Rosellas: The Star, London

Last Friday, Manchester’s Rosellas filled the intimate venue of The Star in London as part of their tour with This Feeling.

*banner image courtesy of the band.

It follows the recent release of their new single, ‘Is It Any Wonder?’ which showed signs of a breakthrough as the sold-out crowd visibly grew in voice for their new melodic offering. In its protracted intro, the little touches of John Martyn’s masterpiece ‘Small Hours’ took the melodic tumble and soar gem to another level.

Tempering this newfound gentler sonic was an array of jaw-dropping psychedelic adventures. ‘Before the Storm’ swelled with the indie anxieties of Doves’ debut and Nick McCabe's explorative introspection before erupting into a modern-day Aphrodite’s Child.

‘Come Alive’ echoed with rock music’s mysticism. Spaced out and seeking something bigger than themselves, they sought meaning through life’s struggles with a tangible purity in the room. Drew Selby and Euan Mail’s guitars, powered by ‘A Storm in Heaven,’ drifted in the mire until a modern-day Andy Bell solo erupted with psychedelic clarity to transcend souls.

The band's growing stature, the songs, and the crowd just went on and on. Rosellas creatively looked like a collective, spiritually hedonistic gang built on togetherness. The songs, lifted to colossal in places (Switch Off), stripped to DMA’s magic in others (The Same Curse), seemingly at the will of this astonishing prospect of a band. The sold-out crowd filtered up the tight stairwell, giddy to smugness, knowing they were treated to something truly special before huge stages came the band's way.

The Utopiates: Chinnerys, Southend

Last Week, 2023’s all-conquering heroes, The Utopiates, made their debut live appearance In Southend at Chinnerys as part of the burgeoning Indie Cult Club.

*banner image courtesy of Indie Cult Club

Josh Redding made a name for himself in 2023, and his surge towards the guitar icon shows no sign of slowing down. His protracted intro to the set opener ‘Seekers’ is divine. The spiralling licks floated into view, indicating that something special was coming. The dreamlike state of ‘Seekers’ glides into carnival grooves of ‘Devolution’, which dissipates for the intense dystopia of ‘Only Human’. An opening trio that, on paper, should jar but, in their hands, is seamless.

Most bands in their position would still be riding the crest of last year's wave. The Utopiates are already one new single into the journey towards album number (due later this year). ‘Love Pill’ marked a real stride forward creatively in the studio. Live, they harnessed its love of Ibiza and Chicago to make it into a starring role in the set, which is some going when the instant classic ‘Best and Worst Days’ present. Frontman Dan Popplewell’s vocal in the closing stages of ‘Love Pill’ transcends into a hymnal state, nourishing all that stands before him.

Image courtesy of Indie Cult Club

Frontman Popplewell continues to shine with his more aggressive take on ‘Making History’. His venomous delivery of the Oasis-tinged lyrics, “One day you’ll see, yeah they’ll look at me, I’m not up here making tunes, I’m making history!” gave the Black Grape-esque anthem the swagger and bitterness it merits.

Another glimpse of album number two came via the debut airing of ‘Insomnia’. On this showing, it is shaping up to be another album of the year contender.

Sea Power: Islington Assembly, London

Last week, national treasures Sea Power rolled back the clock to 2009 to play ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ in full at London’s Islington Assembly. Back then, it was their highest charting album (no.10) and would remain so until February 2022’s ‘Everything Was Forever’.

Click the image to buy the anniversary reissue edition.

While the element of surprise is lost from the setlist, their ability to drop jaws is not. ‘Down On The Ground’ swelled with the grandeur of the Last Night of the Proms, whilst ‘All In It Now’ kicked off like a euphoric battle cry from Game of Thrones.

