After a fallow month, we return to the ever-charming Finsbury pub for our June instalment of ‘Hidden Herd presents’, alongside Lost in the Manor. The feeling of summer littered the venue with welcome sunshine late into the night, transforming the usual dark, intimate mood into something a lot more exuberant.
To start the night, Castorp delivered a melancholy, reverb-laden set, pouring liquid guitar licks over an eager audience. Their presence was noticeably inward-facing; on stage, they play to the crowd with passion and force, yet the show was as much for them as it was for us. Like Brit up-and-comers Palace, they have a penchant for organic, sparse instrumentals, albeit with a little taste of summer. For their second ever gig, this band gave us a taste of something innovative and fresh.
Following Castorp came Brighton shoegazers to Safe to Swim. Following the release of their debut ‘Struggling‘ 3 months ago, the band showed off the rest of their repertoire with an impressive amount of punch. Their latest track ‘Pretty in the Morning‘ showed a slightly more refrained, intimate side of the band, proving they can fiddle with quieter moments and cause a riot all in one show. They gave passion in its truest form, fierce and sincere. The set was littered with welcomed loud highs and intimate lows, giving their set a feeling of unpredictability.
Kidsmoke‘s chirpy, uplifting aura bought the crowd back into the room and managed to sway even the more refrained members of the audience into moving their limbs a little. Their catchy quality is hard to ignore; latest release ‘See The World‘ was an instant crowd favourite, containing enough hooks to satisfy even the more-hardened muso.
It was clear to see the band were incredibly eager to play through their latest EP Save Your Sorrow, released last month. The tracks have both a taste of British indie and an undeniable beachside warmth. Like Circa Waves, this is a band it’s almost impossible to turn your nose up at; their stage presence was captivating.
Our headliners Crooked Teeth finally took the stage, with the audience waiting on their every move. Celebrating with us the release of their latest single ‘Mirrors‘, it was obvious that the band were both eager and excited for the set to begin.
Whilst the previous three bands could fall into a similar category, Crooked Teeth push a little farther away from the genre; similar vibes, but with a wider emotional spectrum behind the music. The most immediate thing to notice was the introversion of their tracks; a brooding underpinning which gave their music more depth than is sometimes seen from other bands within this genre.
It is however, a risk that paid off. The result is a set that was both entrancing and enjoyable. The crowd swooned and remained entranced throughout, both enjoying the atmosphere in the room and standing alone with the band at the same time.
The night ended on a triumphant note. In one evening we saw a genre pushed to it’s limits in both directions, on one side a melancholy, summery approach to British indie, and on the other, something a little more considered and introspective.
