‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘MUTATIONS FESTIVAL’, VARIOUS VENUES, BRIGHTON 23-24.10.26
Brighton’s seminal ‘Mutations Festival’ has returned for its eighth edition and again is curated and produced by concert promoters FORM. It has certainly boasted an exciting mix of the most explosive, established, and brand-new international artists, who were showing punters exactly what they had on offer!
The multi-venue festival took place on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th October across ten of our city’s most treasured Grassroots Music Venues. These being: Chalk, Patterns, Revenge, The Hope and Ruin, Green Door Store, The Prince Albert, The Folklore Rooms, Dust, Alphabet and Daltons.
It goes without saying, but ‘Mutations’ is one of the most highly anticipated music events on the Brighton autumn music calendar and is renowned for consistently showcasing ‘the next big thing’, from CMAT, Yard Act, and Sprints in 2021, to The Last Dinner Party, Wunderhorse, and Fat Dog in 2022, English Teacher, Antony Szmierek, and Paris Paloma in 2023, and Kneecap, HotWax, Lime Garden, Grove, Warmduscher, She’s In Parties, and The Pill in 2024.
This year there were no less than 90+ music acts to choose from, but as always the case with festivals, there are clashes of top quality artists that you ideally would love to catch in action. Such was the quality this year, that many acts who we would have truly normally covered, had to sadly forsaken for those fortunate acts that we did get to see. We tried our best and so without further ado, here’s what we did see in performance order……
FRIDAY 23rd OCTOBER:
MOUTH ULCERS – Patterns (15:30 – 16:00)
For me the 2026 Mutations Festival starts at the spectacularly rammed Patterns venue with Mouth Ulcers. They’re a London based four piece comprising Zak Watson on vocals and guitar, Josephine Rose on guitar and vocals, Jamie-Lee Culver on bass and David Zbirka on drums. Their sound is very post-punk and there’s some nice ethereal guitar from Josephine. The second song features keyboards, but from my rather ‘restricted view’ position, I can’t see who’s playing them, or whether they’re on the backing track.
Vocalist Zak’s singing is very distinctive. It’s kind of airy in a way. The keyboards sound oddly glacial, and there’s some cool motorik drumming. A taped peal of bells precedes the final song. It’s powerfully urgent compared to the rest of the set, and has a searing guitar solo. This band are undoubtedly very good. I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed them, but I can’t help feeling that I’ve heard it all before.
Mouth Ulcers setlist:
‘Lady Rust’ (a 2026 single)
‘Prevail’ (from 2026 ‘Silent Pictures’ EP)
‘The Devil’s Mad’ (unreleased)
‘You’re Not In Heaven’ (unreleased)
‘Space’ (from 2026 ‘Silent Pictures’ EP)
‘Flames’ (unreleased)
‘A Perfect End’ (from 2026 ‘Silent Pictures’ EP)
‘Closer To You’ (from 2026 ‘Silent Pictures’ EP)
(Mark Kelly)
THEATRE – Chalk (15:45 – 16:25)
Theatre were the first band of the opening day to play the largest of the Mutations venues, Chalk in Pool Valley. They recently completed a seven-date tour of England that included many sold-out shows, including one at The Lexington in London. They are a five-piece gothic/shoegaze band from Limerick in Ireland with a Brighton connection. We learn during the set that lead vocalist Maeve O’Shea’s father is from Brighton.
This is the fourth time I’ve seen Theatre, and they are high on my list of favourites of the year. Maeve’s amazing, haunting vocals that resemble a mix of Dolores O’Riordan and Elizabeth Fraser impressed throughout, and the larger stage allowed her plenty of room to move and dance around. The vocals were backed with some impressive, intricate late-80s/early-90s jangly guitar-style playing from Dara Gooney and Oscar Halpin. Sean Storan’s drums thumped along, and Gerry “Sonny” Sheil added bass. Their set contained all five songs from their debut EP ‘Incarnate’, which was released in June, as well as unreleased tracks ‘Future’, ‘Clouds’ and ‘Lough’. They are definitely a band on the up, and it would be no surprise to see them move on to bigger and better stages in the future.
