LONNIE GUNN + CRYSOMETIMES + BEKAH BOSSARD – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 4.12.24
We returned to The Hope & Ruin, one of Brighton’s best venues for up-and-coming bands. Hidden Heard is fast becoming one of Brighton’s showcases for new talent. They had lined up four acts, one of which Sabiyha had to drop out at the last minute. The remaining three included Bekah Bossard, crysometimes and Lonnie Gunn.
Singer-songwriter Bekah Bossard was the first act to take the stage for the night. American/ British Bossard turned to songwriting to address subjects she was unable to discuss as a young carer for her mother. Her lyrics charted the raw emotional territory of this period in the release of her first single, ‘Venus’. The EP ‘Alone With My Own Thoughts’ featured material which discussed troubles with her mental health in ‘Four Walls’ and coming to terms with her sexuality in ‘What You Wanted’. Bossard does not flinch from laying bare such intensely personal subjects. The emotional resonance of her material serves to connect with the audience, even those new to her music.
Supported by her equally talented band including Bekah took to the stage with quiet assurance which showed that we were in safe hands. The band did not mess around going straight into the first song ‘In Your Head’ without introduction. Joel Marten fleshed out Bossard’s self-taught guitar delivering powerful riffs to set up a strong signature sound. But it was Bossard’s well rounded deeply sonorous vocal that drew the audience in. Breathy and yet rich, her vocal blended with the instrumentation delivers a melancholic Indie dream pop/rock. Her music is perfect for an introspective autumn day.
The applause was profuse at the end of the first song and continued to build as the set progressed. Having grabbed the audience, the band paused only briefly before the intro to ‘What You Wanted’ from Bossard’s first EP 2023’s ‘Alone With My Own Thoughts’. The song is an exploration of sexuality and the complexity that comes with coming out. The chorus was catchy, the musical composition upbeat, with a saturation of ’60s California Sound. Bossard’s vocals began to recall Tracy Thorn mixed with Pheobe Bridgers in delivery. She has the same lyrical ability and delivery filled with emotion and depth. More applause came readily from the audience as the outro played with Bossard thanking the audience.
For the first time in the evening, Bossard addressed the audience, “This next song I wrote super recently, and we got to record it the other day. So, it will be out soon. Yeah, fastest turnaround ever!” ‘More’ opened with a nice dirty indie/rock riff before Bossard came in. It is a song that sinks into the listener with the lovelorn melancholy which permeates all of Bossard’s tracks. Her vocals slid from low husky to soaring and on occasion pleasingly cracked with emotional intensity.
For a song about coping with her anxiety and depression, ‘Four Walls’ composition is surprisingly upbeat until you tune into the lyrics. It is a searingly exact account of living with mental health issues. Before heading into ‘Sequoia’ Bossard explained that it was also a new song, but most of the other songs in the setlist were available to listen to. Much slower than earlier tracks ‘Sequoia’ was more ponderous, but no less affecting. The last two songs of the set delivered more of the same, keeping the audience hooked until the close of the set. No doubt Bossard has won herself more fans.
Bekah Bossard:
Bekah Bossard – lead vocals, guitar
Amelia Lawn – bass guitar, backing vocals
Joel Marten – drums
Stella Alkan – guitar, backing vocals
Bekah Bossard setlist:
‘In Your Head’ (unreleased)
‘What You Wanted’ (from 2023 ‘Alone with My Thoughts’ EP)
‘More’ (unreleased)
‘Four Walls’ (from 2023 ‘Alone With My Thoughts’ EP)
‘Sequoia’ (unreleased)
‘Where Life Started’ (unreleased)
‘The One’ (from 2023 ‘Alone With My Thoughts’ EP)
Brighton-based Crysometimes (stylized as crysometimes) are Megan (lead vocals + guitar), Viv (bass + backing vocals) and Caleb (drums). The trio was featured on BBC Introducing and received airplay on BBC Radio 1. To date, they have released multiple singles with 2024 being a particularly strong year. Their sound is resonant with acts including ‘90s indie rock acts Paramore and Avril Lavigne both in presentation and delivery. There is also a dash of Boygenius to some of their output.
2024 has seen ’90s-style music making a resurgence. The arrival of crysometimes on stage was an unabashed nod to the female-fronted indie rock acts, specifically Lavigne in their presentation. The first track ‘Hot Boyfriend’ signalled that their indie-pop-rock set would continue unapologetically in this vein. The trio utilised backing tracks to flesh out their sound as well as voice modulators in the set. The effect gave them a bigger-than-expected sound.
It was clear from the number of their followers in the crowd that this backwards look is still as popular with late teens and the early twenty-something crowd as it was twenty years ago. Megan is a more than capable front for the band. They engaged frequently with the audience; most of whom were word-perfect on every track not to mention forthcoming in their applause.
The second song ‘Easier Said (Than Done)’ makes use of a voice modulator which gives it more of a bubble gum rock edge. Rapid, short and sweet it was over almost before it started. ‘Slipaway’ slowed the proceedings slightly with a slower tempo building towards the outro, resplendent with a guitar solo in the middle. Megan then told the audience “Guys, that was the first time I have ever played that guitar solo right.” To effusive applause. ‘Harry’ was a slightly downbeat and stripped-back lament to be more like the titular Harry, which was slightly flat, before becoming overwrought vocally, but the audience didn’t mind. More upbeat was the also unreleased ‘Tell Me’, again pure bubblegum indie-pop-rock.
