Posts tagged Festivals
Camden Crawl 2010: Day Two
May 24th
After an almighty fry-up, 3 non-stop hours of Scrapheap challenge and a bus ride from hell we stumbled back into the Roundhouse to pick up the schedule for day two of the Camden Crawl 2010. After learning from our experience the day before. We felt wiser and at ease glancing over the running order while tucking into some street food delights courtesy of Camden Market. Those Emu Burgers, Seafood Paellas, Samosas, Chow Meins, Tagine’s and Argentinian steak burgers had no chance while we were around!
Refueled ready for a long day ahead we set sail for the Outdoor stage ignoring the bitterly cold wind and the radiating warmth of the pubs. It was a pleasant surprise to find out the trip was worthwhile as we were greeted by the lively Electro Dance duo Dan le Sac & Scroopious Pip.
Dan le Sac & Scroopious Pip
These guys really brightened up the cold air and got people moving with their club friendly grooves. Although we were all a bit too chilly to party like its 1999 it was an energetic enough to encourage us to check out their set later in the evening.
Rolo Tomassi
One of the most intense and insane live bands I’ve ever seen were at it again on the outdoor stage as we approached, post our failure to win comedy sunglasses and an assortment of condiments at rock’n’roll bingo. These guys music can be described as a trainwreck of alternative metal ideas warped with a keyboard twist. Its brash and heavy while guitars are massively complex and slightly jazzy. Where they fail is their vocals. Their firecracker young singer, who despite being a cutesy looking girl suddenly screams nonsense with menace in her eyes, making much of the set inaccessible to most of the crowd. Their new material however brings a more electro vibe and with more angelic clean vocals this could be a turn around for these young kids.
Post having our ears pummeled by Rolo we headed up, somewhat bitterly to the Roundhouse. This is because despite paying for your ticket to the festival, what organizers leave in the small print is the fact you need to buy ‘supplement’ tickets in order to see the festival headliners! What a scam! At £7 a go and 2 headline slots per night, you could end up paying an extra £28 to see bands you thought would see for free. Anything to get more money out of the gig going public!
The Blackout
Good job then that standing in the historic roundhouse that the next band up made the entry fee worthwhile. These Welsh post-harcdore titans played a highly charged set of big riffings, semi-screamed-semi-rapped vocals, epic choruses and all round loud fun!
Their duelling lead singers were pinballing about stage and only broke off to ply some comical between song banter. Crowd participation was high on their agenda leading sing-a-longs to their ballads (Save Our Selves, Top Of The World) and sparking mospits on STFUppercut & Said & Done.
During a mid-song interlude the crowd were instructed to all crouch down…nearly everyone obliged, a rare feat. When the power chords struck the telling bar, thousands of people leaping into the air was a sight to behold. This was a highly entertaining set from a band who have risen to the top fast, on performances like this you can see why.
LostProphets
Winner of the most popular Welsh post-hardcore band though has to go to the next band this evening, LostProphets. Their uncanny knack for writing cracking pop rock tunes which are at equally at ease on the radio as they are in the mosh pits. With a huge arsenal of hits they were firing them off at all angles to the constant pleasure of the crowd. Musically they were great and you can’t fault the songs, yet I expected more.
Having seen them at Reading festival in 2007, they were the welsh band pulling the crowd interaction stunts. Their connection with their audience was not ideal but with the quality of their music it’s only a small blip on an otherwise barnstorming show. Awards for best moshpits go to Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja, the most pogo’ing goes to Last Train Home.
Here the DoesItRock.net team parted ways… as I headed upstairs at Enterprise to check out a young band by the name of Tubelord, as others went mellowly to the sweet sounds of Emily Barker.
Tubelord
As I waited at the foot of the stairs I pondered whether or not I’d be able to get in given the huge queue that was milling around. Worry ye not as I finally ascended to the smallest venue of the weekend thus far. A tiny area no bigger than a living room with a micro stage and a superbly old sound man who clearly knew his stuff. Tubelord look as if their skipped school to be here but were all the better for it as they produced wildly off kilter rock with a firm grounding in sweet pop melodies.
Their sound was warm, as was their vocals, but these really need to be ampified greatly. Being 2 steps from the stage and not being able to hear the singer isn’t ideal. However when the drummer provided backing harmonies they band were at their best.Everybody in Enterprise were bouncing along (probably because the floor was like that of a bouncy castle…slightly unnerving) having a great time watching this band of immense potential.
