DBCOOPER + KATE PEACHES + EVERYDAY SAINTS – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 8.8.25
Friday night at the Green Door Store saw Brighton’s dbcooper play their first headline show, which was also their final one. To support them on their farewell were Kate Peaches and Everyday Saints.
Let’s take the bands in the order they appeared…
Opening were Brighton indie-pop outfit Everyday Saints (stylised as everyday saints). Performing as a three piece, they are Pip Rainbird (vocals), Jade Middleton (vocals) and Amelia Holder (bass).
The intro track ‘I’ve Told Every Little Star’, a 1961 teen pop hit for Linda Scott, suggested that something different was coming from Everyday Saints. As well as their different line up, they had a very different sound. Early in their set singer Pip announced that it was going to be “a test run, just to manage your expectations”. Everyday Saints had a noticeably punchier more intense direct dance sound, yet still keeping their unique spooky pop feel and catchy melodies. Don’t worry, those incredible vocal harmonies between Pip and Jade, so key to Everyday Saints’ sounds, were still there.
Two other developments were featured in their opening two numbers. ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ incorporated recorded sound bites into a great disco dance beat. Another change on ‘Under The Honeymoon’ and other songs was Jade taking a greater role on the singing, which I thought worked well. Pip often stood to the side of the stage leaning against the speaker giving centre stage to Jade on her vocal parts. Pip returned to the centre for her parts and those delightful duets.
After the stylish cabaret feel of ‘The Beautification’, Pip informed us “[that song] was about Melania Trump,” adding “I’m not joking”. ‘Barbarella In The Valley Of The Dolls’, with its horror movie feel, saw Pip sit on the edge of the stage to sing her part.
Everyday Saints didn’t play any of their single releases, although there was the more familiar ‘Soma’ from previous shows. As this was extensively reworked, at first, I only recognised it from its lyrics. There was a much heavier, more sinister yet seductive sound, which was scattered with twinkling bursts and samples from Eurovision 2006 entries. Pip portrayed melancholy and even anger in her voice as she sang sitting on the bass drum of the vacant drum kit.
Everyday Saints closed their test run with two brand new songs ‘Ginger Snaps’ and ‘It’s Ritual’. ‘Ginger Snaps’ had a lighter dance sound, while the vocals had a darkness and a foreboding note, a contrast that worked perfectly. ‘It’s Ritual’ started with a fast strong bassy drum beat and a great bass line from Amelia, over which were the beautiful harmonised vocals.
Everyday Saints may have cautiously managed the audience’s expectations for their evolution. Just a few bars in, once I had adjusted to their new sound, they exceeded my high hopes. It was a confident assured performance combining Everyday Saints’ amazing vocal harmonies and spooky feel, but enhanced by samples and effects and with a more upfront electronic dance sound.
Everyday Saints:
Pip Rainbird (she/her) – vocals
Jade Middleton (she/her) – vocals
Amelia Holder (she/they) – bass
Everyday Saints setlist:
‘Pepper’s Ghost’
‘Under the Honeymoon’
‘The Beautification’
‘Barbarella! In The Valley Of The Dolls’
‘Soma’
‘Ginger Snaps’
‘It’s Ritual’
(all unreleased)
