Speedial (plus support)

Speedial carried a widescreen sense of scale, with their glowing vocal pairing anchoring fluid, shape‑shifting arrangements.

Hope & Ruin, Brighton, Friday 24 July 2026

Speedial *****

Speedial’s second headline in Brighton, presented by local promoter Hidden Herd, reaffirmed why the London outfit have been gathering such steady word‑of‑mouth momentum. Even without their usual saxophonist, their expansive blend of melodic post‑rock, lush harmonies and carefully sculpted dynamics remained fully intact. Opening with ‘Perfume’, Serena Garrod and Millie Kirby’s radiant dual vocals set the tone, their harmonies signalling the ambition behind the project. The band’s control of bursts, swells and quiet pockets placed them well beyond shoegaze revivalist trends. ‘An Alter’ pushed into bolder territory, Joe Killick’s circling drums rising beneath soft vocals before the song lifted into a soaring swell. ‘5,000 Lumens’ shifted the pace again, moving from spoken passages to layered instrumentals and 1990s‑leaning indie inflections, fading out on a beautifully understated solo line from Serena. The distortion‑heavier ‘Tourist’ expanded their palette further, while unreleased ‘Limbo’ floated on strong bass and gentle rises. Closer ‘Rot’ held the room with dreamlike harmonies blooming into louder passages for a rich, bold, transfixing finish.

Hitman Sheela *****

Hitman Sheela opened the night with a quietly formidable set. Katie Prescott steered the four‑piece with a striking blend of accordion, guitar and tensile, shifting vocals. ‘Lifetime for the Fly’ drifted in with gentle folk looseness before expanding into something more spacious, its glockenspiel flickers and accordion washes creating slow, shimmering tension. As the set progressed, the palette darkened: ‘Sharks’ pushed into tribal‑leaning percussion and a subtly gothic undertow, Katie’s voice rising in controlled anger. New track ‘Carry Your Bones’ shed the accordion entirely, building patiently into a full wall of sound. ‘The Bathe’ and ‘Striptease’ closed with hazy otherworldliness and a sharp, accelerating crescendo. An indication why Hitman Sheela is one of Brighton’s most intriguing new acts

Rhiannon Ruthven ****

Rhiannon Ruthven followed with a set of fluidity, drifting between ambient folk, post‑rock surges and spoken‑word abstraction. ‘Lullaby for Scared Children’ opened in moody, textural layers before dual vocals and effected lines lifted it into a soft, swelling crescendo. ‘Disordered Song’ snapped into louder, more restless territory, its loud‑quiet dynamics had a prog‑leaning edge. The surreal arrival of ‘Horsefly’, complete with the keyboardist’s horsehead mask, pushed the band into experimental keys and bursts of noise. New track ‘Leather Shoes’ was a standout: playful, clipped, then suddenly screamed into alt‑rock frenzy. Closing pieces leaned into spoken passages and dreamlike vocals, revealing a band comfortable with volatility and genre‑fluid exploration.

Cordelia Gartside *****

Cordelia Gartside’s set traced a confident expansion of her lo‑fi alt‑rock world. ‘Happiness’ opened with twinkling electric‑folk textures before rising into a soaring vocal performance that shifted the room’s centre of gravity. Willow Simpson’s intricate lead guitar added a sharper edge, while Tom Ironmonger’s bass grounded everything with new weight. ‘X Ray’ balanced dreamy vocals with bursts of noise, while ‘Blade’ and ‘Pattern Repeating’ pushed into moodier territory. The reworked ‘Hospital Corners’ contrasted intensified bass and guitar flashes with the song’s delicacy. Closer ‘Good’ moved through starkness and thumping drums toward Cordelia’s final sustained vocal release. Cordelia Gartside’s set was a poised, exciting evolution.

Across the evening, a strong thread of genre fluidity ran through every set, each handled with conviction rather than eclecticism for its own sake. With careful dynamics, inventive approaches to song structure and thoughtful movement between pieces, the four acts shaped a compelling, cohesive continuity.

Peter Greenfield, August 2026