JEANIE AND THE WHITE BOYS + LE LAMB + STAR CITY + BLOUSEY – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 29.7.26
Today’s review sees us return once again to the home of the best in new music, The Hope & Ruin in Brighton. It is quite literally where the cream of the crop begins their rise to the top. Like other Brighton music venues such as The Prince Albert, Chalk and Concorde 2, The Hope & Ruin has become a key lynchpin for nurturing the talent not just from the UK music scene but also international acts.
If you read our reviews regularly, you’ll know that it’s one of our reviewers and photographers’ favourite venues for a multitude of reasons. It is also the main venue of choice by our host Jim of Hidden Herd so that he can stage his superbly curated new music nights. Over the past few years, he has introduced me, and a plethora of others, to the best new artists that the music scene has to offer. He knows how to deftly balance a line-up somehow managing to cater to everyone’s tastes in one night.
This midweek line-up was to impress as much as his previous endeavours. With my personal favourite Jeanie And The White Boys headlining after three other hot properties both myself, my gig partner and our intrepid photographer Sara Louise-Bowery were chomping at the bit.
BLOUSEY – 19.45:
Being an English child of the ‘70s I have always liked the word ‘Blousey’. In my experience it was a word usually employed in describing a buxom motherly mid-life authority figure. It was also the name of the female lead character in Alan Parker’s 1976 film ‘Bugsy Malone’. ‘Bugsy’ was a must see for a generation who are turning fifty. The subject matter of gang wars was softened by the spoof violence. Had tonight’s band been in their mid-teens and dressed in 1920s finest attire I would not have been happier. However, like the actual definition of the word ‘Blousey/ name’ I was wrong. The band were slightly older than Foster et al were when they made the film.
If you like your Arcade Fire but find that you can no longer listen to them due to various…reasons, then this new sextet is the band for you. I am however a sucker for a saxophone. If for any reason you are not, firstly you are wrong, but more importantly Blousey’s sound will be the equivalent of nails down a blackboard for you.
The band looked a little cramped on stage on occasion threatening to collide if they hadn’t been so perfectly in tune with each other. It takes a lot of coordination and no small amount of talent to steward a ship with that many members, which Blousey have in spades. Every musician is clearly a talented and practiced individual. When they come together it’s nothing short of inspiring.
Stand out tracks throughout the set were the bombastic ‘Canella Skin’, ‘Chances’, ‘Tried It With Her’, which can all be found on their EP from last year. Be warned, should you take my advice to catch them live at some point, you will be inspired to start your own band, and maybe even pick up a sax.
Blousey:
Luca Centio – guitar, vocals
Tallis McDuffie – violin, vocals
Ben Faux – bass, vocals
Mario Bolton – keys (subbing for Nacuo Serret)
Rosendo Zinny – drums
Rosie Millins – saxophone
Blousey setlist:
‘Vacating Qualms’ (unreleased)
‘I Tried It With Her’ (from 2025 ‘The Precipice’ EP)
‘Stillborn Stelliform’ (unreleased)
‘Freak The Weirdo’ (unreleased)
‘Part Of Your Life’ (unreleased)
‘Chances’ (from 2025 ‘The Precipice’ EP)
‘Closure Joke’ (unreleased)
‘Canella Skin’ (from 2025 ‘The Precipice’ EP)
linktr.ee/blousey
STAR CITY – 20.30:
Now, as I previously said, I love a bit of sax. It’s a bit of a marmite instrument for some. But you know if it was good enough for Bowie, then it can only be right. The venue was not only crowded but populated with many younger ladies posturing provocatively towards the stage at its attractive male inhabitants for the whole of the set.
Star City refers to real cities in the USA, specifically Arkansas and West Virginia as well as a fictional city from DC Comics, (which I really should have been aware of, well at least if I bothered reading DC Comics anymore since they axed Vertigo).
I do like a band that pushes boundaries, but I loathe a lot of synth. Having grown up through its relentless chart domination in the 80s the turgid and soullessness of a synth just doesn’t resonate for me. I can tolerate it only a little, call it PTSD if you will. In short, a synth heavy set really isn’t for me. I’m sorry Otis, what you were doing was amazing, just, wasted on me, though I know a lot of people who would have loved it. Having said that, both Sam on drums and Olly and bass coupled with Harry on lead vocals, sax and guitar were a brilliant combo, Sam was particularly impressive on the skins. Harry is obviously very talented with a clear strong vocal, which still managed to resonate over the heavy synth sound and the rest of the band, no easy feat in and of itself.