Gang of Four
It was with great anticipation that we stood awaiting the return of the 70′s political post-punk rockers who have countless bands claiming them as major influences. With more smoke than a pro-cigarette convention, four outlines could be seen. Lead guitar and vocalist were clearly original band members. Knocking on the door of becoming OAP’s they looked very old in comparison to their youthful dread locked bassist. Still they were the ones who were to bring the ensuing chaos.
They played plenty of their well know hits like Natural’s Not In It, Anthrax, Not Great Men and Damaged Goods each bringing back the spirit of the 70′s disco-rock they helped form. I will say that playing these live sounded much harsher and less pop than their studio albums. It felt that in the run up to the General Election they were venting anger with their performance.
The real talking point would be the antics of lead singer Jon King. He was clearly on something more than a couple of pints of bitter. His eyes were manic and his stumbling was as shambolic as his persistence to destroy both mic stands he had available to him. His roadies were constantly running after him clearing up his debris. During Anthrax he decided to bring out a stage box with a microwave duct taped to it. He proceeded to play percussion on it using a metal baseball bat! A hugely charged political statement if ever i witnessed one.
Just to remind us they were of the 70′s ilk, guitarist Andy Gill decided to do a Pete Townsend and fling his guitar across stage after a feedback heavy interlude. This made the show even more gripping and like a good movie, it was hard to take your eyes off in case you missed anything!
Dan le Sac & Scroopious Pip
We ended the day back where we started it with some more clubbing tunes. This time the bass was heart pounding and the good time vibe was here in abundance. With pip dishing out some serious lyrics and le Sac turning his apple mac into a dance music workshop this really was an entertaining set. They really clicked here tonight and were rightly applauded for their efforts. Without a guitar is sight, this was very different act from my usual fodder, but no less enjoyable for it.
There was a lot of great talent on display this weekend of of that melee we can safely say that we had a great time! All that was said on the ride home was…”Who’s for next year?”
Camden Crawl 2010: Day One
May 23rd
Who ever thought that putting a music festival on in London on a May Bank holiday weekend probably thought it was a good idea? Granted that extra days recuperation was great, but with general London transport chaos even arriving in Camden would be a half day mission in itself. Luckily for myself and the team, DoesItRock Towers is handily close by. We wandered down to the Roundhouse to pick up the days schedule for day one, laughing in the face of a weather forecast that would make the Outer Hebrides look like the Caribbean.
After seeing the schedule it’s easy to get swamped under the sheer size and scope of the lineup. 17 evening venues and 27 daytime events…where do you start? This of course leads to a music fan’s worst nightmare, clashes! Then you have to filter in the venue choice, venue capacity, arrival times in order to gain entry and if you have to pay extra stealth charges to see bigger bands. So under the enormous strain of options we did what any gaggle of men would do in times of difficult decisions…head to the pub!
With opinions flying at all angles, a plan finally came together. Hence it was time to get down to the serious business of catching some bands!
Dissolved In
We arrived rather chilly and windswept to discover the new for 2010 Outdoor stage was running late. S we ended up catching the tail end of an upbeat set from this Punk-pop quartet. They sounded quite promising and they have decent enough guitar melodies and vocal harmonies, although I am only judging on their final 2 tracks, the rest could have been pants!
Dissolved In
KASMs
Talking of pants, KASMs lead singer was liberally showing off hers as she catapulted around stage in all manner of screwball methods (including powerslides & Japanese schoolgirl kooky leaps). This in fact was a glad distraction from the noise generated by her screechy adolescent vocals. Ignoring the voice the music was edgy and alternative with plenty of sound effects which were largely hit and miss. They have lots of good ideas, outstanding energy and cannot be faulted for effort but today they failed to captivate. An indoor venue would definitely improve their sound, but for the time being, you get an E…more work required!
KASMs
We had been very lucky with the weather and the rain held off as we dived from pub to pub taking in quizzes, jazz sessions and musical bingo until we were en-route to the Electric Ballroom for the first of the evening performances. When the rain finally arrived, it was ferocious! Driving rain hammered the streets, turning Camden high street into a new canal extension! Drenched like hamsters in a washing machine we gained swift entry and prepared to be rocked.
