EILIS FRAWLEY + VCSB + AHNO – CELLAR BAR, THE BRUNSWICK, HOVE 6.10.26
This evening we find ourselves heading on down into deepest darkest Hove! Our port of call being the Cellar Bar of The Brunswick which can be found at the seaward end of Holland Road. There’s a trio of acts on offer tonight, these being Berlin-based Australian-born headliner Eilis Frawley (pronounced Aylish), along with support from local acts VCSB and Ahno.
Eilis Frawley’s solo project combines direct, uncompromising spoken word with kraut-inspired rhythms and post-punk minimalism. Her work explores feminism, social structures, mental health, migration, and personal storytelling, balancing vulnerability with sharp observation and dark humour.
Alongside her solo work, Eilis has performed as a drummer with Anika, Hachiku, Laura Lee & the Jettes, Kara Delik and Restless. Deeply embedded in the Berlin music community, she also works with the venue Neue Zukunft and promoters Greyzone Concerts and Brighter Agency.
In March 2025, Eilis released her debut album, ‘Fall Forward’ via Sinnbus Records and her second album, ‘Twist My Words’, will be dropping on 6th November 2026. This new record depicts a world that has fallen apart. It questions our current era, in which truth seems more like a feeling, an opinion, or an option. The album is a reflection on how a statement can be completely twisted and given a different meaning depending on a person’s position of power—or their corruption—and how this can be exploited to benefit some and disadvantage others.
Self produced, with the help of friends, ‘Twist My Words’ presents Eilis’ music as a unique, kaleidoscopic patchwork of krautrock, hip-hop, spoken word, and indie, but with a sharper musical and political focus. Fans of the likes of Kim Gordon, Dry Cleaning, Jenny Hval, and Laurie Anderson should take note! Check out a trio of cuts on ‘Twist My Words’ HERE.
In support of the forthcoming release, Eilis has played a handful of gigs here in the UK. These have been at The Finsbury Park Picturehouse in London on Friday 2nd October, followed by an appearance at ‘Loud Women Fest’ at Le Pub in Newport on Saturday 3rd, then Eilis headed to Puzzle Hall Inn on Sowerby Bridge on Sunday 4th, The Peer Hat in Manchester on Monday 5th, and finally here tonight in The Cellar Bar of The Brunswick.
First up this evening is Ahno and her funky stars, these being Noah/Ahno (She/Her) on vocals, synth, guitar; Luan Luan (They/Them) on guitar (who incidentally is also an artist in their own right); Maeve (She/Her) on bass; and Scott (He/Him) on drums. This evening is only around their fourth gig of the year, so it’s a rare treat to be in their company.
I would respectfully suggest that Ahno is currently an underground act, having graced the compact grassroots stages of The Rossi Bar, Pink Moon, and Presuming Ed’s. HOWEVER….on the basis of this evening’s 24 minute 5 tune set, (which ran from 8:37pm to 9:01pm), I would think that’s it only a matter of time before larger stage venues come beckoning!
Dance tunes were very much the order of the day with this quartet, having taken to the stage after some rather excellent tunes on the house PA. The picks of the bunch being ‘What Time Is Love? (Live At Trancentral)’ by The KLF, and ‘We Have Arrived’ by Mescalinum United aka Marc Trauner. Ahno are clearly inspired by Electronic Dance Music and they successfully blend strong elements of Disco, Rock, Jazz and lashings of Funk. This fem-led Brighton band of queer performers are sure to get your body movin’ and groovin’ and boogieing down to the beat!
Ahno aka Noah is very much centre-stage and is wearing Daft Punk inspired headgear in the style of a cat. It lights up as well, so we can tell what mood Ahno is in, even though the face is totally hidden. Ahno has the use of a Roland VT-4 Voice Transformer, which is a compact, hands-on effects processor designed for real-time manipulation of the human voice. Thus there is no microphone on a stand as the vocals interface with the helmet. Ahno plays Arturia Keys as well as a Squier guitar when required. Dance moves are very much the order of the day here. Luan Luan is on Fender guitar, Maeve takes care of Fender bass, and Scott is on the house drumkit.
They open with ‘You’re So Cool And You Don’t Even Know It’ which benefits from a real swinging beat with notable guitar strumming from Madrid born Luan Luan. ‘Digital Love’ is choice two and this has a slower funky beat with Ahno’s Squier guitar coming into play. Luan Luan kicks off the uplifting ‘Target Practice’ with its “jump to the left; shimmy to the right” earworm lyrics. There’s a talky rap vocal delivery on their penultimate selection ‘Hectic’, which then nicely leads into the longest of the handful of tunes, this being the infectious ‘I Get Up (To Get Down)’ which initially has a funky Doobie Brothers vibe going down, before it incorporates the chorus of Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s Delight’ which sampled Chic’s 1979 disco track ‘Good Times’ which was written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. Singalong now: “I said a hip-hop, the hippie, the hippie; To the hip, hip-hop and you don’t stop the rockin’; To the bang-bang boogie, say up jump the boogie; To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat”.
I tell you what, if the festival bookers at ‘Love Supreme’ and ‘Brighton Pride’ ever get to read this review, then I very strongly recommend adding Ahno to the bill. They are a fun act with all the right tunes and moves! Go and see if you have the chance!