Theatre setlist:
‘Future’ (unreleased)
‘Clouds’ (unreleased)
‘Messiah’ (from 2026 ‘Incarnate’ EP)
‘Black Swan’ (from 2026 ‘Incarnate’ EP)
‘Gaudete’ (from 2026 ‘Incarnate’ EP)
‘The Fall’ (from 2026 ‘Incarnate’ EP)
‘Louch’ (unreleased)
‘You Are’ (from 2026 ‘Incarnate’ EP)
(Ian Holman)
SILVER GORE – Chalk (16:55 – 17:35)
Next to play Chalk were popular London-based alt-pop duo Silver Gore. They are classically trained lead vocalist and songwriter Ava Gore and established indie artist Ethan P. Flynn, who is responsible for the unique electronic soundscapes as well as providing backing vocals and acoustic guitar. This is their second Brighton performance, having headlined one of the Green Door Store’s birthday shows back in January. They released their six-song debut EP ‘Dogs In Heaven’ back in September 2025 and have followed up with three singles since.
They play a ten-song set this afternoon that features four songs from their debut EP, all the follow-up singles as well as three unreleased songs that were also included in their setlist from earlier in the year. Along with the duo, they have their excellent young touring drummer Tash Keary. Unfortunately, due to the stormy weather that included a tree coming down across the rail tracks between Haywards Heath and Brighton, they arrived only minutes prior to taking to the stage. This resulted in a few setting-up issues, but once they were good to go, they were allowed time to complete their set. Their songs sound quite unique. Ava’s vocals are high-pitched; there’s plenty of thumping drums and cymbals along with Ethan’s acoustic guitar playing and use of keyboards. ‘All The Good Men’ is the standout track of an impressive set.
Silver Gore setlist:
‘Muddy Water’ (unreleased)
‘Dogs In Heaven’ (from 2025 ‘Dogs In Heaven’ EP)
‘A Scars Length’ (from 2025 ‘Dogs In Heaven’ EP)
‘Another Song’ (unreleased)
‘Don’t Tell Your Friends’ (a 2026 single)
‘Zeros’ (unreleased)
‘All The Good Men’ (from 2025 ‘Dogs In Heaven’ EP)
‘25Metres’ (from 2025 ‘Dogs In Heaven’ EP)
‘Black Cherry Liqueur’ (a 2026 single)
‘Peculiar’ (a 2026 single)
(Ian Holman)
BASHT. – Chalk (18:05 – 18:50)
One band that very definitely play everything live are Basht. I can confirm that as I’m right down at the front at Chalk to see them. The Dublin four piece comprise Jack Leavey on vocals and guitar, Louis Christle on bass, Lughaide Armstrong-Mayock on lead guitar and Ryan McLelland on drums. There are perhaps inevitable comparisons with Fontaines DC. Stylistically they are musically similar. Like Fontaines there are few guitar solos as such, but Lughaide Armstrong-Mayock contributes interesting guitar sounds and licks throughout the songs. He is relatively understated in a ‘less is more’ kind of way. Also, Jack Leavey is a more melodic singer than Grian Chatten. He doesn’t imitate the latter’s ‘speak-sing’ style. Lughaide’s guitar is clear and powerful, and often seems to be just on the edge of feeding back.
This is the third time that the band have played Mutations Festival, and they’re pleased to be playing at Chalk. They have just released their debut album ‘Poor Advice’, which much of tonight’s set is from. The band are currently on tour and play Camden Koko on 30th October. They’re very definitely a cracking live band, and there are still tickets left. What are you waiting for?!
Basht. setlist:
‘Keira Knightley’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Perfume’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Stockholm’ (from 2025 ‘Bitter And Twisted’ EP)
‘Terror TV’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Vermilion Reptilian’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Kids Vs Guns’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Burn’ (from 2025 ‘Bitter And Twisted’ EP)
‘Poor Advice’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Dirty White’ (from 2025 ‘Dirty White Lies’ EP)
‘Gone Girl’ (from 2025 ‘Dirty White Lies’ EP)
‘Circadia’ (from 2026 ‘Poor Advice’ album)
‘Wild Horses’ (from 2025 ‘Dirty White Lies’ EP)
(Mark Kelly)
DIVEBAR YOUTH – The Hope & Ruin (18:10 – 18:40)
Divebar Youth is a solo project from Adelaide, Australia, songwriter and producer Vinnie Barbaro. It’s been non-stop for Divebar Youth over the past few years with the release of plenty of singles, five EPs as well as an album since 2023, generating millions of global streams and over 10k followers on Instagram. Performing along with Vinnie is drummer Michael Marino.
They are the first act to play The Hope & Ruin during this year’s festival. The music is moody with a high-energy mix of raw, dark guitar tones and heavy drumming. Following a brief intro and the opening three songs, Vinnie informs the half-filled venue that this is the first time they’ve performed in the UK. I thought the better songs in the set were ‘How You Doing’ and ‘Broken’ (the only track performed from the new EP ‘Echo Chamber’). It was also quite noticeable that the live performance was beefed up with the drums standing out more, while on record the sound is more polished with additional instrumentation. Unfortunately, there was not time for the last song on the set, the 2023 debut single ‘Vertebrae’.
Divebar Youth setlist:
‘Intro’ (unreleased)
‘Cypher’ (from 2023 ‘Sonder’ EP)
‘Divide’ (a 2025 single)
‘Bad Line’ (from 2024 ‘Petrichor’ album)
‘Heart Of Gold’ (a 2025 single)
‘How You Doing?’ (a 2025 single)
‘Broken’ (from 2026 ‘Echo Chamber’ EP)
‘In The Hive’ (from 2024 ‘Idioms’ EP)
‘Idioms’ (from 2024 ‘Idioms’ EP)
www.instagram.com/divebaryouth
(Ian Holman)
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS – Revenge (18:25 – 19:10)
Having already seen Mouth Ulcers, Theatre and Silver Gore today at Mutations (that my colleagues have kindly reviewed above), it was now my time to get in on the act and see what Death Valley Girls have to offer. It’s my debut encounter with this female American rock outfit who came into being way back in 2013 in Los Angeles. According to my copy of the Mutations programme it states that “For the better part of a decade, LA’s scrappy rock ‘n’ roll mystics Death Valley Girls have used their music as a means of tapping into a communal cosmic energy. The band challenge and celebrate the soul-crushing banality of modern society through collage of proto-punkriffs, earworm melodies and far-out lyrics”. So let’s see if this is indeed the case…
The quartet take to the stage with Bonnie Bloomgarden holding the fort on vocals and organ keys. Behind her is drummer Bailey Chapman, and Bonnie is flanked by a guitarist/vocalist and bassist/vocalist who very well may be Sarah Safaie and Laena Myers. They are running a little behind schedule, but don’t panic, in fact they have a group hug and then another one, there’s certainly no rushing this lot! To start they offer up a slow gritty psych surge with their trademark three-way vocal approach, which occasionally stray vocally into the addition of country music twangs. The beat speeds up for their second selection, which Bailey certainly comes into her own. The foot-tapping, hip-swivelling tunes come at us at some pace. I’m a particular fan of Bonnie’s organ sound throughout the set as, for me, it harks back to the days of The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and early Modern Lovers.
Death Valley Girls aren’t just psych though, there’s a strong hint of proto and post punk going on. Bonnie decides to vacate the stage and get up close with the punters in Revenge which works rather well. They are a tight outfit that reminds me of Kleenex and Lilliput. It’s been an enjoyable experience and I’m glad that I made the change from my proposed band at the last minute due to the terrible weather. However, our photographer suffered a hairline fracture to her cheek whilst shooting this set courtesy of an unknown male photographer who really wasn’t aware of his surroundings and rapidly spun around and clouted her in the face! This would have consequences to our evening, more on that shortly.
