MARGARITAS PODRIDAS + PERCH + EVERYDAY SAINTS – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 23.7.23
It is the 23rd of July. I’m in the mood for something new; and at The Hope & Ruin, I am in for a treat: the uprising Mexican alternative rock group Margaritas Podridas (Rotten Daisies). Formed eight years ago in the city of Hermosillo in Sonora, Mexico, the quartet have spent the best part of their tenure thus far crafting a distinctive mix of grunge, punk and shoegazing music before the release of their ‘Porcelain Mannequin’ EP in 2018. That seven-track collection was only a hint of things to come for the band as they would go on to perfect their sound within the space of three 2020 singles before dropping their acclaimed eponymous debut album the following year. This week saw Margaritas Podridas conclude four consecutive UK shows in their lengthy European tour, starting in London on the 20th and finishing here in Brighton three days later at the beloved Hope & Ruin, courtesy of Love Thy Neighbour.
The socially seminal Margaritas Podridas were preceded by two local Brighton bands (while neither of which were along the punk vein that Margaritas Podridas drive across, they both clicked with me in numerous shades of enjoyment), the first of which being Everyday Saints (stylized in lowercase). Self-described as “evil dingepop disco vampires”, this four-piece quietly strut onto the stage and warm up before entering their first cut ‘Narcolepsies’, the intro of which carries a strong early Gary Numan soundscape of synths. The band brings forward a unique hybrid of Peter Hook bass work, and a modern synthpop aesthetic across a simple two-chord progression… also drummer James seems to be wearing an Original Pirate Material T-shirt… respect! The next song, ‘Was The Gun’, makes use of a more post-punk style of groove, with vocalists Jade and lead singer Pip displaying such wonderful vocal chemistry; their presence on-stage gave the feeling that they could sit on your shoulders as your personal devil and angel. No time is wasted whatsoever as they head into ‘Soma’ (not to be confused by The Strokes song of the same name…). During this song, I could help but find it remarkable how sophisticated the chord progressions were, not to mention the creative synth effects coming from Jade.
The band have a knack for travelling across a song’s particular atmosphere, whether it’s blissful or angsty, a knack that plays full force on the song ‘She Said’, complete with those stunning vocal harmonies and a great closing refrain of “it’s all in your head…”. Their only song currently on streaming services, ‘Distress Yourself’, is next, where Pip places her guitar down and asserts her dominance with the Margaritas Podridas fans at the very front of the stage, white Doc Martens and all! Following a great climax in the song’s final leg, Everyday Saints give their thanks to the audience and to Margaritas Podridas for having them as a support. Gary’s angular bass work introduces the next cut ‘Gia’, a song that’s funky as all hell with Pip seeming a lot more comfortable with the crowd. The final track, ‘Pink Kiss’, sees Everyday Saints’ set end on a fantastic high. The pace has been picked up, with the bass and synth work carrying a lot more weight in the soundscape. In this single track alone, one can remark on the pool of influences that the band are working from, whether it’s the melodicism’s of Depeche Mode, the drum and bass grooves of The Pop Group or the gloomy atmosphere of Have A Nice Life.
Catch Everyday Saints at the ‘Hidden Herd Presents’ night on Wednesday 27th September at The Hope & Ruin – Details and tickets HERE.
Everyday Saints setlist:
‘Narcolepsies’
‘Was The Gun’
‘Soma’
‘She Said’
‘Distress Yourself’
‘Gia’
‘Pink Kiss’
Following the sleek synthpop of Everyday Saints came the poised post-rock of Perch, an exploratory group that are currently 14 years in musical incumbency. We are graced with glorious reminiscences of indie gems of the 90s like Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement on the opening cut ‘Rural Measures’, layered with brief snapshots of odd time signature changes and a stunning descending chord sequence that sits proudly in the song’s progression. Perch’s post-rock sound is elevated to new plains on ‘Alpine Arrival’, with frontman Chris Mitchell switching to a gorgeous Fender Jazzmaster (insert remark of my love for My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields here!), before embarking on an intertwining guitar sequence with Luke Dunstan. Vocally, Chris embraces the spoken word trajectories of bands like Slint, a group notable for their groundbreaking ‘Spiderland’ album that generated buzz in underground indie spheres and the post-rock vernacular. The track closes out its latter half with walls of crash cymbals smothering the bridge and drum grooves that border on slowcore while still keeping tight rhythm. The title track from their recent studio album release, ‘The Magic Mountain’, is the next song in the set, where Perch espouses luscious combinations of open guitar tunings, within which sit bittersweet chord progressions.
