THISTLE. + GOODBYE + LITTLE GRANDAD – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 17.1.26
For the last fifteen years, the Green Door Store has built up a status as one of the most beloved, influential and well-respected independent venues in Brighton. It has been a stomping ground for many a now prolific music outfit, from Lambrini Girls and HotWax to Flip Top Head and Fever Rouge. It continues to be celebrated with every subsequent year that passes, thanks in part to annual January celebrations with line-ups and band rosters that further raise the platform for the next generation of artists to springboard their way into musical fruition. This time around, the wonderful lot at Green Door have put on four separate free Saturday shows to commemorate their fifteenth birthday, with last week’s lineup consisting of local legends Silver Gore, Lemonsuckr and Lonnie Gunn (Review HERE).
Tonight, on Saturday 17th, it’s my turn to further enjoy the festivities with thistle., Goodbye, and Little Grandad.
I went into London-based Little Grandad totally blind, being welcomed into the sound of rough guitar feedback precursing a strong indie Americana feel. This opening track ‘A Minute On The Lips’ sees bassist Jack Lower take the lead vocal helm with a rugged swagger atop an instrumental that evokes the sounds of Wilco and MJ Lenderman. There are some slick switch-ups in feel that lead into a cluster of vocal harmonies, communal and warm in atmosphere. The following ‘Sleepwalking’ sees guitarist Ned Ashcroft switch from electric to acoustic to gel a bed of longing chordwork within a more jangle pop-oriented tone. The overall execution of this track takes me back to my previous experience with Dutch Interior a few months back, mirroring that band’s gorgeous harmonic arrangements.
“It’s very lovely to be back in Brighton. We’re actually going on tour with thistle. in a few weeks, so big love to them”, quotes Jack before stepping back from lead vocal duties on ‘Tiny Feet’ to let brother Harry take the reigns in a calm, quiet, crickets-in-the-background-of-a-1950s-desert, guitar passage that kicks straight into a reverberant chorus, complete with wondrous harmonies and matching guitar licks. The jack of all trades (make that a Ned of all trades), Ned hops onto trumpet for their most expansive song of the set, ‘Unmasked’, while drummer Jimmy Brennan takes hold of the guitar for a more patient sonic backdrop. This track’s opening leg creates a more intimate soundscape for Little Grandad to dance within, until Jimmy brings in the groove via marching snares that evokes the memories of 90s indie folk/punk giants like The Mountain Goats or Neutral Milk Hotel. The song climaxes into erratic drum hits and Ned running his cornet through his guitar pickup, in a frenzy of post-rock and textured chaos.
Little Grandad close the set with a track they refer to as their “most Saturday night”, ‘Babe, We’ve Run Out Of Time’ which feels like a hybrid of Bruce Springsteen and Palace. Once again making use of some sweet changes in feel and tempo, this song is a marvellous ode to end the set on, thanks to its pace and dynamic switch-ups, not to mention Jack and Harry’s gravelly, yet powerful vocal deliveries. Gathering for a group band hug as the speakers rise in volume, Little Grandad’s set comes to an end, and begins packing down to make way for the next act.
Little Grandad:
Jack Lower – bass, vocals
Harry Lower – guitar, vocals
Ned Ashcroft – guitars, cornet, vocals
James ‘Jimmy’ Brennan – drums, vocals, guitar
Little Grandad setlist:
‘A Minute On the Lips’
‘Sleepwalking’
‘Tiny Feet’
‘Unmasked’
‘Babe, We’ve Run Out of Time’
drop.cobrand.com/d/littlegrandad/bio
My third time seeing them, jangle pop newcomers Goodbye follow on from Little Grandad’s footsteps for the second set of the night. A supergroup comprising of members from Flip Top Head (guitarist Alfie Beer), Moon Idle (drummer Elik Eddy) and Jar of Blind Flies (bassist Jake Smith), these guys enter the atmosphere with ‘Reverie’, a track that shudders with ambience and heavy reverberated guitar passages à la My Bloody Valentine (whom appear on Jake’s shirt). Vocalist Megan Wheeler continues to dazzle against the kaleidoscope of sonic interplay of her bandmates, gliding on a beautiful falsetto, complimented by additional vocal work from Alfie and guitarist Sarah Ryan. Elik opens the following ‘13a’ on the smallest hi-hat ever seen at a rock show, before the remainder of the band follow suit for a more rustic performance due to Sarah’s exchange of electric to acoustic guitar. Only two songs in, and Goodbye have matured leaps and bounds since my last encounter with them…!
After guitars between Alfie and Sarah change hands, we are gifted with the song ‘Tadpoles’, which opens with polyrhythmic interplay between the pair, plus Elik with some trippy, shuffling snare rhythms. Jake’s bass performances become more melodic on this cut, emulating a mix of Radiohead and The Sundays. ‘Stoic Friend’ kicks off with a steady groove for Megan to interweave her angelic vocals with before further push-pull dynamic shifts help the song progress in stature. Despite it being the shortest track of the set, it’s certainly a powerful one that helps the band shine against the sea of patrons. Goodbye giddily jump into the instantly recognisable tremolo guitar introduction of ‘Meat’, their only current single to date. If there’s ever a song that perfectly encapsulates Goodbye, it’s this one – the perfect blend of texture, tone and ethereal presence proves that they are one to watch.