Examining DYLRM without packaging up ‘Lights Out for Darker Skies’, ‘No Lucifer’, and ‘Waving Flags’ is impossible. Once ‘All In It Now’ ushers you in, the album explodes into life and life; it feels almost gladiatorial. The former creates sparks with every lick until Martin Noble’s guitars scorch the earth in the closing stages. ‘No Lucifer’, with the adopted terrace chant (from wrestling icon Big Daddy), still carries a fire and depth to match anything from the cannon of Arcade Fire, a band which Sea Power was unfairly denigrated against in the 00s. On ‘Waving Flags’, Sea Power reminds us to fight fire with fire. The 00s were awash with anti-immigration, but a grown-up approach was taken under Blair and Brown. Cameron’s wretched part adopted nasty campaign tactics and opened the door to the hard right, whose sphincter still twitches with too much ferocity in the debate. Noble’s guitars kiss greatness here, but it’s the power of the lyrics that transcend. The welcoming message to those who have held up our economy and public services amid rapid decline is a stark reminder that rock ‘n’ roll could and should fight the good fight!

‘The Great Skua’, in many ways, is the blueprint to their success post-2009 and is delivered to a stunned silence. After twenty-one years, the crashing orchestration allows a pause for thought about this remarkable band. The rise and falls conjure such mesmerising drama, only topped by the choral crescendo. This ebbs into ‘Atom’ like a gentle tide before running amok like their peers, The Maccabees and The Rifles, but with the majesty of Bowie and the carnival mayhem of Arcade Fire and Polyphonic Spree.

‘Do You Like Rock Music’, we wager, is not many of Sea Power’s fans favourite. Part of their charm has always been the wayward disruption of ‘Remember Me’ or, increasingly, the washed-out joy of a ‘Two Fingers’ or ‘Bad Bohemian’ in its wake. It is, however, an album that all fans love and the adulation in the room was tangible. It serves as a reminder that indie rock ‘n’ roll can be mainstream and not about lager. Wild but intelligent, boisterous yet elegant. This set of juxtapositions is met rapturously and tenderly. Happy birthday old friend!

The Enemy: Shiiine On 2023

Coventry icons The Enemy recently headlined the final night of this year’s Shiiine On Weekender, and we were there to catch them.

*banner image courtesy of Moments to Media.

Festival season may be well out of the rearview mirror but, in a windswept corner of Somerset, The Enemy came armed with the big guns from the first two albums only to send everyone home in glorious rage.

Image courtesy of Moments to Media.

There’s a myriad of reasons why their tales of working-class life still resonate. People are still a slave to the (non-existent) modern wage. Public services are treated like a soggy biscuit from whatever tax-avoiding private school our PM is from this weak. As such, the fury of ‘Aggro’ and the colossal power of ‘Pressure’ can still tap into the burning sense of injustice people feel.

Obviously, at the heart of the ability to connect is the simple fact, the songs are great. ‘Away From Here’ and ‘Had Enough’ still have the majestic power of 2007 oozing from them. Despite the creaking joints and incrementing fear of Monday morning, both top-ten hits send Shiiine into a dizzying frenzy. ‘We’ll Live Die In These Towns’ and ‘This Song’ carry huge emotional and polemical heft, and the Shiiine faithful are willing to rip the lyrics from their soul to prove their worth to their heroes.

Image courtesy of Moments to Media.

However, something else makes The Enemy a dangerous beast in 2023. Integrity and authenticity. The incisive and instinctive observations of the Peugeot forecourt closing or the aching longing for Jane to still be among us course through their veins with a distilled clarity that few can match. So, when the brass strikes on ‘Your Song’, a hymnal-like quality soars through the room, nourishing the downtrodden.

The music industry they knew and loathed barely exists today. It’s the perfect time for The Enemy to return and thrive. Labels, the press, and airplay are redundant. In truth, so is this review, but the power they emit is astonishing and must be documented! Especially as those at Pitchfork are devoid of euphoria. No one laughs or cries in their realm; they just sit around saying, “Oh, how funny” while listening to Andre 3000’s primary school recorder sessions. Bore Off!

At Shiiine On, the weak become heroes. Tears streamed, laughter howled, and The Enemy proved that working-class heroes are still something to be.

Shiiine On!

Abstraction Engine: Shiiine On 2023

Kicking off this year’s Shiiine On Weekender was Oxfordshire four-piece Abstraction Engine in the Inn on the Green. An honour for any band, but the moment was not lost on them as regular attendees as fans.

Shiiine On is different things to different people. What runs through it all though is a sense of community.  Abstraction Engine’s set arguably captured this more than any other this weekend. Opening with ‘Placeholder, frontman Dave Moore decrees “now that I’m older / I’m bolder that’s what they say / well hey, I'm not a placeholder” hearts begin to melt. The sense that this is our thing, our time to be whoever we want, to relive past glories, and make new life-long memories crystalises.

