Tag Archives: indie

Sassyhiya, NCI Centre, Cambridge, 29 November 2025

First on were felicity perpetua, with effects-drenched guitar and vocals the duo were augmented by extra bass. Their style varied from full-on wall of sound to ethereal and experimental but always hypnotic. Celebrating ten years since their album ‘Healing Centre’ was released, Cambridge institution Model Village delivered an energetic set of their more uptempo tracks, laced with acerbic lyrics and instrumental twists.

Sassyhiya play compact sharp pop, mostly drawn from their excellent debut album. The quartet extract the lyrical goodness and spiky tunes from opener ‘Boat Called Predator’ and the surprises of ‘Puppet Museum’. There were new songs, as well as highlights like ‘I Had A Thought’ and the delicious ode to ‘Kristen Stewart’. The idiosyncrasies of their cat ‘Crayon Potato’ is a memorable singalong with a dexterous lyric and full-on rocker ‘You Can Give It (But You Can’t Take It)’ brought the show to a raucous end.

https://sassyhiya.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.facebook.com/modelvillagers/

https://nosoapworld.bandcamp.com/album/tape

Indiepop All-dayer, Blue Moon, Cambridge,15 November 2025

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Five new songs and two extra musicians gave Cambridge favourites Mammoth Penguins a flying start to the sold out all-dayer, with a sparkling high powered set. In contrast Huia Fun Club were all about quieter introspection as were And Yet with gentle harmonies. London quartet Goalies featured a sparse crystalline sound and played many strong songs from their 2025 EP ‘Meant To Be’. There was a hypnotic electronic feel to duo Mumble Tide who brought the first half of the day to a stylish end.

Nathy SG kicked off the evening with their rocking heartfelt tracks, later for some members to reconfigure the line-up into the equally punchy bright sound of Fortitude Valley. In between there was the highly energetic and show-stealing performance by Twat Union, their strong messages delivered with humour and verve, especially on the brilliantly catchy ‘Singer Of The Band’.

As a duo the magnificent Just Joans played an acoustic set to end a fine day of music. From nostalgic new single ‘Here Come The Rugby Boys’ to the wistful wisdom of ‘Bellshill Station’ all human life is there in the lyrics, delivered with deadpan beauty to a devoted audience.

https://www.facebook.com/MammothPenguins/

https://huiafunclub.bandcamp.com/

https://goalies.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mumbletide/

https://nathysg.bandcamp.com/

https://twatunion.co.uk/

https://fortitudevalley.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/thejustjoans/

Vic Allen, Voodoo Daddy’s Show Room, Norwich, 2 November 2025

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Beth Keeping was first on stage at this atmospheric underground venue. Her songs are full of story and imagination, from her ambivalent feelings for the city of ‘new york’, the rush of ‘Plane Tickets’ and the poignant family memory of ‘known you better’. An accomplished guitarist and keyboard player, she was later to reappear on stage with Vic.

Vic Allen also threads confessional lyrics through her country-pop songs, to great effect in the classy opener ‘Enough’. Following on with the evocative ‘Mexico’ and ‘Barcelona’ and the melodic ballad ‘Confetti’ showcases her range of original compositions. She is a good communicator, explaining the stories behind the songs. A cover of ‘Dakota’ by Stereophonics and a sensitive version of Beth’s ‘Two Seats Down’ fitted neatly into the set. Many of the tracks feature on Vic’s album ‘Some Place I’d Rather Be‘, including the autobiographical ‘Suitcase’ and the pounding country-rock of ‘Drive-Thru’ bringing the set to a spectacular close.

https://www.vicallenmusic.com/

https://www.bethkeeping.com/

Chloe Foy, St Pancras Old Church, London, 16 October 2025

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The timeless surroundings and balanced sound quality of this historic venue were perfect for the thoughtful songs on show tonight. Opening the evening Jack Patchett played his gentle acoustic compositions, sung with calm sincerity to an attractive guitar and keyboard accompaniment.

