A new live music venue and bar called Yes is opening this October on Charles Street. Home to two live music spaces, as well as a bar, food, and a rooftop terrace, its located in a Victorian-era former auctioneer house and is the brainchild of ex-Deaf Institute manager, Ruth Hemmingfield, and local music promoters Now Wave. Read our venue preview here and our guide to Yes’s inaugural Autumn 2018 season below.
Dreamy soft rock: Sam Evian
Hailing from New York, Sam Evian’s dreamy soft rock debut ‘You, forever’ is a modern take on the classic rock ballad genre. Warm electric guitars in harmony with that ever-popular 80’s synth makes for the perfect backdrop for Evian’s silky vocals and lyrics that sit somewhere between cheerful and vulnerable. Sunny melodies run down the spine of the album giving Evian room for profound insights on romances without the unnecessary moroseness often seen in similar projects. Think Cigarettes after sex, but after a cold shower and a long walk through the city.
Fri 19 Oct, 7.30pm, £8, www.seetickets.com
Rich, deep lyrics from rising star Lucy Dacus
The 23-year-old song-writer makes a strong return with her second album, featuring self-aware and often self-deprecating lyrics that explore her exhaustion from dried-up relationships, being an artist, and being a person at all. Her rich, deep vocals match the often funny, rarely clichéd insights into love and disappointment. The compositions at times seem simple, with smooth bass lines and stripped-down drum-sets, but this comes with the Dacus’s ‘less is more’ musical mantra. Indeed, this she uses to her advantage, several times producing perfectly choreographed musical climaxes, at times relating a feeling of anger, others irony, such as the shift to a string-laden chorus in ‘Body to Flame’ that will take any listener out by surprise.
Sat 27 Oct, 7.30pm, £11, www.seetickets.com
Intricate compositions from an indie veteran: Mutual Benefit
The indie veteran is bound to enrapture with gentle, harmonised vocals drifting across a folk ensemble of strings, strums, and tambourines – picture a softer, sleepier Edward & the Magnetic zeros. Delving into the natural world and the world within, this familiar lyrical territory sees more intricate compositions, with twinkling pianos and muted horns & saxes producing an enchanting soundscape. A highly enjoyable and versatile band.
Wed 31 Oct, 7.30pm, £10, www.seetickets.com
Game-changing solo artist: Natalie Prass (pictured)
Making a storm amongst critics in the US with her self-titled debut album, Prass has an excellent command of song-writing in the baroque pop style akin to St Vincent and Irving Berlin. Her latest album moves away from the floral Horns and string arrangements of her acclaimed debut, instead replaced with funk-heavy bass riffs and 80’s disco call-backs. A very celebratory sound, with RnB-influenced tracks like ‘Short cut style’ and ‘Ain’t nobody’, Prass still makes room for more quiet reflections such as the piano-vocal confessional ‘Lost’. A highly talented song-writer, Prass continues to experiment with her sound and musical personality, consistently curious and lyrically rooted in the social, political, and romantic climate she finds herself writing in.
Sat 4 Nov, 7.30pm, £14 – www.seetickets.com
Enchanting folk-scapes: Cosmo Sheldrake
Brighton-based multi-instrumentalist takes us through enchanting folk landscapes and winding lyrical avenues in his debut album ‘The Much Much How How and I’. With soft vocals & nature-laden imagery akin to fellow folk-singer Johnny Flynn, but a musical adventurousness that stands out alone, Sheldrake dazzles with soaring string & woodwind arrangements beneath his enrapturing narratives.
Sat 24 Nov, 7.30pm, £10, www.seetickets.com
Synth wave: Still Corners
Speaking of the presently popular synth-wave sound, Still corners have been moving with that scene since early 2007, creating moody and atmospheric pop trips for the listener to drift away on. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of M83’s ‘Hurry up, we’re dreaming’, and the consequent flood of youtube-based nostalgia artists, Still Corners new album ‘SLOW AIR’ continues to affect a listener with airy vocals and far-away lyrics coupled with the pulsing synth beat and occasional guitar solo, producing a rich music experience.
Mon 3 Dec, 7pm, £10, www.seetickets.com
- Words:
- Nick Collin
- Published on:
- Fri 23 Nov 2018