This feeling is doubled down on the gentle but life-affirming ‘Dependence’. As the lyrics “life is what you make it” percolate, financial, romantic, and health burdens fill the air, but via the keys and guitars, a BMX Bandits-esque joy emerges to set us free.

In the closing stages, AE step on the power. ‘Dreamer’ strived for the power of The Cult, ‘Walk Through Walls’ conjured the what if “Pete Astor played guitar for Sea Power” that frankly, everyone should be pondering! The set was ended by the aptly named ‘Shine’. As Moore sings, “We are the survivors”, it becomes increasingly harder not to lose emotional stability. The emotion of personal loss and the icons of the stage that thousands pilgrimage to see every year swell. The eerily ethereal keys and indomitable rumble on guitars were beset with aching wisdom that this might not be forever, so live for the moment.

With bottom lips wobbling and hearts beaming, Abstraction Engine opened Shiiine On with a poetic refinement that will long in the hearts of all who made the early journey.

Ecko: Shiiine On 2023

At Shiiine On 2022, Scotland’s Ecko stole the weekend in a rags-to-riches story that the world of rock ‘n’ roll hadn’t seen in some time. A small crowd gathered for that set in the Inn on the Green, and such was their prominence, word spread instantly. So, when the Shambolics pulled out of their Sunday night slot, Ecko stepped up to play to the 1500-strong crowd on Centre Stage to back up the spreading gospel.

All images courtesy of A Deeper Groove.

As such, their slot in Reds on Sunday night at this year's festival was one of the weekends most eagerly anticipated. It came with a certain amount of tension. Had we misremembered 2022? Have we pushed them too far, too soon? 

Any doubts were smashed into pieces by their supreme talent. The temptation to come out all guns blazing was withheld. Instead, ‘Miss Hurricane’ emerged chest-out, mid-paced but dangerous, staring down the barrel with grit and assurance few peers can match.

Where 2022 oozed with a ragged glory, 2023 was a polished outfit toying with pace and intensity as they saw fit. ‘Get Out’ stepped on and off the gas with mesmeric skill. ‘L.A.X’, like all truly dangerous ’ only showed teeth when necessary, coming in the closing moments as Matthew Welsh’s solo cut through Liam O’Connor’s crunching bassline.

Former single ‘Still Know Nothing’ closed the set out. It felt less like a euphoric climax and more an admonition that the main stage would be theirs next year. Ecko's rise in a year is nothing short of remarkable. They’ve gone from plucky upstarts to show stealers, and now, they look ready for the stages, drama, and glory that befell so many of the icons of the Shiiine On line-up.

Holy Youth Movement: Shiiine On 2023

“Better, better together / I feel stronger, stronger than ever”

Last week, Bristol’s Holy Youth Movement kicked off the Friday night on Centre Stage at the Shiiine On Weekender.

In the last eighteen months, we’ve seen HYM support Rolla, The Utopiates, and play (but not headline) This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival. Their short but devastating sets have always left us with the feeling there is more in the tank. At Shiiine, they brought the tank!

What was lacking from those shows was time and grandeur. The longer set and better-rigged stage afforded them at Shiiine laid bare their ability to look like superstars! Epitomised by the intoxicating instrumental ‘Raz’ opening the set. The snarling electronica and thudding basslines hit a groove that demanded full attention.

Enter the stage frontman Tom Newman to the ecstatic synths of ‘You Thought I Was Dead’. Resplendent in his boiler suit and shades, Newman is supercharged on this Primal Scream ‘XTRMNTR’ classic in the making. The guitars fire into the ether like four-minute warning sirens as the synths distort with kaleidoscopic chaos.

Minute by minute, the Shiiine crowd filter into the late-night venue. Ebbing closer to the magnetic power of their early Kasabian trips. During ‘Better Together’, a moment of unification only topped by The Farm’s ‘All Together Now’ crystalises. Although the tempo drops, the intensity burns just as brightly. The spirit of unification conjured by the Primals, and the dearly departed Weatherall and Johnson in ’91 oozes through the room with a soul-enriching blissfulness.

