Live Review | CLT DRP (“Nothing Clever, Just Feelings” Album Launch), Vascha and Comic Sans | Green Door Store, Brighton | 08/09/23
Having lost the opportunity to celebrate the launch of their debut album in 2020, Brighton based CLT DRP go for a do-over to celebrate the release day of new album “Nothing Clever, Just Feelings” in grand fashion with an intimate sold-out hometown show.
Comic Sans
Opening the show tonight are Lincoln-based four piece Comic Sans. Still relatively new to the scene with only a handful of singles under their belts, the self described “queer punk” band dabble with elements of alt rock and indie into their post-punk core, with strong feminist themes through their lyrics. Unfortunately for the band, only a thin crowd have gathered early to catch their set, but this doesn’t seem to faze them as they open with debut single “Public Service Announcement”. Vocalist Rachelle Townley has a commanding presence on stage whilst performing, juxtaposed with their bashful nature in between songs, filling the empty space with lots of playful chatter. “Morning Haze” and “Talk Show Host” go down a treat with those in attendance having a little boogie to the catchy rhythms on display. The band sound great, with the exception of some very minor vocal feedback at times, their lightly crunchy indie-punk charm seeping through the PA. Rachelle takes a moment to talk about teen fiction sensation Twilight to cheers from the audience, as the lyrical basis of “Do I Wanna Be Her Or Be With Her?”. Closing the set with a sneak peak of their upcoming single “Winter In Sokcho”, somewhat a stylistic departure compared to the rest of the set, brimming with soft stoner-rock grooves, Comic Sans are clearly had a great time playing it to a fresh audience as the band take their leave.
Photo Credit: Taya Llewellyn
Score: 7/10
Vascha
Coming as a somewhat unexpected surprise (though it shouldn’t have considering CLT DRP’s heavy electronic leaning), LGBTQ+ EDM producer Vascha acts as main support tonight, bringing their hard rave-culture inspired beats and production for a live performance. The room is a little busier now, but not by much, which frankly is a bigger loss for the audience gabbing outside than it was for Vascha. The hard bass of set opener “Fall Of The Damned” beats into chests, chirpy synths explore the indoor space and highly manipulated, auto-tuned vocals are done live. The producer is constantly dancing and moving around whilst singing, taking advantage of the stage space and impressive lighting sequencing, turning this into not just a performance, but performance art. “ICH BIN DIE BITCH”, “TERRESTRIAL PARADISE” and newest single “ghosttown” have those in attendance dancing hard, lost in the pure rave energy and enjoying the unique performance in front of them. Being such a simplistic audio set-up, its no surprise that the audio quality is absolutely fantastic; Vascha’s own hard work with the production paying off as the backing tracks sound massive. It’s understandable that this type of music isn’t for everyone, particularly the alternative leaning crowd that CLT DRP draw in, but a large swathe of them missed out on what was otherwise a stunning look into a world and culture they likely wouldn’t otherwise think to peek into.
Photo Credit: Taya Llewellyn
Score: 8/10
CLT DRP
This is CLT DRP’s night. The railway arch venue is now at full sold-out capacity as the audience are stuffed into the tiny space, waiting for the band to take the stage. CLT DRP’s logo is being projected onto the side wall, guitarist Scott Reynolds and drummer Daphne Koskeridou step onto the stage to rapturous applause and cheers, Annie Dorrett does the same and the crowd reaches a fever pitch before the first note has even been struck.
Tonight is wholeheartedly focussed on Nothing Clever, Just Feelings, opting to play every single song on the album (though not in sequence) to celebrate its launch. Opening the set with the title track, the band’s dedicated following immediately expressing their love for the new material by earnestly singing along and dancing their hearts out. Likewise, the same thing happens with album cut “Cake 4 The Women”, which has become a staple of the bands setlist over the past 18 months or so, the call-to-arms lyric of ‘Bruised Lungs, High Heels’ is almost louder from the crowd than it was from Annie themself.
Though the album has only released on the day of the show, the band have played a few tracks off it live since 2022. “Desire / 1 on 1” is one of those making its live debut, the fast-paced frenetic blend of electronica and old-school punk driving the crowd into a furore, marking the start of the incredibly inclusive feeling mosh-pits that would continue for the majority of the night. Whilst the focus is definitely on Nothing Clever, Just Feelings, that doesn’t stop CLT DRP from throwing in a couple bangers from the debut, with an elated reaction from the crowd as “I Don’t Want To Go To The Gym” and “Where The Boys Are” fit perfectly within the new material.
Between the two is new cut “M.U.T.M”, the hypnotic-tempered nature of the intimate self-love song makes for a nice breather between the chaos. The call and response opening garnering cheers from those in the know, Annie looks gleeful as they launch a couple vibrating bullets into the crowd, with one definitely landing slap bang in someone’s pint. “I See My Body Through You” is absolutely colossal live, the pendulous groove in the chorus driving the pits to lunacy. Scott’s accomplishments as a one man synth-engine with his guitar is put on the back burner briefly, showing his take on a traditional heavy guitar/bass tone carries mammoth weight in a live environment. “DAILY AFFIRMATIONS” is another track well known by the CLT DRP faithful, with a decent percentage of the crowd singing along word for word. This flowed seamlessly into the instrumental passage “The Door”, as the album does, that follows Scott’s technical math rock style hook from “DAILY AFFIRMATIONS” for an extended interlude.
As with the supports tonight, CLT DRP themselves sound phenomenal, but are also on excellent form performance wise. The wide variety of vocal styles on display for the new album are effortlessly performed by Annie, the variance of “Easier Than This” and “M.U.T.M” in particular seemingly challenging on paper, but they sound flawless. The guitar and bass work sounds lusher than ever, no doubt thanks to Scott’s new monstrous amp stacks expressing the tones and finer details of his sound perfectly. Daphne’s drumming is always impressive as all hell, but tonight in particular, the grooves are locked in so tight with the rest of the band, which is most notable during the triplet rhythmic lock on “Only One”, and with such finesse, its a marvel watching her dominance of the kit.
Closing the main set with the album closer “I Put My Baby To Sleep” was the perfect choice; a dirty, high energy, The Prodigy inspired instrumental keeps the crowd moving for one last big push in the pit. As the song careens into the explosive second half, so too does the crowd’s explosive energy come to a head, begging the band for more as they leave the stage, if only for a brief moment. Coming back for the encore of lead single “NEW BOY” gives the crowd one more opportunity to lose their minds, which is exactly what they had in mind. Singing along with Annie’s various vocal flourishes and grooving hard with the instrumental, tonight’s set once again proves that CLT DRP are a force to be reckoned with. The new album material sounds mind-blowing live and if this show is anything to go by, the band have a crazy year of growth ahead of them. Finger’s crossed they’re taking this setlist on tour for the album release shows across October and November; if so, you’re in for a massive treat.
Photo Credit: Taya Llewellyn
Score: 9/10