The new single ‘Everywhere’ was released on the 5th. More anthemic than the previous and assisted vocally by Viv, the track like the rest of the set was perfect come-of-age movie soundtrack fodder. ‘Bella’ featured a valiant attempt at getting the audience to sing along, which even Megan had to admit was shambolic on the audience’s behalf, which is a shame because it was the catchiest of the set. ‘Famous’, the final song of the set, eventually happened after a lot of back and forth. Mainstream and appealing it finished the set as it had started, fun, upbeat lighthearted indie-pop-rock.
Crysometimes:
Megan – lead vocals, guitar
Viv – bass guitar, backing vocals
Caleb – drums
Crysometimes setlist:
‘Hot Boyfriend’ (from 2023 ‘Hot Boyfriend’ single)
‘Easier Said (Than Done)’ (from 2024 ‘Easier Said (Than Done)’ single)
‘Slipaway’ (from 2024 ‘Slipaway’ single)
‘Harry’ (unreleased)
‘Tell Me’ (unreleased)
‘Everywhere’ (from 2024 ‘Everywhere’ single)
‘Something That Matters’ (from 2023 ‘Something That Matters’ single)
‘Bella’ (unreleased)
‘Famous’ (from 2024 ‘Famous’ single)
The London-based American singer-songwriter Lonnie Gunn was the headliner of the night. She was joined by her six-piece band, but the focus was entirely on Gunn. Describing her sound as a ‘soft rock dreamscape,’ Gunn is more of a torch singer pastiche. You can easily picture her in a smokey lounge club. Her vocal tones land between cursive and hip singing rather than the smokey chanteuse. The more modern vocal styles stop Gunn from reaching the deeper, rounded, husky, and more bluesy tones that would suit her delivery more.
Opening the set with ‘Nostalgia’, (the thematic thread for the night) the band slammed into the opening bars, the heavy rock guitar riffs threatening to drown out Gunn’s alternate breathy and overwrought vocal. The drums and guitar eventually took over the song entirely towards the outro. ‘Kiss You’, the second song of the set, was a far better fit for Gunn’s vocals. With a softer, yet still breathy vocal the track was much slower. There was a great hook delivered by Cat’s keyboard putting some flesh on the song’s bones. It could have been done without the melodramatic moans and gasping.
Before the third song Gunn introduced herself, and then seemed to lose her train of thought before the strains of guitar pulled her back into the song. ‘Honeymoon Suite’, started slowly and looked to be moving towards a more successful torch song rendition. The vocal kept on almost getting there, but the cursive won out. The musical composition was spot on though, pure classic pared back Ketty Lester.
‘Jessie’s Pitbull’ featured a bombastic swing jazz drum solo intro and utilised a pink loudhailer used by Gunn which echoed similar tracks from the Cardigans, lending the song extra interest. This particular track drew a lot more applause from the audience, some of whom knew when to shout ‘Oh My God’. Though the venue was noticeably sparser than it had been for crysometimes.
Gunn then addressed the audience, “I’ve a song coming out in five days. It’s called ‘Dog In A Hot Car’, though my band has been calling it ‘Hotdog In A Car’, but yeah I hope you guys like it.” The second guitarist Chico opened the track strumming slowly under Gunn’s soft almost purring vocal. The track picks up midway, again the keyboard adding meat to the bones of the song. The chorus was catchy, though Gunn’s vocal slides were extreme.
Gunn then told the audience the next song was another new track and it was the band’s first time playing it live. ‘Ex-Girlfriend’ was written with people who were in the room, Taylor and Ollie, (we were unable to catch their band’s name). Opening with a classic low slow indie bass line from Brodie, who we would later find out was playing with the band for the first time that night. The song was a much more restrained affair which played to Gunn’s vocal strengths and pulled in some classic rock riffs. The chorus had a heavy dose of lyrical tongue in cheek with Gunn imploring, “I don’t wanna be a rock star”.
The set as a whole moved so quickly that it was almost over in the blink of an eye. Gunn told the gathered audience that they only had one more song. Gunn took the time to introduce her band, and thank the organisers of Hidden Heard and the audience for coming down. The final song of the night ‘Cheerleader’ opened with a solo guitar (that owed a lot to Radiohead) before Gunn’s vocal came in. She was again breathy to begin, then scratchy and threw in a scream for good measure. It was a good track to end on and the audience loved it.
Lonnie Gunn:
Lonnie Gunn – lead vocals, guitar
George – guitar, backing vocals
Brodie – bass, backing vocals
Tomas – drums
Cat – keyboards, backing vocals
Chico – guitar
Lonnie Gunn setlist:
‘Nostalgia’ (unreleased)
‘Kiss You’ (from 2024 ‘Jawbreaker’ single)
‘Honeymoon Suite’ (from 2023 ‘Honeymoon Suite’ single)
‘Jessie’s Pitbull’ (from 2024 ‘Jawbreaker’ single)
‘Dog In A Hot Car’ (unreleased)
‘Ex-Girlfriend’ (unreleased)
‘Cheerleader’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/lonniegunnbulliedme