Camden Lock before the storm
Pulled Apart By Horses
This young band from Leeds are a huge part of the experimental alt-metal scene developing in the city and from watching them tonight you can see why they are at the forefront of the movement. They play with a voracious intensity and skull denting power. An ever changing time signature, stop-start melodies, plenty of epic anticipation building crescendos and technically superb massive metal riffs litter their sound which is unpredictable and compelling to behold.
Pulled Apart By Horses
Almost as precarious is their crazed stage antics which left their bassist sporting a bandaged up knee prior to this evening. Yet he still managed to ascend to stand and leap off a 2 storey stack of speakers, meanwhile the vocalist went on aimless walkabouts through the crowd knocking over fans with his wildly flailing mic/guitar leads. Put simply they are entertaining and totally bonkers!
Ready for a Fall!
Lead vocals are, as one DiRocker pointed out “A bit shouty” & other noted “quite Blood Brothers-esque”, hence not easily accessible but still drive each tune with catchy melodies which demand your attention. Their volume is deafening as is the thump of their drumming but all this combined to form a brilliant set which is not going to be forgotten for some time to come. An essential new band worthy of attention!
That Fucking Tank
Next we trotted off to The Dublin Castle for another slice of Leeds originated alternative rock, this time a little more subdued, or so we thought. That Fucking Tank are an instrumental duo (drummer and guitarist) who play in perfect harmony some of the biggest goove heavy beats of the weekend, despite their minimal stage setup.
That Fucking Tank
Monster drumming and big guitars laced each tune, each craftily setup into an instantly recognizable riff, rhythm, chorus, solo structure. They are one of those catchy bands you can’t help but dance to, no matter how hard you try to resist. Scuzzy electro riffs, progressive trip-outs, heavy muted power chords and classic rock influenced interludes were all present in this great set proving variety is key without any vocalist to liven things up.
Throwing in a couple of classic licks from the likes of Nirvana and Springsteen helped really get the party going as the stage was overtaken by stage divers leaping back into the tiny mosh gathering down front. Their success was evident as the crowd would not be settled until they played an encore. This is a band you need to see live! On record they are good but nothing can recreate the duo’s almost telepathic musical connection and raw sound which is just as ease at the disco or the rock clubs! A huge prospect to keep an eye on!
Alex Metric
While Calvin Harris was entertaining the (supplementary ticket buying) crowds at the Roundhouse we were checking out a worthy rival to his electro crown in Alex Metric. His live performance was pretty good with hard hitting bass lines, snazzy keyboards and catchy vocal led dance tracks proving very popular. However the venue was hugely overcrowded and just too tiny, for all the fans that turned up and could not get within 10 meters of the stage, this was a disappointing outing. In a club venue this would have been rocking, instead it was subdued and underwhelming.
Alex (is back there somewhere) Metric
Teenage Fanclub
Instead of providing a springboard to the wee hours Teenage Fanclub lulled the crowds packed into KoKo into a sweet harmony of blissful semi-consciousness. Majorly indebted to 60’s folks The Byrds and love for the jangly melodies and high pitched sugar coated vocals were great for about 20 minutes. From which point on the relentless floppy haired mid-tempo acoustic strum-by-numbers became monotonous, tedious and lacking in invention.
Teenage Fanclub
Mixed in their set were a few good little pop numbers, but they were only resonating well with the long term fans who seemed to know every lyric. Their performance was mediocre and so it received lukewarm appreciation from the DiR mob as we jumped back in the taxi towards HQ for the night, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
Pavement ATP 2010 – The Spotify Playlist
May 13th
With the festival start of ATP curated by indie-legends Pavement looming tomorrow, we’ve put together a little playlist in case you haven’t had time to check out any of the bands or need to something to listen to on a long trip to Minehead!
Pavement ATP 2010 (Spotify playlist)
While you’re there, why not check out our little preview we did a few weeks back:
A Guide to Camden Crawl 2010, Part 4
Apr 24th
We concluse our DoesItRock Guide to Camden Crawl 2010 by pointing you in the direction of some of the more challenging “they’re much better live” bands who’s performances you wont want to miss!
Go see them Live: Spotify Sampler
Pulled Apart By Horses
Really hard to pin down to a single genre. they mix element of alternative, proggressive, noise-rock, post-hardcore & metal all bound with an aggressive in your face attitude. These guys demand your attention, their live shows are not suprisingly chaotic and highy rated. (Saturday)
Listen to: E = MC Hammer (on Spotify)
Pendulum
Standby for take-off as these electro-metal come drum & bass rockers are here for one purpose! Raving! (Saturday)
Listen to: Propane Nightmares [Live At Brixton Academy] (on Spotify)
KASMs
Brilliantly catchy off kilter rampant rock from group with alternative lo-fi leanings and plenty of wierd warping effects in their back pockets! (Saturday)
Listen to: Male Bonding (on Spotify)
Bo Ningen
Japanese Godzilla of progressive and experimental rock with mammoth riffs, crazy freakout vocals,. Epic sonic explosions of strangely enjoyable noise sure to leave you either stunned in amazement, or deaf! (Saturday)
Listen to: Koroshitai Kimochi (on Spotify)
Turbowolf
Seriously whacked out experimental rock with angry streak. Sure to be an intense show combining punk energy with electro fuzz riffing, Death From Above 1978 style.
Listen to: Ancient Snake (on myspace)
TubeLord
Alternative frenetic riff rock resurgance has spawned this cracking band in the same vein as Dananananaykroyd. Live show is sure to be great! (Sunday)
Listen to: Night Of Pencils (on Spotify)
Kap Bambino
Crazed use of the synth machine and samples galore are the signature of this fiesty electro band. Rather like Scooter only with some credibility. Hard and heavy electro mixes and yelped (out of tune) vocals are probably best for the dance mad!
Listen to: Took Life (on Spotify)
Right Hand Left Hand
This duo use looped instrumentals to create anarchic post-rock which is at the same time catchy as totally bonkers. A glorius rock and roll mess!
Listen to: Stanislav Petrov (on myspace)
That Fucking Tank
Strap your progressive ears on for these superb instrumental rockers. Their comical song titles are worthy of a gander at the least.
Listen to: Keanu Reef (on Spotify)
For those of you who have been keeping track, here is the complete playlist for all our featured artists in a single handy Spotify Playlist:
Camden Crawl 2010 Highlights
Im afraid thats all from me here at DoesItRock.net…the choice is now yours. Go forth, check out these bands and head down to Camden on the May Bank Holiday Weekend. We’ll be there, stay tuned for the review…coming soon!
A Guide to Camden Crawl 2010: Part 3
Apr 23rd
There are plenty of bands playing both days at the festival giving you ample opportunity to catch them. Here’s a bunch of highlights from those groups on Crawl’s extensive lineup.
Sat/Sun Highlights: Sat/Sun Spotify Sampler
Midnight Juggernauts
Spacemen who sound like the electro pop incarnation of David Bowie. These Aussies are maving waves in the electronic scene, time to check them out.
Listen to: Into The Galaxy (on Spotify)
Calories
Their live performance supporting Dananananaykroyd split the DiR team with Marmite like efficiency. So i’m afraid i’ll leave this one down to you! This tune is infact quite good!
Listen to: Adventuring (on Spotify)
Eliza Doolittle
Lilly Allen, Kate Nash move over Eliza is in town. Sounds exactly the same as the previously mentioned artists, witty social commentary with sugary sweet pop.
Listen to: Moneybox (on Spotify)
Betty & the Werewolves
Racious female fronted DIY punk with girl power flowing through their souls. Rapidfire vocals are full of amusing lines and are extremely catchy.
Listen to: Euston Station (on Spotify)
Chickenhawk
Rampaging rock and roll riots! Chickenhawk wont stop till they have torn down the building or you have run scared of their unrelenting experimental riffing!
Listen to: I Hate This, Do You Like It? (on last.fm)
Kurran & the Wolfnotes
Impressive layered arrangements for a young folk band who ahre similarities with bands like The Shins.
Listen to: Whatabitch (on Spotify)
Lonelady
Riding high on a hype wave there is sure to be a crowd here for this indie rock darling, for good reason too. She’s very Madchester and the scratchy guitars and sombre vocals sure to leave a lasting impression.
Listen to: Intuition (on Spotify)
Veronica Falls
Indie as you like with a dictinctly surf pop sound. If it’s floaty vocals and fedback guitars your after, check them out.
