1,431 KEELEY, Shoun Shoun, Bristol Exchange (Basement), Friday 20th February 2026

 

I’m starting a bit slower with Keeley this year; by this time last year I’d seen them 3 times already! However, my hectic half term week concludes today with a first – the first time I’ve actually seen indie rock scholar Keeley Moss’ eponymous trio of shoegaze-adjacent pop dreamers headline a gig in their own right! Said gig is part of a short headlining tour promoting new, 3^rd album “Girl On The Edge Of The World”, actually being released today and seeing the band continue their lyrical exploration of the life and untimely demise of German backpacker Inga Hauser. Not having heard this album yet, I’m going a little cold into this gig, but Keeley herself has called this their best work yet, and told me directly when we met up at that ill-fated MBV gig last year (gig 1,417) that the band are currently “on fire” “live”. OK girl, big talk… let’s see!

Feeling a bit tired, both physically and mentally after this week’s shenanigans, so I made a late departure down the M4, parking in a part-time loading spot opposite the venue just after 8. Made my way downstairs into the smaller but similarly shaped Exchange basement room, the only difference being the stage was in the corner, around the corner! Keeley and bassist Lukey were in earnest conversation at the merch stand so I didn’t disturb, but took a viewing spot for openers Shoun Shoun at 8.15. I remembered liking them when I first saw them a few years back (gig 1,205) and even buying their CD (which needless to say didn’t escape my recent purge). I must have been in a completely different headspace then, as since then, they’ve made less sense to me each time, I’m afraid. Their opener answered the question as to what a reggae/ grunge fusion band from Morocco and fronted by Grace Jones would sound like (!), and the next number was an odd melange of Stereolab monotone rhythm and Rah Band glam stomp. A couple of goth racket numbers later, I was too tired to take any more of this baffling eclecticism, so headed back to the car for a sit down! Back in for their last knockings, which convinced me I’d made the right choice. Sorry folks, not for me.

I took a spot against the wall, house right, as the band set up, Lukey spotting me for a quick greeting. A slightly later than scheduled 9.20 saw Lukey lead the trio on to a suitably ephemeral synth backing track, opener “Hungry For The Prize”’s staccato one note opening leading into this robustly despatched groovy CBGB’s bluesy punk newie, powered as ever by Keeley’s deep, rich vocal tones. “We’re honoured to spend our new album release day with you!” Lukey announced before the taut, fast-paced and aggressive newie “Crossing Lands” impressed with some punchy, Gang of Four-like (Lukey and I both agreed afterwards!) rhythm and choppy guitar. Two down, both new numbers, both very different, both very impressive! 

This tone continued throughout the set, the first half-dozen being new album choices, and the subsequent 2 being offcuts from the new material, varying stylistically from that punchier opening double, through shimmering and resonant mid-paced bliss-out strumalongs (viz. “Who Wants To See The World”), to stately and pastoral shoegaze (the excellent “Big Brown Eyes”, the “emotional centrepiece” of the new album, according to Lukey), delivered with conviction by a rapidly improving band and as ever shot through with a heavy dose of melancholy, given the subject matter. And, throughout, both Keeley and Lukey were in expansive, gregarious mood, bigging up the new album and guest vocalists Miki Berenyi (our shoegaze queen) and Sice of the Boo Radleys, blasting the disgusting likes of Farage and the political right, and emphasising the redemptive power of music, particularly shared “live” experiences in small venues, with Keeley correctly pointing out, “small venues are where the life changing moments happen”. Damn right!

A tongue in cheek call to “play the hits!” led to a powerful and strident final 3; “the punchy “Inga Hauser” giving Lukey a proper workout; the baggy, Stone Roses-esque beat and thrashier chorus of “Forever Froze”; and finally an absorbing and meandering “Trans Europe 18”, rounding off likely the best set I’ve seen from Keeley and her boys. A quick merch stand chat with the band afterwards saw me eventually head off, signed setlist and new CD in tow, for a ¼ to midnight arrival home. A slow start this year with Keeley for me then, but on this current form I’d be happy to see them again and again. Big talk, maybe, but right now Keeley are also walking the walk!