Brighton is renowned for boasting a stellar local line-up of musicians with talent by the bucket-load. It’s one of the reasons why the city plays hot to the UK’s biggest music conference ‘The Great Escape’ every year.

There truly are some gems of tracks being produced on the South Coast and we’re here to shed light on the bands and artists that you should definitely have on your radar.

Having navigated the gig circuit impressively, Brighton-based four-piece Howland may only be young but have already supported Foals at Scala. This was last November and since then the quartet have gone from strength to strength.

All it takes is a look at the list of their upcoming gigs this month to tell you that. Led by frontman, Tyler Adams, Howland have secured themselves a slot supporting Fickle Friends at The Joiners in Southampton, which is an impressive feat.

The band have an instinctive force and a certain rugged charm that propels them forward. They unquestionably have the tunes and too and with the line-up to match.

The glitzy frontmanship of Tyler Adams, who looks and feels at home on the stage, paired with the riff-ready, quick-witted Lee Vincent on guitar is a combination that would make even Pete and Carl from The Libertines shake a little. Meanwhile, Jake Saunders is responsible for the rumble behind the drum kit and Tim Beavis keeps him in check on bass whilst pulling bass faces that outdo those of the infamous Este Haim.

Howland have nurtured themes of adolescence and ambition into the heart of tracks such as ‘Bruises’, whilst the eagerly anticipated debut single ‘Callout’ has been a live set staple and fan favourite for quite some time.

The rising indie-rockers are unstoppable right now. Their quest for success and perfection is paying off as each performance has seen them improve steadily.

They know which ingredients work and now they’re building up a solid catalogue of successes.

Fellow four-piece, The Magic Gang (also from Brighton) are awash with sweet-hearted pop beats and nostalgic 50s guitar hooks that’ll worm their way inside your mind. The outfit are incredibly slick and are rapidly rising to the forefront of the latest wave of new music.

They may not look every inch the obvious poster band that teenage girls crave but are they the band most likely to fulfil that role? You bet.

The band were announced last year as part of DIY magazine’s hotly tipped ‘Class of 2016’ and they have a devilishly good arsenal of tracks to choose from. Their latest release, a five track EP called ‘EP’ proves the band are ready to make 2016 their own.

‘She Doesn’t See’ is a dreamy affair that causes near bedlam at gigs when it’s played for their loyal brigade of ever-increasing fans. Although, it’s the soft croon of ‘All That I Want Is You’ that presents itself in old romantic fashion and comes complete with heavenly harmonies and blissful guitar lines.

The Magic Gang are a pristine guitar group providing reasons to get excited about music again. Their signature – and their staying power – is that they’re not afraid to tackle difficult subjects in tracks but they make it as easy listening as possible whilst doing so. The Magic Gang are definitely going somewhere big, keep an eye out for them.

The final band you need on your gig list are indie-punk trio, Imbium. Led by the slick talents of Matt Charbonneau, the band are doing a lot of things right and garnering a lot of South Coast support in the process.

Released in 2015 was the first of three EP’s titled ‘Part One: The Radioactive Club’. ‘Backseat Bingo’ is a track that stands out immediately with overblown riffs that spin out hard and fast, paired alongside smooth vocals and huge choruses. Another track to check out is the four-minute masterpiece of ‘Headspace’ which is equally as delectable and yields prolific results.

It’s unlikely that Imbium will ever have to fight to stay relevant as they’re steeped in guitar based thrills and unconventional drip-feed of new material is a tactic that won many fans over in the first place. We can’t wait to hear more from them soon.

The final band you need to know about are a five-piece who have been previously described as “like Foals on anti-depressants”. Their brand of math-rock is white hot and comes complete with tropical thrills and catchy hooks, as evident on their brand new single ‘Say The Right Thing’.

The track is one that sees loose riffs swirl and intoxicate listeners, whilst Sahara sound their most anthemic to date. There are echoes and tremors of Peace with dreamy guitar wails embedded deep into the track too. Sahara are building the buzz across the nation; it’s not hard when you’ve got a sound like this.

‘Say The Right Thing’ is a swirling slice of what’s to come from the band; they’ve fared well and their unwavering brilliance will see them succeed in 2016.

 

 

Categories: Arts Music

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *