THE LEAF LIBRARY + MINOR DENTS – THE ROSE HILL, BRIGHTON 2.4.26
It’s been absolutely ages since we ventured along to The Rose Hill which is located off London Road near the Fire Station in Brighton, but we certainly couldn’t resist catching the debut Brighton gig by London drone pop group The Leaf Library, who are here in support of their brand new ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album, which dropped on 20th March via Fika Recordings and this evening is proudly sitting at No.27 in the Official UK Download Album Chart. It’s arguably their most commercial and easily accessible work to date, having found a rich new seam of melodic guitar music and it’s bright and transcendent yet blissfully intimate.
‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ was recorded across multiple studios between April 2022 and August 2023, and is The Leaf Library’s most immediate and melodic work to date. It’s a luminous collection of pastoral indiepop, drawing inspiration from suburban isolation, unreliable memories and the surreality of the weather. The record sees the band challenging themselves with more traditional songwriting and more structured compositions (more chords and more choruses!) rather than just relying on sonics or textures, which have been found littered across previous releases. The sound of the new album is defined by mixer John McEntire, whose work with Stereolab and Yo La Tengo (as well as a member of Tortoise and The Sea And Cake) have been major inspirations to the band.
The Leaf Library, who have recently collaborated with Brighton drum and bass artist Xylitol on her new ‘Planet Mu’ album, came into being in the mid 2000s when singer Kate Gibson and ex-Saloon guitarist Matt Ashton started writing material and have since expanded into including drummer Lewis Young and bassist Gareth Jones. As a live outfit, they add further depth of sound and are this evening squeezed onto the compact stage as a sextet, with the inclusion of guitarist Mike Cranny of fellow drone pop travellers Firestations, as well as Irina Shtreis on keys. This is a truly intimate setting and allows everyone present to be up close and connected with the musicians as they perform nine compositions that run from 9:18pm to 10:27pm.
The pub is packed as the musicians arrive and take to the stage. From our left to right they are front row: Kate Gibson (lead vocals and keyboard) who is seated, Irina Shtreis (backing vocals, Korg and Yamaha Reface YC Mini Synthesizers), the latter of which is shared with Matt Ashton who also takes care of the guitars, vocals, egg shaker and a majority of the band’s interaction with the punters. Behind the trio are: Mike Cranny who flits between Guild and Fender guitars, Gareth Jones on Rickenbacker bass, and finally Lewis Young on drums and laptop duties.
Not surprisingly, The Leaf Library commence the performance with a cut from the new ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album, this being ‘Colour Chant’ which is the first of a handful of tunes played tonight. This one starts with a warmup feel and then the drums kick off followed by some chunky Rickenbacker action. The dual vocals from Kate and Matt and depth and an almost echo sound. The tune builds in intensity with added foot pedal action to boot. Selection two is ‘The Reader’s Lamp’ which is also from the new release and this has a drum machine backing to start with and then the actual drums kick in, followed by some notable double guitar twang action and dreamy vocals. For me, this is a more immediate track than the opener and its dreaminess reminds me of early and hey-day Prefab Sprout.
They move on to ‘Hissing Waves’ which is found on 2019’s ‘The World Is A Bell’ album and for this Matt trades in his guitar for the Yamaha synth, and Mike swaps his Guild guitar for a Fender, which has a totally different sound. This song has a funkier vibe than the first two and reminds me of the very early Factory Record releases other than New Order. Irina’s Korg keys nicely rounded off the track. Tune four is 2026’s ‘Some Circling’ which Kate dedicates to (I think) Olivia Sullivan who did the sleeve notes for the album. For this Matt trades in the Yamaha for his guitar which he plays with the assistance of an EBow, which if you don’t know, uses a pickup and a magnetic feedback circuit to vibrate strings without touching them, allowing players to sustain notes indefinitely. Some of Gareth’s bass guitar notes reminded me of Monsoon’s classic ‘Ever So Lonely’ hit single and the Fender guitar is to the fore throughout this song. There’s a hint of Stereolab here, especially when there’s a full on rockin’ out towards the end of the track. Not surprisingly, this was met with emphatic approval by the crowd.
Their next selection is ‘Bowed Clusters’ which is from 2025’s ‘The Long Dead King’ EP and Kate dedicates this to (I think) Catherine who remixed the tune. Matt is back on Yamaha duties and this gives the tune a retro organ sound. After this we are given two more tunes from the new LP, the first being ‘Still & Moving’ and the second, their recent ‘Catch Up, Isobel’ single. For ‘Still & Moving’, which we are informed will be their next single, Matt is back on Fender duties and this together with Mike’s guitar gives the track a heavier feel, something like Stereolab meets The Horrors, with dreamy vocals atop. This is played with aplomb and is a great choice for a single. For ‘Catch Up, Isobel’, Matt switches from one Fender to another Fender, and Mike changes his Fender to go back to his Guild guitar. I prefer the live vocals here as opposed to the almost double vocal autotuned version on the record, but having said that, the tune still jangles along very nicely thank you!
The penultimate selection is their 2024 head-bobbing ‘The Greater Good’ single, which is also from 2022’s ‘Library Music: Volume One’ compilation album. This is a two Fender’s action track, that witnesses Irina switching from her Korg synth to Matt’s Yamaha. There’s some intense guitar strumming action present here, along with a skippy drumbeat and wonderfully durgy organ sounding keys. This does sound as if it’s a Stereolab tune, and it even has a false ending, with the second instrumental section being seriously impressive. There’s a small whiff of echoey U2 guitar in here as the whole unit rock on out! They bloody nailed it! It’s the set highlight for me and the tune that they should have ended on. Instead we get ‘There Was Always A Golden Age’ from ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’, which was dedicated to the audience and everyone that goes out to small gigs in small venues. The track is slower in pace than the previous song and is more melodic, which increases in dreaminess and intensity. In fact, it culminates with only the two guitars signing off. It’s been a great first Brighton gig by The Leaf Library! Let’s hope that they don’t leave it a long time in order to return!
The Leaf Library:
Kate Gibson – vocals, keys
Matt Ashton – guitars, synth, vocals, egg shaker
Lewis Young – drums, laptop
Gareth Jones – bass
Mike Cranny – guitars
Irina Shtreis – keys
The Leaf Library setlist:
‘Colour Chant’ (from 2026 ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album)
‘The Reader’s Lamp’ (from 2026 ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album)
‘Hissing Waves’ (from 2019 ‘The World Is A Bell’ album)
‘Some Circling’ (from 2026 ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album)
‘Bowed Clusters’ (from 2025 ‘The Long Dead King’ EP)
‘Still & Moving’ (from 2026 ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album)
‘Catch Up, Isobel’ (from 2026 ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album)
‘The Greater Good’ (a 2014 single & from 2022 ‘Library Music: Volume One’ compilation album)
‘There Was Always A Golden Age’ (from 2026 ‘After The Rain, Strange Seeds’ album)
Support this evening comes from the locally based trio of Minor Dents who are Holly Finch (vocals and bass), Ryan Bollard (drums) and Al Strachan (keys, cornet, and electronics). This is my debut encounter with the band, however, I have previously seen Al in at least two other local bands, these being Crayola Lectern and ChopChop.
Back in January, Minor Dents dropped a 4 track mini album on Rose Hill Records called ‘Sitting With The Fish’ which was pressed on limited edition 10” white vinyl and the initial first run copies were proudly transported to the Lewes Psych Fest where they were performing on Friday 23rd January at The Con Club. Suffice to say, they sold them all and are currently on the second run – Grab yours HERE.
This evening we are in their company for 37 minutes, from 8:06pm until 8:43pm and during that period we are rewarded with a half dozen compositions, with a handful of these being original compositions. Their opening selection is ‘Margate’ which is found on their ‘Sitting With The Fish’ mini album. Al tinkles on the keys to begin with, and then is swiftly followed by Ryan on the drums, and finally Holly comes to the party with her Fender Jazz bass guitar. Immediately there’s a Krautrock vibe going on here and Holly’s vocal deliveries are a virtual carbon copy of Patricia “Trish” Anne Keenan of Broadcast fame. This seriously puts me in a wonderful place because as far as I can recall, I never actually got to see Broadcast in the flesh, prior to Trish’s untimely passing at the tender age of 42 on 14th January 2011 of pneumonia, shortly after she had contracted swine flu while completing a tour of Australia with her band. The group operated from 1995 to 2011.
Minor Dents second selection this evening is another offering from their mini-album, this time it’s the title tune ‘Sitting With The Fish’. They’re a versatile lot, as Ryan wasn’t to be outdone by Al (who had briefly played his cornet the same time as his keys work on the previous tune) and so for this number Ryan briefly plays a clarinet whilst kicking the kickdrum of his kit at the same time. This time around Holly’s vocals also have the additional feel of The Velvet Underground’s Nico as well as Trish’s. Al offloads some almost acid house repetitive keyboard bleeps which certainly brings the tune to life, and on its conclusion, it is very well received by the punters.
There’s some funky keyboard action to kick off the yet to be released ‘Rhizome’ and Holly’s vocals are unmistakably British. However when she utters “shakey shaky down”, this reminds me of Amsterdam’s Baby Berserk’s ‘Dancing With The Fish’ earworm. The last of the three offerings from the Minor Dents mini album is next, this being ‘Rituals’. For this Holly switches from bass to guitar. Ryan’s rapid drum beat sets the tone and the use of the guitar gives the tune a heavier edge than the previous numbers. It’s a boppy track which sees the worlds of Neu! and Broadcast collide. There’s a keyboard riff in there that reminds me of Gary Numan’s ‘Engineers’ as well, which is from his iconic No.1 ‘The Pleasure Principle’ album.
For the penultimate selection, the unreleased ‘Counting Sheep’, Holly switches back to her bass guitar. This song is slower paced than its predecessor and the synth and drums shine through. Holly’s vocals here are so close to Trish’s that it’s unreal. Al even utters a few words for backing vocals as well. They sign off with a cover of Grace Jones’ ‘Strange I’ve Seen That Face Before’, which has a similar vibe to Grace’s ‘Private Life’, which in turn was a cover of the Pretenders tune. Holly offloads both English and French vocals throughout, as the drumming led skippy reggae beat dominates the track. Suffice to say that Minor Dents were very well received is an understatement, and for yours truly is by far the best of the bands that Al is associated with. I would love to see this trio in action pretty soon!
Minor Dents:
Holly Finch – vocals, bass, guitar
Ryan Bollard – drums, clarinet
Al Strachan – keys, cornet, electronics, vocals
Minor Dents setlist:
‘Margate’ (from 2026 ‘Sitting With The Fish’ mini album)
‘Sitting With The Fish’ (from 2026 ‘Sitting With The Fish’ mini album)
‘Rhizome’ (unreleased)
‘Rituals’ (from 2026 ‘Sitting With The Fish’ mini album)
‘Counting Sheep’ (unreleased)
‘Strange I’ve Seen That Face Before’ (Grace Jones cover)