No HYM gig is complete without the blistering ‘Tranquilizer’. Recorded with Andrew Innes and produced by Jagz Kooner, the Bristol quintet have a weapon of mass distraction in their armoury. With the light show coming at the Shiiine crowd like a technicolour blitz, Newman strutted from the crowd to band members like the pied piper of rock ‘n’ roll leading us to salvation.

BLESS. Shiiine On 2023

Opening this year's main stage at Shine On are London’s recently reformed BLESS. Despite the time away from the scene, the cult heroes are back after recently supporting The Rifles and headlining the Water Rats for This Feeling. Would this be the launchpad they needed for the big time?

*banner photo credit Alexandra Haddow

Photo credit: Alexandra Haddow

Frontman Joei Silvester is well known to the Shiiine faithful having knocked out killer DJ sets and played iconic sets the now-defunct band The Shakes. The latter looked destined to headline festivals worldwide, let alone Shiiine. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

As crushing as this was to fans, seemingly water off a duck’s back for Silvester who strode on stage to Supercool Indie (where’s Dylan?) spinning The Specials ‘Friday Night Saturday Morning’. King-like, admiring his public, surveying outsiders to overcome, the confidence oozed from his soul and, beautifully, never wavered.

BLESS. a band akin to the Roses or The Coral where every member is a serial talent. Only in this band could a lead guitarist with riffs and licks as savage and punchy as Jake Barnett be overlooked for Silvester. On ‘That’s Love’, he pulls in nuggets of gold from ‘Bill McCai’, ‘Riot Radio’, and such is his talent, makes 00s also rans Little Man Tate and the Harrisons sound like rockstars.

Photo credit: James O’Mullan

It is Silvester who stole the show though. He sets fire to the stage with his northern soul dancing amid the frenzied keys and guitars. He wielded his rhythm guitar like Wilko Johnson as he charged the stage with his rifle set to stun. The drama, eloquence, and sheer showmanship in the way he fires his gun were delivered with such power and emotion that you could feel thousands being sucked into his orbit.

Alongside his star quality was the guv’nor David McSherry on bass. Looking hard as fuck and powering everything with aplomb. On keys and sharing vocals was Kieran Kearns, who would be the star attraction in any other band. Wayward, hilarious, and blessed with great soul, Kearns never lets the set drop when they switch up main vocal duty.  Last, by no means least, was Moses Elliott's fluid genius on drums. Together, they walked on stage just another band to this audience. During the soon-to-be classic set-closer ‘Daddy Didn’t Make It As Rockstar’, they exited as the flag bearers of rock ‘n’ roll.

This was less a launchpad to success and more a Soho backstreet toward rock ‘n’ roll purity. Apathy has been put on notice! Not since The Libertines has a band had this much chemistry. Combustible? Probably. Better to burn out than to fade away.

Marseille: The Water Rats, London

Last week, Derby’s Marseille headlined a sold-out Water Rats in London, and we were there to check it out. It was almost a year since their London debut at The Slaughtered Lamb; the contrast couldn’t have been starker. In 2022, they were part of a line-up which, at best, could be described as ill-thought-out. Most had come to see a piece of performance art by a student dressed as a spaceman whose guitars were on hip-height glitter-covered stands. It was an odd precursor to Marseille’s incredible debut (full review here).

*banner image courtesy of Nima Chappell

Image courtesy of Mark Chappell

Fast forward to the Water Rats and Marseille were supported by the songsmiths Mansfields and Maze, who delivered a superb hazy rock n roll set. This felt proper. The anticipation for Marseille was palpable in the room. The EP and single releases had whipped up a tangible buzz. For TT, it was a chance to see if Marseille could deliver another night of heady guitar-driven rock n roll.

They could!

Vast proof of this came from the reaction to three new tracks from their upcoming new EP.  ‘Monkey In The Middle’ and ‘She Can Fly’ followed one another in the set with devastating effect. A split-second pause of silence followed both. The sheer disbelief of a room in total awe of raw potential emerging on stage. The former swirled with the hysteria and fever that called time on all who headlined the stages they had their sights on. ‘She Can Fly’ was blessed with the shoegaze power and celestial beauty of Nick McCabe and Andy Bell, whose frontman Will Brown lets rip a vocal howl sent from the devil. The other new song, ' If It Hurts, Don’t Cry’, leans into Noel Gallagher and Richard Ashcroft’s timeless songwriting with sweeping euphoria.

