Y + WING! + BONES ATE ARFA + DIVORCE ATTORNEY – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 1.10.25
Local promoters Hidden Herd were back at The Hope & Ruin on Wednesday night with another quality and varied line-up of new and emerging artists, which included local bands Bones Ate Arfa and Divorce Attorney as well as London bands Y and Wing! This evening we decided to split reviewing duties and so the first two bands are reviewed by Ian Holman and the remaining two are covered by Alison Lawrence. So without further ado, let’s see what they have to say…..
Brighton art-rock five-piece Divorce Attorney opened the evening’s entertainment. They are Nathan (lead vocals and guitar), Alex (keys), Owen (drums), Charlie (bass), and newest recruit Tanya (backing vocals and guitar).
They start their set with their two released tracks, ‘Mothballs’ and ‘Blessing’. Both these songs have a similar slow pace to them with some intricate playing from the band members. Nathan’s vocals resemble a similarity to Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Unlike the single releases, tonight’s live versions of the songs do not feature the use of a saxophone, but they still sound very good. Surprisingly, there are a couple of enthusiastic audience members down the front jumping around to these slow-paced songs.
‘Blind Eye’ is the third song of the set. This starts off with a quiet bass and drums intro before the pace builds up. This is followed by ‘Align Me’. This to me is one of the set highlights, a rock track that features some frantic drumming from Owen. One of the highlights of a Divorce Attorney set is their instrumental track ‘Duality’. This sees keytarist Alex switch from his usual instrument of choice to his Nintendo DS. Revealing it to the crowd (this always produces a cheer). He then plays a synthesiser melody and for tonight’s show invites regular Brighton gig-goer Fiona Walker to play the last few keys to end the song.
Nathan approaches his mic to say, “We’re called Divorce Attorney, thank you for coming down early… This next one will be released next year. It’s called ‘Get Lost’. It’s already recorded. We have a long-term plan”. After this, it’s the final song of the evening, titled ‘Eulogy’. Owen’s drumming on this one is top-notch, and he even reverts to playing with his hands midway through, then switches back to his drumsticks as the dynamics of the song draw to a close.
Divorce Attorney:
Nathan Key – lead vocals/rhythm guitar
Tanya Sitotombe – lead guitar/backing vocals
Alex Lemonidis – keytar/Nintendo DS
Owen Flood – drums
Charlie Chatfield – bass
Divorce Attorney setlist:
‘Mothballs’ (a 2023 single)
‘Blessing’ (a 2024 single)
‘Blind Eye’ (unreleased)
‘Align Me’ (unreleased)
‘Duality’ (unreleased)
‘Got Lost’ (unreleased)
‘Eulogy’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/divorceattorney
(Ian Holman)
As with the majority of Hidden Herd showcases, the second band of the evening is a total contrast from the first. They are popular local band, Bones Ate Arfa. Their sound is a mix of grunge with early 2000s US punk and a dose of metal thrown in. The band like to call it Psychedelic Street Punk & Desert Garage Rock. They are Sonny (vocals/guitar), Arthur (vocals/bass), and Herbie (drums) and are here to entertain.
They start their set with an unreleased grunge track, ‘Soda’. This features shared vocals from Arthur and Sonny. During the catchy second song, ‘Just Bananas’, Arthur leaps from a chair that has been placed next to the drum kit. Their debut single, ‘Asbestos’, is next, then Arthur asks, “How’s it going? We are Bones Ate Arfa. We are going to play you a new song, and we’re going to dedicate it to Wing! It’s called ‘Not All Wings Are For Flying’.” This goes down well with the audience, which includes some Hidden Herd regulars.
Next, we get ‘Vineyard’, one of the many good tracks from the ‘Just Bananas’ EP, which was released back in April. The penultimate song is ‘Akimbo People’. After applause from the onlookers, Arthur says, “Thank you very much. This is our last song, and it came out last month, or was it the month before? It’s called ‘It’s All Good’.” It’s a song about how everything in the world seems so messed up, but you just carry on like everything’s all good.
Bones Ate Arfa have plenty of shows coming up, including an acoustic set at The Brunswick Cellar, supporting Woodpig on 10th October, playing The BHS Fest at one of the two Waterbear venues on 25th October, supporting Alien Chicks at the Green Door Store on 1st November, and a UK tour in support of their latest single, taking in venues in Newport, Exeter, Birmingham, Winchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and North Shields. They are also back at The Hope & Ruin for a headline show on 13th December.
Bones Ate Arfa:
Sonny Whittington aka Bones – lead guitar, vocals
Herbie Wilson aka 8 – drums
Arthur Wilson aka Arfa – lead vocals, bass guitar
Bones Ate Arfa setlist:
‘Sofa’ (unreleased)
‘Just Bananas’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘Asbestos’ (a 2023 single)
‘Not All Wings Are For Flying’ (unreleased)
‘Vineyard’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘Akimbo People’ (from 2024 ‘Akimbo People’ EP)
‘It’s All Good’ (a 2025 single)
(Ian Holman)
‘Wing!’ (stylized in lower case) were the third group of the night, led by producer ‘Wing!’ and their band – Kai Charlton (bass/synth), and Joe Killik (drums). The first thing that stuck out was the fact that they were wearing over-ear headphones – seemingly uninterested in the crowd and only tuned in to themselves and each other. Their first song ‘Let The Rest Go’ had elements of trip-hop and jungle but was fused with ambient loops that gave their set a meditative overtone. The track ‘Well I Guess Not’ is a continuation of their trip-hop elements, mixing in sampled vocals. The kick and bass are so well timed you could be convinced it was a trigger.