‘Where Shall We Begin’ and ‘Complete Fool’ are the title tracks to the first two albums from Chloe Foy and they resonated around the church at the start of her set; gorgeous and atmospheric. With a changing line-up of backing musicians there were many highlights, especially the stunning duet with Eli Carvajal ‘What I’d Give’ and the heartbreaking piano ballad ‘Empires of Dust’.

‘Spare’ is a lovely track, the hypnotic melody completely driven by Chloe’s clear and expressive voice as was the surprise encore of an a capella version of ‘Squareface’, performed wearing the black crown against the orange sun of the album artwork and a fitting end to this excellent show.

http://www.chloefoy.com

https://jackpatchett.bandcamp.com/music

https://elicarvajal.com/

Jo Ash : Mutation, EP released April 2025

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A trio of new recordings from composer/singer Jo Ash, starting with ‘Fear’, a re-imagining of a standout song originally played by her rock band Derecho and since honed by live performances in her solo shows. With pacy keyboards and beats, bass notes pushing their way in and an urgency in the vocal it rolls through moody verses and powers into the killer choruses.

‘Raven Sky’ is one of Jo’s gentler storytelling songs, filled with atmosphere and foreboding. Sparse instrumentation eventually breaks out into bold sonic layers for the grand finale before drifting off into space. ‘Coda’ is a clever lyric full of questions over another fizzing electronic rhythm; it gets to twist and mutate towards the end. These three gems are a change of direction for this talented performer who is always pushing her music into uncharted territory.

http://www.joashmusic.com

Indie-pop weekender Day 2, Firebug, Leicester, 2 March 2025

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Day 2 of ‘Leicesterval’, the newly expanded version of city institution the indie-pop alldayer. Beginning the proceedings were ACHB, with their cinematic catchy rock, laced with timeless anthemic folk, especially on songs like ‘Carry Your Good Name’. Locally based Dayflower were more introspective with an attractive sound drifting through the spacious downstairs area of the venue. Four-piece Sassyhiya played a set of catchy happy pop, full of musical twists and turns with smart lyrical invitations to puppet museums, Kristen Stewart and to meet their cat (‘Crayon Potato‘). It was an excellent set to end the first part of the show.

Fightmilk continue their ascendancy with a fine new album (‘No Souvenirs’) and storming live performances; tonight they seemed to have stepped up their shouty and rockier side and as always singer Lily and the rest of the band engage amiably with the enthusiastic audience.

Keeping the energy level up were the final act cheerbleederz, a powerpop trio from London. The opening salvo of ‘break ur arm’ and ‘nail biters’ set the tone for many more zesty vignettes of relationship discontent and disruption, with sharp and sparse instrumentation.

A great show, hopefully the new two day version of this very special event will become an annual fixture….

https://achband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/dayflowermusic/

https://www.facebook.com/sassyhiya

https://fightmilkisaband.bandcamp.com/album/no-souvenirs

https://cheerbleederz.bandcamp.com/

Indiepop All-Dayer, Blue Moon, Cambridge, 16 November 2024

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Cambridge band Model Village opened the show, pulling in a decent crowd for the early afternoon start. The Village never disappoint; today their set was sharp and unpredictable with an emphasis on their uptempo songs. As well as manning the sound desk, Jethro Steel is a hyper-talented musician and performed a solo set under the name Deer/Dear, well received by the audience. One of the best surprises of the day for me; Trust Fund were a folk duo who created a gentle acoustic oasis in the afternoon, an ambience then picked up by the mellow pop of Beckon, featuring the fine voice and guitar of Faith Taylor. Indie supergroup Swansea Sound brought their wry comment and preoccupations to the stage accompanied by punchy instrumental backing.

After the break, Mumbles delivered a set of informal structures and haphazard brilliance; this Manchester based rocky trio were in a class of their own. Knitting Circle played sparse, spiky pop with plenty of social comment and protest including the timely ‘Dance for Peace’. Local legends Mammoth Penguins were augmented by a keyboard/percussionist and played some lesser known tracks from their substantial back catalogue, also featuring an unexpected cover of ‘River Deep-Mountain High’.

It has taken a while for headliners Fightmilk to appear in Cambridge, they are a powerhouse punk/rock quartet tempered by the vocal drive and indomitable personality of singer Lily. With new album ‘No Souvenirs’ released the previous day, they are a band that delivered a stunning finale to a brilliant day, featuring one of the strongest line-ups I have seen for a while.

https://www.facebook.com/modelvillagers

https://trustfund.bandcamp.com/

https://thebandbeckon.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/swanseasound/

https://mumblesmuzak.bandcamp.com/

https://knittingcircle.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MammothPenguins/

https://www.facebook.com/fightmilkisaband/

Altered Images, Junction J1, Cambridge, 28 October 2024

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Vanity Fairy warmed up the audience with a set of ballads and uptempo tracks, including her catchy new single ‘Top of the Pops’, all echoing the heyday of disco in the late 70s and after.

After two hit jangly indiepop albums in the 80s Altered Images developed their recorded sound into the glossy sheen and lusher instrumentation of long-player ‘Bite’, performed in its entirety as the first half of this set. Singer Clare Grogan was on fine form, with plenty of reminiscence and chat with the crowd as the performance showed the nuances and strong song writing of the collection, including the big hit ‘Don’t Talk to Me About Love’ and ending with the dreampop of ‘Thinking About You’

After a short break the band returned with a hits set featuring signature track ‘I Could Be Happy’, the more recent ‘Mascara Streakz’ and the towering edgy brilliance of ‘Dead Pop Stars’. The finale to this excellent show was of course the chartbusting ‘Happy Birthday’, a song destined to be played forever…

http://www.alteredimagesband.com/

https://vanityfairy.bandcamp.com/

Jo Ash : Nothing To Say, single released June 2024

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New single ‘Nothing To Say’ from keyboardist/singer Jo Ash may seem unseasonal with the opening lines ‘……cold wind bites, you’re outside with no sense of time…direction’s changed, but winter stays the same….’ but of course it is a metaphor for the emotional detachment and melancholy that is the core of the song.

The gentle piano theme of the introduction heralds a gorgeous waltz-time ballad, strong on melody and atmosphere. The instrumentation becomes denser for the musical uplift of the chorus ‘…wish for a storm when the skies are so clear…and there’s nothing to stand in your way….’. This new single is enhanced by a video with Jo walking through the signature surroundings (‘…sky so vast….’) around her East Anglian home.

It is a subtle yet potent track, in many ways the distilled musical essence of this talented performer.

https://www.joashmusic.com/

Dos Floris, Strawberry Fair, Cambridge, 1 June 2024

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The Strawberry Fair – Cambridge’s highly regarded free festival of music and culture is a platform for a huge range of talented acts and as the darkness fell across the site singer/songwriter/musician Dos Floris arrived on stage. Many of her earlier recordings and shows feature dense instrumentation and fabulous electronic soundscapes but tonight the songs were stripped back to an effects-free acoustic guitar. This emphasises the resonance, strength and sensitivity of her natural voice – a powerful instrument indeed.

She opened with the confiding, dreamlike ‘The Other Side’ (‘….in this fading light nobody feel the pain…’), which added a mellow warmth to the cold summer evening. New song ‘Fireflies’ continued to weave the magic along with the subtle melancholy of ‘Mexico’ (‘…..but if there’s a chance, we’ll go wipe our tears away go dance in Mexico….’). It was the gentle grandeur of ‘Mountains’ that stole the show; short lyrical phrases and effective melody building to a grand finish.

Florence Donovan aka Dos Floris splits her time between Italy and UK so it was a rare treat to see her perform In Cambridge (also as part of a bill with Tape Runs Out and Scatterchild at the Blue Moon the previous evening!).

https://dosfloris.com/home