Promoters and label ‘Scruff Of The Neck’ certainly know a thing or two about up and coming bands, and so do we! So it came as no surprise to us to learn that they have selected rising Brighton trio Bacci Pouch to headline their event at Dust in East Street in Brighton on Saturday 22nd November.
Bacci Pouch comprises James Neighbour (guitar and vocals), Sam Raymer (bass guitar) and Charlie Heasman (drums). Thus far they have self-released a couple of singles, these being 2023’s ‘Learn To Love’ and 2024’s ‘When The Lights Come On’. They dropped their third instalment in August last year, this being ‘Normal People’. Following on from this single they have this year released ‘Running Around’ and ‘Everyday’ as singles as well, and these two tunes along with ‘It Ain’t Pretty’ and ‘Someone Else’s Clothes’ have been packed up into their debut 4-track EP, which is titled ‘Pouch Core’. All of these tunes are available on Spotify and other streaming services.
So what are Bacci Pouch like I hear you say? Well I guess it would be an idea to read one of our previous reviews of them. Here’s one from a previous concert by them at Daltons on 17th July 2024:
The lads take to the stage at 8:03pm to the backing sounds of The Ronettes ‘Be My Baby’ and set about impressing the punters with the first of six tunes as yet not scheduled for release, this being titled ‘She Said’, which saw James putting his Fender through its paces whilst delivering the vocals. It’s evident that there’s a real buzz from the very start as the band have clearly put the word out as they have many mates in the audience and so it’s heading towards three-quarter capacity. Suffice to say that this decent punk ditty ‘She Said’ received a warm welcome, as in fact did all of their songs!
The unreleased ‘By My Side’ was Bacci Pouch’s second selection and although less intense than the opener it still had a pop punk vibe, which like a majority of their tunes reminded me of the long forgotten Northern Irish outfit The Moondogs. During this tune Sam’s bass guitar strap came undone, but rather than trying to fiddle with it mid-tune in order to endeavour to get it fixed, he simply knelt down on the stage and finished the tune. Strap fixed and the trio were away with ‘Dilute’ another unreleased number which was delivered nice’n tightly. Next up was their forthcoming single, ‘Normal People’ which benefited from a catchy opening riff and was very much like The Moondogs and a great selection for a single. Not many pop punk acts would think to cover Fatboy Slim’s ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ but the Bacci Pouch lads did and they made it sound as if it was always a rock number. The trio were certainly on a roll now and sped things up with their speediest number of the performance next, this being the unreleased ‘Corsa’ which sounded as though it totally belonged on the famous ‘Spiral Scratch’ Buzzcocks EP along with ‘Breakdown’, ‘Time’s Up’, ‘Boredom’ and ‘Friends Of Mine’. This was their set highlight for me.
By now the lads only had a trio of tracks left and they were reminding me of another Brighton outfit Shady Baby, which is a positive thing as I reckon they are still in my Top 5 Brighton bands and I was contemplating adding Bacci Pouch into this list, but there’s still three to go! The first of which being their debut single, ‘Learn To Love’ from last year. Sam’s bass rumbled the intro to this track and was another slice of happiness for me. James then informed the crowd that they are going to play “a new one”, which was ‘It Ain’t Pretty’ and yet another corker, which more than any others recalled memories of my Good Vibrations record collection, being the Belfast label founded by Terri Hooley originally who put out The Undertones ‘Teenage Kicks’ and releases by Rudi, Outcasts, Protex and The Moondogs, plus many of a similar ilk. Bacci Pouch signed off with recent single ‘When The Lights Come On’ which was another earworm. Tonight was my first encounter with the band and their set was all hits and no misses and I’m desperate to see them play live again! Their 31 minute set concluded at 8:34pm and yep I had decided that Bacci Pouch had crash landed into my Top 5 Brighton bands list! Great work fellas!
If this then sounds like your bag, then snap up your tickets for their forthcoming headline show at Dust on Saturday 22nd November HERE. Support to be announced.
