GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS + FRANK & BEANS – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 22.10.22
Saturday night saw experimental post-punk band Girls In Synthesis visit the Green Door Store to promote their second album ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ which dropped on 14th October as part of their 24-date UK and European tour.
Formed in 2016, Girls in Synthesis are John Linger (bass / vocals), Jim Cubitt (guitar / keyboards / vocals) and Nicole Pinto (drums). The trio from London embody the spirit of DIY culture, and are a word-of-mouth success story who’ve built a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands.
Their latest album ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is a follow-up to 2020’s incendiary debut, ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’. The new material on ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is darker in content than its predecessor, dealing with internal and mental struggles rather than external current affairs.
Back to the live music. The printed set times at the Green Door Store differed from the time headliners actually came on stage. Coming on unannounced and later than expected caught many people unaware. So, the room was fairly empty when Girls in Synthesis came on stage. They began their set with a noisy wall of feedback, before going straight into the opening song ‘Watch With Mother’. This gave an early indication of what was to come from their set: no chat, straight into the music. With the noise level from Girls in Synthesis, it didn’t take long for the audience to realise that the headliners had taken the stage, and the room soon filled up.
Girls in Synthesis played at a very energetic tempo, with many tracks starting with pounding drums from Nicole Pinto and thumping basslines from John Linger.
The set up of the equipment on stage looked strange before the band arrived with the two mic stands facing each other. It soon became obvious that the two vocalists John Linger and Jim Cubitt faced each other when singing. This didn’t disengage them from the audience, but seemed to increase the noise and energy levels between the two of them. When not at the mic, bassist John Linger played right on the edge of the stage.
In the latter part of the set, Jim Cubitt swapped bass for keyboards. These were relatively slower numbers. I should stress relatively, as they still had the same drive and intensity as the rest of the set.
The final song of the set ‘Enveloped’ finished abruptly with bassist John Linger saying “Thank you, Good night”. This was about the longest dialogue with the audience during their set. No complaints from me, I’d rather hear a band’s music than their banter. The lively crowd called for “One more song”. When Nicole Pinto came back on stage to pick up her belongings, somebody suggested a drum solo encore. Alas, her other two band members had already made their way to the merch stall, where there was a busy queue of satisfied fans.
A thoroughly enjoyable set that left the crowd wanting more, but far from short changed. There was a real buzz around the Green Door Store about the Girls in Synthesis performance.
Girls in Synthesis:
John Linger (bass / vocals),
Jim Cubitt (guitar / keyboards / vocals)
Nicole Pinto (drums)
Girls In Synthesis setlist:
‘Watch With Mother’ (from 2022 ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ album)
‘Pressure’ (from 2020 ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’ album)
‘The Engine’ (from 2022 ‘Komsumraucsch’ EP)
‘Screaming’ (from 2022 ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ album)
‘Lacking Bite’ (from 2022 ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ album)
‘Pulling Teeth’ (from 2022 ‘Komsumraucsch’ EP)
‘We Might Not Make Tomorrow’ (from 2018 ‘We Might Not Make Tomorrow’ EP)
‘My Husband’ (from 2022 ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ album)
‘Cottage Industry’ (from 2022 ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ album)
‘Enveloped’ (from 2022 ‘Komsumraucsch’ EP)
Frank & Beans provided very loud and entertaining support.
Originally from Antrim, Northern Ireland, Frank & Beans are a Brighton-based ‘thunder punk’ outfit. The band members, two half-brothers Tim Burns and Milo Dunn Clarke, have been playing together since they were at school. The two of them came to the city to study at BIMM.
Arriving early (Girls In Synthesis were still setting up the merch stall), I caught Frank & Beans’ soundcheck from the bar area, so I knew it was going to be a loud set. What later became apparent was the volume level was matched by the quality.
I was very impressed with the duo’s post-punk sound with its energetic high tempo set by Tim Burns’s driving drums accompanied by good vocals and guitar riffs from Milo Dunn Clarke. There is more to Frank & Beans than just noise.
They’re an exciting new band and worth checking out live. Those who turned up early for Girls In Synthesis and caught the support band seemed very appreciative and engaged with Frank & Beans’s performance.
Frank & Beans:
Milo Dunn Clarke – guitarist and singer
Tim Burns – drummer
