Show Review: Julia, Folly Group, BULB for Hope & Play at the Windmill Brixton, London.
April 24th, 2026.
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“this is it”
April 25th, 2026
The Windmill is a staple in London’s independent music scene. Tonight, it served as the perfect venue to gather in support of Hope & Play. Hope & Play is a charity dedicated to giving Palestinian children access to essentials, education, sports workshops, and art classes. On the bill was Julia, Folly Group, and BULB. As they began to play, a man loudly talking to his friends beside me said, “this is the sound of a country with no economic growth”. One of the great features of struggle is always the richness that is produced by the arts.
BULB is a three-piece that doesn’t shy away from taking the time to build an atmosphere. However, it was when they picked up intensity into sludgier riffs that captivated the crowd. The frontman’s Dinosaur Jr. shirt seemed fitting with the heavy fuzz throughout the set. In the Garden, I met up with Tom (vocals/guitar). He told me he and Nick (drums) have known each other since being in a sludge punk band. Those roots are still clear in their first performance as BULB with bassist Louis. BULB was founded 6 months ago, but you can already catch their first release, Hotdog/Sum Chunks on Bandcamp.
As Folly Group sets up the pit gets progressively more packed. They are high-energy with a rhythm that the crowd can dance to. Songs are catchy, but not lacking in depth. After the set, Kai and Sean met with me to discuss how Folly Group met and their songwriting process. Starting out in the pandemic, songs originally were written and recorded by sending loops back and forth through email and WhatsApp. They leaned into this approach, typical in electronic music and have adjusted songs since performing live. This led to changes like Kai and Sean switching between playing up front and heading to the back drum kit throughout the set. Sean said the original reception at live shows wasn’t as high energy as their music before coming to the front, “whipping it large” and keeping audience members from asking, “who the hell is singing?” You can find Folly Group on Spotify here.
Julia has a more mellow energy. Their songs are melodic but not without building intensity. During a tuning, the frontman began announcing birthdays of band members playing tonight, as well as friends who came to support. When I met with Adam, Will, and Matt, they told me they had known each other since they were 7 or 9, but had become friends who play music together around 14. Now, they play the Windmill exclusively once or twice a year. Since they don’t see each other often and haven’t formally recorded, when they practice for a set, they hum and sing the songs to remember exactly how they go. This process was described as reflecting “old storytelling”. Keep an eye on the Windmill’s Instagram to hear when Julia will be back again.
Julia, Folly Group, and BULB are all old friends. The community the Windmill brings together leads Adam to declare, “this is it for independent music”. The Windmill is the kind of place where the crowd respects saving someone’s spot as they grab another drink. They make space for the artist sketching the peeling ceiling and the smoked backdrop behind the stage. Last night ended up raising £1,355 pounds for Hope & Play.
| Keywords: | London | The Windmill | Julia | Folly Group | BULB | Hope & Play |
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