LUCY KRUGER & THE LOST BOYS + DEBDEPAN – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 27.3.26
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys (8:30pm – 9:30pm)
Our headliners for the night ‘Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys’ self describe as, “an art-pop tender-noise band,” who are “Defined by their openness to sonic transformations.” Formed by South-African singer-songwriter Lucy Kruger in 2015 the band started to focus its distinctive and yet ephemeral shape after a relocation to Berlin in 2018. After years of touring across Europe and the US the band have honed their sound and performance to an almost symbiotic level. The band are touring their seventh album ‘Pale Bloom,’ the Green Door Store was the second show in a selected handful of dates to promote the album.
The group have become known for their unique brand of ‘gothic art-pop,’ drawing favourable comparisons to Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. In listening it is easy to pick tracks from ‘Pale Bloom’ that echo such luminaries. However, I was curious to see how this would translate to live performance.
Kruger struck a commanding almost imposing presence from the moment she entered the room stalking toward the stage. Her steely eyed stare and physicality conveyed a sense of complete control. From the opening bars of the first track of the set Kruger never once dropped her stage persona.
The overall effect was as theatrical as it was mesmerising. The opening track ‘Animal/ Symbol’ was grounded in a repetitive, primal drumbeat melded with a dark ribboning synth line. The slow vocal a shamanic chant detouring into ‘Catch A Falling Star’ both reassuringly familiar, and yet strange. The dissonance of the outro building into a crescendo before dissipating gently.
The audience applauded enthusiastically as if woken from a dream that continued into the track without pause. Again, the familiarity of the nursery refrain drifted around us, made haunting and atmospheric with sparse, measured vocals and the unfamiliarity of the inclusion of Jean-Louise Parker’s viola during ‘Bloom.’ The instrumentals built but did not overwhelm combining strings and electric guitar. Again, there was applause, but no pause from the band as they continued into the next track.
From the start of the set Kruger had appeared to be channeling PJ Harvey in delivery and choice of subject matter. From the start of ‘Damp,’ with its pounding bass line and soft, yet staccato vocals, the comparison really became unavoidable, and yet also distinctive. ‘Pray’ also brimmed over with Harvey’s unmistakable influence, while also channeling Kim Gordon. The repetitive refrain of “…shame, shame, shame.,” serving as the hook prior to dissipating.
It was not until after ‘Ghosts,’ halfway through the set that Kruger introduced and thanked the members of ‘The Lost Boys.’ The collective of musicians following Kruger momentarily losing themselves in the music before being pulled back from the brink.
The level of patience the set required from the audience prior to the meat of tracks kicking in was as unusual as it was eventually rewarding. Though my earlier focus began to waver during the mid section of the set through the mellower tracks ‘Anchor,’ ‘Adder,’ the lament of the viola intro to ‘Fawning’ brought me back again. The vocals and harmonies conjuring like a sunlit calm after a storm. The dissonance guitar of ‘Reaching’ and ‘Nectarine’ dismantled the momentary reverie before the rumble of ‘Ambient Heat’ pulled back grounded me fully back in the space resonating through my bones and continuing to carry me through the voyage of the album.
Detouring from the ‘Palm Bloom’ the band returned to earlier, ‘Heaving’ and ‘Teen Tapes (For Performing Your Own Stunts)’ albums. They also managed to insert their own version of ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ for good measure. A reimagined version of ‘Howl’ was less jarring in delivery than the 2023 version. ‘Burning Building’ was a complete departure from earlier tracks with its unusually upbeat and catchy chorus and drew fervour at applause from the audience. Before introducing the final song Kruger thanked the support band Debdepan. Returning to ‘Pale Bloom’ with an extended intro to ‘Woolf’ which unsurprisingly draws on Virginia Woolf’s life.
Cut off before they could answer the call for an encore from the audience the band took their leave of the stage.