Listen to: Beachy Head (on Spotify)
Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo
A beautiful voice in amongst all the rock and roll this folk rising star could provide the most peaceful string loaded show of the weekend
Listen to: This Is How It’s Meant To Be (on myspace)
Surfer Blood
Dripping with indie credentials and comparisons to Pavement & Built To Spill, possibly trying too hard to be hip.
Listen to: Swim (on Spotify)
Alex Metric
Calvin Harris has serious competition in the form of Alex Metric. His electro-pop is dance heavy but never fails to produce a hook heavy melody.
Listen to: Head Straight (on Spotify)
The concluding post follows tomorrow…
A Guide to Camden Crawl 2010: Part 2
Apr 22nd
Welcome back to part 2 of our guide to London’s premier new music showcase festival, The Camden Crawl….
Sunday Highlights: Sunday Spotify Sampler
LostProphets
Welshmen who are positioned at the top of the Post-Hardcore tree. Energetic punk rock with infectious melodies and a whole host of brilliant songs.
Listen to: Last Train Home (on Spotify)
Gang Of Four
The genre defining & influencial 70′s post-punk band with spiky angular guitars and a political message. The original lineup has been reformed and set to play their extremely catchy rock. Not to be missed!
Listen to: Damaged Goods (on Spotify)
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Underground rockers have been around the block many times but are still making thundering blues alt-rock with a dark twist.
Listen to: Rise Of The Eagles(on Spotify)
Invasion
Huge heavy metallers with scorching female vocals are sure to start ears bleeding with their bludgeoning QOTSA-esque sludge metal. Riff roaring, fast and furious noise. They do sing about wizards and sci-fi alot though!
Listen to: In The Midst Of Madness (on myspace)
The Blackout
Have risen to be big players in the UK Post-Hardcore scene, the double header with these and LostProphets is a rockers dream ticket.
Listen to: The Fire (on Spotify)
Rolo Tomassi
Insanely intense live performances are the trademark of these hardcore techno infused in your faces technical metalheads. These youngsters can be too much for the pop fan and the slightly scary female screaming vocals back up this fact.
Listen to: I love Turbulence(on We7)
General Fiasco
Generic indie rock which is perfectly enjoyable, not going to set the world on fire but worthy of a mention.
Listen to: We Are The Foolish (on Spotify)
SHARKS
Punk rock and roll which is high in DIY production and rough around the edged charm. Vocalist is reminicent of Joe Strummer and this has an overall Clash like ramshakle-ness to it.
Listen to: It Threatens (myspace)
Wintersleep
Indie rock from this Canadian collective is briming with exciting energy, great floaty vocals and a multitude of hummable melodies.
Listen to: Archaeologists (on Spotify)
Sunshine Underground
Indie rock infused with electro effects and a funk ethos. Produce very slick catchy tunes which can fill a dancefloor in double quick time.
Listen to: Coming To Save You(on Spotify)
Kassidy
Armed with Acoustic guitars their complex melodies are pretty damn cool if slightly folky. Yet their catchy riff writing is well worth a listen.
Listen to: Stray Cat(on Spotify)
We Are Scientists
Great live band who play uplifting pop-rock based on superb blues riffs and catchy chorus’s. Made a splash with brilliant debut album.
Listen to: The Great Escape (on Spotify)
The Delays
Brit-poppers who lace their tunes with a dreamy indie pop sensibility. The pop is unashamed but and know how to pen a cathcy melody or four.
Listen to: Long Time Coming (on Spotify)
Lightspeed Champion
Dev Hynes, the ex alt-rocker of Test Icicles turned folk and croons sweet pop melodies.
Listen to: Galaxy Of The Lost (on Spotify)
More to come tomorrow, peeps!
A Guide to Camden Crawl 2010, Part 1
Apr 21st
With the line-up for the 2010 edition of the award winning urban new music festival almost finalised, it is time shed some light onto the artists set to make (or break) their names up in Camden Town. With a massive lineup of 174 extremely eclectic acts confirmed thus far all sharing the same passion for producing great music and dream of making it big in the industry. With so many new bands to see we’ll try to pick out a few bands for you to keep an eye on, ones to avoid, and the odd song to give you an idea of what you’re getting in to.
