(Review by Peter Greenfield)
HONEYMOAN + COCO AND THE LOST + OPAL MAG – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 1.8.24
Headliners Honeymoan (stylised as HONEYMOAN) is a South African born, London based alternative pop band. It started in 2017 as a “just for fun” project between singer Alison Rachel and multi-instrumentalist Skye McInnes. They were later joined by producer Josh Berry. For their headline show at the Green Door Store, Skye was on guitar, Josh on bass and the trio was joined by a drummer.
Honeymoan opened with their latest single ‘Riff Before Work’ which was only released the previous day. It had a great alt-rock sound. ‘Low Blow’ which followed had a good dance feel, which soon had many in the crowd dancing along. Before ‘Pick Up Don’t Pick Up’ Alison explained “You’ll have to imagine the cowbells, it’s a lot funkier.” Even without the cowbells, it got the audience moving, and Alison herself had her own very energetic dance moves.
After the synth pop sounds of ‘We’re On An Island, But It’s The UK’, there was a new song ‘Penny Sleeps’ which had a more spoken vocals mid-section. Those two were pretty up-tempo numbers. Alison admitted “That was the two most intense vocals”. It was straight into the next song ‘Show You Up’, another up-tempo song. On these songs, and others, Alison would dance punching the air, reminiscent of an aerobics instructor. This appeared to act as a way of conducting the rest of the band.
Before the next track somebody in the crowd shouted out a song title, which Alison joked, “You need to put requests in beforehand.” ‘Too Much’ was a slightly slower number with a 90’s indie rock feel. It featured one of Skye’s many special guitar parts.
The next two songs were their newest and oldest. They hinted that the unreleased ‘Crush’ may be the next single. Its fast guitars and energy got one of the loudest applause of the evening. That was followed by ‘We’, their first single release.
There was a change in style with ‘Bad News’, which started with Alison’s vocals to Skye’s lone guitar, before some impressive drumming. ‘Sit Right’ had a great indie sound with soft-rock influences, before the last song on the setlist, the title track from their debut album ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’. This cleverly constructed song was more of an alt-rock number with mellower sections mixed among the fast up-tempo parts. It closed to another huge cheer from the audience.
Honeymoan came back for one more song, which Alison said they’d not rehearsed yet, adding “But we are professional”. ‘Still Here’ was a lively number, which closed a most enjoyable and energetic set. During the set, Honeymoan said it was one of their last shows in the UK for a while, as they were heading to South Africa to record new material. I, and based on their reception, many in the crowd will look forward to them returning following Honeymoan’s performance.
Honeymoan:
Alison Rachel – vocals
Skye McInnes – guitar
Josh Berry – bass
?Kenan Tatt/Sheldon Yoko – drums
Honeymoan setlist:
‘Riff Before Work’ (a 2024 single release)
‘Low Blow’ (from the 2019 ‘Body’ EP)
‘Pick Up Don’t Pick Up’ (from the 2023 ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ album)
‘We’re On An Island, But It’s The UK’ (from the 2023 ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ album)
‘Penny Sleeps’ (a 2024 single release)
‘Show You Off’ (from the 2023 ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ album)
‘Too Much’ (from the 2020 ‘Weirdo’ EP)
‘Crush’ (unreleased)
‘We’ (a 2018 single release)
‘Bad News’ (from the 2023 ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ album)
‘Sit Right’ (from the 2023 ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ album)
‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ (from the 2023 ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ album)
(encore)
‘Still Here’ (unreleased)
Coco And The Lost gave another thoroughly entertaining eclectic performance, combining Coco’s larger-than-life flamboyance, honesty and conversational humour. She was backed by a great live band of drummer Connor (making his second appearance of the night having played drums for Opal Mag) and guitarist Dean (making only his second appearance with the band).
Singer Coco started the set standing facing away from the audience. She didn’t stay that way for long, as she was often singing at the very edge of the stage, fully engaged with the audience. Her charismatic, captivating stage presence had a cheeky, playful side and was full of confidence.