Maybe I could be pulled back should the heavy effects and synth laden sound get parred back, but again, maybe that’s not the point and I really am getting long in the tooth and should give it all up. But then that’s how I felt from the ages of four- eleven in the ‘80s so maybe it’s nothing to do with my advancing years?
I shall make a point to listen again, and see if I get hooked. I am sure it’s all down to just wanting Jeanie’s punk sensibilities and not being as open as I could have been to a sound that was moving in an entirely different direction.
Star City:
Harry McHale – vocals, sax, guitar
Olly Meredith – bass
Sam Ouissellat – drums
Otis Hurst – synths
Star City setlist:
‘No Son Of Dixie’ (unreleased)
‘Horseman’ (unreleased)
‘Goddamn’ (unreleased)
‘Fatherland’ (unreleased)
‘Safehouse’ (unreleased)
‘International Waters’ (unreleased)
‘Sounds Like Violence’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/star_city_band
LE LAMB – 21.30:
We were by now running roughly fifteen to twenty minutes late by our reckoning with Le Lamb not taking the stage until they should have been half way through their set.
Hidden Heard like to challenge their audience who are by enlarge a slightly more sophisticated music audience with many a gig under their belt and looking for something to catch their attention. Their line-ups which at first glance seem diametrically opposed begin to make perfect sense as the night progresses. Jim has a great eye for talent and how to pair acts to complement each other and bring out their stronger flavours.
Le Lamb is certainly a band with a strong flavour, (pardon the pun). The Brighton-based 5-piece have become known for their mysterious, art-rock sound, theatricality, and 60s-inspired performances. They blend psychedelia, avantgarde-rock, and psych-noir musical elements with a dynamic stage presence.
On a quick break between acts while the techs did a changeover to get the next act on, my gig partner of choice and our lovely and extremely talented photographer Sara Louise Bowery took a break and discussed the acts out of their earshot. Sara advised me that the lead vocalist Mia Mottier would not only arrive on stage draped in lambs’ skins wearing a skull on her head, but that she would also get the audience to bleat like the band’s name’s sake which roughly translates from the French as ‘The Lamb’ and not to worry that I had perhaps lost control of my sanity.
All eyeliner and wide eyes Mottier seemed less like a rock frontwoman and more like a youthful Liza Minnelli escaping from under her mother’s shadow to try her hand at 70s Prog Rock before running off to the synths of the Pet Shop Boys. Not that there is anything wrong with that at all. Another audience member has since said that Mottier’s style and delivery recalled a younger Kate Bush, (high praise indeed). I think I’ll settle for Kate mixed with Theda Bara starring in a film about a vampire shepherdess as filmed by Pabst or Helena Bonham Carter directed by Burton.
As you can tell the theatricality of Mottier’s performance was extremely powerful. Her physicality matched her vocals which were West End Musical impressive and must be underscored by professional operatic and theatrical training. Mottier was able to hit notes with such clarity and force projecting them to the back of the venue while also hitting the ceiling, it can’t all be natural talent, though clearly, she has that in spades. This is not to overlook the rest of the band entirely, though with such a charismatic frontwoman it would be easy to do so. Though before I discuss them, I can indeed confirm that she did manage to get the audience to bleat like a herd of lambs dressed in lamb’s wool covering what looked like hotpants and a bikini top with a skull on her head, which I think I am correct in thinking was that of a ram rather than a lamb.
All Mottier’s musicians are accomplished and polished. I doubt she would have it any other way, and nor should you when you’ve got a voice like that. Stand out tracks were the last two of the set, ‘Sirens Call’ ‘Healing’ and ‘Boy-Un-named’.
If you like your musical heroines theatrically unhinged and kohled up to the gills and your music rocky with a hint of the macabre and charcoal black humour then Le Lamb are the band for you. Join them for a bleat along at the next gig.
Le Lamb:
Mia Mottier – vocals
Jeric Harding-Burns – guitar
Jez Thurgood – bass
Elliot Vickers – drums
Le Lamb setlist:
‘Bond’s Girl’ (unreleased)
‘Healing’ (a 2025 Single)
‘Sexy Suicide’ (unreleased)
‘Sirens Call’ (a 2025 Single)
‘Boy – Un-named’ (unreleased)
JEANIE AND THE WHITE BOYS – 22.00:
You know when you’re onto the next big thing, there’s a strange buzz, mutterings of a “Must see”, “Oh yeah ‘did you see them at Glastonbury? Yeah, I saw them before they were a noise.” Such a ‘Buzz’ is following Jeanie And The White Boys.
When we previously heard that they would be supporting Black Honey at Chalk in Brighton on 28th August last year, ourselves and absolutely every critic, photographer and reviewer turned out to catch them, only… they didn’t show.