Saturday Highlights: Saturday Spotify Sampler
Slow Club
Girl, Boy vocal pop duo that play simple cheery melodies but excel with their enthusiastic vocals and captivating wordplay. As simple as it is effective! Highly Reccommended!
Listen to: Me And You (on Spotify)
Calvin Harris
Leading the UK popular dance scene at the moment with his superbly catchy syth heavy electro. All over the radio and here to steal the show!
Listen to: Acceptable In The 80′s (on Spotify)
Teenage Fanclub
It’s all jingle jangle for this 60′s recalling scottish power pop group. Hard not to enjoy, poppy melodies dry like cement in your memory!
Listen to: It’s All In My Mind (on Spotify)
The Drums
Hot indie scene buzz band play Surf Pop with a twee indie edge producing simple carefree whimsical tunes.
Listen to: Lets Go Surfing (on Spotify)
Dead Meadow
Rough around the edges Floyd influenced psychadelic with a dash of sabbath and plenty of guitars are stamped across the Dead Meadow. Guitar fans are sure to enjoy, as are the hippies listening to the blissed out vocals and fuzzy six stringed lo-fi noise.
Listen to: What Needs Must Be (on Spotify)
Shy Child
Funky electronic keyboard tickling from this NYC dwelling duo. They are a hoot live!
Listen to: Liquid Love (on Spotify)
Stricken City
Female vocaled indie rockers with plenty of melody and jangly pop harmonies. Multi intrumentalist layering without breaching pretense.
Listen to: Small Things (on Spotify)
The Like
LA girls play indie rock with a sweet side. Breezy melodies, beautiful vocals and catchy guitars line their pop-centric appeal, they are certainly above your average all girl group. Think the Corrs with guitars!
Listen to: What I Say And What I Mean (on Spotify)
We Are The Ocean
Essex born and bred Post-Hardcore punk rock and roll with bite and vigour. Clean vocals are terribly american, but an oversight which can be ignored! These guys pack a mean snarling punch!
Listen to: Look Alive (Spotify)
Cornershop
“Brimful of Asha on the 45″, “Everybody need a Bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a Bosom”, One hit Wonders are worth catching for ‘that’ classic song alone!
Listen to: Brimful Of Asha (The Norman Cook Remix) (on Spotify)
Straight Lines
Uplifting power/pop-punk/rock from these welshmen showing the british can do good time guitar pop as good as the Americans. Immediate and incessently catchy rock music!
Listen to: Runaway Now (on Spotify)
The Chapman Family
Would be Maximo Park-a-likes if it wasn’t for their indie grunt and thrashy noise rock freakouts keeping things interesting!
Listen to: Kids (on Spotify)
The Lost Levels
Chaotic indie guitars on a progressive electro mission. A real genre bender who produce some fine (if a little bonkers) tunes.
Listen to: Power (on Myspace)
Art Vs Science
Funcy hard hitting beats from this Australian Dance rock outfit. Thumping keys and fun lyrics keep them interesting.
Listen to: Parlez Vous Francais? (on Myspace)
House De Racket
Racquet sport gimmick wielding Frenchman, who like fellow dance music countrymen Daftpunk & Justice, really rock out!!!
Listen to: Synthétiseur (on Spotify)
More to come tomorrow, folks!
A Guide to ATP (Pavement 2010 Edition), Part 4
Mar 22nd
We finish off our DoesItRock perspective on this year’s ATP curated by Pavement by looking at some of the more challenging bands to listen to at the festival.
Worth a listen:
The Clean
An indie band with a few decent tunes, although they can be a little forgettable.
Listen to: Starting Point (on We7)
Marble Valley
Electronic and vocoder action with a decent beat (not bad, considering Westie cannot drum) mixed into the stoner moments.
Listen to: Pneumonia (on Spotify)
Saccharine Trust
A progressive version of Sex Pistols-esque punk; their anarchic cover of Express Yourself is fun.
Listen to: We Don’t Need Freedom (on We7)
Sic Alps
A bit 70s prog-rock; they have their bluesy moments, but predictably with an avantgarde streak.
Listen to: L. Mansion (on Spotify)
The Raincoats
The Raincoats are an all-female experimental, lo-fi band who originally formed in the 70s. Style-wise, they’re reminiscent at times of The Velvet Underground. They’ve got melodic songs, but the stripped down mechanics of their style can make you wish there was some kind of hook to pique your interest.
