There’s just something about the Brudenell Social Club that I love: the venue is buzzing with energy every time I find myself there.
Divorce
A sold out, wall to wall audience in the main room and an almost full community room, combined with the usual Friday night locals in the bar area, made for a busy night of shimmying around crowds and a little bit of planning to make sure I catch enough of both acts.
Divorce, the Nottingham based outfit, drew out a sold-out crowd in support of their debut album ‘Drive To Goldenhammer’. While I’ve not spent much time listening to their recorded output, their live show had me in somewhat of a trance as I squeezed in-between the sound desk and the merch table.
Appearing on stage around 9pm, they serenaded the room with a harmonised vocal number before bringing their unique amalgamation of alt-Country/Indie Rock to life in front of an excited and extremely appreciative, jam packed crowd.
The audience was a diverse mix – as always at the Brudenell, it would be impossible to put a definitive stamp on exactly what demographic Divorce cater to, but the pacing of the setlist created tension that made their bursts of raw energy all the more satisfying for everyone there.
At one point, lead singer Tiger Cohen-Towell took a moment to thank a member of the audience for giving her a copy of Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. Whether it’s football nostalgia or just Hornby’s trademark melancholy, the gesture fit the mood: this was a band finding intimacy in unexpected places.
Pale Blue Eyes
Slipping out of Divorce’s set felt a bit like leaving a tense family dinner just as everyone was finally starting to open up. But the shift in mood was immediate. Pale Blue Eyes, wasted no time in ramping up the pace, taking to the stage in the community room, layering fuzzy guitars with a driving, hypnotic rhythm section. Their shimmering mix of melody and intensity was dazzling to say the least.
Fresh from releasing their new record ‘New Life’ in March, the Sheffield-based band have been doing the rounds, lapping up critical praise for both their live performance and recorded output and they drew a good sized crowd – again, a totally diverse and mixed demographic.
Pale Blue Eyes operated at what felt like full speed, stitching each track into the next with a reverb drenched guitar and effects. Their Krautrock-ish/Shoegazey sound was expansive and vast, yet at the same time completely grounded.
It was clear their set was well rehearsed and the band looked focused at all times – where they didn’t address the audience too much besides expressing their gratitude and thanking the audience for the support, they transfixed the almost full Community Room with the sheer magnitude of their sound.
It’s rare to experience two bands on the same night that feel so different in tone but are equally compelling. Divorce, with their emotional peaks and valleys, proved themselves to be much more harmonious than their name suggests.
Pale Blue Eyes, meanwhile, roared through their set with consistency and pace – these evenings are exactly why I love venues like the Brudenell: two bands, two different vibes and twice as much to enjoy!
Photography by Aimee Gardner.
