The Great Escape may have its official line up but, in the heart of Brighton lies a fringe so prominent it causes Sian Clifford to revaluate her “pencil” look.
Key to its success is Roger Kent’s Kick Out The Jams free, REPEAT, free weekender. You’ll find no better line-up any weekend in the UK than at the KOTJ shindig.
Here are our favourite acts from this year (in no order):
The Red Stains
Cataclysmic drumming collides head-on with their Slits-esque destruction. Violent, broken, brilliant!
Key Tracks: TV Static
The Velvet Hands
Despite the odds against them and cultural pressures pushing them toward a boring mainstream landscape, the band have funnelled their joyous punk of debut into something more studied and grander this time out. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world realises their quality.
Key Tracks: Telephone Love / 40 Up 40 Down
This Is War
When BRMC made ‘Howl’, something in the rock ‘n’ roll cosmos aligned, the acoustic guitars which seemed so ill-befitting on paper became their natural domain without them losing any outsider credentials. On ‘Promised Land’, This Is War treads a similar path. The acoustic guitars have found a place between Penny Lane and The La’s and shimmer like a memory of The Roses at their peak.
Key Tracks: Promised Land / Mona Lisa
Breakup Haircut
Wry, humble, and heartfelt lyrics come at you like a brilliant diary entry to melt the coldest of hearts.
Key Tracks: I’d Say Yes / Why Can’t I Be Cool Enough to Move to Berlin
Cross Wires
The East London four-piece have the urgency of Traams and the indie panache of Telegram. As certain to be a 6Music favourite as Cerys Matthews.
Key Tracks: A Room Full of Memories / Distraction Technique