Touché Amoré + Trauma Ray @ CHALK, BRIGHTON, 4TH MARCH 2025
Touché Amoré materialise in Brighton towards the end of a relatively lengthy European tour in support of their Spiral In A Straight Line album, which was released in October last year. Support comes from Trauma Ray, who are from Fort Worth, Texas, USA. They are purveyors of a particular brand of grungey shoegaze. Apparently, their name is inspired by the German word for ‘dream state’, which is more than fitting. Frankly, I have a sneaking suspicion that Touche Amore may have selected them as a support band to lull the audience into a false sense of security before their own onslaught, but that might be my somewhat warped sense of humour.
Vocalist Uriel Avila has his hood up and is initially fairly inaudible. If you thought that slackers were a thing of the past, you’re wrong. Uriel certainly looks like a slacker anyway. However, to come up with material as good as Trauma Ray’s, somebody’s certainly been working pretty hard! Most of the songs played tonight are from the band’s debut Chameleon album, which indeed is a thing of beauty.
Ember from the album is particularly storming. Also, this band has three guitarists! Nothing not to like in that! If I was to identify a specific influence, I would say Smashing Pumpkins. Indeed, bassist Darren Baun is wearing a Pumpkins t-shirt, as am I! That’s just coincidence. Honest. If you haven’t heard Trauma Ray, I strongly suggest you check ‘em out!
It’s time for the main event: Touche Amore, who hail from Los Angeles, California, USA. They kick off with Nobody’s from the latest album, which seems to be much faster than its recorded counterpart, but that’s kinda what live music is about, right? To hear a band play their songs exactly as they appear on the record is beyond boring. From the off, drummer Sam is on fire. Not literally, obviously. Although I think I may see traces of smoke emanating from his drum skins. This is particularly impressive as Sam is standing in for drummer Elliot Babin. The reason for Elliot’s absence from the tour is not given.
Vocalist Jeremy Bolm is quite shouty but without losing the songs’ melodies or causing the lyrics to be indistinct. Also, he seems to be somewhat averse to staying anything approaching still. In the blink of an eye, he jumps from the stage into the crowd. Then you barely have time to draw breath, and he’s back onstage again. Calm down, man!
Spiral In A Straight Line is not as heavily represented as I thought it might be, with only four songs from it in the set. There are plenty of older highlights, though. Face Ghost from Parting The Sea Between Brightness and Me feels heavy whilst being comparatively slow. One of the songs from the current album is Hal Ashby, about the film director. This, in particular, sounds like a future classic. It’s one of the most memorable songs tonight, anyway.
Surprisingly, there are few stage divers tonight, although there is one particularly dramatic one during Flowers And You. For the encore, Limelight, the band are joined by members of Trauma Ray. It’s a rip-roaring end to the show. Tonight wasn’t a sell-out, which is a shame as these were two brilliant live bands. Hopefully, we’ll see them both back in the UK before too long.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
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