FRANCES MISTRY + FLYPAPER + LYNNIE SNOW + WILSHAW – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 28.8.25
Hidden Herd returned to The Hope & Ruin with another quality and varied line up of new and upcoming artists. Their August event featured Brighton’s Frances Mistry, and Lynnie Snow along with London based bands flypaper, and Wilshaw.
Opening the evening’s entertainment was Wilshaw, an indie rock outfit spearheaded by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kieran Alexander. Kieran was joined on stage by a full band consisting of Joan (bass), Robbie (slide guitar) and Matlock (drums).
Wilshaw recently released their debut EP ‘I Don’t Know Anything You Don’t’. ‘Hard Month’ was the first track from that EP they played. Like the rest of their set, it had a very catchy tune and quality soft vocals. During that song, Kieran’s guitar string broke, which he explained as due to “rocking out too hard”. To be fair, it did have a rockier sound than their softer opening number. Guitar repaired, it was on to ‘Lazy’, the EP’s opening track, which had hints of country indie sounds. ‘Changes’, announced as a song about realising you are getting older, started softly as a solo by Kieran, before the others joined. There were some very impressive quick bass lines later in that tune.
Across their set, the shared vocals between Kieran and bassist Joan worked well, and the slide guitar gave some songs a nostalgic yet fresh sound. For me, Wilshaw saved their best to the end. ‘Far Too Well’, from their EP, was a strong finish to a very good opening set.
Wilshaw:
Kieran (he/him) – vocals, guitar
Jowan (she/her) – bass, vocals
Robbie (he/him) – guitar, lap steel guitar
Matlok (he/him) – drums
Wilshaw setlist:
‘The Daughter’
‘Hard Month’
‘Lazy’
‘Change’
‘Ice Melts In My Hands’
‘Puppet’
‘Far Too Well’
Recently I’ve been fortunate to see many new promising and exciting talents on the Brighton music scene, and the next artist Lynnie Snow is up there with the best of them. Her blend of alt-pop and baroque pop has the darkly playful vintage-pop of Luvcat combined with the theatrical flair of The Last Dinner Party.
There were several musicians setting up on stage for Lynnie Snow’s set, then all except Lynnie left before the opening number. Lynnie opened with ‘Call To Arms’ a strong solo on acoustic guitar.
The rest of her band crept on stage towards the end of the opening song, ready for the next number. Lynnie Snow’s band consisted of Liv (keyboards), Oscar (guitar), Mit (bass) and Matt (drums). Before that second song she professed that her band hadn’t got a name yet.
With the band in place, that next track ‘Taste Of Television’ was a poppier and instantly catchy tune. ‘Eyetrix’ had echoes of The Cure mixed with folk and country elements, which worked wonderfully. The more alt-rock sounds of ‘Crumpled Foxes’ contrasted so well with a sweetness in Lynnie’s vocals. The next song ‘Streetlight, Save Me’ further showed the range and quality of her voice with haunting notes, stronger louder parts and more melancholy moments.
With the confident and assured nature of Lynnie’s performance, it was easy to forget that she had only played a handful of shows before Hidden Herd Presents. There was a swagger and almost feistiness in her stylish manner, not dissimilar to Liverpool’s Luvcat. She had a captivating charismatic stage presence full of spirit. As she sang at the very edge of the stage, even crouching down at times, her audience were totally engaged.
Lynnie Snow closed a thoroughly entertaining set full of quality, variety and energy with ‘Bloodsport’. Her strong performance with her spirit and charisma was very special.
You can catch Lynnie Snow back at The Hope and Ruin on Thursday 9th October supporting Art D’ecco, tickets HERE or HERE.
Lynnie Snow:
Lynnie – vocals and guitar
Liv – keyboards
Oscar – guitar
Mit – bass
Matt – drums
Lynnie Snow setlist:
‘Call To Arms’
‘Taste Of Television’
‘Eyetrix’
‘Crumpled Foxes’
‘Streetlight, Save Me’
‘Bloodsport’
London-based flypaper is the solo project of Rory Sear. Retaining the melodic sensibilities that defined his work as frontman and chief songwriter of Brighton indie outfit Beachtape, His new venture explores gentler sonic landscapes. If Beachtape made breezy indie rock their signature, flypaper delves even deeper into introspection with mellow, atmospheric, acoustic-led sound. Rory was joined by two of the opening band Wilshaw, Kieran Alexander and Robbie Carman plus drummer Josh Belcher.
