LIVE REVIEW: Hushtones @ Rough Trade, Liverpool

Entering the stage following a dancey remix of ‘Strawberry Fields’, Hushtones turn their walk out into a playful mission statement for the night: prepare for something retro, thoroughly Liverpudlian, but with a subtle hint at something fresher. The quintet has spent the past few years becoming a staple of the North-West music scene, known for blending guitar-driven indie with bright male-female vocals and a penchant for 60s and 70s leaning songcraft that nods to Fleetwood Mac without feeling like pastiche. 

Photo Credit: Rachel Penketh

One of the most charming features of the night is how communal the vocals feel. Backing parts come from across the stage, thickening choruses and adding a warm, almost road-trippy glow to songs like ‘Fragments’, one of their bigger songs of the night and one that has the crowd at their fingertips. That democratic energy carries straight into tracks like ‘Higher Power’, where they pause to call out power abuses by politicians and billionaires before launching into a buoyant optimism that lands even brighter after the band’s nod to current real-world grit. 

New cuts from the band follow suit: ‘Lemons’ rocks up with echoed vocals and the brilliantly quirky hook ‘I don’t want to drink the juice you squeeze’, while ‘Manifest’ adds a funky lift that spotlights lead singer Martha Goddard’s voice in the chorus. Even mellower moments such as ‘Leave Me Out’ land with self-aware lines (‘Baby I’m not being sentimental, I just need a lot’) that bloom live, emboldened by their staunch fans and the intimate setting of Rough Trade Liverpool.

Photo Credit: Rachel Penketh

It’s hard not to melt into the underwater drift of ‘Come To The Garden’, which conjures the same summery escape as The Beatles’ ‘Octopus’s Garden’ but with a new psych sway. It feels like the perfect nod to their album title - ‘The Mystery’ being a park in Liverpool near where the band all lived, which, as someone who also used to be a local to this park, only heightens the reminiscence.

That same nostalgic warmth threads through the set, right up to their closer ‘Paper Flowers’ – all brisk drums and punchy guitar that skips straight into top gear. They forgo an encore with a cheeky line about not wanting to ‘undermine our intelligence’, ending the night on a sharp, self-aware high. It’s a showcase that makes a solid case for Hushtones as a band who can honour where they’re from, while building something that stands on its own.