Essex DIY success story The Bracknall played This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival recently. Last time out in London, they headlined Lower Third with a stunning set. This slot was just thirty minutes, could they condense their form into a smaller slot?
*banner image credit: This Is Gary
Image credit: This Is Gary
From the moment the haunting pianos drop on ‘No Way Back For Me’, the air changes at Truck Festival. Rock ‘n’ roll had entered the festival and, through its dogged sense of glory, was going to leave a resounding mark upon all who witnessed.
Former single ‘Get Better’ tapped into the key changes that made us all fall in love with Noel for the first time around, and through the gutsy vocals of Jack Dacey, bred an underdog status that demanded everyone’s emotional investment.
Image credit: This Is Gary
Anthemic sing-alongs nailed, they then brought the noise and confusion with ‘Make It Happen’, Visceral guitars and violent vocals united on this righteous line in the sand. Defiant self-belief on a gargantuan scale roared through the This Feeling tent. As they hit fever pitch, Ed Smith announced himself to the festival as a generational guitar talent. His explosive solo stared into the devil’s eyes and made Satan sit down!
‘I Don’t Understand It’ from their debut album closed proceedings with such grandeur you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Knebworth. The bluesy bohemia of early Kings of Leon collided with the windswept glory of Soundtrack Of Our Lives on the weekend’s one true moment of majesty. Layer upon layer of melody, hope, and togetherness fed through the band with an ease that led them to fold in ‘Love Spreads’. There was an ease and confidence to their playing which offered hope to bands to stick with it. The spotlight may take a while to come, but when it does, be ready, know who you are, and unleash it upon all and sundry with unwavering integrity.
The Bracknall’s latest album and this performance prove a working-class hero is still someone to be, that rock n roll will never die and that maybe, we could all see things they’ll never see once again.
Image credit: This Is Gary