My relationship with this blog is currently like that of Troy and Gabriella’s in High School Musical 2. Life keeps getting in the way and whenever I try, somehow the plan is always rearranged. I am trying though and it is a promise to my soon-to-be graduate self that I shall get there one day.

Anyway, ya gal here went to see The Hunna two Sundays ago (7^th April) at O2 Academy Brixton as a very last minute thing. We’re talking “I’ve got a spare ticket, you’re coming”. It was great, I need more people like that. I digress… What was really great about the night though is that I thought I only knew one song (She’s Casual) but it turns out I actually knew TWO (Bonfire). Although this was then pointed out to me that that’s because they are almost identical melodies just with different lyrics but more on that in a minute…

I won’t lie, due to it being so last minute, I actually missed first support and didn’t know who main support was until I looked it up on Twitter. This is how unprepared I was. However, I was also unprepared for what a great night it was going to be. Barns Courtney was the answer, by the way, to who main support was. You might know his track Fire from the adverts for the 23^rd season of Top Gear or the credit track of the Netflix original series Safe. Another of his tracks, Glitter and Gold,was used for the intro song for the series. Barns Courtney lived in Seattle, Washington between the ages of 4-15 and it’s safe to say that ‘American confidence’ has definitely stuck with him. What my friends and I couldn’t decide on was whether it made for a great showman or just came across as a little too cocky. Despite this, there was no doubt amongst us that there’s a definite Rockstar aura and a certain swagger about him. At times it felt like there was possibly too much stage presence for a support act with it feeling very American for a very British headliner (you’ll understand what I mean later on). Having said this, they sure knew how to get a crowd going and you couldn’t actually tell who in the crowd was there to see him and who was just discovering him that night which was very refreshing. Their sound is described as indie-rock with a hint of gospel thrown in however there is also a distinct folk-pop/country twang to some of it too. His songs all sound fairly similar but they’re accessible and make for easy-listening whilst still having that heavier hook. Basically, to sum it up, if you’re wanting a pint and a boogie to some carefree music, it’s perfect.

The Hunna were great. Like I said, I knew two songs without realising. If you want to get musically technical, this is because both songs employ use of the “four chord trick” – use of chords 1, 4, 5 and 6 (although saying this, most songs do – it’s what makes them so catchy and memorable, see ‘The Axis of Awesome’ video for an explanation) . The secret as to why these two songs, Bonfire and She’s Casual, are so memorable and similar is that the melody used for both songs’ choruses stick to the same pattern of using the root note of the key, the third and the fifth. It’s hard to explain without moving in to the realms of music theory, but have a listen to the chorus of She’s Casual, Bonfire and NY to LA – the latter they didn’t play live but it’s the same concept. This isn’t a dig at their song writing, by all means if you have a winning formula for a hit song, stick to it, it’s just interesting to see that these two songs appeared to grab the biggest reaction from the crowd.

They treated the crowd to an acoustic version of Brother and two unreleased songs I Get High To Forget and What You Waiting For (the penultimate song before ending with Never Enough) however didn’t mention when these would be released. Having listened to the original version of Brother, it was definitely the right choice to perform it acoustically because wow, that shit blew my mind away. It’s a bop, don’t get me wrong, but it transforms into a whole other song when acoustic.

I have to say though, I was treated to two incredible acts, and had a great night having a boogie, but I just couldn’t get over the rather drastic contrast between them. You had Barns Courtney with all his American swagger, stage diving and running all over the shop, making sure to constantly be talking to everyone to then The Hunna who were very “British” about the whole thing with very little crowd interaction, solely performing their songs. All in all, I’d see both acts again but perhaps not together.

Barns Courtney. For fans of: cleopatrick, Bryce Fox, Cemetery Sun

The Hunna. For fans of: Sundara Karma, Circa Waves, Viola Beach