Image courtesy of Nima Chappell.

Whilst Marseille have a great groove-laden rhythm section and a charismatic frontman, this gig belonged to lead guitarist Joe Labrum. A young man so unassuming of the spotlight has otherworldly powers on his Gibson Les Paul that you cannot help be drawn to him. The closing stages of ‘If It Hurts, Don’t Cry’ were utterly spellbinding. His majesty made the intimate Water Rats feel like Knebworth with John Squire and Noel Gallagher smashing Champagne Supernova into another galaxy. On 'former single ‘This Dream of Mine’ he injects Squire’s paisley era of the Roses with punks urgency, aided by the incredible Reni-esque fluidity of Tom Spray on drums.

Marseille closed the set with their early jingle-jangle classic ‘State of Mind’. The elegance of Labrum’s riff looping alongside Brown’s angelic vocal was the touching full stop this set deserved. Brown gracefully bowed out early to allow the band to meander to a lysergic close with the artistic integrity of Bobby Gillespie. There is nothing this band cannot do!

Go see them do it!

Pastel: Camden Assembly, London

“Chase the feeling, I believe in”

Last night, Manchester’s Pastel took to London for the first time as headliners at the Camden Assembly (formerly the Barfly). The last time we caught them was supporting label mates Afflecks Palace at the Islington Town Hall (full review here). They blew their peers off the stage that night. Could they handle the pressure as top dogs?

Pastel shone through a haze of smoke and early Verve-esque jams a year ago. Frontman James Yates had that beautiful Ashcroft and Gillespie quality of knowing when to stay out of the way and let their trips take hold. This beauty remained, but Jack Yates emerged as a frontman to be reckoned with. A confidence oozed through his performance, humour through his patter, and crucially, in those big vocal hook moments on ‘Your Day’ and ‘Deeper Than Holy’ he unleashed the power and looked iconic!

With the announcement that their new album is coming in the new year, they unleashed new material on the besotted London crowd. ‘Run It On Up’ saw Yates switch up from Ashcroft’s defiant peak on ‘Northern Soul’ to ‘Tellin’ Stories’ era Burgess. The collective snarl in the verses ebbed away into a melodic uplift blessed with euphoria and intensity. Meanwhile, ‘Sunnyside’ had tinges of The Style Council playing ‘Catching The Butterfly’ with Liam on vocals. Influences that consume most bands were folded into their brand of bugged-out Four Horseman meets Nick McCabe psyche with mesmeric ease.

‘Isaiah’ and ‘Escape’ slide into the sold-out crowd’s elusive dreams and forgotten schemes with their blissful spirals and kaleidoscopic imagery. A sea of arms out wide greet the mystical Blake-esque poetry of ‘Isaiah’. On ‘Escape’, the bellowing power of Joe Anderson’s guitars begins to transcend music as hope descends from on high to the hearts and minds of this adoring audience.

Pressure? What pressure? Pastel looked at home as headliners. The only thing out of place was the size of the venue. Witnessing a band on the cusp of greatness in a 200-capacity venue was a privilege. It will surely be the last time for a long time.

Spangled: The Social, London

Two nights ago at The Social in London's iconic Heavenly Records venue, Radio X’s John Kennedy hosted This Feeling’s third Test Transmission night. Six acts took part, with Manchester’s Spangled stealing the show.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells

Good bands are tight. Great bands are tight and loose all at the same time. Spangled proved they are latter on groove-laden opener ‘We’ll Always Have Neptune’. Jamie Haliday’s Mark Day-esque guitar lines cruised effortlessly alongside frontman Ben Johnson’s poetic take Jim Bob vocal and his Robert Harvey (The Music) meets freaky dancing. The twist and turn from baggy to psychedelic to punk simultaneously. Unhinged and untamed, they roam with a sonic freedom sent from the Gods.

