BLEACH LAB + SANDHOUSE – PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 18.11.25
Tonight was a milestone for me as I was attending my 100th gig of the year (excluding festivals). It was one I was very much looking forward to. Bleach Lab at Patterns in Marine Parade with support from Sandhouse.
SANDHOUSE (19:55 – 20:25)
Arriving late for a gig and missing out on support acts seems to be a regular thing for some people. To me, that’s just like turning up to a football match at half-time (but no one seems to do that). For those that do turn up late, they may be missing out on an act that may go on to bigger things, and later in life, you may have wished you had turned up early for the full show as you could have seen the act’s potential. I feel tonight’s gig at Patterns in Brighton could turn out to be a prime example of this. There was one support act playing, and they were a South London-based band, Sandhouse. They were formed in 2018 when vocalist Anna Sutherland and rhythm guitarist Casper Holloway started writing together, having met at Exeter University through a mutual friend. Although they are a South London-based duo, they perform live as a five-piece with Jake Burgess on lead guitar, Joel Kovoor on drums, and Isaac Holloway playing five-string bass. Their music combines a mix of indie, shoegaze, and grunge. They are currently unsigned and released their self-produced five-track debut EP ‘Circle’ in May this year. This was followed by the single ‘Make Me Small’ in September.
The band arrive on stage ten minutes later than their advertised starting time of 7:45pm and play a full thirty-minute set consisting of eight songs. They open with the first track off their EP. This is ‘Bite Me Back’. This starts off with a trip-hop feel to it with haunting vocals reminiscent of Morcheeba’s Skye Edwards. As the song goes on, it reaches peaks of heavier guitar and drumming parts, and there’s even a keyboard part towards the end from Casper. Following the opener, Anna greets the audience with “How are you doing? It’s quite cold. We are excited. We’ve driven from Manchester to be here.” There is some applause. Anna continues, “This next one is a new one and it’s called ’Snapdragon’”. This one has a good rhythmic beat to it and sees Anna dancing along. She then decides to take off her shoes. The third song is another from the EP. It is ‘Undefeated’. Another song that transverses with light vocals and peaks of heavier-sounding indie-rock. There are also some screeching guitar parts from Jake on lead guitar as well as more confident dance moves from Anna.
The fourth song is the other unreleased song of the set. This is the heavy rock-sounding ‘Gasoleen’. We then get to hear the latest single ‘Make Me Small’; this one has a faster pace to it with a catchy chorus. The final three songs of the set are all from their excellent debut EP. Anna informs us that the first of the three, ‘Sick Of Your Face’, is about an ex-boyfriend. It’s atmospheric yet at times gritty. Next is ‘Grown’, which is started off by Casper on rhythm guitar before Jake adds some haunting effects. The song builds with beautiful angelic vocals from Anna and ends with further effects from Jake. Anna then approaches her mic to say: “Thanks for coming out early to see us. Who’s looking forward to Bleach Lab?” There are cheers. “This is our last song; it’s called ‘Circus’”. There is warm applause from those that did arrive early. ‘Circus’ starts with more effects from Jake; the drums kick in, then Anna joins in. It’s a slow start to what ends up being a barn-stormer and my favourite song of the set, a mix of shoegaze, haunting lyrics, and rock parts that resemble the band Garbage. I highly recommend seeing Sandhouse if you get a chance. Hopefully it won’t be long before they play Brighton again.
Sandhouse:
Anna Sutherland – vocals
Casper Holloway – rhythm guitar, keyboard
Jake Burgess – lead guitar
Joel Kovoor – drums
Isaac Holloway – bass, keyboard
Sandhouse setlist:
‘Bite Me Back’ (from 2025 ‘Circus’ EP)
‘Snapdragon’ (unreleased)
‘Undefeated’ (from 2025 ‘Circus’ EP)
‘Gasoleen’ (unreleased)
‘Make Me Small’ (a 2025 single)
‘Sick Of Your Face’ (from 2025 ‘Circus’ EP)
‘Grown’ (from 2025 ‘Circus’ EP)
‘Circus’ (from 2025 ‘Circus’ EP)
BLEACH LAB (20:45 – 21:39)
Bleach Lab are a South London/Brighton-based indie pop quartet formed in Buckinghamshire in 2017. Their current line-up consists of original members Jenna Kyle (vocals), Josh Longman (bass), and Kieran Weston (drums), and newest recruit Louis Takooree (lead guitar). Jenna is based in Brighton, and the others are based in London. They are known for their dreamy, introspective soundscapes that blend spaced-out melodies with jangly guitars, drawing inspiration from artists such as Mazzy Star and Cocteau Twins. The band also cite The Smiths, Slowdive, and Julia Jacklin as influences. They have released a number of singles and EPs to critical acclaim, as well as positive reviews for their 2023 debut album ‘Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness’.
