CHRISTIAN LE SURF + TIM ARNOLD + JOSH HAZELDEN – THE WATERBEAR, BRIGHTON 13.3.24
Christian Le Surf, the headliner of the night is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Worthing. Support came from Brighton music scene regular Josh Hazelden and London-based Tim Arnold. The venue the WaterBear is a new[ish] Brighton music venue. You are probably more familiar with it as ‘the Funky Buddha Lounge’ or one of its many other former trading names having changed hands multiple times between and then. Its most recent incarnation is as a live music venue primarily for the use of students from the WaterBear College of Music. The name for both the college and venue is taken from the common name for the tiny water dwellers Tardigrades, a stunning mural of which you can see on the left when facing the stage. It is not a huge space, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in acoustics. It is not too different from many of the music venues under the arches on King’s Road offering a welcoming feel but offers a more intimate setting for audience and performers alike. Hopefully, it will continue in its current guise for a long time to come.
Josh Hazelden, the first support act of the night is a regular on the Brighton music scene. If you’re a regular gig goer you will have seen him at various music venues including The Prince Albert, The Hope & Ruin and The Folklore Rooms already earned praise from BBC Introducing in early 2021 Hazelden is a polished and enjoyable performer. There is no messing around from Hazelden and his band that gets straight into the set. First up is the song ‘HappySad’. Beginning with a solo intro from Hazelden on guitar and vocals before the rest of the band comes in. It quickly became evident this was a tight outfit that gelled well together. ‘HappySad’ is thoroughly upbeat (despite the melancholic lyrics) opening what proves to be an assured and enjoyable live performance from the whole band.
Hazelden stops only briefly to thank the audience’s applause before the band steams into the song ‘Sprungpunk’. A high frequency, it is fast-paced and sufficiently punky in delivery as the title would suggest. The track is more grunge punk than classic ’70s, though on occasion it hints at both. Hazelden encourages the audience to “Make some noise” and they all oblige happily. There’s a pause to introduce the band here, after which Dylan Harris protests, “That’s him, that’s him, we’re just here”. Hazelden thanks the audience for coming down early, (the downstairs area is almost full) before introducing the next song ‘Bullhorn’. Featuring a great heavy intro, not as pacy as the last song, but has a fantastic bass line, hopefully, this track will be available to buy soon. The next song ‘Fahrenheit’ really caught my ear when listening to the 2021 album ‘Salt For The Wound’ before the gig. The intro mediately reminded me of the Cocteau Twins. Hazelden playful intones “We’ll do an old one, it sounds exactly like the last one” It doesn’t. The opening lyrics, “I’ve gotta keep my song inside my mouth. I’ve gotta keep my thoughts inside my head” resonate, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Hazelden delivers his lyrics refreshingly clearly.
For me, on occasion, there’s an element of Stephen Malkmus’s ‘Pavement’ to Hazelden’s delivery, no bad thing given the former career longevity and multi-band presence, something which Hazelden and his band mates also embrace as they also perform as ‘SUBMARINER’. The next song, the 2023 single ‘Trainwreck’ starts with Morse code and is another that caught my ear. It flows in from the last track seamlessly, to the point that it’s hard to tell if a new song has started until the vocal kicks in. After a brief pause for a quick tune-up for the last track, Hazelden chides the audience, “Don’t make me play the Morse code again!” Before commencing Hazelden dedicates the song to the next support act. It transpires that Tim Arnold has been a mentor to the students at the college and has encouraged Hazelden a great deal. The last track ‘Crossbones’ is also on the single featuring ‘Trainwreck’ both tracks perhaps being the most accomplished and ‘radio friendly’ of the set’. It has a sweeping rock guitar intro and slow-paced vocals.
This enjoyably dreamy track had a bass that thumped through the body. Hazelden thanked the audience for the last time as the guitar faded out. These are accomplished and enjoyable musicians you can expect to see again soon.
