Personal Trainer Plays New Album In Brighton Record Store – Brighton and Hove News

(Review by Ben “Jerry” Robinson)

PERSONAL TRAINER – RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 3.8.24

With what ‘Pride’ in full swing outside on the streets of Brighton, fun was in the air tonight and it was going to be no different inside the Resident Music Store, as we lucky punters were in for a real treat.

After what I saw Personal trainer twice already in the last ten months, the first in November at The Con Club in Lewes, (Review HERE) and again to Concorde 2 in April (Review HERE), Personal Trainer has quickly become one of the most exciting bands to see live for me, it’s always a unique experience. So when I heard news about their second album ‘I’m still waiting’S release date and that it was going to be hand in hand with a performance in store that I couldn’t have pre-ordered mine sooner.

The doors opened at 6:30pm and the long line of eager fans quickly filled the store. We didn’t have to wait long as the band rehearsed while the shop was still open so it was all systems go at 6.42pm when the band came out taking their positions in front of the shop. For this run of in-store shows, the band said they would play a stripped-down set with just four of their seven regular band members. Lead singer and guitarist for this evening; Willem Smith welcomed us “Well here we are, thanks for coming, this is our second one today, we went to Portsmouth earlier which was really nice so I hope you can make it.” A true statement I must admit I was worried during the day wondering how on earth they were going to get through the road closures around Brighton in time on such a busy day but here they were all set up and ready to roll. .

The band started with a jazz club style warm up with their instruments, Kilian Kayser lightly teasing his 2 cymbals and 2 drums, Abel Tuinstra rocking piano tones on his Roland keyboard and pulling out some bass sounds on his synth Yamaha Reface CS and last but not least, Mart Boumans gives a song on the flute.

Now ready, Willem announces “Alright, we’re going to play a few songs from our record that came out yesterday, this is the last song on the record” and they went, a slow and pleasant start to the set with a simple piano arrangement, the song was called “What should I say of men and their ways,” it built up progressively with mart starting on the flute but the middle song brought out the sax, interestingly i noticed he placed the flute slightly inside the sax while playing it.

Next up is a song that’s been no stranger to their live sets over the past year, that’s for sure ‘Round’, this is a fabulous, lively number, probably my favorite song on the album, today’s performance was very heavy on the sax, giving it a very different sound to the previously released single version.

The next one was “A New Bad Feeling” another one I’ve heard live before, this one started calmly with just Willem singing and strumming his acoustic guitar with Mart’s soulful accompaniment, but it wasn’t long before Abel really hammered the piano keys and Kilan jumped up and beat the drums. one of those songs that builds momentum and tempo as it progresses, before the bang hits the limit and then stops.

“Upper Ferntree Gully” followed; this was introduced as the longest song on the album, with Willem adding that it was also the hardest to sing. For this one, Mart returned to the saxophone, the song changing tempo at various points, sometimes going frenetic, then immediately slowing down, then back. All four band members here smiling and looking at each other as they walked, maybe it was hard to sing but they managed it with big applause at the end.

The next song was dedicated to Greg, not too sure who that was but the song was “I can be your personal trainer” I recognized this one from when they played it in Lewes, tonight’s version sounds very different with all the sax and piano, Willem introduced a guest singer, Fiona, who joined the chorus while sitting on the counter. By this point, the band were really into each other and were clearly enjoying this more unique way of presenting their songs.

Fiona continued with vowels during “cyan”, It starts off so beautiful and soulful, a nice steady beat of drums, flute and piano bringing those calming qualities, but before long the sax returns, Willem’s guitar steps up, the whole band echoes the chorus and pure and you simply can’t help but do it. dance, it had a very funky vibe until the end. I’m looking forward to hearing the album version and seeing how it compares.

“Sweated” Willem exclaimed as the shop became incredibly hot and humid. Next up was their latest single “Intangible”another danceable funky song, played tonight in a very jazzy atmosphere, Willem took the opportunity to introduce the band, getting Mart to do a bit of a sax solo.

I was straight in “You better start washing up” with Mart giving us a crazy introduction on flute before returning to sax, this song had a rather manic feel, a fast and frenetic number, reminding me a bit of Madness at times, especially the piano and sax.

“We’re doing the whole album in the wrong order, sorry about that” Willem joked, then reminded us of everything they would be “When more new pieces at Chalk next March where there will be more (all 7) aand more stuff and more vibes but a little less sweat” referring to his now wet shirt, “I’m really getting sweaty, aren’t I!”he joked “especially when I’m playing guitar, I thought it would be less extreme to play a bare set, but it’s actually much worse”

The last two songs of the set were “Alarm Testing” and “Still Willing”, the latter being almost like a slow descent, bringing us to a nice and gentle conclusion.

Willem thanked Simon Raymonde for putting out the record, Simon ex Cocteau Twins and of course owner of Brighton’s Bella Union record label. who are the band signed to now. I spotted Simon in the corner of the Resident and he danced and moved along and gave Willem a resounding double thumbs up, a great signing indeed.

Tonight was a truly unique experience, on a bigger stage with the full band all sorts of mayhem and carnage can ensue, but I think with the tight space and reduced arrangement the band really hit it off slightly different, I don’t think I would ever dare to put them on personal trainer, their music is fun, they wrote brilliant songs, the band members are so into playing their instruments, and Willem’s warm and humble personality always puts you at ease when you follow them. , I honestly can’t wait to hear the album, which unfortunately I’ll have to wait until next week to collect as I’ve had to run for my train.

Their second album is out now so go check it out and don’t forget they’ll be playing at Chalk, Brighton on 1st March 2025, taking live performance to a whole new level. Not to be missed. Get your tickets HERE and here.

Personal trainer:
Willem Smit – vocals and guitar
Abel Tuinstra – keyboards
Kilian Kayser – percussion, drums and cymbals
Mart Boumans – flute and saxophone
Fiona – guest backing vocals

Personal Trainer Set List:
“What should I say about men and their ways”
‘Round’
“A New Bad Feeling”
“Upper Ferntree Gully”
“I can be your personal trainer”
“cyan”
“Intangible”
“You better start washing up”
“Alarm Testing”
“Still Willing”

Learn more about Personal Trainer HERE.