Review
The Great Escape Presents at The Old Blue Last, 30/01/25
A selection of the country’s best up-and-coming artists, and a preview of what to expect from this year’s edition of The Great Escape
The Slow Country
The room upstairs at The Old Blue last isn’t the biggest, and it was already full when we got there. But the door kept on opening, and somehow more people managed to squeeze themselves in. This might’ve been the first act of the night, but it didn’t feel like it. The Slow Country have built up a buzz over the last year or so, including support slots for the likes of The Last Dinner Party, and it seemed like most people had got down early to see what the fuss was about. With six members on stage, including a violinist, comparisons to Black Country, New Road are seemingly obvious, but would be entirely misguided. Instead, their theatrical folk-rock sound, with added elements of americana, provide a new set of sounds to a seemingly ever-growing indie-folk scene.
Gus Tiramani
Following on from The Slow Country, Gus Tiramani brought his mellow take on indie-soul to The Old Blue Last. It was a certainly a change in both pace and atmosphere, but it didn’t dampen any spirits. Gus himself was in fine fettle, despite being in the heart of Shoreditch and telling the crowd about writing a song on a Lime bike, “I’m not just trying to be all East London”. We were treated to tracks from his 2024 EP, The Winds Of Change, and new single ‘The Mountain’, alongside as-yet unreleased material. It proved to be the perfect pacing; the setlist providing Gus opportunities to showcase his sublime songwriting, and equally impressive vocals, before taking it up a notch, with songs like ‘Mother’ giving his band an opportunity to highlight their own impressive abilities. It may have seemed a bit incongruous with the rest of the night’s line-up at first, but really this is what The Great Escape does best: champion new music no matter their form or genre.
Blood Wizard
If we had been mellowed out by Gus Tiramani, it didn’t take long for Blood Wizard to get the room going again. Opener ‘Science Fiction’ eased us into proceedings, but Cai Burns’ project has always been about making musical left-turns, and from that point on it was an array of sounds, encompassing everything from folk to grunge, and weaving in much more besides. ‘Big Fish’, a standout from latest album Grinning William was indeed a standout here, as was the title track. And the audience certainly made their appreciation known, the room somehow busier, and certainly louder than it had been all night. New songs were road tested, fitting seamlessly with the more familiar material. It was gearing up to be ‘a triumphant end to the set. ‘Halo’ was meant to provide it, but the calls for “one more song” were too loud to ignore, and so it was ‘Devil Dressed In Disguise’ which instead played us out. It was perhaps the best way to end what was a brilliant showcase of new music, and in the best possible way, we even got slightly more than we bargained for.
The Great Escape festival returns to Brighton this May. Find tickets here