LA artist DeathbyRomy plays Brighton as 1 of only 2 UK gigs

(Review by Mark Kelly)

DEATHBYROMY + JAYDEN HAMMER – DUST, BRIGHTON 29.6.26

DeathbyRomy comes to Brighton (courtesy of LOUT promotions) in support of her latest single ‘Body Horror’. It’s part of a select European & UK ‘Manic Dream Tour’ and thus far she has played a gig in Switzerland, a trio in Germany, and last night she was in London. After tonight she heads off to Madrid in Spain and finishes in Milan in Italy.

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DeathbyRomy (Romy Flores) is a Los Angeles–based independent artist whose music fuses energetic alt-pop with industrial grit, pulsating dance synths and unflinching honesty. Blurring the lines between vulnerability and power, she has become one of the most distinctive voices in modern alternative pop music—amassing over 200 million global streams and a devoted worldwide fanbase drawn to her darkly glamorous, genre-bending sound.

Her debut album, ‘Hollywood Forever’ (stylized in capitals) was in released April 2025 via ONErpm. It marked a defining moment in her career. A raw and intimate reflection on her hometown, the record serves as both a love letter and a requiem to Los Angeles—where beauty and brutality coexist in a constant, irresistible pull. With over 15 million Spotify streams to date, ‘Hollywood Forever’ received critical acclaim for its bold story-telling, cinematic scope and sonic range, cementing DeathbyRomy as a visionary force in the alt-pop landscape.

DeathbyRomy at Dust, Brighton 29.6.26 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)

Following the release, Romy embarked on her first-ever U.S. headline tour in spring 2025, selling out shows nationwide and earning praise for her electrifying live energy and immersive stage visuals. Her European debut headline run soon followed, with sold-out shows including London, Utrecht, and Berlin, alongside festival appearances at 2000 Trees (UK) and Deichbrand (Germany).

With over 1 million combined social media followers, 830k monthly Spotify listeners, and 58 million+ video views, DeathbyRomy’s influence continues to grow. Her music has been featured in TV shows such as ‘Ginny & Georgia’ and ‘The L Word’, as well as the Oscar-nominated soundtrack for ‘Promising Young Woman’, where she contributed both a haunting cover of ‘It’s Raining Men’ and an original song used in the film’s climax.

Having toured with Bring Me the Horizon, The Used, Pierce the Veil, BabyMetal, Set It Off and Crown the Empire, Romy has proven her ability to transcend genre boundaries—equally at home on rock stages and pop playlists. Her collaborations with brands like Balenciaga and Elena Valez and features in Billboard, Nylon, Flaunt, Notion and Alternative Press, reflect her seamless blend of music, fashion and visual storytelling.

To me Romy’s music, on record at least, sounds like electro-rock (and occasionally pop) with metallic sensibilities. To be honest, I’m wondering how exactly this is going to work live, and I fear that the bulk of the music is going to be on the backing track.

Jayden Hammer at Dust, Brighton 29.6.26 (pic Sara-Louise Bowrey)

However, before we discover what the state of play is regarding that, we are entertained by Jayden Hammer and her band. Jayden and her band are a classic three piece comprising Jayden on guitar, Suki on bass and Max on drums. The material is very riff driven with some ace soloing from Jayden.

‘Obedience’ contains the following pearl of wisdom: “The only good cop is a dead one”. I’m not sure that the local constabulary would necessarily be amused by that.

Jayden is a great frontwoman. It turns out that not only is she guitarist in DeathbyRomy, she and her band are Romy’s backing band.

Jayden is not afraid to show off. For ‘Sunshine’, an unreleased song, she plays the solo behind her head a la Hendrix. ‘Perfect Tragedy’ is another new song. It’s dancey, hook-laden and sounds like a hit. They cover ‘The Hand That Feeds’ by Nine Inch Nails, which does not sound like a hit. It’s a great version though, with an utterly storming guitar solo courtesy of Jayden.

I’ll make no bones about it, Jayden’s material is utterly brilliant. It’s melodic with guts. Honourable mention must be made of Max’s drumming, which is awesome. Likewise, Jayden’s lead guitar playing is jaw-dropping throughout. I can’t help wondering how DeathbyRomy will follow this.

Jayden Hammer:
Jayden – guitar, vocals
Suki – bass
Max – drums

Jayden Hammer setlist:
‘Hate Yourself’ (a 2024 single)
‘Obedience’ (a 2024 single)
‘Living Dead Girl’ (a 2025 single)
‘Won’t Pray For You’ (a 2024 single)
‘Sunshine’ (unreleased)
‘Perfect Tragedy’ (unreleased)
‘The Hand That Feeds’ (Nine Inch Nails cover)
‘Searching 4 A Feeling’ (a 2025 single)
‘Supernova’ (a 2026 single)

linktr.ee/jaydenjhammer

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As it happens, DeathbyRomy follow Jayden with ease. That’s partially because Jayden and her band are backing Romy, and partially because Romy is one helluva frontwoman. New single ‘Body Horror’ kicks off proceedings, and is followed by ‘City Of Angels’, which is about LA. Unsurprisingly, the songs sound much heavier live than they do on the records. This is because Romy is backed by a rock band rather than a ton of studio trickery. Romy squints at the setlist, and jokes about it being “virtually illegible”. It is too. Dust could do with getting some new toner for their printer!

‘XXXhibitionist’ is slowly dancey. The band’s performance here is very kinetic, with choreographed synchronicity. ‘BDSM’ along with most of the set is a display of rock ‘n’ roll brilliance. This is absolutely not what I was expecting!

There are occasional moments of levity though. Suki gives a shout out to her mum, who apparently is here. I was quite impressed with Jayden’s guitar, which is a Schecter Telecaster. The only people that I’ve seen using one before are Pete Townshend and Eddie Vedder, and Eddie’s guitar was gifted to him by Pete. Indeed, I often wondered why Pete was using Telecasters rather than his previously traditional Les Paul’s. Having now seen the Schecter’s dual coil pickups I understand!

‘Manic Dream’ is introduced as a new song, although it was released as a single in February. I guess that it’s relatively new. Doubtless together with ‘Body Horror’ it’ll find a place on DeathbyRomy’s next album.