LOVE FOR THE PEACHES + HEIGHTS + HONGZA – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 28.2.24
February may be the shortest month, yet ‘Hidden Herd’ promoters still managed to fit in a third night of emerging new bands. On Wednesday at The Prince Albert, they showcased exciting local artists Love For The Peaches and HEIGHTS with London based Hongza completing the line up.
I’ll start with the headliners, indie band Love For The Peaches. Brighton concert goers will recognise their band members from the band Thyla. Their vocalist Millie Duthie, bassist Dan Hole and drummer Danny Southwell reformed as Love For The Peaches after the birth of Millie’s child. The new band’s line up was completed by their producer Josh Harrison on guitar. Brighton & Hove News were at Thyla’s last show. You can read our review HERE.
Back to the present. Love For The Peaches opened their set with their latest single ‘Wishing Well’ released only the previous week. When Millie and Josh swapped guitars before the next song, they partook in a bit of maypole dancing to avoid getting tangled in the leads from their instruments. With Millie on acoustic guitar, that next song ‘Blazers’ soon built to an alt-rock tune.
The next four songs were from their 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP. Millie told us she wrote ‘Closure’ two days before her baby was born, about how her world was about to change. She explained that ‘Carmen’ was about her alter-ego, and we had two of her on that track. There were influences of 1990’s alternative rock bands such as Sixpence None The Richer on those songs.
There was a distinct change in sound on the new unreleased material, which completed a very entertaining set. ‘Do The Hairs Still Stand Up’ was written by bassist Dan. Its thumping drums, strong bass line with haunting vocals by both Millie and Dan created an interesting unique sound.
The band started the next song, while Millie was still taking her shoes off to dance. Unlike most of the set, where Millie started singing to one other instrument, ‘Enjoy The Show’ had a loud opening with a synth part added. Her vocals, which included a spoken word narrative, danced between the music, which soared to a loud alt-rock track. Her freeform dancing reminded me of early Kate Bush videos. The change in sound may have caught the audience by surprise, as there was a moment’s silence after the track, as they took in what they’d heard before loudly applauding.
Another new song, ‘Is It Real’, which was written during lockdown, closed the set. That was closer in style to their earlier material.
It was a quality entertaining show from Love For The Peaches, enjoyed very much by the crowd at The Prince Albert. The variety between their released and new material worked well, and bodes well for them.
Love For The Peaches:
Millie Duthie – vocals and guitar
Dan Hole – bass
Josh Harrison – guitar
Danny Southwell – drums
Love For The Peaches setlist:
‘Wishing Well’ (a 2024 single)
‘Blazers’ (a 2023 single)
‘I Need A Medic’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Caravan Girl’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Closure’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Carmen’ (from 2023 ‘Look At The Real Thing’ EP)
‘Do The Hairs Still Stand Up’ (unreleased)
‘Enjoy The Show’ (unreleased)
‘Is It Real’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/loveforthepeaches
Brighton-based HEIGHTS (real name Chelsie) creates emotive alt-pop by combining 80s new wave with 90s dream pop, sprinkled with 00s alternative indie. I first caught HEIGHTS at last year’s Alternative Escape playing Unbarred Brewery. Since that promising performance, she has played The Great Escape’s First Fifty, and been named as one of SoundCloud’s Artists To Watch.
On Wednesday, she was joined by Kieran on drums and Jamie on bass. Those two were on stage as the synth part of ‘Let Me Show You’ started, with HEIGHTS entering the room and stage a few bars in. Her stunningly beautiful vocals shone with the song’s delicate arrangement. ‘Glow’, from the EP of the same name, was another mellow song, before the tempo increased on ‘Astronaut’, which was more of a dance track.
