MOON IDLE + SWALLOWTAIL + CORDELIA GARTSIDE – ALPHABET, BRIGHTON 16.7.25
Rising alt-rock/trip-hop band Moon Idle headlined an incredible line up of awesome local bands at Brighton’s Alphabet on Wednesday. The support was from shoegaze-breakthroughs Swallowtail along with the emotional alt-rock of Cordelia Gartside, all organised by I Flipping Luv Brighton and BUZZ Events.
Let’s start with the headline act, Moon Idle….
Moon Idle craft cinematic textures, tension, and intimacy into their lush, evocative and ethereal alt-pop / trip-hop songs. They are Quilla Robinson (vocals, keyboard and guitar), Martin Eddington (bass), Jasper Fergus (guitar) and Felix Burton (drums). Introductions completed, onto Wednesday night’s performance.
Moon Idle opened with two unreleased songs, ‘Girl In Blue’ and ‘Seed’. Clear from these opening numbers were the clever subtle shifts in tempo within their signature laid-back sound and Quilla’s beautiful voice. ‘Seed’ as with many of their songs was built around the hypnotic almost minimalist drumming from Felix and basslines from Martin, which allowed more intricate flickering guitars from Jasper on this track. Above this were Quilla’s emotional vocals portraying a melancholy feel.
The next two songs were from the band’s debut ‘Kindly’ EP. ‘Make Up’ was changed with some great effects part way in. There was a loud cheer when ‘The Avenue’ was announced, obviously a crowd favourite. This had a dreamy feel with gentle vocals which picked up as the sound built. ‘Gone’ carried on in a similar vein. The different guitar styles of Quilla and Jasper complimented each other perfectly on this new song. It was another example of how Quilla’s voice seems so relaxed even on the soaring notes.
The temperature on that warm July evening was rather hot in Alphabet, which the band did comment on, when Quilla announced “We’re going to do a slow one. Hope it cools things down”. That slow one was a new song ‘Bésame’, and a big change in style. It had a cabaret feel, which would have fitted perfectly in a jazz night club. The stage was in darkness with a single spotlight on Quilla as she sang this classy number to Jasper’s lone guitar. I thought this change in style worked on its own merits, as well as adding variety to the band’s set.
‘Oranges’ continued the mellow feel with a return to the band’s familiar style. Saying that, there was a very haunting keyboard part, which reminded me a little of a spooky church organ and complemented the distortion on some of the guitars.
The band announced that they are releasing new music this year, and ‘Godzilla’ would be released as a single on 3rd October. The song’s title comes from the effects at the start which wouldn’t be out of place on a sound track for the film of that name. The way that Quilla’s soft, almost delicate vocals played out with the starker music, evoking thunderstorms and earthquakes, worked magnificently.
Moon Idle closed with the multifaceted ‘Delay Me’. The opening effects could have been used in a ‘Doctor Who’ episode, while the drums and bass seemed inspired by the likes of Massive Attack. This showcased another side of Martin’s bass playing, which was far funkier and more prominent. Part way through, the song switched from trip-hop to more alt-rock, with the feel of a rock jamming session. It wasn’t only a change in sound, as the band seemed more animated on this closing number.
It was another very entertaining and totally enjoyable performance by Moon Idle, with the sassiness of ‘Bésame’ and the experimentation on ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Delay Me’ all adding to their wonderful rich ethereal sound.
Moon Idle:
Quilla Robinson – vocals, keyboard and guitar
Martin Eddington – bass
Jasper Fergus – guitar
Felix Burton – drums
Moon Idle setlist:
‘Girl In Blue’ (unreleased)
‘Seed’ (unreleased)
‘Makeup’ (from 2023 ‘Kindly’ EP)
‘The Avenue’ (from 2023 ‘Kindly’ EP)
‘Gone’ (unreleased)
‘Bésame’ (unreleased)
‘Oranges’ (unreleased)
‘Godzilla’ (unreleased)
‘Delay Me’ (unreleased)
The middle band on the running order were Swallowtail, a Brighton-based four-piece originally from Nottingham. Their dynamic, elegantly gritty eerie soundscapes blend the fuzzy aspects of shoegaze with the intricate melodies of post-punk. The band comprises Katie Prescott (vocals, guitar), Caleb Ryde (guitar), Drew Vickerstaff (drums) and Fred Ford (bass).
