Live Review: Brother Speed, Hattie Carroll, Particles

As if the launch of Brother Speed's first single Let Me Be wasn't an exciting enough event in itself, it was also the psychedelic rockers' first gig. Ever.

Spectrum was fairly empty for the opening act Particle, though they deserved more of a crowd. From a bit of screamo to soft rock ballads, the four-piece band covered all bases, including a memorable track dedicated to the freaky game antagonist/internet meme Slender Man. 

Matt Stewart from five-piece outfit Hattie Carroll has beautiful, soul-tinged vocals brimming with emotion. The band were vibrant and groovy, a mix of Pearl Jam and a little bit of jazz. The addition of organ really bulked up the texture and although their set wasn't seamless, their rocking cover of Eve's Let Me Blow Ya Mind more than made up for it. Special mention goes to the gyrating bassist Matt Horgan whose rock star lunges stole the show.

After Hattie Carroll, headliners Brother Speed were more familiar, with almost more predictable grungy, distortion rock. The crowd built to a reasonable number and moved in close for a dance as the quartet launched into an extended instrumental intro that epitomized them to a tee. Though his melodies were pretty standard, lead vocalist Darius Navidzadeh is equipped with a dominant and confident set of pipes. The single of the night, Let Me Be is a great upbeat song featuring a dissonant melodic line and great repeated guitar motif a little reminiscent of The Beatles. They offered up a brand new song written over the weekend that had a catchy cymbal-based beat that the audience enjoyed and the breakdown jam session that closed the set was hypnotic. 

Brother Speed will start killing the live scene with a few more singles and shows under their belt but supporters Hattie Carroll were probably the more enjoyable act on the night.