Death Valley Girls possible setlist:
‘Abre Camino’ (from 2018 ‘Darkness Rains’ album)
‘Watch The Sky’ (from 2023 ‘Islands In The Sky’ album)
‘Basic Witch’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘Islands In The Sky’ (from 2023 ‘Islands In The Sky’ album)
‘Plant Magic’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘Death Valley Boogie’ (from 2016 ‘Glow In The Dark’ album)
‘Fire And Brimstone’ (Link Wray cover) (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘Sing For Yourself’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘Welcome To Earth’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘I Love You’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘Message From The Venus Flower’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘How Losing Everything In The Fire Taught Me To Love Myself’ (from 2026 ‘Welcome To Earth’ album)
‘Street Justice’ (from 2018 ‘Darkness Rains’ album)
‘Seis Seis Seis’ (from 2014 ‘The Burger Sessions’ album)
‘Disaster (Is What We’re After)’ (from 2018 ‘Darkness Rains’ album)
(Nick Linazasoro)
TANZANA – The Hope & Ruin (19:05 – 19:35)
Today has been cold and wet due to the attentions of Storm Austen. Still, the weather isn’t going to prevent me from trudging up to the Hope and Ruin for Tanzana. The band are a five piece from Glasgow comprising Freya Talbot on vocals, Lily Findlay and Sarah Dunn on guitars, Katie Hare on bass and Karolina Skinderskye on drums. One of the guitarists, doubles up on synth, but unfortunately I don’t know which is which! Tanzana are a lucky find, as I was due to review Cyn Cwsg at the Green Door Store and they have been rescheduled, so I needed a suitable alternative, quick!
Opener ‘This Love’ tears off at a quick enough pace to grab everyone’s attention. ‘Astar’ is slower. One of the guitarists (the one who also plays synth) has a Les Paul and demonstrates that she very much knows how to use it. ‘Without A Sound’ has a nice bass riff courtesy of Katie Hare, and drops into near reggae on occasion. Vocalist Freya has a very rich voice. It’s powerful too. Freya tells us that “Brighton smells of doughnuts”. Okay. It could be a lot worse. ‘Pulse, Pose, Position’ is in 6/8, although it goes into 4/4 and back again at one point. The guitarist with the Telecaster (the one who doesn’t also play synth) fingerpicks delicately and delightfully. Her Tele sounds exquisitely clear and bell-like.
They recently released their debut EP ‘Etched In’. It has six tracks so arguably could be described as a mini-album. We’ve already heard three songs from it: ‘This Love’, ‘Astar’ and ‘Without A Sound’. Now we’re presented with ‘You Bite, I Bleed’, in which the band demonstrate what a finely tuned sense of dynamics they have. Freya also shows that she can scream like a banshee when required. They play a new song. Indeed, it’s so new that it’s listed on the setlist as “New Song”! I’m sure that it will be properly christened in due course. Freya is on synth for the intro. It’s pleasingly pokey and Katie’s bassline looks downright difficult. The song becomes quieter and calmer towards the end. Another display of dynamics! The set ends with ‘Covet’, which is on the EP, but I believe was also their first single. The guitarist with the Les Paul is on slide and making seagull noises. As I said earlier, Tanzana are a lucky find, and are very definitely one of my bands of the weekend. They’re a superb live band with some really top notch material. Check ‘em out. If you don’t, I’ll know!
Tanzana setlist:
‘This Love’ (from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
‘Astar’ (from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
‘Without A Sound’ (from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
‘Pulse, Pose, Position’ (from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
‘You Bite, I Bleed’ (from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
“New Song” (from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
‘Covet’ (a 2025 single & from 2026 ‘Etched In’ EP)
(Mark Kelly)
SQUID – Chalk (19:20 – 20:20)
Brighton’s own Squid brought a sizeable home-town following to Chalk on Friday evening, delivering a compelling performance ahead of Fat Dog’s headline appearance. The venue was packed, and there was little doubt that this was a band with a fiercely loyal fanbase. From the opening moments, the audience hung on every beat and every word, responding to the twists, turns and infectious rhythms with an enthusiasm that made the whole room feel part of the performance.
Squid have developed a distinctive sound that comfortably sits somewhere between art-rock, post-punk and experimental indie, and their live performance showed just how effectively they can bring those elements together. There was an intensity and confidence to the playing, with the band seemingly feeding off the energy coming back from the crowd. It was a reminder of the strength of Brighton’s own musical talent and a fitting way to build anticipation for Fat Dog. For a band playing on home turf, this was more than just another festival slot; it was a celebration of a connection between a band and its audience that was clearly as strong as ever.