Josh Hazelden:
Josh Hazelden – lead guitar, lead vocals
Oliver Harket – electric guitar
Dylan Harris – bass, backing vocals
James Bish – drums
Josh Hazelden setlist:
‘Happysad’ (unreleased)
‘Sprungpunk’ (2023 single)
‘Bullhorn’ (unreleased)
‘Fahrenheit’ (from 2021 ‘Salt For The Wound’ album)
‘Trainwreck’ (single)
‘Crossbones’ (single)
Tim Arnold, the second support act of the night has a presence which announces itself before he takes the stage. Formerly the frontman for the Brit Pop band ‘Jocasta’ in the 90’s (remember them?). Since then, he has enjoyed a successful and diverse career. Sarah Kershaw accompanying Arnold, provided vocals and piano. They have collaborated on his most recent 2024 single ‘Numb’. They will also be performing again in Brighton later this year as part of the festival fringe alongside choreographer and dancer Daniela Maccari.
Performing as a duo with a stripped-down set with Kershaw, there was little need for a changeover between sets and the only kit change was for Sarah Kershaw’s keyboard and mike set-up. The first track of the set ‘Little London Lou’ contrasts vastly with the previous act. The harmonies and piano provided by Kershaw underscore Arnold’s powerful vocal delivery. It’s immediately clear the pair are both accomplished and seasoned performers. Their vocals fill the venue and could reach the rafters in any performance space. Arnold thanked the audience for their applause, then thanked Hazelden for his warm welcome earlier, and stated what a pleasure it was to be in the room.
Introducing ‘Money Kills Love’ he encouraged the audience to “Feel free to join in if you like”. Sadly the audience, was not as familiar with his work as the first and last acts did not comply.
First released as a single in 1996 ‘Money Kills Love’ was on the soundtrack for the film ‘Blood Orange’. Arnold has had his music likened to David Bowie by Iggy Pop who starred in the film and appears in the video for the song. Pop told the NME, “It could have been an outtake from ‘Kind of Blue’ by Miles Davis, or maybe side two of ‘Low’ by Bowie and Brian Eno. I thought it was a real nice theme, effective for the film.” High praise indeed. Arnold’s Bowie connection continues as he was also the last musician to work with Bowie’s former mentor and collaborator Lindsey Kemp. A slow tempo strum from his acoustic guitar coupled with parred back vocals start ‘Money Kills Love’ with piano and strings before the chorus comes in with harmonies from Kershaw. It’s a beautiful song which makes you want to look the film up.
At the end of the song Arnold again interacts with the audience which has steadily built since the start of the first song. Thanking the audience for their appreciation Arnold tells them “Gigs in Brighton are like buses, nothing for Twenty-Seven years and then two at once.”. He then told the audience that they would be back in Brighton in May with ‘Supper Connected Live’. He explained the concept further, “It’s an exploration into what we’re doing to ourselves and our minds with technology”. Inviting the audience to come along “It would be great to see some of you at the Ironworks in May.”
Introducing the next song ‘Super Connected’ the first of four tracks from the album he goes on to perform. The intro vocals are auto-tuned, it’s a very upbeat start, which has a touch of the 80s musically for me possibly down to the auto-tune, or the inclusion of brass instruments. It might have been the fact that he had just told us that this album is a film soundtrack that will be performed live as the film is screened in the background, but this song sounds a hell of a lot like a theatre musical soundtrack. It’s a huge sound discussing tech as previously outlined. Getting rockier as it continues, it’s an infectiously uplifting track all in all. At the end of this song, he thanks the audience, saying “Take that Mark Zuckerberg!” He continues, “This next song is about music and how important it is, it’s important to you …. And I will make sure the guitar is in tune enough for it”. If the guitar was out of tune on the last track, I doubted anyone had noticed.