Their desire to perform without conformity is joyously refreshing. During ‘Cosmic Vibrations’ Johnson meanders with the mercurial stage presence of Kate Bush whilst all around him they converge Blur and Kasabian into a psychedelic indie-punk supergroup from another galaxy. Haliday’s solo dives into the gothic majesty of The Cure before spiralling upward to the technicolour splendour of Prince’s rock ‘n’ roll.

This isn’t a set of style of over substance however. Integrity is key and exemplified by the astonishing performance of ‘Good Life Better’. Written about the passing of Johnson’s father after their Isle of Wight set in 2021, it’s a track fraught with emotion. Johnson lets out a guttural howl of “cooommeeee ooonnnn” in the early stages, laying bare just how difficult this track is to navigate. The intimate crowd’s spines, already tingling, are sent into hyperdrive with Johnson delivers “That's when all of the scars inside of my soul were gone”. The torment and anguish flood to the surface as he wrenches the words from his soul. In turn, it breeds an atmosphere of “we’ll fucking die for this band”, and it’s intoxicating.

In five songs, Spangled showcased that skill is not enough. With glory must come guts, and they have it in spades! The band has an indomitable spirit, a heart and soul that will see the masses follow them into battle and win.

Neev: The Nest, Truck Festival

Scottish singer-songwriter Neev opened a miserable Saturday at Truck Festival in The Nest. Backed by a full band, could she warm the soul amid a torrential downpour?

The bulk of the set was taken from her debut album ‘Katherine’, released in April via Trapped Animal. ‘Will I Change You’s deeply personal lyrics would have jarred so early in the day had it not been for Neev’s eloquent and soothing vocals. Her ability to move from steely to empathetic showed glimpses of what a performer she could become alongside her esteemed writing.

On ‘Green’, the band chime in with achingly beautiful backing vocals and resounding guitars lighting up the sodden tent. Neev showcased a vocal power only matched that weekend by Megan Wyn. Her country-folk delectation strayed from the ethereal to a grunge-tinged howl giving her songs a mesmeric appeal on the small stage.

This appeal was doubled down on step closer ‘Flowers’. A rousing and spellbinding affair that should never leave her setlists.  Neev played Truck Festival after winning a competition. She left it, proving that few are her competition.

Big Image: This Feeling, Truck Festival

The Midlands four-piece Big Image recently played This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival. With XFM/Radio X icon John Kennedy announcing their debut album has been recorded, the crowd’s anticipation grew. Did they deliver? Images courtesy of Alan Wells

On paper, 30mins seems such a short slot. However, some can make me feel longer. Not Big Image! Blink and you would have missed their set of baggy meets Balearic anthems. ‘Late Nights’ fired out of the traps like an Ibiza classic fronted by indie icon.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells

Former single ‘Uptown’ breezed through the cool air with its blessed reverb, shimmering Mark Day licks, whilst frontman George held the crowd in the palm of his hand. On ‘Something’, they took the set to another level. The piano riff and beats induced the warmest glow of the weekend. Their talent is evident but, it's their heart which carried them to greatness. Like The Clash, Happy Mondays, and The Libertines, Big Image have an innate ability to make their audiences be a part of their immortality. Their humble star power continuously resonated with the Truck crowd.

Taking their set to a more destructive place was ‘Club’. The booming licks combined with the funk of ‘Bummed’ are dragged into the warped intensity of The Charlatans ‘Area 51’. The crowd which, moments before were bouncing at the band's behest now stood in awe as a moment of profound adulation materialised.

Roll on the debut album!

The Facades: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Wigan outfit The Facades played a blustery Saturday afternoon on the This Feeling Stage at Truck Festival recently and we were there to check them out.

The beguiling single ‘That Letter’ kicked things off. The bewitching basslines of The Coral and Dead 60s set the platform for frontwoman Alannah and lead guitarist Evan to shine. A trait that echoes resoundingly through the set.

This was no more evident than on unreleased tracks ‘Silence’, ‘These Days’, ‘Muse’, and ‘Tell Me’ where they reignited Stevie Knicks and Lindsay Buckingham’s spellbinding partnership. Alannah’s vocals ranged from haunting to mesmeric and were always beset with great melody. She has a power that could fill stadiums, but she has something far greater in her armory. The knowledge of when to pull back, to soften, almost whisper to allow the drama and romance of the occasion to percolate is way beyond her years and startling to watch.