Squid setlist:
‘G.S.K.’ (from 2021 ‘Bright Green Field’ album)
‘Undergrowth’ (from 2023 ‘O Monolith’ album)
‘Swing (In A Dream)’ (from 2023 ‘O Monolith’ album)
‘Broadcaster’ (from 2020 ‘Sludge’/’Broadcaster’ single)
‘The Cleaner’ (from 2019 ‘Town Centre’ EP)
‘Crispy Skin’ (from 2025 ‘Cowards’ album)
‘Building 650’ (from 2025 ‘Cowards’ album)
‘Narrator’ (from 2021 ‘Bright Green Field’ album)
(Sara-Louise Bowrey)
MARSY – The Hope & Ruin (20:00 – 20:35)
Next up we have Marsy, who are a five piece from London, comprising Hannah Rodgers on vocals and guitar, Luke Rodgers on guitar and vocals, Reuben Kyriakides on keyboards and backing vocals, Lucy Rushton on bass, and a drummer who may or may not be called Sean. Opener ‘Offer’ features both electric piano and mellotron. It’s quite a while since I’ve seen a mellotron played live. This confirms from the off that the band are very much ‘old school’. Hannah Rodger’s vocals are superb. All of the rest of the band are on backing vocals and the harmonies are faultless.
‘You Can You Can’t’ will soon be released as part of an EP. It features a fingerpicked guitar solo from Luke Rodgers, which is very pleasant. ‘Miss Wave’ meanwhile has only just been released and is the punchiest song of the set thus far. The “yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah!” vocal line sounds a little like David Byrne on Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’. Hannah discards her guitar for ‘My Old Guy’. This is a gentle waltz which is very nice, in more ways than one. ‘Trampolene’ has a nice keyboard intro and an understatedly noisy ending. It’s all relative though. My Bloody Valentine this is not. ‘Praises’ is faster and less well-behaved than the rest of the set so far. It includes the line “Don’t f*ck me up, don’t f*ck me over”. This clearly must be the band’s tribute to the punk movement. Possibly.
‘Happy Hour’ (not The Housemartins’ tune) features a cool harmonica intro from Hannah. Once again her singing shows that she really does have the most crystalline voice. Proceedings draw to a close with ‘1950 Something’ which is by some distance the best song of the set, featuring the set’s most interesting guitar solo too, although it’s still rather understated. There’s a nice crescendo towards the end of the song. Marsy’s playing has been absolutely superb. There’s absolutely nothing to fault there. However, I don’t know how Marsy view themselves, but what they’ve presented us with tonight has been melodic soft rock. Again, nothing wrong with that. If you like The Moody Blues or ‘Rumours’ era Fleetwood Mac, this is your band. Indeed, with their musical chops I could see them making an absolute killing playing covers on cruise liners. However, if they want to do something more original, I would suggest strongly that they perhaps compose some more challenging material that doesn’t sound like it was written to be played in a supper club, and persuade guitarist Luke to stamp on the overdrive pedal occasionally. Just saying.
Marsy setlist:
‘Offer’ (unreleased)
‘You Can You Can’t’ (from forthcoming 2026 ‘Miss Wave’ EP)
‘Miss Wave’ (from forthcoming 2026 ‘Miss Wave’ EP)
‘My Old Guy’ (from forthcoming 2026 ‘Miss Wave’ EP)
‘Trampoline’ (unreleased)
‘Praises’ (unreleased)
‘Happy Hour’ (unreleased)
‘1950 Something’ (unreleased)
(Mark Kelly)
FAT DOG – Chalk (21:00 – 22:20)
With our photographer having been hit in the face during the earlier Death Valley Girls set at Revenge, we were living on borrowed time, as her cheek was inflamed and turning black as though she had been in the boxing ring! We were commuting into Brighton and back together for Mutations, so serious discussions had to be had! We were here at Chalk to catch my favourite of the whole festival, Fat Dog, along with Working Men’s Club and Scaler, before heading back at 1:25am. But whilst shooting the first three Fat Dog tunes it was evident that the latter two bands had to be dropped.