‘Start With The Sound’ opens with just a guitar strum before the lyrics kick in. Then a minimal beat from the drums, the piano and backing vocals didn’t kick in for a long time. The title provides the hook, repeated throughout the whole song, with a central string section delivering drama. The song shows how much you can achieve with minimal lyrics and a powerful voice. When the song finishes Arnold informs the audience, “We’ve only got three more songs, come forward!”. This time the audience complies as he’s thoroughly won them over. Moving on to the next song ‘The Touch Of A Screen’ which turns out to be as quiet as the last was bombastic before it starts to build slowly with harmonies delivered by Kershaw. Throughout the set, Arnold projected to the back of the room when singing as if the venue was twice the size. After the song fades out, he again thanks the audience.
There was then a short pause for interaction, “This one’s called ‘Everything Entertains’”. A rapid guitar strum at the start and the keyboard came in, with a fall-rise intonation on the lead vocal and in the chorus. The whole of keyboard utilised running up and down the scales before pitching in with the fall-rise vocal then they both build together after this when going back into the chorus. At the end of the song, the simple strum guitar returned, but bigger and then abruptly ended on the “Is that alright?” lyric. After the applause died down Arnold informed the audience “This is the last song before handing it back to the stage to Christian. Looking forward to seeing him perform his magic”.
The final offering of the set ‘Where Am I In All Of This?’ reminds me of ‘Turin Breaks’, though I cannot place which track. The power of the instrumentalisation is at its strongest here. This is another barnstormer that makes the spirits soar. It is powerful songwriting and performance at its finest. Closing the set Arnold told the audience “I’m Tim Arnold you’ve listed to ‘Super Connected’. You’re the first audience we’ve performed this live for”, an accomplished performer never forgets to deliver ALL of the details.
The album will be performed live as ‘Super Connected Live’ as part of this year’s Brighton Fringe Festival at Ironworks Studios on 21.5.24. Tickets can be purchased from the Fringe website HERE.
Tim Arnold:
Tim Arnold – vocals, guitar
Sarah Kershaw – vocals, piano
Tim Arnold setlist:
‘Little London Lou’
‘Money Kills Love’
‘Super Connected’
‘Start With The Sound’
‘The Touch Of A Screen’
‘Everything Entertains’
‘Where Am I In All Of This?’
Christian Le Surf (and band), the headliner of the night describes himself as an “Angmering-based experimental pop musician combining obscure textures with serene melodies”. This was his first official headlining show with a full live band. Like the first two acts I had not seen Christian Le Surf perform live, but I had listened to the plentiful musical offerings from this young singer-writer and multi-instrumentalist. Given the polished and thoroughly impressive sets from the support, who were both very complimentary and supportive of Le Surf, I was interested to see how his live performance would impact.
It was an interesting and calm start to the set with, ‘What Must I Do To Make Sure I Get To Heaven?’ – In his comfort zone of solo keyboard and vocal, I wondered if perhaps this might turn out to be a ballad (I had not been able to listen before the gig as the song is currently unpublished). Le Surf has a clear and impressive voice, which comes across well, he is a talented musician and performer, and when the rest of the band come in for the first time they too offer promise. The band segue-way it into the second song immediately ‘Silent Auction In The Sun’. The into vocal is auto-tuned and followed by a long musical lead-in before the vocal comes back in again having dropped the auto-tune, which can frequently detract from an impressive vocal when used live. There is a deliberate discordance to the composition which suggests we are in a jam. It’s a short palate cleanser before getting into the main body of the set.
‘Irene’- Here the band collectively get into their stride, only to be cut short by the fire alarm. Impressively they’re unfazed and continue again. As is true of his albums and singles Le Surf’s inspirations and influences stretch far and wide. Here the lyrics lament the titular ‘Irene’, loved but domed seemingly due to her background. The composition reflecting the lyrics is downbeat and bittersweet. Before introducing the fourth track Le Surf informs the audience, “That’s the second headline show I’ve done where the fire alarm went off”. He takes the opportunity to thank the first two acts before heading into ‘Oh Costello’.
