Hidden Herd Presents: The Youth Play, The Slow Country, HIGHDRIVE and Batmilk

On Thursday, 26th February, The Hope & Ruin on Queens Road is hosting another Hidden Herd music discovery night. If you’ve been to these before, you’ll know the format—it’s a straightforward showcase of emerging artists and "hidden gems" in the local and national scene. The evening starts at 19:30 and wraps up by 23:00, which is quite manageable for a mid-week night out. Since the venue is a pub at 10-12 Queens Road (BN1 3WA), it’s strictly an 18+ event. Tickets are currently priced at £11.00 and can be picked up through platforms like Dice.fm or Fatsoma.

The lineup for this edition is quite varied, featuring four bands with distinct styles. The Youth Play are coming down from London to headline. Led by Diego Bracho, they’ve been gaining some traction for their blend of shoegaze and post-punk, often drawing comparisons to the likes of Fontaines D.C. and Slowdive. They’ll be showcasing material from their debut EP, someday, forever. They are joined by The Slow Country, a seven-piece collective that offers a more expansive sound. They mix alt-rock with alt-folk, incorporating violins and mandolins into their arrangements, which should provide a nice contrast to the more guitar-heavy acts on the bill.

Representing the local Brighton scene are HIGHDRIVE and Batmilk. HIGHDRIVE is a five-piece group that describes their sound as "grungegaze," so you can expect a mix of heavy riffs and atmospheric textures. Batmilk, a quartet also based here in Brighton, leans more towards the experimental side of things. Their set usually involves a combination of slowcore, psychedelia, and post-rock. It’s a good chance to see how these local groups are developing alongside touring acts. The whole event is set up as a way to catch these bands in an intimate setting before they potentially move on to larger stages, all for a fairly reasonable entry fee.