Evan’s guitar playing mirrors this wisdom. On ‘Beautiful’, his lines sauntered across horizons with the lightest of touches. On ‘Beautiful’, he races alongside the vocal feverishly pushing for the release that comes only in the final moments.

Their intuitive relationship on stage was a joy to behold. It brought back a strand of rock classicism that had seemingly been resigned to BBC4 documentaries and Mojo magazine features. Through the howling winds and driving rain, The Facades reimagined those halcyon songwriting days of the late 60s and 70s for 2023! 

Deadletter: The Market Stage, Truck Festival

Oh when there's no future
 How can there be sin
 We're the flowers
 In the dustbin
 We're the poison
 In your human machine
 We're the future
 Your future

 London’s Deadletter played the Market Stage of Truck Festival as part of So Young Magazine’s line-up and we were there to check them out.

Atrocious weather dominated proceedings on Saturday. Fields became quagmires, tent entrances like waterfalls, and knee-deep puddles at the urinals were not enough to dampen the spirit of Deadletter or their huge crowd. Their brand of funked-up post-punk psyche blasted out of the traps with ‘The Snitching Hour’. The ‘Pretty Green’-esque bassline and Ian Dury ramshackle party sonic took the good work of Warmduscher in 2022 to another level. The joyous sax coupled with Zac Lawrence’s irrepressible energy had a sodden tent grooving.

Poppy Richler’s sax style lent the set a unique insight into just how fucked the UK is. In the bleaker moments, she lit up the dysfunctional incompetence of the Tories and, on ‘Madge’s Declaration’ and ‘Binge’, she tapped into the audacity of this generation to have a good time in spite of no future.

‘Degenerate Inanimate’ combined the chaotic carnival of The Happy Mondays peak (‘Bummed’) with Lawrence’s poetic mesh of Carl Barat, Alan Donohoe (The Rakes), and Ian Curtis vocal. Together, they created something that went beyond the outsider tag of post-punk. Visions of sun-drenched technicolour main stages emerged. Diehards at the front hanging off every spoken word and families dancing at the back to the jubilant ‘oh ohhhhs’. Not since Pulp, Suede, and Sleeper stormed the charts have misfits produced alternative art this all-encompassing.

As they decree “there’s something in the air, there's a storm coming” only one thought lingers, Deadletter. Their time is coming, sooner rather than later preferably.

LOCK-IN: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

The Essex via London band of brothers continued their meteoric rise recently with a headline set on the This Feeling Stage at Truck Festival.

In frontman Benjy Leak, Lock-In don’t only have Essex’ alternative scene answer to John Travolta, they have one of indie’s good guys! From the campsite to backstage, to the front barrier of stages, Leak is there, affable, hungry for success but always supporting others.

It’s presumably this which pulls in the crowd which is 10 deep out of the tent which erupts into feverish dancing at every opportunity. ‘Vandross’ is snapped out with a punkier sonic than on record, a trait that rings true throughout. ‘Get Over It’, the finest homage to the mid-00s ever written is played harder and faster for the most part, only dropping the tempo to allow Leak to impart his heartfelt romantic anguish.

With their raw passion threatening to spill over, they temper the fire with the groove-laden ‘Do You Like Good Music?’ which is succeeded by their mashup section of Modjo’s ‘Lady’, Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’, and Jamiroquai’s ‘Space Cowboy’.

Across the weekend, there are acts with great songs but, no emotional presence, no fire! Lock-In however have a raging inner desire and they can make good indie songs a great moment on stage. Stage décor, vocal nuance, and fashion give the audience everything possible and the audience reciprocated.

The Velvet Hands: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Cornish outfit The Velvet Hands have been lighting up stages all year promoting their fine new album ‘Sucker Punch’ as well as supporting The Rifles and Trampolene. The hard graft resulted in a headline slot for This Feeling at Truck Festival.  

The latest single ‘Emotion’ has clearly gained traction as the packed tent came alive to their decadent basslines and playful take on The Strokes. As had former single ‘Telephone Love’ took themes of excess to the mayhem of The Hives and guitar majesty of The Ramones.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

With every song they play, the crowd becomes more intoxicated with the songwriting duo of Toby Mitchell and Dan Able. Mitchell’s anarchic persona and powerhouse vocal intertwined with Able’s CBGB’s coolness to produce back-and-forth vocal magic not seen since Pete and Carl.