Listen to: Balloonacy (on Spotify)
The Bottom of the Barrel:
These are a struggle, unless you’re a hardcore underground music fan. And if you call yourself that, then your friends might not be telling you how pretentious you are:
Atlas Sound
Lift music.
Listen to (if you really have to): Quarantined (on We7)
Grails
An instrumental psychedelic rock band; they can create some interesting guitar-based soundscapes, if you can stay awake long enough to appreciate it.
Listen to: Take Refuge (on Spotify)
Faust
Instrumental ambient guitar noise at their proggiest – jazzed up songs embodies some of the trippier moments of the 70s. Requires an open mind – scoring some LSD might help.
Listen to: The Sad Skinhead (on We7)
And that’s the end of this far from definitive guide to ATP 2010 curated by Pavement. We haven’t looked at every band in the lineup: we’ve missed out the highly rated Wooden Shjips, Japanese hard rock band Boris and Scott Kannberg’s solo material (playing as Spiral Stairs) to name a few of them, but we’ll have to leave finding about them as an exercise for the reader…
Previously, on A Guide to ATP…
A Guide to ATP (Pavement 2010 Edition), Part 3
Mar 21st
Our penultimate look into the lineup at Pavement’s ATP; here’s today’s homework – more bands you should definitely listen to:
The Drones
Sound like a deadlier Nick Cave. It’s blues with an edge, a scowling singer, a hot bassist, and guitar riffs among noisy feedback.
Listen to: The Cookeyed Low Life Of The Highlands (on We7)
The Fiery Furnaces
Toured with Ted Leo, and Franz Ferdinand sort of gives you an idea of the company they keep in the indie world; a brother and sister combo, playing experimental rock. Some of their earlier stuff is a bit poppier, if the later, more eclectic stuff goes over your head.
Listen to: Tropical Iceland (on We7)
The Walkmen
A blues rock band. The croaky singing harks back to when Bob Dylan still sounded like Dylan, and not some weird choking caricature of Bob Dylan. Their earlier stuff sports a lot more fast paced style, as they seem to get progressively slower with new releases.
Listen to: The Rat (on We7)
Tim Chad & Sherry
This is an indie band whose style ranges from folk, pop, country and the blues, with a penchant for humorous lyrics.
Listen to: Caller I.D. (on Spotify)
Times New Viking
These noise rock maestros could if anything be a bit LOUDER at times. But if you appreciate a bit of fuzzed up noise with a nice melody, you’ll find Times New Viking right up your street.
Listen to: (My Head) (on We7)
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
A folk band who will remind you of artists like Bjork or Joanna Newson; pretty, minimalistic songs mixed with powerful drum-driven jazzy numbers, but always melodic.
Listen to: The Way Things Go (on We7)
A Guide to ATP (Pavement 2010 Edition), Part 2
Mar 20th
In part 2 of our trilogy in 4-parts, we’ll be looking at some of the best bands playing in this coming May at everybody’s favourite festival at a family resort.
Pavement
The headliners need no introduction, especially since the festival sold-out with only Pavement in the line-up.
Listen to: Gold Soundz (on We7)
Quasi
A two/three-piece indie pop band; slightly reminiscent in style to Grandaddy, and characterised by some excellent drumming.
Listen to: Our Happiness is guaranteed (on Spotify)
Still Flyin’
Energetic indie pop; they’ve got multiple singers (always good), the odd ska track, and a big fun sound. The list of musicians in the band reads more like a small country then an indie band.
Listen to: Good Thing It’s a Ghost Town Around Here (on Spotify)
Terry Reid
This hard rock nearly-was brings his down-to-earth, classic Rhythm and Blues rock to ATP – probably to balance out all that sickening alternative rock music at this festival. Think Led Zep.
Listen to: Dean (on We7) / Superlungs My Supergirl (on Spotify)
The Authorities
Their punk version of Ballroom Blitz is a hoot. They have some great classic-style punk songs.
Listen to: Ballroom Blitz (on Spotify)
The Dodos
An indie band in the vein of The Shins – that means they’ve got a good ear for those slow-paced pop songs.
Listen to: Small Deaths (on We7)
Stay tuned to this series for more bands to look out for, and we’ll also have a look at some of the ones you might want to avoid…