Flypaper opened their set with a looped sound clip, over which they started their first song. That opening song with its soft indie easy listening style set the tone of their performance. There was variation across the set with some dreamier numbers, catchier up-tempo ones and occasional hints of country on the guitars. Overall, it was a good performance by Flypaper, which I enjoyed.
Rory mentioned that Flypaper have an album due for release in November. As part of the album’s launch, you can catch them on Wednesday 26th November at The Prince Albert, tickets HERE.
Flypaper:
Rory Sear – vocals, guitar
Robbie Carman – guitar
Kieran Alexander – bass
Josh Belcher – drums
Flypaper setlist:
‘Fold’
‘On Your Mind’
‘Looking For Clues’
‘Stray’
‘Come Down’
‘Cut It Up’
‘Oh Well’
‘Old Friend’
Headlining Hidden Herd’s event was Brighton based Frances Mistry. Delicate yet self-assured, Frances Mistry is quietly carving a space for herself in the indie-folk world and making 2025 her biggest year yet with her third EP, ‘Conversations With Those I Love’ unveiled in May. Rooted in personal storytelling, the five-song collection is an intimate snapshot of her life. Frances Mistry’s music feels both vulnerable and familiar.
Frances Mistry’s set opened with the twinkling keyboards on ‘Subtle Compliments’ and Frances’s beautiful vocals. Moving onto material from her new EP, Frances introduced ‘New Hands To Hold’ as about making new friends. Its soft indie sound had a folky feel, while ‘In The Rain’ had a dreamier sound. The song ‘Something Has To Give’, about the state of the world today and the hope that things will improve, featured stronger drums and keyboard parts.
Frances Mistry’s material is written from a very personal perspective, none more so than the song ‘Letter’ written about a dying relative of hers and which she played at the funeral. This was a very emotional part of her set.
When lead singers introduce their band, it’s usually the other people on stage. That was the case with Miles (keyboards and backing vocals), Oscar (drums) and Gabe (electric guitar), yet Holly was combining her bass duties with those on the sound desk. It’s not often you have to look behind you for a member performing in a band. There behind the sound deck was her bass guitar.
Back to the music, on ‘Shock To My System’ the sparse but very effective parts of the electric guitar added to the atmosphere of the song. The contrast between Frances’s acoustic guitar and Gabe’s electric one worked well across the set. Later, on ‘When I Look In Her Eyes’ there were hints of prog rock in the electric guitar parts which worked well.
Frances Mistry closed a very entertaining, and to use her word “cosy” set with ‘Our Blood’. Its soft indie start built powerfully with a rockier instrumental. This change in style made it a great choice to finish on. I had seen Frances Mistry play a stripped back set at The Folklore Rooms a few weeks earlier and enjoyed that. For me, their performance with the full band at Hidden Herd Presents was even better,
Frances Mistry:
Frances – vocals, acoustic guitar
Miles – keyboards, backing vocals
Oscar – drums
Gabe – electric guitar
Holly – bass and sound desk
Frances Mistry setlist:
‘Subtle Compliments’ (from 2023 ‘Let Them Eat Grass’ EP)
‘New Hands To Hold’ (from 2025 ‘Conversations With Those I Love’ EP)
‘In The Rain’ (from 2023 ‘Let Them Eat Grass’ EP)
‘Something Has To Give’ (from 2025 ‘Conversations With Those I Love’ EP)
‘Letters’ (unreleased)
‘Shock To My System’ (from 2025 ‘Conversations With Those I Love’ EP)
‘Digging A Hole’ (unreleased)
‘When I Look In Her Eyes’ (from 2025 ‘Conversations With Those I Love’ EP)
‘Our Blood’ (from 2024 ‘Messages’ EP)
You can catch more exciting up-and-coming bands and artists, by getting yourself along to the Hidden Herd new music discovery nights in Brighton, with news of shows and tickets available HERE.
