Winter Gardens, Big Fear, GIFTHORSE & Snowy Mountain at the Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 10th December 2025
It’s been a year of consistently high quality new music showcases from local promoter Hidden Herd, and this week’s offering was no exception.
A gentle start to proceedings with flurries of dream pop from Snowy Mountain. Dressed in space attire ready for take off, the songs were fittingly other-worldly – notes of Portishead with a slightly more positive vibe if you will. And always good to see the room busy from the off; it seemed people were keen to see all four acts – a good decision as it turned out.
Maintaining the momentum, alt-pop outfit GIFTHORSE provided flowers and a refreshing burst of nostalgia without feeling like a carbon copy of any of the multitude of influences that seem to bring their sound together. There’s an impossible to ignore Blondie comparison to be made both in their sound and in Charlie and Naomi’s resemblance to a fresh-faced Chris and Debbie – lots more layers to unravel too though, with elements of 60s’ Spector bands and pure pop acts like Eighth Wonder each springing to mind. A sleek performance, would like to see again.
Taking a more indie-rock approach, Big Fear were up next, bringing loads of energy to the table. Recent single Mildew was a stand-out and is a good introduction to anyone not familiar with their music. We discovered it was keyboard player Ben’s birthday and the crowd were clearly impressed enough to offer up their own rendition of Happy Birthday between tracks. To be fair, their set felt like a bit of a party – always nice to see a band enjoying themselves and it’s inevitably infectious.
I’ve seen headliners Winter Gardens numerous times over the years and, I have to say, I think their current output is the best it’s ever been. They manage to give shoegaze a strong injection of the guitar/synth bands of yesteryear topped with some phenomenal drumming that takes things to an altogether more urgent level. Shades of light and dark keep the music and performance dynamic and absorbing, Ananda and Jasmine’s vocals blending beautifully together. I have a sense that the crowd would have been happy for them to play for twice as long but, for now, this was the perfect ending to a great evening.
Words and photos © Siobhan 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst
Published 14th December 2025
Breaking Glass Magazine 