Hotel Lux: A Band Worth the Wait

Hotel Lux: A Band Worth the Wait

The world is no stranger to catastrophe. Mankind is no stranger to catastrophe. However, the music butchering that occurred tonight in the form of the support acts was one catastrophe we were just simply not prepared for. Hotel Lux play Heartbreakers, Southampton this evening and prove that they are one of the most exciting contributions to upcoming music. However, the music slaughter that unfortunately had to occur beforehand had the potential to turn the night.

The Bedroom Text are a four-piece from Bournemouth and Southampton that are self-titled as “Indie/Emo rock”. Their set starts and immediately their amp breaks. Perhaps the amp knew from sound check that the music was dreary and didn’t want to put us through it. However, the band continue pushing their music on to the audience. When the (6 minute) song finally comes to an end, the amp is swiftly fixed before vocalist, Benji Taylor states that they are now going to play that one AGAIN.

Bad move.

Not only did we have to endure the 6 minutes of boredom once, but we are being put through it again. Thanks guys. Not even an inanimate object stepping in and pulling the plug on the band is enough to stop them in their tracks.

Minister are the next lot to come on and I’ll give it to them, they always bring the same people along to their gigs meaning that they have mastered the act of using pals to make them look successful. The band show no originality with almost every riff being stolen from Arctic Monkeys’ songs highlighting them as Southampton’s contribution to indie landfill. There is no movement, and this influences the decisions that they are one of the most boring bands I’ve ever seen. With rocky (stolen) riffs, one could assume that it would be perfectly twinned with some on stage movement or at least some charisma. Both of which are absent tonight. The Southampton four-piece are no revelation, nor are they worth standing and watching for half an hour; they are simply a carbon copy of everything that’s wrong with indie music.

Honey Lung are the final support tonight and are a welcome breath of fresh air in comparison to the drivel beforehand. The hypnotically lush wave coming from their set gives a vibe of depressing, bedroom pop with unobtrusive nods towards The Smiths and even less obvious slithers towards Wilco. There is something likeable about this London quartet. The gentle and tasteful inspirations combined with their own hazy involvement makes for a pleasant set.

Hotel Lux are the headliners for tonight and are highly anticipated. After seeing them for the first time supporting Dead Pretties in the same venue I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for this evening. The sound is best described as Phobophobes meets Fat White Family whilst dressed for the screening of This is England. Slight Cramps inspirations creep through whilst the fearsome twangs throughout make them one of the most interesting bands I’ve seen in a while. They play their debut single, ‘Envoi’ and the crowd erupts. The five-piece then continue to play their singles, ‘Daddy’ and ‘The Last Hangman’ that resemble an early Nick Cave &the Bad Seeds. The deranged spirit that flows through this performance could be easily misinterpreted as repulsive but once you have scratched beneath the surface, Hotel Lux prove themselves to be a fantastic grouping of all things gross.

Check Hotel Lux out here.

📷 Rhiannon Barton