Jools + Pussyliquor — The Hope & Ruin, Brighton — 25 February 2026
The Leicester collective unleash a set of rage, vulnerability and noise-rock chaos in an explosive performance
JOOLS
Touring their debut album Violent Delights for the first time, Leicester’s five-piece Jools hit Brighton’s Hope & Ruin with force. Delivering a set that swung between serrated noise-rock, garage-punk abrasion and spoken-word intensity, theirs was a performance built on contrasts — volatile yet disarmingly tender when it needed to be.
The push-and-pull dynamic between vocalists Mitch Gordon and Kate Price shaped everything, from call-and-response vocals to their restless stage presence. They tore into Spineless with Mitch pacing like a man possessed, stamping out every line, while Kate cut through with sharp cathartic release. Behind them, Chris Johnston and Callum Connachie’s guitars carved overdriven, serrated lines, while Chelsea Wrones’ drumming pushed the set into frantic, dance-leaning chaos. The band remained locked tight even as songs twisted and bucked beneath them.
Introducing Wherever I Go, There I Am, Kate grinned: “How do you feel about being the first people to hear this live?” Its debut landed hard — a fast riff exploding into shouted vocals, Mitch collapsing to the floor while Kate seized centre stage. Knee Injury and Cardinal shifted the pace slightly, the former slipping into rap-leaning spoken word territory.
The night’s sharpest political moment arrived with 97%. Kate stepped forward to condemn violence against women with unmistakable fury. “I will scream about women’s safety and respect until I have no breath left,” she declared, as Mitch stepped aside to give her full command of the room.
The mood turned again with Dunoon, Mitch’s voice heavy with emotion as he remembered his late father — a rare moment of stillness that the crowd held carefully and respectfully.
From there, the set surged forward. Guts ramped up the tempo, Live Deliciously spilled into the audience with Kate singing from the pit, and the long-dormant How Can Some Experience What Pride Is Without Liberation for All? returned after two and a half years, its dance-leaning pulse a welcome shift in momentum.
The title track Violent Delights proved a standout, its whispered tension erupting into full-scale release. “Come on, Brighton, let’s go!” Mitch roared, before Limerence closed the night in a final burst of noise and catharsis.
Jools gave everything: rage, energy, solidarity, grief, joy, and a defiant sense of community. Their live show felt cathartic, unpredictable and spectacular — the kind of performance that leaves you buzzing long after the lights come up. If Violent Delights marked their arrival, nights like this prove they are already a force worth following closely: a band holding nothing back and rapidly becoming the subject of word-of-mouth legend.
PUSSYLIQUOR
Brighton’s own Pussyliquor opened the night with a blast of riot-grrrl energy. The all-girl punk outfit — Ari Black, Victoria Lewis Piper, Hannah Villanueva, Tallulah Turner-Fray and Oshen Dee — hit the stage with snarled vocals, jagged dual-guitar grit and a rhythm section that landed every blow. Their mix of humour, politics and chaos set the tone perfectly.
They slammed straight into Boa Constrictor after a four-count and barely paused for breath. Ari was a constant blur — running on the spot, singing on her knees and mock pole-dancing around the mic stand — and that was just during Silver Spoon. Buy More Shit pushed the volume higher, its twisted take on Aqua’s Barbie Girl (“You can swipe my plastic… Deforestation, it is your creation”) landing with sharp satirical bite.
My Body. My Choice delivered one of the night’s strongest vocal moments, Ari’s screams balanced by tight backing vocals from across the band. All Cats Go 2 Heaven descended into glorious chaos when Hannah snapped a string mid-song yet continued unfazed, while Ari performed part of it lying flat on her back before the band pulled off a playful stop-start fake-out.
For the finale, Hannah announced C.U.N.T., prompting Ari to grin, “I want to be in this band,” referencing the slogan on her T-shirt. The crowd screamed the chorus back, turning the room into a communal snarl of joy and rage.
Pussyliquor were loud, unapologetic and gloriously full-on — their riot-grrrl spirit sharpened into something modern and vital, the perfect incendiary spark before Jools took the stage.
WORDS: PETER GREENFIELD PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
