HATER + BLOOM + MOON PANDA – HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 4.11.18
Tonight was certainly going to be a memorable evening as we made our way to the Hope & Ruin to see three up-and-coming bands.
First up was Moon Panda, followed by Bloom and headliners were the Swedish quartet Hater.
Hater are Caroline Landahl, Måns Leonartsson, Adam Agace and Lukas Thomasson and the guys hail from Sweden’s third largest city Malmö, which is not far from the stunning Øresund Bridge which links the country with Denmark’s capital city Copenhagen. The five mile structure is the longest combined rail and road bridge in all of Europe.
Hater are best described as indie-pop (and not a thrash metal band as judged by their name) and they performed their debut UK show last year in London and they went down a storm. They have decided to return to these shores, hence their Hope & Ruin gig.
Their recordings, earned them comparisons ranging from the likes of The Pretenders to Alvvays. A year after forming in 2016, they released their full length debut ‘You Tried’, proclaimed by Gorilla Vs. Bear to be their favourite album of 2017 so far, citing front-woman Caroline Landahl’s “gorgeous, achingly bittersweet vocals, perpetually swaying between comforting and devastating.” Listen to them HERE.
Others have said:
“Hater’s songs epitomise jangling grace as Caroline Landahl coos with maximum approachability.” NPR.
“Their unique take on rock music feels familiar and lived-in, taking bits from indie-pop, post-punk and classic rock.” Stereogum.
Hater have now released (28th September) their next offering entitled ‘Siesta’ which comes in the form of a limited edition yellow opaque double LP, standard black vinyl and CD via Fire Records.
This evening Hater performed six songs from this exciting new release and these tunes sat very nicely in amongst their other five compositions that got an airing tonight.
Tonight’s Hater setlist reads:
‘I Wish I Gave You More Time Because I Love You’ (taken from 2018 ‘Siesta’ album)
‘Cry Later’ (taken from 2017 ‘You Tried’ album)
‘Fall Off’ (taken from 2018 ‘Siesta’ album)
‘All That Your Dreams Taught Me’ (taken from 2018 ‘Siesta’ album)
‘Common Way’ (taken from 2017 ‘You Tried’ album)
‘The Mornings’ (taken from 2018 ‘Siesta’ album)
‘Things To Keep Up With’ (taken from 2018 ‘Siesta’ album)
‘Cut Me Loose’ (taken from 2018 ‘Siesta’ album)
‘Red Blinders’ (taken from 2017 ‘Red Blinders’ EP)
‘Blushing’ (taken from 2017 ‘Red Blinders’ EP)
‘Radius’ (taken from 2016 ‘Radius’ EP)
As I said, support this evening came from Bloom and Moon Panda.
Bloom are a two girl-two boy outfit, that includes Megan Clifton host of ‘The Brighton Guide’ show on Radio Reverb.
This evening, Bloom made the most of their perfect harmonious duo girl vocals, that are very pleasant indeed. Their sound is indie pop, that my colleague reckoned was similar to The Sundowners that we had previously seen at the same venue. I’m not totally convinced myself – maybe you can decide? Check out their locally shot video for ‘Letting Go’ HERE.
Their best track on the night for me was called ‘Escape’ and is going to have the midas touch from the hands of AK/DK’s Ed, so it’s bound to be absolutely fab!
You can catch them next in Brighton on Thursday 6th December with the Muncie Girls at the Green Door Store and then they will be performing at the Hope & Ruin on Wednesday 19th December.
Tonight’s Bloom setlist reads:
‘Such A Shame’ (taken from 2016 ‘What Is Life’ album)
‘Try’ (taken from 2016 ‘What Is Life’ album)
‘I Know’ (unreleased)
‘Tiny’ (taken from 2016 ‘What Is Life’ album)
‘Escape’ (unreleased)
‘The Ground’ (unreleased)
‘Feeling’ (unreleased)
‘Something’ (taken from 2016 ‘What Is Life’ album)
Listen to them HERE and find out more HERE.
Moon Panda are the London/Brighton based quartet of Maddy Myers, Gustav Moltke, George Godwin and Alfie Webber. This evening their sound is a very pleasant mixture of hypnotic, mellow atmospheres with dreamy soundscapes, electronically processed, lush silky harmonies with a hint of Scandinavian overtones (despite Maddy being American) and dense drums that weave through it all.
If you are a fan of Amber Arcades or something like The Cardigans, then Moon Panda need to be checked out. Especially their forthcoming tune (February 2019) entitled ‘That Girl’, which is a blend of the 1993 epic ‘Pale Red’ by Jerry Burns meets ‘Blood And Wine’ by Circe.
Tonight’s Moon Panda setlist reads:
‘Gun’ (unreleased)
‘Wallpaper’ (unreleased)
‘Soft Skeleton’ (unreleased)
‘On The Attack’ (unreleased)
‘That Girl’ (unreleased)
‘Rabbit’ (taken from 2018 ‘Rabbit’ single)
Listen to them HERE and more info HERE.