Disappointed not to catch my quarry that evening I contacted Jeanie Crystal directly to find out when and where they would be playing next. I am pleased to say that she was lovely and has been a joy to deal with and watch live ever since.
Less than a month later, on 22nd September, I hot footed it to their next listed gig which was at the iconic 100 Club in London. The historic and auspicious venue is tiny by most standards, and that’s what makes it one of the best venues to catch a band on the rise. You could reach out and touch them, though this is commonly frowned upon.
I had planned to go to the 100 Club gig to solely catch Jeanie And The White Boys and then head back to Brighton. However, the band that followed, equally so hot right now, Makeshift Art Bar put pay to that as soon as they hit the stage. Then there were the headliners The Black Lips who I had rather lackadaisically managed to miss at every previous opportunity. I have to say they blew us away as well. But the prize was Jeanie and her White Boys. By God was it worth making the journey and doing the late train journey home. My gig partner and I had an amazing time. That was not to be the last time that Jeanie And The White Boys surpassed our expectations.
So here they were having made it to Brighton and The Hope & Ruin once previously prior to headlining. Jeanie herself is somewhat of a polymath. She has had a varied and colourful artistic career to date. Not only has she worked as a stripper and DJ on the London scene, but she has also produced music videos for other artists. It was in the latter part of her career that people began to suggest that she try her own hand at forming a band. Which is how we arrive back at The Hope & Ruin as Le Lamb exit the stage only for the lady of the hour to take her rightful place.
A Jeanie And The White Boys gig is always eventful. The first time we saw them a guitar string broke and one had to be procured from one of the other acts. This time it would be a couple of drumsticks that bit the dust and were again acquired from another act on the line-up. Much to Jeanie’s faux irritation. Every time their seemingly organised chaos threatens to be derailed Jeanie’s rapid-fire wit takes over as she playful (and sometimes more brutally) remonstrates the White Boys with pointed criticism and witticisms, which may be based on earlier irritations from a previous set or the gruelling aspects of life on tour in a van with equally tired and irritable musicians who just want a decent nights sleep in their own bed. As a result, apart from familiar tracks, part of their ever-growing repertoire (they still haven’t recorded an album), you never really know what you’re going to get from their set.
When I say that however it’s with the caveat that while you can’t be 100% sure of any unforeseen hiccups, you can be assured that Jeanie will tear the stage up in her own inimitable fashion. Part platinum punk princess, sorry Queen [Bee]. She will be guaranteed to whip herself up into a frenzy of hair whipping, stage writhing and thrusts that would make even Iggy jealous. The consummate frontwomen Jeanie always has complete control over the audience if not the rigors that the boys put their instruments through.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the White Boys just stand behind her doing nothing as they are mostly stationary compared with Jeanie’s ever moving maelstrom. However, a closer look will see the sheer amount of sweat running down the boys faces and bodies as they throw everything they have into playing as if their frontwoman and leader deserves nothing less. As a group which is becoming increasingly tightknit, they complement and push each other in a way that can only see them becoming stars in front of our eyes. Catch them live before you can’t as it will be but a blink of an eye before they achieve worldwide domination.
As well as old favourites like ‘Big Udder Blues’ which Jeanie filmed both a NSFW edition video and a more ‘edited’ version and ‘Queen Bee’ in which Jeanie lampoons the British Monarchy with razor sharp wit. I know I am biased, but in all honesty, there wasn’t a weak track in the set. Additional older favourites like ‘Don’t Look Now Satan’s Over There’, and ‘I’m A Man’ are still stalwarts. A particular new favourite was the standout that is ‘The Witch’ (well of course it is). Obviously I was sold from the second I met Jeanie And The White Boys back in the 100 Club, but I defy anyone not to fall in love with her and the band from the off.
Jeanine And The White Boys:
Jeanie Crystal – vocals
Elston Murder – guitar
Pickles Brambles – guitar
Caezar – drums
Bob Cat Po$h Dog – bass
Jeanine And The White Boys setlist:
‘My Baby’s A Psycho Killer’ (unreleased)
‘Don’t Look Now Satan’s Over There’ (unreleased)
‘The Big Udder Blues’ (a 2025 single)
‘Queen Bee’ (a 2025 single)
‘Why Do You Want To Be Me Bitch?!’ (unreleased)
‘The Boo Hoo Girls’ (unreleased)
‘I’m A Man’ (unreleased)
‘No Harm’ (unreleased)
‘Rock ‘N’ Roll …Man?’ (unreleased)
‘The Witch’ (unreleased)
‘Is The Rectum Grave?’ (unreleased)
‘Girlfriend’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/jeanieandthewhiteboys
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