Good Neighbours’ Brighton gig is sold out before doors open at 6pm – 850 fans drying off after a monsoon-type downpour.
This is their sixth gig of the eight UK shows before a European trek to promote their smashing debut album on Polydor, “Blue Sky Mentality”, which has a new extended version out now.
The London-bred indie rock duo — comprised of frontman Oli Fox and guitarist/keyboards Scott Verrill — and their compadres have gone from underground buzz to bona fide breakout success in a buzzing two-year sprint, and their set last night showed exactly why that’s happened.
From the moment they kicked off with “Suburbs”, the energy was immediate and relentless. Chalk felt like the site of something bigger: an act that is rapidly becoming the one everyone wants to see.
Good Neighbours’ history makes that growth all the more impressive. Formed in London in 2024 after both members had been playing around the city, their first single “Home” exploded early in 2024 thanks to TikTok traction and heavyweight support from broadcasters like Zane Lowe — a rare trajectory for a brand-new act.
What could have been a standard indie breakthrough instead became a full-blown phenomenon: the track hit the UK and US chart, earned platinum certification in multiple territories, and scored them a major label deal with Polydor and Capitol.
Many, many millions of streams were partly fuelled by sync’ deals for a Tesco TV ad’ in the UK, and a major Real Estate agency ad’ in the US.
Brighton’s 15-song set set including the one encore treat, “Daisies”, was a vivid reminder of that journey.
Bangers such as “Home”, the feel-good “Keep It Up”, and the bright melody of “Ripple” and “Starry Eyed” were met with delight and sings-a-longs.
The crowd hung on every chorus, relishing those nostalgic, anthemic indie synth lines that have become their signature.
Tracks like “Suburbs” and the hymn-like former single, “People Need People” revealed emotional depth: soaring choruses grounded by lyrical earnestness and the belief in connection that underpins their music.
Live, their sound is confident and expansive — more than the sum of its viral clips. The duo’s chemistry with the audience felt personal, the sort of connection that turns a roomful of strangers into a unified wave of happy voices.
By the time they closed with the excellent “Daisies”, there was no doubt: Good Neighbours are setting the bar for the next wave of UK indie-pop.
Their album was written across a whirlwind year of long-haul flights, tour buses, hotel rooms and emotional highs and lows, and ably captures the tension between distance and belonging – the pull of community, the need for connection, and the journey back to yourself.
A record that wears its heart loudly and proudly: a 14-track burst of euphoric indie-pop that smuggles big feelings – grief, love, hope, resilience – into massive choruses and sun-streaked synths.
“Blue Sky Mentality” is both a document of their meteoric rise and a rallying cry for openness, optimism and togetherness.
The band say: “Blue Sky Mentality has been our motto since day one. Our band began as a kind of light relief – a creative outlet to break from jobs that we couldn’t stand and some tough personal times.
“Over the last year, we ran with that feeling, writing our debut album on the road – in the back of tour buses, hotel rooms, and scattered corners of the world. That’s what Blue Sky Mentality means to us – finding light, friendship and a sense of escapism wherever you are.”
They most certainly found friendship old and new on Wednesday night in Brighton. The blue sky may have been distinctly absent outside; inside it was pure musical sunshine…
- Support was from solo acoustic artist Jack Grey, and then the excellent Master Peace, aka singer Peace Okezie and drummer Hattie Steel.
Remaining UK dates: Feb 20th Bristol The Electric, Feb 21st Oxford O2 Academy.
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