Sahara and Cavaliers are two vibrant young bands that have captured the attention of artists in supporting slots with Don Broco, King Charles, and Fickle Friends. However, it was their shining moment on Thursday 25th February as they graced the stage of The Joker pub in Brighton with support from local bands Howland and Lighthouse. Presented by CloseUp Promotions, these two Indie Rock bands offered a plethora of light, guitar-based songs that captivated the crowd.
As Cavaliers begin to set up, the room really starts to gather a large crowd of friendly supporters of the band. The five-piece Winchester and Brighton based band open their set with ‘Dustin’s First Credit Card’, the initial track from their EP ‘Gazella’ released in 2014.
The energy from the start is tangible with soft vocals of the frontman setting up the performance. Cavaliers follow with ‘If I Had 50p For Every Time You Stabbed Me in the Back I’d Be Looking At At Least £8.60’, one of their most popular tracks. The bassist’s prominent opening riff paired with the intricate technicalities of the guitar tapping encouraged the crowd to dance and even sing along to the memorable lyrics in the chorus.
Guitar-tight tunes continue to play as they perform their latest single ‘Kelso vs The Moon Landing’, carrying melodic tones that are reminiscent of Little Comets. The charisma and charm of the frontman entertains the audience in between songs as they play other songs such as ‘Gannet’, ‘Genghis Can’t’, ‘The Hill’, and ‘Blind Corner’. He especially captured everyone’s attention as he requested that the hanging skull glitter ball should rotate.
The band close their set with the last song from their 2014 EP, ‘Adam Richman Makes His Sandwich’. The fast-paced, powerful drumming carries the song evoking a similar sound to Two Door Cinema Club.
The headline act of the night, Sahara, offers a much softer and slower sound than the previous band. Also a five-piece band that base themselves in London and Brighton, this group’s performance is in correlation with their recent EP release titled ‘Amour’.
They commence with ‘Again into Blue’, a single released almost a year ago. Described by fans as “catchy” and “emotional”, the haunting echo on the vocals induces an exhilarating atmosphere into the room that very evocative of Foals.
They follow with ‘Hometown’, a song that opens with a very distinctive guitar riff that intrigues the crowd. The pace of this track fluctuates from a fast to slow rhythm that offers a refreshing and distinctive sound. ‘
Say the Right Thing’, a favourite from their EP, comes after. The song is accompanied with melodious backing vocals and an elaborate drum rhythm. New songs, ‘Toe the line’ and ‘Pink Gold’, offer sensual guitar sounds. The softly-spoken singer charms the audience with his shy, yet pleasant introductions to the songs.
However, it was the band’s cover of Major Lazer’s popular hit ‘Lean On’, which trades studio-produced sounds with a prominent guitar riff, that entrances the crowd and resulted in being their most appealing track.
Sahara concludes the night with their most popular track ‘Green Light’, which has racked up over 15,000 plays on SoundCloud. Their indie-based sound is very relevant to the current musical climate, and they are stirring a buzz across the UK at the moment.
