjoying the evening sun with their drinks outside. They soon made their way in to catch another intense and absorbing set from M.Woodroe. By the second song in, there were people dancing along.
That second song was their debut single ‘Carte Blanche’. Its dreamier intro was taken in another direction, notably by B’s impressive guitar playing. On this, along with other songs, vocalist M swapped between almost goth-like singing and angry screaming, which added to the intensity and captivating nature of M.Woodroe’s sound.
M announced they would “take it down a little” for ‘A Veil’. It started as a solo with just M and her guitar with a different dark moody feel. It showed another side of her beautiful strong emotional vocals, as well as the band’s sound. Next up, O’s quality drumming provided the foundations of ‘Brazen Bull’, which built subtly.
Their closing number ‘Fog Of War’ started with more of a pop feel, evolving into an immense wall of sound, with distorted effects via M’s pedal board at the end. A great way to close a very good set with its wonderful enthralling intensity and those screamed outbursts from M.
You can catch M.Woodroe supporting Divorce Attorney at Green Door Store on Wednesday 16th July, details HERE.
M.Woodroe:
M – vocals
B – guitar
J – bass
O – drums
M.Woodroe setlist:
‘Fruits Of Disorder’ (unreleased)
‘Carte Blanche’ (a 2025 single)
‘A Veil’ (unreleased)
‘Brazen Bull’ (unreleased)
‘Stalactites’ (unreleased)
‘Fog Of War’ (unreleased)
As well as organising and promoting the SOUND // VISION event, Cordelia Gartside and her band were also performing. It was a busy night too for guitarist Willow Simpson, who was playing for the second time that evening after opening with Faeser.
Evident from the opening number ‘Pattern Repeating’ and across the set were Cordelia’s amazing vocals, which moved effortlessly between soft whispers to soaring long notes. There was another side of her vocals on ‘Machine’ as she started with a more spoken word, poetic delivery. Her changes in vocal styles within songs matched the shifting tempo and volume of the band’s music perfectly, as seen on the new track with a working title of ‘Shut Up’ and others.
‘Hospital Corners’ started as a beautiful solo with Cordelia singing to just her own guitar, as the captivated crowd listened in respectful silence hanging on every note. The song built skilfully without ever rushing as the others joined with the vocals rising to match. At the peak, Cordelia ended the song with the most amazing long high note at the top of her voice.
Cordelia Gartside the band is more than simply the singer, musically they were very impressive. The closing number ‘Good!’ was another example of this. Max set a more up-tempo pace with the drums with Tom on bass. This foundation allowed Willow again to shine with her intricate guitar parts. This powerful alt-rock song closed on another of Cordelia’s stunning long notes. ‘Good!’ was more than a good way to close another special performance by Cordelia Gartside.
You can catch Cordelia Gartside supporting Moon Idle along with Swallowtail at Alphabet on Wednesday 16th July, tickets HERE.
Cordelia Gartside:
Cordelia Gartside – vocals, guitar
Willow Simpson – lead guitar
Tom Ironmonger – bass
Max Garner – drums
Cordelia Gartside setlist:
‘Pattern Repeating’ (unreleased)
‘Shut Up’ (working title) (unreleased)
‘Machine’ (a 2024 single)
‘The Rapture’ (unreleased)
‘Hospital Corners’ (a 2024 single)
‘Good!’ (unreleased)
Following three great performances from exciting new local Brighton bands, the headliners were Newcastle based Labyrinthine Oceans. The band started back in late 2021, when vocalist Julia and bassist Toby started working together. The band’s current line-up was completed in 2023, when drummer Patrick and lead guitarist Ellie joined. The grungey shoegaze rock four piece create dreamscapes of guitar-based noise with dense layers of discomfort, pairing this with captivating vocals.
The shoegaze grunge influence was noticeable in their first song ‘Apartment’. It was a very good opening to an absorbing and interesting set, but not for Julia’s guitar. A broken guitar string meant that she had to borrow Cordelia’s guitar for the rest of the set. Back to the music, and ‘Ellie’ had a good indie feel, while Julia adopted a more spoken word style in parts. Not just on this track but many others, Patrick provided very strong drums, which never dominated the band’s sound, and I noticed Ellie playing on the neck of her guitar, not just the body. Throughout the set the guitars had hints of a Smiths-like indie feel from ‘How Soon Is Now?’.
There was a gentle guitar part to Julia’s soft vocals at the start of ‘Black Silk’, which exploded later in that song, before a very good fade out to close. Several people were dancing along to the rockier sounds of ‘A Trap’. Their cover of ‘Lefty’ by Title Fight was the loudest of their set, with explosive bursts, which Julia’s vocals effortlessly matched.
We were left guessing about the new untitled track which Julia said they were dropping from the set as she didn’t want to damage Cordelia’s guitar. I’m fascinated to find out more about this song being played live. So, it was onto ‘Pinch’ and no further damage to anybody’s guitar. Its grunge sound got more people dancing, while ‘Untitled’ had a good loud quiet arrangement. Following ‘Gazey’ with its crescendo finish, ‘Lost To The Ocean’ had a very atmospheric intro with Julia singing to minimal accompaniment. There was a haunting quality in her powerful voice on this particular song. One of my many highlights of Labyrinthine Oceans’ set.
They closed their quality set with ‘Flesh’ and ‘Home’. ‘Flesh’ had a great indie grunge sound with clever tempo changes. Its wall of sound was again matched by Julia’s strong almost screamed vocals. ‘Home’ showcased different sides of Julia’s voice from soft whispering to powerful shouting. Its haunting start with explosive bursts of music and emotionally delivered vocals was a fitting close to Labyrinthine Oceans’ set and the evening’s entertainment.
While many bands today are influenced by the 1990’s sounds of grunge and 1980’s shoegaze, very rarely are they combined as well as Labyrinthine Oceans did at SOUND // VISION. A band I very much hope return to play Brighton again soon.
Labyrinthine Oceans:
Julia O’Neill – vocals, guitar
Toby Flynn – bass
Patrick Ilderton – drums
Ellie Bunker – lead guitar
Labyrinthine Oceans setlist:
‘Apartment’ (from 2023 ‘The Deep End’ EP)
‘Ellie’ (unreleased)
‘Black Silk’ (from 2023 ‘The Deep End’ EP)
‘A Trap’ (unreleased)
‘Lefty’ (a cover of a Title Fight song)
‘Pinch’ (from 2025 ‘Everyone Was Alive’ EP)
‘Untitled’ (from 2025 ‘Everyone Was Alive’ EP)
‘Gazey’ (unreleased)
‘Lost To The Ocean’ (from 2025 ‘Everyone Was Alive’ EP)
‘Flesh’ (unreleased)
‘Home’ (from 2025 ‘Everyone Was Alive’ EP)
SOUND // VISION was the first time that Cordelia Gartside had promoted an event. From a concert goer’s point of view, based on both the exciting quality line up on the varied bill with a common theme of female and non-binary post-rock, and also the friendly and inviting vibe, I’d say it was a very successful promotion debut.