So to Fat Dog…we had spotted frontman Joe Love earlier on in East Street whilst collecting our Mutations wristbands and pleasant banter was exchanged. We just knew that we had to get into Chalk early in order to secure good positions as there’s such a buzz with Fat Dog at the moment. They’ve played live in Brighton around a dozen times already courtesy of a number of Great Escape performances, one of which on 12th May 2023 on Brighton Beach was in my Top 5 sets of that year! I just love what Joe and his collective have achieved in such a short time! We aren’t alone this evening as by the time frontman vocalist/guitarist Joe, Chris Hughes (keys, guitar, laptop), Morgan Wallace (sax/keys), and Ellis D (drums) and chums (on violin, bass, tom toms/percussion) grace us with their presence there is absolutely no room to move, we are packed in like sardines!
Local hero Ellis D set off the intro backing and then the remainder of the musicians took to the stage. The atmosphere was electric! Within literally seconds of the start of the opener ‘Smile And Wave’ from 2026’s ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album, Joe was down and off the stage and addressing the punters from the crowd barrier, this being a regular occurrence throughout the whole of the immense 17 song set. There was much merriment throughout the crowd with vigorous bouncing and moshing, with circle pits and the like going off. Being located almost at the front meant that constant barging from revellers was inevitable, and thankfully this hardly detracted from my enjoyment of the set.
Joe’s mic was set to echo as a couple from 2024’s ‘Woof.’ album took ahold, these being ‘All The Same’ and an exceptional delivery of ‘King Of The Slugs’. A majority of Fat Dog compositions are truly euphoric and give German trancemasters Scooter a run for their money. But Fat Dog add in their own dance blend with Arabic and Jewish beats into the pot. This set was very well put together as it allowed the lively bunch to have a rest or two during the sedate offerings before cranking up the joyousness to 11 again! Not to be outdone, Chris came into our section and was proudly held aloft as he crowd surfed. I could wax lyrical about every song this evening, but there isn’t room, so I’ll cut to the chase and flag up the two final cuts of their 2024 earworm ‘Peace Song’ single and ‘Running’ from ‘Woof.’, with ‘Peace Song’ being the best in set. So in summing up in just a word…“Legends!”.
Fat Dog setlist:
‘Smile And Wave’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘All The Same’ (from 2024 ‘Woof.’ album)
‘King Of The Slugs’ (from 2024 ‘Woof.’ album)
‘Shit Love’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘The Devil’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘Snakes’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘Wither’ (from 2024 ‘Woof.’ album)
‘2 Fat 4 Life’ (unreleased)
‘Call It What You Want’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘Show Me The Way’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ Rough Trade edition album)
‘Go F*ck Urself’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘Bad Dog’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
‘Aliens’ (from 2026 ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ album)
(encore)
‘Pray To That’ (a 2025 single)
‘Peace Song’ (a 2024 single)
‘Running’ (from 2024 ‘Woof.’ album)
(Nick Linazasoro)
THE BESNARD LAKES – The Hope & Ruin (21:05 – 22:00)
The next band to take to the stage at The Hope & Ruin were The Besnard Lakes. They were formed in 2003 by husband-and-wife duo Jace Lasek (guitar) and Olga Goreas (bass guitar). Originally a six-piece, they have released seven studio albums, a live album and a number of EPs and singles. Jace and Olga share lead vocals throughout the ten-song set with drummer Kevin Laing and additional guitarist Kevin MacArthur adding backing vocals. I’ve never seen a band play The Hope & Ruin with so much equipment. Their sound is atmospheric, and mainly consists of psychedelic and prog rock. Jace’s vocals resemble Jonathan Donahue (Mercury Rev). At times both Jace and Kevin use 12-string guitars.