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys:
Lucy Kruger – vocals, guitar
Liu Mottes – guitar
Jean-Louise Parker – viola
Gideon Carmel – drums
Andreas Bonkowski – bass
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys setlist:
‘Animal/Symbol’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Bloom’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Damp’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Pray’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Ghosts’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Anchor’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Adder’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Fawning’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Reaching’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Nectarine’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Ambient Heat’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
‘Play’ (from 2022 ‘Teen Tapes (For Performing Your Own Stunts’) album)
‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ (The Stooges cover)
‘Howl’ (from 2023 ‘Heaving’ album)
‘Burning Building’ (from 2023 ‘Heaving’ album)
‘Woolf’ (from 2026 ‘Pale Bloom’ album)
www.lucykrugerandthelostboys.com
Debdepan (7:30pm – 8:00pm)
There was no messing around from the Margate duo, Debdepan who steamed straight into their first song without introduction. They kicked off with their first track, ‘Oh No,’ from the 2025 EP ‘Lovers & Others.’ The intro opened with a deceptively pared-back vocal detailing the end of a relationship over an electronic pulse and lightly strummed guitar. Before launching into a heavier darkwave edge, underscored by a building synth pulse and heavier grunge guitar, which grabbed the audience and set the tone.
Stopping for applause before segueing into the next track, ‘Bad Luck,’ a deliciously heavy bass line from Grace followed an atmospheric electronic sound. This combination led to Chelsea’s punchy staccato spoken-word vocal style, which carried the listener to a catchy chorus. The lyrics reflected on the poor timing of a relationship.
The sparse but growing crowd applauded before Chelsea thanked the audience for coming down early to see them. She then introduced the next song, saying, “This next song is about having feelings for someone who doesn’t really have feelings for you,” which drew a “Boo!” from one audience member. The chorus refrain “Do you wanna come over?” emphasised by the bass riff on ‘Feel 4 U’.
Halfway through the set, the audience had settled into the blending of contrasting genres in which the duo excels, applauding with increasing enthusiasm. Thanking the audience, Chelsea also took the opportunity to thank the headliner for having them and expressed their pleasure at performing in the venue before introducing ‘Ghost.’ An echoing electronic pulse opened the track, followed by a hopefully upbeat lyric, ripped away by a rapid dark turn into a heavy drumbeat and layered guitars, ramping up the emotional tension of the track. The musical combination evoked the confusion of being ‘ghosted’, with aplomb.
Chelsea jokingly suggested the next track, ‘Stupid Girl,’ was about her, drawing chuckles from the gathered audience. The most guitar-heavy track of the set, while undoubtedly catchy, somehow felt the least successful on delivery. This is perhaps because it was followed by ‘The Girl.’ Slamming straight into a heavy, grungy bass line under moody, evocative vocals, there was an urgency to the track when the drums kicked in that built and carried the listener to a more visceral experience throughout.
A single bass note underscored the vocal at the intro of ‘Blue’, and the pace of the drums built towards a growing sense of cathartic escape. The final track, ‘Habit,’ was pleasingly punchy right from the off. An electronic pulse gave way to a hammering drumbeat, the vocals moving from chant to an eerie, high-pitched refrain for the chorus. The instrumentation was more intense throughout, surging and swelling, building an increasing sense of tension.
Ending as quickly as it started, the set was an enjoyable journey of contrasts through the band’s EP.
Debdepan:
Chelsea Tolhurst – vocals, guitar
Grace Bontoft – vocals, bass
George – drums, drumpads
Debdepan setlist:
‘Oh No’ (from 2025 ‘Lovers & Others’ EP)
‘Bad Luck’ (unreleased)
‘Feel 4 U’ (unreleased)
‘Ghost’ (from 2025 ‘Lovers & Others’ EP)
‘Stupid Girl’ (unreleased)
‘The Girl’ (from 2025 ‘Lovers & Others’ EP)
‘Blue’ (from 2025 ‘Lovers & Others’ EP)
‘Habit’ (from 2025 ‘Lovers & Others’ EP)
