TRIPLE DRAIN + LEMONSUCKR + WRENCH – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 29.4.25
Tonight witnessed another ‘One’s To Watch’ occasional gig series hosted by The Hope & Ruin. Back on 11th February they had Psychic & Wellbeing Event, Give Up, Bacci Pouch, and Toy Parlour on the bill which was listed on the tickets as ‘One’s To Watch’ although the poster didn’t say this. However it did for their next trio of events: 12th March featured Fever Rogue, M.Woodroe & Scruff; 3rd April featured Two Pounds Down, Mimi Rae & Cade In Rain; and this evening (29th April) with Triple Drain, Lemonsuckr, and Wrench.
Triple Drain were the final act on this evening and the outfit comprises Lithuanian born Eva (vocals, bass), Bella (guitar) and Rachel (drums). They gave us a 9 song 36 minute set lasting from 9:59pm to 10:35pm. Their sound is arguably post punk with a goth edge, or as they put it “post punk goth sludge” and it’s easy to witness a modern day comparison with The Slits or Kleenex.
They commence with a tune listed as ‘Lament’ on their setlists. It is a slowish considered number with words delivered speciously one at a time as opposed to a normal sentence style and in a wailing style delivery with guitar and drums over the top. ‘Mindfuzz’ is up next and this has a speedier beat courtesy of Rachel’s drumming lead and this has a vibe akin to a relaxed Nirvana composition. ‘Rachel’s Song’ is tune three and Eva’s bass is in The Slits and Jah Wobble (PiL) territory. This has hypnotic psych tendencies and is a post-punk number that could have easily been played on the John Peel Show back in the day. Overall the song errs towards the Cocteau Twins or Kleenex. It’s a slightly ragged delivery but that’s part of its charm.
The trio are getting in their stride now with the arrival of ‘Found Mary’ which sees Rachel’s face featuring a huge resplendent smile throughout as she bounces and merrily plays her kit. The unusually titled Hanna-Barbera cartoon sounding ‘Batrat And Mothboy’ is their next choice and this is a slower, almost Gaelic number, with the drums to the fore, however the track changes beat near its conclusion and becomes a more urgent affair. According to their setlists, the following number is listed as ‘Alienz’ but is actually called ‘Prometheus’. For this Bella offers us an almost cowboy western guitar twang intro, prior to Rachel’s drums kicking in. It’s a song full of mystery that they rocked on out to at the end.
Song seven is ‘This Mayo’ and this features some enjoyable tremolo guitar action from Bella, (who concentrates at the job in hand throughout the set), as well as some cymbal and drum combination from Rachel and all nicely rounded off with some serious top string bass guitar action from Eva, whose vocals wail in a Siouxsie Sioux style. The beat too quickens for a tad before reverting back to where it came from. Eva then informs us that “This next song is a new one”. It’s titled ‘Wispa Gold’ on the setlist and the drums, bass and especially the guitar intro remind me of Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’, until Eva’s lyrics kick in and break the illusion. They send us on our way with ‘Sonic Sludge 3000’ which begins like ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials until Eva’s vocals overlay that with the repeated lyrics “But my body gets close”. The vocals are delivered here with more feeling and gusto and on any other number and it’s the ideal way to conclude their set. The punters like it!
Triple Drain:
Eva Jackie – vocals, bass
Bella Palanques – guitar
Rachel Bailey – drums
Triple Drain setlist:
‘Lament’
‘Mindfuzz’
‘Rachel’s Song’
‘Found Mary’
‘Batrat And Mothboy’
‘Prometheus’
‘This Mayo’
‘Wispa Gold’
‘Sonic Sludge 3000’
The middle act this evening are Lemonsuckr who have previously gone under the guises ‘Liquorice’ and then ‘Rugrat’. In 2023 Rugrat unleashed their debut EP, ‘Public Humiliation’, and this was followed last year by their ‘Rarity Jacket’ single. The current Lemonsuckr lineup features Guy Ferris (vocals, tambourine), Oscar Post (guitar, bv’s), Ollie Thomas (guitar, bv’s), Matt Saunders (drums) and Jake Andrews (bass). A few days back I heard that the quintet played a truly awesome set in St. Leonards-on-Sea and hopefully they will be on the same form this evening with their 7 tune 27 minute performance which ran from 9:01pm until 9:28pm.
There’s a clever setup going on here as initially I was under the impression that drummer Matt was somehow triggering the electronic presets, but in fact they were being fed into his ear monitor only and being set off by one of the guitarists foot pedals. The backing preset begins and they launch into ‘Dead Disco’ which is a funky start with some cowbell action and added guitar flourishes. Tune two is the aforementioned ‘Rarity Jacket’ single which has a bass guitar intro similar to ‘At A Later Date’ by Joy Division/Warsaw. This is a more immediate tune for me than their opener. ‘Instant Kinks’ is up next and this has a drumming sound not far off Killing Joke’s ‘Pssyche’, along with some jagged guitar interplay, before it then morphs into an overall feel of Devo meets Priestgate tune.