After the opening couple of songs, Olga tells the appreciative crowd “You guys put the ‘right’ in Brighton”. At this point, drummer Kevin looks absolutely shattered and it’s no surprise as the band have played six shows in six days around the UK. After the fifth song of the set ‘People Of The Sticks’, a member of the audience thinks he is Cilla Black by asking the band “Who are you and where are you from?” Jace tells him “We are the Bernard Lakes from Montreal, Quebec in Canada.” There are cheers and Jace goes on to say “The 51st state of America”. A few boos are heard from some of the crowd. Someone then adds “We are the 52nd”, to which Jace laughed and said “I think we better stop there.” Overall, it was a good set with ‘Golden Lion’ being the stand-out track for me.
The Besnard Lakes setlist:
‘Chemin De La Baie’ (from 2025 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Ghost Nation’ album)
‘Golden Lion’ (from 2016 ‘A Coliseum Complex Museum’ album)
‘Carried All Around’ (from 2025 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Ghost Nation’ album)
‘Albatross’ (from 2010 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night’ album)
‘People Of The Sticks’ (from 2013 ‘Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO’ album)
‘Give Us Our Dominion’ (from 2025 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Ghost Nation’ album)
‘Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 1: The Innocent’ (from 2010 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night’ album)
‘Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 1: The Ocean’ (from 2010 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night’ album)
‘She’s An Icicle’ (from 2022 ‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame’ EP)
’Tungsten 4: The Refugee’ (from 2016 ‘A Coliseum Complex Museum’ album)
(Ian Holman)
ORAL HABIT – The Prince Albert (21:35 – 22:05)
Tonight ends for me with Oral Habit at the Prince Albert. This wasn’t my original plan but with trains being cancelled left, right, and centre I need to ensure that I get home. A band more different to Marsy I probably couldn’t have found if I tried, and like Tanzana they’re another lucky discovery. They’re a Brighton based psych-krautrock band with a definite flavour of the Osees, comprising Charlie Hales on guitar and lead vocals, Tippi Lewis on bass and vocals, and Felix Hales on drums. They have a keyboard player who isn’t credited on t’internet, which is surprising as he seems to be responsible for a major chunk of their sound. He may or may not be Elliot Stanford. I’m sure he knows whether he is or not, which I guess is the most important thing.
Before the set starts, Charlie hands out beers to the rest of the band. What a nice guy! There are no song titles available unfortunately, and none are announced, so we’ll just have to go with the flow. Charlie is on a twelve string Vox Teardrop (or a copy thereof), which is not something I’ve seen before. The Osees comparison is readily apparent. There are already a couple of mates that I’m really going to have to recommend this band to!
The second song is awesome, although where one song finishes and another begins isn’t always clear. There’s a tight psychedelic groove and one of those guitar solos that seems to spiral into the clouds. Felix Hales is an astonishing drummer. Some of the music is incredibly complex, but he seems to be in complete control of it. The last two songs are from a record that will soon be released. Before the last song Charlie tells us that they’re “going to wig out”, which without further ado they duly do. The guitar solo is very much in the mould of ‘Beck’s Bolero’. Then things become way more frantic! Things come to a crashing close and Charlie thanks us for not going to see Fat Dog. The pleasure’s all ours Charlie!
(Mark Kelly)
CYN CWSG – The Hope & Ruin (22:30 – 23:10)
Four-piece indie-rock band Cyn Cwsg were raised in North Wales but are now based in Cardiff. The band’s name is pronounced “kun kooshg” and its meaning is “before sleep” or “bedtime”. They played the Great Escape Festival with sets at Komedia Studio and Charles Street Tap. They kick off their nine-song set with the opening two tracks from their Welsh-language debut 2025 EP ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’.
The opener ‘Only Time’ has a bit of a Kooks feel to it, while ‘Diarhebion’ is more melodic with driving guitar and features harmony between the band. Third song ‘Katter’ is their latest single and it’s a set highlight. ‘Megan Plis’ features more harmony and has a slower pace to it. The mid-set song is ’Spanish Tragedy’ and is set to feature on the second EP. Lead vocalist Tomos Lynch then asks “Is everybody having a good Mutations Festival?” One enthusiastic member of the audience who at times thought he was in a John Wayne movie responds in Welsh and then there’s a bit of banter between him and the band. The next three songs are the other tracks off their debut EP, then they finish with ‘Mobius’. Overall, an enjoyable set of songs. Definitely a band for fans of Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci.