A slightly puzzling moment came next in the form of a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Motion Pictures’, the penultimate track from the folk singer’s 1974 ‘On The Beach’ record. This aforementioned puzzlement was due to Luke and bassist John Guzek inundating the soundscape with cacophonous, droning feedback while drummer Jon Wood manipulates some electronic effects from behind the kit. Despite its odd presence in the set, this was certainly a highpoint for me! The wall of noise and feedback peters away before transitioning into the next song, ‘Vingt Et Un’. This track was possibly the most melodic cut of the set, complete with stellar musicianship and a fantastic comedown towards the back end of the song. The low-key and soothing ‘Bird On A Wire’ starts to draw the set to a close; here, we see Perch embark on some softer post-rock tendencies, not too dissimilar to a group I’ve become a fan of in the past couple of years by the name of Caroline. Despite taking time to tune their guitars, the final song, ‘Jennifer’, was the most glorious moment of the set. The quartet revitalise some previous slowcore moments here with a funereal drum rhythm and heavier guitarwork before reaching a strong conclusion that acts as a powerful reminder of why I love the style of post-rock so much, it’s emotional, odyssean and distinctive.
Perch setlist:
‘Rural Measures’
‘Alpine Arrival’
‘The Magic Mountain’
‘Motion Pictures’ (Neil Young cover)
‘Vingt Et Un’
‘Bird On A Wire’
‘Jennifer’
Following Perch’s departure from the stage, an unfortunate 15-20 minutes are elapsed after Margaritas Podridas were scheduled to start due to problems with the guitar and bass amps, but the band make use of their time by partaking in banter with the front audience members as well as short little jams before a statement of this apparently being their first tour! Eventually, technical issues are resolved as the band kick off the set with ‘Corazón’, top-to-toe in thunderous drum hits and heavy open D guitar tunings against a sound palette and aesthetic to that of Nirvana. Now, with a sound like this, if this is their first tour, these guys mean business…! I unfortunately did not catch the name of the next track, but it carried a fantastically sludge-like sound with lead vocalist and bassist Carolina Enríquez’s manic and tenacity-challenging screaming pairing really nice with distorted feedback from the guitarists. ‘No Quiero Ser Madre’ (which translates to ‘I Don’t Want To Be A Mother’), makes use of immaculate levels of flanger-layered guitar passages and an ending that’s energetic as all hell!
A loose and messy guitar introduction (a good loose and messy guitar introduction at that) introduces the subsequent ‘Vómito’; with descending chord progressions and a chaotic stage presence, this song was a quintessential moment in the set where the fire in the audience started to grow. We then get blessed with the calm introduction of older cut ‘Porcelain Mannequin’… until the punk side in the four-piece starts to bleed through the room, topped with Carolina’s screaming once again! “We wrote this next song while we were in a shoegaze phase”, states Carolina before leading into ‘Wow’, a track that dives into the bubblegum-kissed fuzz-driven sounds onset by bands like My Bloody Valentine. Lengthy and progressive, this track was probably my favourite the band had to offer. Both sides of Margaritas Podridas’ grunge and shoegaze-duelling sound come into balanced play on ‘Púrpura’, while the slow and jangly ‘Parabrisas’ has an array of complexities, particularly in its progressive song structure and post-tempo change krautrock rhythmic passage.
Any signs of social and sonic order in Margaritas Podridas are excitingly destroyed by the time we are greeted with the song ‘Margaritas’; everything you need to know about the band can be found in this track with uninhibited stage dynamics, steady grooves and guitars collapsing in feedback and noise… and let’s not forget Carolina’s wild vocals. The next track, both unreleased and unknown in title, feels more like a departure from their previous material, sitting more in line with artists that can be found in the current post-punk scene. Carolina takes a brief moment to thank the crowd for the opportunity of playing in Brighton, stating “we’re young Mexicans just wanting to play music for you all”. ‘Malign’ continues to drift from the set’s grunge origins towards a strong punk plateau, while the final cut ‘Filosa’ tears apart the entire show. Here, the band climax into sonic vivacity and chaos, with all three guitarists jumping up and down on the stage, mutilating the sound of The Hope & Ruin into ear-splitting feedback before the guitarists and drummer start playing catch with a crash cymbal to close up shop.
It’s nights like this that remind me why live music continues to be an exciting component of society; the thrill of catching bands you’ve never heard of and being welcomed into new territory, or rekindling the memories of the familiar territory. From the driving force of Everyday Saints to the emotional intricacies of Perch and the unadulterated powerhouse that is Margaritas Podridas, it’s safe to say that Monday night at The Hope and Ruin was a 100% success for both bands and fans.
Margaritas Podridas setlist:
‘Corazón’
(unknown song)
‘No Quiero Ser Madre’
‘Vómito’
‘Porcelain Mannequin’
‘Wow’
‘Púrpura’
‘Parabrisas’
‘Margaritas’
(unreleased song)
‘Malign’
‘Filosa’