On the penultimate ‘Take Time’, Elik shuffles out a 7/4 groove, whilst armed with an egg shaker. Sarah assumes the lead vocal position for this one, her tone more down-to-earth than that of Megan’s, but equally powerful in execution. The band make full use of the space around them sonically, with their most dynamically quiet moments being explored in the middle section of the song before erupting into sluggish fuzz and shoegaze in the chorus. Waxing sentimental is Alfie with a message of thanks to Brighton’s patronage for the last fifteen years, remarking on the identity of artists being what makes the Green Door Store so special. After a bit of faffing involving tuning issues, Goodbye wish us goodbye with ‘Iron’, frantic in delivery and energetic in pace, with a Kate Bush-style vocal from Megan. As the song slows down to a close, the cheers from the crowd reach fever-pitch before the band say farewell for the night.
Goodbye:
Megan Wheeler – vocals
Sarah Ryan – vocals, guitar, synth
Alfie Beer – guitar, vocals
Jake Smith – bass
Elik Eddy – drums
Goodbye setlist:
‘Reverie’
‘13a’
‘Tadpoles’
‘Stoic Friend’
‘Meat’
‘Take Time’
‘Iron’
I’ve only ever heard and known of thistle. by name and name only; having seen their name pop up on many a gig line-up, I’d yet to see them live… until now. A permeating avalanche of guitar feedback drives the opening leg of opening track ‘Wishing Coin’, where guitarist Cameron Godfrey’s lead vocals take a very Dinosaur Jr. approach, while he and his bandmates Judson Rushton on bass and Lewis O’Grady on drums push and pull with dark changes in rhythm before coming to a close. The title track of their ‘It’s Nice To See You, Stranger’ EP takes a similarly melancholic tone in spite of some snappy drum work from Lewis. The vocal work between Cameron and Judson provides a nice touch, further pushing that grunge sound into fruition. The trio seamlessly transition into ‘Fleur Rouge’, the following cut on the EP, playing within a more straightforward chord pattern against brief moments of blast beats in its latter half.
Cameron’s guitar work on ‘Cobble/Mud’ is bountiful, yet dark thanks to the song’s great dynamic changes in structure, giving him the chance to further explore his range, while ‘Close To My Chest (Hesitate)’ takes an almost Midwest emo flair with a slightly cleaner guitar tone (only slightly mind you), and a more angsty vocal delivery. Cameron takes a moment to introduce the band before wishing Green Door Store happy birthday (despite referring to it as “Green Store”), before heading into the longing atmosphere of ‘Magpies’, their most melodic track in the set so far. ‘Greys’, with its sombre guitar passages and syncopated drum rhythms, sees the moshing within Green Door Store begin to open up… naturally, I scurry away as far as I can.
Judson leads the vocal duties on the very brief ‘Holy Hill’, in a similar manner and style to his bandmate, albeit more warped and less angsty. A quick tuning change leads us into ‘Pieces’, an unnerving Pavement-in-a-nightmare cut that sees the moshers prancing the pit like some sort of medieval folk dance. Lewis’s drumming on this track is particularly strong, as I get the chance to see his stoic face of concentration now his hair has parted from his eyes. ‘Tied’ hits us right out of the gate with a face-melting drum groove at breakneck speed, in quite possibly the punkiest song of the set, while still providing some blissful vocal harmonies courtesy of Cameron and Judson. With a striking resemblance to MJ Lenderman’s ‘She’s Leaving You’, ‘Sunshine’ continues to explore the melodic sludge that makes thistle. so good.
The lighting shifted to a dark blue as we approached the last leg of the set, starting with the monolithic ‘Bitebitebite’, whose hellish pace and erratic arrangement makes for one of the best songs of the set. thistle. bid us farewell after a quick merch plug before playing out with ‘Lomochrome’, possibly the most euphoric song of the entire set, with the moshers shattering the earth around them in grunge agreement.
thistle.:
Cameron Godfrey – guitar, vocals
Judson Rushton – bass, vocals
Lewis O’Grady – drums
thistle. setlist:
‘Wishing Coin’
‘It’s Nice To See You, Stranger’
‘Fleur Rouge’
‘Cobble/Mud’
‘Close To My Chest (Hesitate)’
‘Magpies’
‘Greys’
‘Holy Hill’
‘Pieces’
‘Tied’
‘Sunshine’
‘Bitebitebite’
‘Lomochrome’
The third birthday celebration is on Saturday 24th January, with Hutch headlining with support from Trip Westerns and Le Lamb.
The fourth and final birthday line-up is on Saturday 31st January, with Complete Snake headlining, backed by Tempers Fray and Landmine.
For other exciting nights of live music at the Green Door Store, check out their website HERE.