Ahno:
Noah/Ahno (She/Her) – vocals, synth, guitar
Luan Luan (They/Them) – guitar
Maeve (She/Her) – bass
Scott (He/Him) – drums
Anho setlist:
‘You’re So Cool And You Don’t Even Know It’
‘Digital Love’
‘Target Practice’
‘Hectic’
‘I Get Up (To Get Down)’
Next up it’s the turn of VCSB who are an alternative post punk/electronic trio from Brighton, who focus on channeling experimental production and songwriting techniques through a pop lens. They combine melodramatic and tongue in cheek vocals with angular, distortion drenched guitar and sputtering vintage synthesizers. Composed of Saul Bazley on vocals, M-Audio Axiom 25 keys, Behringer PRO-800 Analog 8-Voice Polyphonic Synthesizer, and laptop; Tris Claude Houseman on Squier Jaguar guitar and Ronan Goron on drums and backing vocals.
To date the trio have released two singles, both of which have come out this year; these being ‘People’ and ‘Face’ which both saw the light of day back in February. To be totally honest, the initial prime motivation for being here tonight was to catch VCSB for the second time, with the first being a mere week ago at The Hope & Ruin. I very recently stumbled across them on the internet whilst checking out Berlin-based synth acts and bands. Our headliner Eilis Frawley being Berlin based came up and that thankfully led me to discover Brighton based VCSB.
Tonight we are in the company of the trio for 31 minutes (from 9:19pm to 9:50pm) and in that space we are rewarded with seven tunes, the two singles and a handful of unreleased cuts. Surprisingly tonight’s set is quite different from just a week ago with ‘Only Man In History’, ‘Sally’ and ‘Is This What Love Is’ being shelved, which is a shame as I really enjoyed those, especially ‘Sally’. Also gone is the video screen to the rear of the band which added to the overall enjoyment last week.
As per last week they open with the intense ‘I Want It Now’ which again witnesses Saul summoning their innermost Rick Wakeman. This segues straight into their ‘People’ single with its constant beat and solid guitar, along with its often repeated title, and the vocals have the style of Pete Shelley’s ‘Homosapien’ era classics. ‘Not The Same’ is up next and this features a heavy keys intro along with a Joy Division meets Gang Of 4 sounding beat. It’s a hypnotic tune, and segues straight into ‘Concrete’ with its copious amounts of foot-pedal action.
‘Line In The Sand’ comes next and is a song that builds and builds until it explodes akin to the energy and feel of Simple Minds’ ‘Alive & Kicking’. This is another slice of pure trance. The penultimate track is announced as a Ringo Starr cover, however it’s not, it’s actually a Paul McCartney tune, this being ‘Temporary Secretary’ from 1980’s ‘McCartney II’ platter. But I totally understand the error as Saul pinches his nose to deliver the chorus vocals, he does indeed sound like Ringo. They bid us farewell with their other single, ‘Face’ with its foot pedal distortion in copious amounts, and more Pete Shelley style vocals. Once again, I’ve very much enjoyed the VCSB set and can’t wait to see them in action again.
Catch them playing live at The Pipeline on Sunday 13th December along with Golden Toad and Ragdoll.
VCSB:
Saul Bazley – lead vocals, keys, laptop
Tris Houseman (Vivian Clarke) – guitar
Ronan Goron – drums, backing vocals
VCSB setlist:
‘I Want It Now’
‘People’ (a 2026 single)
‘Not The Same’
‘Concrete’
‘Line In The Sand’
‘Temporary Secretary’ (Paul McCartney cover)
‘Face’ (a 2026 single)
We finally arrive at the headline set by Eilis Frawley and we are in her company for 34 minutes, from 10:08pm to 10:42pm. It’s just Eilis on the stage along with the venue drumkit and a laptop and Eilis’ vocals. These vocals are delivered deadpan style throughout the whole performance. They are offloaded in a talky manner and remind me of Deborah Evans-Stickland of The Flying Lizards, who were famed for their 1979 ‘Money’ hit, although Eilis’ obviously feature that Australian twang.
The electronic beat blasts out of the laptop and Eilis matches the beat on the drumkit whilst offloading the lyrics. With a “did you ever wonder…” and she’s away! One song down and we are informed about the forthcoming ‘Twist My Words’ album which is about the world ending and the devil, she states. She adds that she’s based in Berlin but is actually Australian. The theme throughout the set is quite honestly a tad depressing, for instance, we get a song about the loss of languages in her native Australia that were ruined by the British colonists, with her distaste being channelled through her drumming.
Eilis informs us that this is the final date of her whistlestop tour and that there is merch available to purchase. The songs benefit from the laptop backing and adds a depth, as opposed to mere vocals and drums.
Quite a number of the tracks are about the devil, in some form or other. There’s one about the devil being the German Government and their stance regarding Palestine. There’s another devil that is about climate change, where Eilis’ informs us that her hometown in Australia now has temperatures of fifty degrees….“You’re the worst thing that happened to us” she screamed. The next devil we encounter is in the guise of ‘Snakes’, which she is scared of and it’s the closing cut from the forthcoming LP. This has an urgent beat and the backing keys are of note, “what are you looking at?” she screams. This is followed by a song about the end of the world, which has devilishly altered vocals. And before we know it, that’s the end of the set and the tour.
Clearly Eilis is ploughing her own furrow, and I have to respect her for that, but in all honesty, for me personally, this was the least engaging set of the night. It had the feel of an opening act and not a headline set. I guess you can’t win them all.
Eilis Frawley:
Eilis Frawley – vocals, drums, laptop