‘Pack It In’, the next song on their set, was consummately blurred into from the previous song, a hallmark of their sound where they’re able to weave each song into the next. I really enjoyed this track, reminiscent of a lot of ‘Aphex Twin-isms’ with atmospheric pads and synth lines. ‘Hold Them To It’, was unexpectedly ‘Dilla’ in its production and flow – before blending immaculately into more jungle inspired parts, evoking tracks such as ‘film’ with its ambience paired with live drumming that could be mistaken for sampled breaks.
‘You Might Just Miss It’, incorporates elements of R&B and pairs it with huge 808 subs and drumming that could be compared to Rob Turner (Gogopenguin) – and reminding me of albums such as ‘Green’ by Robohands. The last track finishes with ‘Wing!’ themselves swapping over to a laid back, washy guitar; tying every inch of their set together.
Wing!:
Wing! – producer, guitar
Kai Charlton – bass, synth
Joe Killik – drums
Wing! setlist:
‘Let The Rest Go’ (from 2025 ‘Missed It Just The Once’ EP)
‘Well I Guess Not’ (unreleased)
‘Pack It In’ (from 2025 ‘Missed It Just The Once’ EP)
‘Hold Them To It’ (unreleased)
‘You Might Just Miss It’ (unreleased)
‘In A Second I Will Need A Second’ (from 2025 ‘Missed It Just The Once’ EP)
(Alison Lawrence)
At around 10pm, our fourth and final band; beloved Windmill scene-supergroup Y, finally took the stage consisting of, Adam Brennan (guitar, bass, vocals), and Sophie Coppin (synth, vocals), along with Dan GB (bass, guitar), Harry McHale (saxophone), and Fells (drums). Y could be categorised as wonk rock, a sonic hurricane of post-punk and jazz with pop sensibilities – with a killer, off-kilter danceability to boot. Of course, however, their sound is still easily undefiant and fluid.
I would be lying to say I wasn’t looking forward to seeing these guys! I fell in love with their debut self-titled EP from the moment I heard it.
Kicking off with ‘Duplicate’, Y set the scene for some unbridled chaos. The guitar is discordant, with guitarist Adam shredding throughout the number. The crowd at this point started to divide, with people on the right side of the room two stepping and forming a sort of mosh pit, so I had to take solace in the left side of the room so I could continue to take notes. Followed closely by ‘Mav 8’, where the foundation of the bass and drum is pure groove, scored beautifully with a sax lead and a guitar drenched in effects sounding almost percussive.
‘Ladies Who’, which is the first song of the set thus far to have Sophie take the lead vocal, and also the first song taken from their EP. ‘Ladies Who’, has angular, syncopated post-punk guitar, and playful, almost cynical and catchy hooks from the saxophone in the chorus. It feels reminiscent of early Talking Heads – but much more sonically sophisticated. Then, they then bounce into ‘Marianne’, a jazzy pumper with a funky drum groove placed sporadically over the bar, coupled with huge chromatic falling melodies from guitar and sax pairing effortlessly together.
They opened their unnamed track saying: “This one’s a new song, it’s got no words…yet.” This included a synth line evoking children’s shows and old nostalgia in its mischief. ‘Waiting’, redirects the attention to Adam, starting the song with steadily filtering guitar before diving into some prog-fuelled madness – evoking the likes of Jefferson Airplane, with its inherent psychedelic undertone and Sophie’s vocality here being rich with boldness, and authoritative in a way that Grace Slick was.
The next track was ‘Hate’, a love song to everyday anguish. This one is a little more of a ballad, with the synth line sounding a little like something Nintendo would include in a game – maybe why they’ve been categorised as “Gameboy Thrash”. Their last song and namesake ‘Why’, feels like an accumulation of their entire sound. This song is unrestrained mayhem with the band taking from an encyclopaedia of influence, from jazz-disco to avant-garde electronica. In the middle of the set, they cut into a very Middle Eastern-esque break, before jumping back into it again. It’s a song that is probably the most relatable, with the only lyrics “Why!?” sustained throughout the entire song, which I’m sure is a question we ask ourselves a lot.
Y:
Adam Brennan – guitar, bass, vocals
Sophie Coppin – synth, vocals
Dan GB – bass, guitar
Harry McHale – saxophone
Fells – drums
Y setlist:
‘Duplicate’ (unreleased)
‘Mav 8’ (unreleased)
‘Oh No’ (unreleased)
‘Ladies Who’ (from 2025 ‘Y’ EP)
‘Marianne’ (from 2025 ‘Y’ EP)
‘Skipper’ (unreleased)
‘New Song’ (unreleased)
‘Waiting’ (unreleased)
‘Hate’ (from 2025 ‘Y’ EP)
‘Hairline’ (unreleased)
‘Why’ (from 2025 ‘Y’ EP)
(Alison Lawrence)
All in all, tonight’s set was eclectic and incredible. Hidden Herd never fails to put on a lineup that is diverse and sonically palatable. I truly recommend that when you get the chance – not if you get the chance – to go to a Hidden Herd gig – you might just discover the next best thing. And check out each band on the lineup as well – they were each stupendous in their own way.