On the back of hearing ‘All Night’, the opening song from their debut album, I planned to see Bleach Lab at Patterns in November 2023 but was too unwell to attend. Thankfully, I was able to catch them for the first time at Tunbridge Wells Forum six months later. They last played Brighton during the ‘Homegrown Festival’ in April (Review HERE). Tonight’s performance is the penultimate show of a seven-date tour that started in Bristol on 12th November and finishes tomorrow (19th November) at Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush, West London.
For tonight’s performance there is some additional stage lighting set up in the form of a couple of stage props. From the audience’s viewpoint, to the left of the stage there is a candelabra set up containing five battery-operated candles and to the right of stage, a bedside lamp. The band entered the stage at 8:45pm and performed a 54-minute set of 14 songs that included all five tracks from their most recent EP ‘Close To The Flame’ as well as four songs from their debut album and some earlier releases.
They open with ‘Feel Something’ from their newest EP. Sound adjustments are required early in the song to get the mix right. Kieran adds backing vocals on this one. They move swiftly on to ‘I Could Be Your Safe Place’ from the 2022 EP ‘If You Feel It Once’ with its jangly opening chords and Jenna’s beautiful, soft vocals. Jenna then asks, “Brighton, how are we doing? Thank you so much for coming out on a Tuesday evening. Let’s go.” The title track from ‘Close To The Flame’ EP is next, with crashing drums from Kieran playing a big part, adding depth to the track. Jenna’s voice sounds great, as does the guitar playing from Louis. Next, there are two songs from the debut album ‘A Calm Sense of Surrounding’. The excellent ‘All Night’ followed by ‘Counting Empties’.
Mid-set, we get to hear and see three older tracks performed. These are all from 2021. There is ‘Real Thing’ from the 2021 EP ‘Nothing Feels Real’, followed by two songs from the ‘A Calm Sense of Surrounding’ EP. These are ‘Old Ways’ and ’Never Be’. For the wonderful ‘Never Be’, they do things a little differently as Kieran switches to brushes instead of drumsticks, and Jenna plays a small acoustic guitar. Unfortunately, the acoustic feels lost in the mix. For the third of the tracks from the album ‘Saving All Your Kindness’, Louis plays the small acoustic guitar, and now it stands out, although there are no drums or bass on this song, which makes a huge difference to the mix. Jenna continues to provide amazing dream-like vocals.
After ‘Drown’ from the latest EP, it’s time for the only cover of the night. It’s The Cardigans’ ‘My Favourite Game’, a Top 20 hit for the Swedish rock band in 1998. Jenna then thanked the audience, especially the ones that followed them around on the tour. The last of the night’s album tracks, ‘Everything At Once’, then Jenna says “This is going to be our last two songs” and continues “We’ve enjoyed the tour, thanks for being part of it”. They finish with two more from the ‘Close To The Flame’ EP. The delightful ‘In Your Arms’ and the EP closer ‘If I Could Be Anything’. Jenna makes a swift exit off stage, soon followed by the rest of the band. There is plenty of applause, and for a minute, the audience had hopes of an unscheduled encore, but this wasn’t to be.
Bleach Lab:
Jenna Kyle – vocals
Louis Takooree – lead guitar
Kieran Weston – drums, backing vocals
Josh Longman – bass
Bleach Lab setlist:
‘Feel Something’ (from 2025 ‘Close To The Flame’ EP)
‘I Could Be Your Safe Place’ (from 2022 ‘If You Feel It Once’ EP)
‘Close To The Flame’ (from 2025 ‘Close To The Flame’ EP)
‘All Night’ (from 2023 ‘Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness’ album)
‘Counting Empties’ (from 2023 ‘Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness’ album)
‘Real Thing’ (from 2021 ‘Nothing Feels Real’ EP)
‘Old Ways’ (from 2021 ‘A Calm Sense Of Surrounding’ EP)
‘Never Be’ (from 2021‘A Calm Sense Of Surrounding’ EP)
‘Saving All Your Kindness’ (from 2023 ‘Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness’ album)
‘Drown’ (from 2025 ‘Close To The Flame’ EP)
‘My Favourite Game’ (The Cardigans cover)
‘Everything At Once’ (from 2023 ‘Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness’ album)
‘In Your Arms’ (from 2025 ‘Close To The Flame’ EP)
‘If I Could Be Anything’ (from 2025 ‘Close To The Flame’ EP)