Swallowtail set the tone of their set with their opening number ‘Dream It Off’. There was a wall of noise created from the speed and use of distortion on the guitars and the pounding drums, over which were Katie’s relatively understated shoegaze vocals. On some of that opening number and a few others Caleb used a violin bow to play guitar. Unlike many bands lumped under the shoegaze banner, Drew’s exceptional drumming was very much to the fore, especially his fast almost tribal drumming to start their second song ‘Vega Burns’.
The range and quality of Katie’s vocals was impressive from quieter reflective to loud shouted. This was both evident across Swallowtail’s set, and within songs, noticeably on ‘Armet’ which started softly and built at the end to screaming with pained emotions. On ‘Thin’ her vocals matched the music for both volume and speed as the song built.
While much of their set featured the most amazing loud gritty walls of noise which filled Alphabet and thrilled the audience, ‘Running From A Swan Song In Red Kitten Heels’ showcased the other side of Swallowtail’s sound being softer and shoegazy. Closer to Slowdive than Just Mustard as a comparison. The haunting quality in Katie’s vocals were clear on this number.
It wasn’t just Swallowtail’s stunning performance that filled Alphabet, it was also the well-deserved cheers and applause from the crowd afterwards.
Swallowtail:
Katie Prescott – vocals, guitar
Caleb Ryde – guitar
Drew Vickerstaff – drums
Fred Ford – bass
Swallowtail setlist:
‘Dream It Off’ (unreleased)
‘Vega Burns’ (from 2025 ‘Seesaw’ EP)
‘The Bathe’ (unreleased)
‘Armet’ (unreleased)
‘Drift’ (a 2025 single & from 2025 ‘Seesaw’ EP)
‘Strip Tease’ (unreleased)
‘To Trace’ (from 2025 ‘Seesaw’ EP)
‘Squeel’ (unreleased)
‘Running From A Swan Song In Red Kitten Heels’ (from 2025 ‘Seesaw’ EP)
‘Thin’ (unreleased)
Opening an impressive night of live music was Cordelia Gartside, whose emotional alt-rock is a captivating mix of fragile and ferocious. The band are Cordelia Gartside (vocals, guitar), Willow Simpson (lead guitar), Tom Ironmonger (bass) and Max Garner (drums).
There was a very atmospheric feel to the opening of Cordelia Gartside’s set with Cordelia’s soft vocals on ‘What The Heart Wants’, and her virtual solo at the start of ‘Shut Up’. Cordelia’s amazing vocal range and the way she switches within songs was soon evident as ‘Shut Up’ built and she matched the level of the music, shouting by its close.
Powerful vocals is an often-overused term, but genuinely applies to Cordelia. Her vocals had a rare power and emotional intensity, even on the quieter parts. At the start of ‘Stranger In The Water’ there was a unique strength in her soft dreamy almost folk like singing style. That intensity was matched by her stance standing motionless with a fixed gaze into the crowd. Whilst on ‘Machine’ she portrayed a sense of anger in her voice as that song built.
Musically, the band was very tight. Max and Tom on drums and bass respectively gave a solid foundation. Willow’s intricate rock guitar parts were breathtaking.
Cordelia Gartside closed a stunning opening set with ‘Hospital Corners’. The captivated audience listened in complete silence to the beautiful quiet emotional opening. As Cordelia’s vocals increased in volume, so did the music. Her powerful voice on this and other songs could have filled a room several times larger than Alphabet.
Cordelia Gartside’s breathtaking performance was very positively received going by the buzz around Alphabet and conversations in the audience.
Cordelia Gartside:
Cordelia Gartside – vocals, guitar
Willow Simpson – lead guitar
Tom Ironmonger – bass
Max Garner – drums
Cordelia Gartside setlist:
‘What The Heart Wants’ (unreleased)
‘Shut Up’ (unreleased)
‘Machine’ (a 2024 single)
‘Stranger In The Water’ (a 2024 single)
‘Pattern Repeating’ (unreleased)
‘Hospital Corners’ (a 2024 single)
