Photo courtesy of Eyes and Ears Brighton
After listening to the South London duo’s new single Lonely Road last week we were hooked, so we were keen to head down to catch their set at The Cyclist in Brighton when the opportunity arose.
Tucked away at the side of Brighton train station, The Cyclist appears unassuming from the outside, blending in with the establishments on either side, but anyone who ventures in will find a quirky “Refreshment Room,” which even the most hip Brighton-dweller would be happy to frequent. The industrial-meets-cosy décor provided the perfect chilled out setting to capture the sounds of Yeti Love’s “Alt Rogue Folk Rock” (their words, not ours… but we think the description is sort of perfect).
Armed with their two acoustic guitars and a bass drum, Peter James Hamilton and Dave Sears’ energetic strumming was backed up by a single bass drum to provide a foot-stomping backbone throughout the set. Things really picked up when the drum was implemented, the noise reverberating around the room and catching the attention of people who had just wandered in for a cocktail with friends.
Vocally, Peter sounded as good live as he does on their recorded stuff, with Lonely Road living up to our expectations as he crooned “and it’s you you you you…” a simple yet effective formula when paired with the guitars.
Sadly, some of the subtleties of their more pared down songs were lost on a few of those in attendance, but when you play in a bar on a Friday night that’s always going to be the case. Those who were giving them their full attention, however, were drawn in by the transition of gentle plucking to a mid-tempo but ear-catching strum, which was soon joined by that hypnotic drum. This kind of songwriting takes them from background noise to Mumford-esque addictive folk rock that is occasionally quite enchanting.
Here at The Verse, we can just imagine watching them in a festival tent once Summer (eventually) arrives and can’t wait to see more of these two.
By Alice Hudson