Cyn Cwsg setlist:
‘Only Time’ (from 2025 ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ EP)
‘Diahebion’ (from 2025 ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ EP)
‘Katter’ (a 2026 single)
‘Megan Plis’ (a 2026 single)
’Spanish Tragedy’ (unreleased)
‘Gecko’ (from 2025 ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ EP)
‘Rhwng Dau Gwmwl’ (from 2025 ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ EP)
‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ (from 2025 ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ EP)
‘Mobius’ (a 2026 single)
(Ian Holman)
THE ITCH – The Hope & Ruin (23:40 – 00:20)
The Itch are a London-based synth-pop duo formed by Georgia Hardy (drums, backing vocals) and Simon Tyrie (vocals, synths). They perform live as a five-piece with the addition of a guitarist, a bass guitarist and a keyboard player.
Having seen them at Concorde 2 during this year’s Great Escape Festival, I was looking forward to catching them again, but this time at the smaller Hope & Ruin venue. Georgia’s drum kit was given a prominent position to the left of the stage from the audience’s point of view, with the keyboard player performing where the drums would normally be located. The Itch certainly didn’t let me or anyone else down with an excellent set of danceable electro tunes that started off with ‘No More Sprechgesang’; this was one of six songs performed from their debut album It’s ‘The Hope That Kills You’, which was released in April. Simon informs us that the title track from the album is about being replaced by robots, and his vocals on the new song listed as ’Necro’ reminded me of Brandon Flowers. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to play ‘Space In The Cab’, which was due to be the ninth and final song of the set.
The Itch setlist:
‘No More Sprechgesang’ (from 2025 ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ album)
‘Planned Obs’ (unreleased)
‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ (from 2025 ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ album)
‘Can’t Afford This’ (from 2025 ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ album)
’Necro’ (unreleased)
‘Switch It Off’ (from 2025 ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ album)
‘Drugdealer’ (from 2025 ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ album)
‘Aux Romanticiser’ (from 2025 ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’ album)
(Ian Holman)
SCALER – Chalk (00:40 – 01:25)
I make my way back over to Chalk to see SCALER who were formerly known as Scalping. They were formed in 2017 and are an experimental four-piece from Bristol that bridge the gap between aggressive live rock/metal and club-ready electronic and techno structures. They pair up heavy riffs and live drumming with synthesizers, samplers and sequences. There are no live vocals, and the majority of the tracks segue into each other throughout the mind-blowing 45-minute set.
Alex Hill controls most of the electronic side of things; James also adds to this as well as playing bass guitar; Isaac Jones is on the drums; while Nick Berthoud plays guitar. Nick uses two guitars throughout the set, one of which has seven strings. After a few early setting up technical issues, the band takes to the stage with roars of approval from the crowd, and it’s not long before most are moving their feet and dancing to the thumping, bass-heavy sounds that SCALER produce.
(Ian Holman)
SILVERWINGKILLER – Chalk (01:50 – 02:30)
I remained at Chalk to see Silverwingkiller. They are a high-energy British/Chinese electronic punk and industrial duo based in Manchester. On vocals is Yushang Ni, who sings in English, Mandarin and Shanghainese dialect, and on drums is James Baca (Batzer). The electronics are primarily on the backing track. They formed in 2024 and have been touring relentlessly this year, including performances at The Great Escape Festival and Psych Fest in Brighton.
With the duo starting their performance so late at Chalk, the venue was less than a third full, although those that were there had a great time. The duo were really up for it, with Yushang dancing along while providing her unique multilingual vocals. The speed at which James was drumming was mesmerising. Yushang managed to jump the barrier in front of the stage at one point, and moshed with a few fans down the front. Stand-out tracks for me were the latest single ‘WORLDSTAR’ and the set closer ‘S.W.K.’.
(Ian Holman)
You can find our reviews of Mutations Day Two HERE.
You can read the copy of this year’s Mutations programme HERE.
‘Mutations’ is set to return next year and the dates for your dairies are Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd October. Early bird tickets for ‘Mutations’ 2027 are on sale now and are available to purchase HERE.