The set opened with ‘Communicator’ the title track from her latest EP. It was the first sign of Coco’s passionate emotional vocals. There was a more rock-like guitar from Dean at the start of ‘Everything Is Fine’. There was a punchier, slightly harder sound to Coco And The Lost from previous times I’ve seen them live, not just their stripped back set at 1 Up Café as part of The Alternative Escape. I thought this subtle change in sound worked well live, without losing Coco’s sense of fun and theatricals.
Before the next song Coco asked the audience to “Come forward, I might want to stage dive”. Spoiler alert, she didn’t (maybe next time). ‘Good Night’ was a very good pop song and ‘What It Looks Like Now’ was a mellower track, both of which showcased another side of Coco’s great voice.
‘Curse’ started quietly with Coco singing to Connor’s low-key cymbals, before becoming a stunning power ballad. Her body language and facial expressions matched the emotion in the lyrics and her vocals. On ‘One Last Thing’, which was used on the reality TV show “Made in Chelsea”, Coco mixed it up with a spoken narrative on parts of the song.
Thankfully Connor corrected Coco when she announced the last song too early. So we didn’t miss out on her latest single ‘Figjam’. This great pop tune featured party crowd noises on the backing track. Mid-song the band clapped along for a few bars before picking up the tempo. Before the last song, Coco asked “Who wants to be John?” before closing with the song ‘I’ve Got Nothing John’.
Coco And The Lost deservedly got a great reception from the audience for an entertaining show full of variety and great tunes.
Coco And The Lost:
Coco – vocals
Connor – drums
Dean – guitar
Coco And The Lost setlist:
‘Communicator’ (from the 2024 ‘Communicator’ EP)
‘Everything Is Fine!’ (from the 2023 ‘I’ve Got Nothing John’ EP)
‘Goodnight’ (from the 2024 ‘Communicator’ EP)
‘What It Looks Like Now’ (from the 2024 ‘Communicator’ EP)
‘Oh What A Curse It Is (To Be In Love)’ (from the 2023 ‘Moonbird’ EP)
‘One Last Thing’ (from the 2023 ‘Moonbird’ EP)
‘Figjam’ (from the 2024 ‘Communicator’ EP)
‘I’ve Got Nothing John’ (from the 2023 ‘I’ve Got Nothing John’ EP)
Opening the night was Opal Mag who describe themselves as “your new fave dreampop-slacker”. Whilst it is a solo project, it was a five-piece band for the live show. Lead vocalist and guitarist Opal Mag was joined by Jessica Stretton on keyboards and backing vocals, Connor McCorkindale from Coco And The Lost and Winter Gardens on drums, Austin Prichard from Ideal Living, Soft Top and Tinman on guitar and backing vocals, and Martin Eddington of Moon Idle on bass.
Opal Mag’s opening song ‘Love To See U Shine’ had a good indie sound, and ‘Looking For’ was a more upbeat song. After some softer synth sounds of ‘Try Not To Hate Everything’, there was a change in volume and tempo for ‘Feel It All’, after which Opal Mag admitted “I got over excited on that one.” Judging by the crowd’s reaction, they too were excited by that track.
Opal Mag kept what I thought were two of their best songs to finish. ‘I Don’t Like U, But I Love U’ was a softer song with great use of the synth and vocals from Opal Mag. While ‘Glow’ was a punchier, louder number, which almost stopped mid-song before coming back with a great instrumental and then vocals to close.
Several reviewers on the Brighton and Hove News music team have recommended catching Opal Mag live. After seeing them open for Honeymoan, I would agree with them.
Opal Mag:
Opal Mag – vocals and guitar
Jessica Stretton – keyboards and backing vocals
Connor McCorkindale – drums
Austin Prichard – guitar and backing vocals
Martin Eddington – bass
Opal Mag setlist:
‘Love To See U Shine
‘Looking For’
‘Try Not to Hate Everything’
‘Feel It All’
‘Confusion State’
‘I Don’t Like U, But I Love U’
‘Glow’
(All songs unreleased)