Playing the ukulele, this track has a clear vocal a catchy chorus and harmonies for the first time in the set. Changing tone, pitch and vocal delivery towards the outro is abrupt.
Before the next song ‘Yes At The Public Galleries’ Le Surf told the audience “This is the first time I’ve performed with a full band, just want to give a massive thanks to this band as they’re all f**king talented musicians.” It is at this point I realise why I have been finding the performance slightly jarring. Where the previous performers gel so well and have clearly practised and performed together frequently the trial and error of live performance hasn’t quite been conquered with this lineup just yet, but I am confident it will.
‘Post Innocent’ Le Surf tells the audience, “This is a new track, from the new album. It’s another jammy track.” As yet unreleased the song features a long instrumental intro. Le Surf’s vocals resonate well at the extremes of pitch, the track has auto-tune, but this time put to better use sparingly. He paused to introduce the other members of the band supporting him to much applause from the gathered audience. Followed by a long instrumental before the lyrics kick in again. For me his vocal benefits from additional ‘grit’ it seemed to develop in the second half of the song.
Le Surf took time to introduce the next song to the audience. “This one’s a newish music, I did two EPs back in October, one is the infamous ‘Scroll’. You can buy these from Alex at the merch desk. There is a very catchy chorus which I urge you all to sing along with”. The song is, ‘Hopeless Building’, from 2023’s ‘The King’s Meadow’. One of the standout tracks from the EP is very catchy and delivered with a slower vocal, which rises occasionally in pitch. For me, It’s possibly the most polished and listenable song of the set. Le Surf again addresses the audience, telling them “I can’t stress to you how amazing it is that everyone’s here it’s amazing. I apologise for getting hoarse. This is the closing track on my album this is ‘Agriculture Twin’”. The hoarseness only adds to his vocal delivery which benefits from the extra texture. The intro features Le Surf, solo with his piano, where he excels. The rest of the band comes in slowly all are very parred back which again really suits his delivery. When the song builds, they almost swamp the lyrics, perhaps because his hoarseness is stopping Le Surf from projecting and breaking through.
‘Sex & Violence’, the 2017 single, has a a long enough intro for Le Surf to thank everyone present including his band, the audience, supporting artists and the venue. The audience called for this track this is an audience favourite. Unfortunately, he’s said this will be the last one, perhaps as he was not sure his voice would hold out for another track, I was looking forward to hearing ‘Moon’ an as yet unreleased track. As the outro fades Le Surf relents and introduces the last track of the night, “This is to send you home this is ‘Moon’”. Thankfully his voice came back, though pleasingly ragged around the edges at points he resorted to almost screaming to get emotion over but, with the swell of the guitars and other instruments this song worked for me. With that Le Surf thanked the audience to much applause and took leave of the stage.
You can see Christian Le Surf next on April 9th at The Prince Albert supporting ‘Polite Bureaux’ on their album release show. Grab your tickets HERE.
Christian Le Surf:
Christian Le Surf – vocals, keyboard, electric guitar, ukulele
Ben Douglas – electric guitar
Ewan Waters – electric guitar
Billy Finneran – bass
Daniel King – drums
Christian Le Surf setlist:
‘What Must I Do to Make Sure I Get to Heaven?’ (unreleased)
‘Silent Auction In The Sun’ (from 2021 ‘Bontempi Cher Lloyd 1999’ album)
‘Irene’ (from 2019 ‘Asleep On The Back Benches’ EP)
‘Oh Costello’ (from 2021 ‘Bontempi Cher Lloyd 1999’ album)
‘Yes At The Public Galleries’ (from 2021 ‘Bontempi Cher Lloyd 1999’ album)
‘Post-Innocent’ (unreleased)
‘Hopeless Building’ (from 2023 ‘The King’s Meadow’ EP)
‘Agriculture Twin’ (from 2021 ‘Bontempi Cher Lloyd 1999’ album)
‘Sex & Violence’ (2017 standalone single)
‘Moon’ (unreleased)
linktr.ee/christianlesurfmusic