The repeated “Show Me The Money” lyrics signify that they are now performing the song of the same name. It’s a slower tune than its predecessor. Their set highlight for me is up next in the form of ‘Sedated’ which kicks off with a backing track intro and then the booming dance beat kicks in like happy hardcore legends Scooter. Guy’s vocals sit atop this and sounding not far off Joe Talbot’s (IDLES), and on paper this sounds like an awkward mixture, but I can assure you it works perfectly.
We then learn that the next cut is their forthcoming ‘H.E.A.T.’ single which is dropping on 21st May. It’s a solid choice for a single and is a drumming led number with an Arabic sounding guitar riff atop. It’s a speedy tune and one of the guitarists makes a foray into the crowd for that up-close-and-personal effect. They finish off with ‘Rugrat’, which is the current working title, but it’s likely to come out in the future as ‘Spit’. This commences with a vaguely familiar backing beat that sits in the ‘Love Song’ (Simple Minds) intro bracket. This is another energetic number and one of the guys joins us in the crowd with some cowbell action, and concludes with both guitarists giving it some decent foot pedal action. Lemonsuckr are really clicking at the moment and they are seriously well worth checking out, and for me personally, they have dropped into the void left by the sad demise of Priestgate.
Lemonsuckr:
Guy Ferris – vocals, tambourine
Oscar Post – guitar, bv’s
Ollie Thomas – guitar, bv’s
Matt Saunders – drums
Jake Andrews – bass
Lemonsuckr setlist:
‘Dead Disco’
‘Rarity Jacket’ (a 2024 single)
‘Instant Kinks’
‘Show Me The Money’
‘Sedated’
‘H.E.A.T.’ (forthcoming 2025 single)
‘Rugrat’ (working title but may be released as ‘Spit’)
www.instagram.com/lemonsuckr.wav
Kicking off this evening’s bill are a new act to me, these being Wrench which comprises Ronni Harris (vocals), Aneurin Graystock (guitar, bv’s), Daniel Lyddiat (drums) and Ryan Smith Allen (bass, bv’s). We are in their company for 28 minutes, from 8:02pm until 8:30pm and in that time they performed 7 numbers, although it actually felt like more. Wrench are a beer fueled sludge band from Brighton who formed in October last year and they give a clue as to their sound as we are informed they are “Built to last, designed to deafen”. Or as their Instagram page puts it “Blood, sweat and beers”. A free demo version of ‘The Well’ was released on Bandcamp on 8th March and that’s the limit of their releases thus far.
The take no prisoners onslaught begins with ‘Matthew Hopkins Killed My Great Great Grandma’, which can’t totally be correct as this notorious Witchfinder General died back in 1647. He was an English witch-hunter for just three years whose “career” flourished during the English Civil War and he was mainly active in East Anglia. In that time Hopkins and his colleague John Stearne sent more accused people to be hanged for witchcraft than all the other witch-hunters in England of the previous 160 years. This Wrench tune is delivered as if they are four of the accused, think Extreme Noise Terror meets death metal with a tinge of punk. Ronni’s vocals are astounding and solely keeping British–Dutch company Reckitt Benckiser in business….They manufacture Strepsils throat lozenges!
The female guttural screams and whoarrrahhhs continue with the arrival of ‘Coasting’ which is their newest composition and is still listed as “New 1” on their setlists. The energy continues with the arrival of a trio of other tracks: ‘Dystopia’, ‘The Well’ (which we are told was “released as a download tape”) and ‘Can’t Teach An Old Dog To Grow New Bones’. It’s a palette of wobbly meaty bass sounds, accompanied by off-beat drums and cymbals, seriously distorted guitar and the severe vocal deliveries. Wrench are very much an acquired taste, but would probably go down well with the harder punk fans at Rebellion in Blackpool or even at The Pipeline in Brighton, where I believe they played their debut gig.
Ronni informs us that they are going to perform a cover, but it’s the last time they are going to play it. This is the disco hit ‘Call Me’ by Blondie. It’s barely recognizable from the original and Ronni’s vocal delivery was uniquely delivered as one line as Debbie Harry would have sung and and the following line in no holds barred Wrench screamed style. It was a novel approach and a shame that they won’t be playing it any more. Their penultimate tune was ‘Jersey Devil’ and this was trademark Wrench, however, for their final number, they wandered into proper punk territory for the interestingly titled ‘Get Wrenched (There Are 46 Different Types Of Wrench And You Can’t Use A Single One Of Them)’ – car mechanics take note! Ronni’s vocal delivery on this tune was a talkie speak delivery which reminded me of Phoebe Lunny from the Lambrini Girls. For me this was the best tune of the set and let’s just say that if you’re of a nervous disposition, then you need not attend a Wrench gig, but tonight’s punters enjoyed their performance judging by the hearty applause at the conclusion. .
Wrench:
Aneurin Graystock – guitar, bv’s
Ronni Harris – vocals
Daniel Lyddiat – drums
Ryan Smith Allen – bass, bv’s
Wrench setlist:
‘Matthew Hopkins Killed My Great Great Grandma’
‘Coasting’
‘Dystopia’
‘The Well’
‘Can’t Teach An Old Dog To Grow New Bones’
‘Call Me’ (Blondie cover)
‘Jersey Devil’
‘Get Wrenched (There Are 46 Different Types Of Wrench And You Can’t Use A Single One Of Them)’