Closing out the set is their classic ‘The Party’s Over’. A slacker anthem worthy of bringing the curtain down on any set on any stage. It made the halcyon sunset of the Oxford skies feel like a beer garden with the world’s greatest jukebox blaring. The crowd swayed, staggered, and drank its way to heaven with the Cornish gang greeting them leather-clad at the gates.

The Velvet Hands were and are the real deal. Their party is just getting started!

Pynch: The Market Stage, Truck Festival

Opening the Market Stage early at 11:30 to a very damp Truck Festival were London four-piece Pynch. Having released their debut album ‘Howling At Concrete Moon’ via Chillburn Records back in April, Pynch were looking to kickstart So Young magazines hosting with a bang.

Their set was awash with motoric styles. From Kraftwerk to Jonathan Richman, their tales of being left behind in the modern world eased a sodden crowd into Saturday’s bleak skies. ‘Karaoke’ twisted and turned effortlessly, withstanding its lyrical isolation. They trod a similar path on the anti-greed polemic of ‘London’. Harsher synths and lyrics of despair combined with the pop instincts of Golden Silvers on this satirical reflection of modern city life.

Perhaps the weekend's crowning moment came via their set closer ‘Somebody Else’. Dan Le Sac vs Scroobious Pip beats injected vibrancy and technicolour into their motoric guitars which set about a groove in the huge tent. It was though, through Spencer Enock’s lyrics and guitars that the magic took place.  For so long, an unwritten social contract was present for younger generations. Toil and struggle early on, reap the rewards later. In recent times, no such carrot has been dangled. In fact, a closed sign is almost permanently on display. Mortgages, record deals, travelling, you name it, the boomers had it and took it back. Pynch, like no other, got this across via their melancholic poetry this past Saturday. No matter how hard you try or even succeed, life is just about survival at present (“'Cause this is not what I'm supposed to do / And no one cares where I went to school / It doesn't matter how you get paid / As long as you can make it through the days”). Yet, the Market Stage filled up, it danced, it through fists aloft. It was a tear-inducing moment. The sheer defiance of it all. To be kicked when you when you’re down and still find beauty in the world, in people, and in music, generated enough energy to solve any crisis.

Pynch professed “I wanna die doing what I love / I wanna feel like I'm doing enough” last Saturday. They needn’t worry, they have and they will. A genuine triumphant of the human spirit!

Bag Of Cans: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

Norwich five-piece Bag of Cans strode on stage a cornflake, a patient, a sailor, another sailor, and a drummer. What followed next was nothing short of brilliantly bizarre. Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

Images courtesy of Alan Wells.

Not since Les Incompetents threw themselves around the 100 Club in 2006 with such comical recklessness has indie-punk been so engaging. Bag of Cans tapped into the indie-punk licks of Good Shoes on the former single ‘Spin Cycle’. This tale of a spin cycle was coupled with rousing brass and the carefree indie warbling of cult indie outfits Cajun Dance Party and Larrikin Love. Inch by inch, the This Feeling crowd creeps forward with intrigue.

Despite the intent to induce laughter, there were some serious musical chops on display. The harmonies on ‘Milk and More’, a tale of a coked-up milkman making ill-advised advances, sounded like Graham Coxon had joined Super Furry Animals for a Beatles jam.

‘Hostage at the Dinner Table’ brought to life the mayhem of Fred MacPherson and Billy Leeson In those innocent Les Incompetents days. Riotous like the Libertines but, always with a wry sense of humour.

What began as an unexpecting crowd most definitely finished as one of future curiosity. Who was that? What was that? With their debut album already out, thousands will be about to find out more.

The Utopiates: This Feeling Stage, Truck Festival

It’s been quite the year for The Utopiates. A sold-out tour, debut album release, and now headliners of the ‘This Feeling’ stage at Truck Festival. Our paths last crossed at their homecoming show at London’s iconic 100 Club. Would their condensed headline set live up to that famous night?

With the shorter set-in-place, it allowed The Utopiates to mirror the emotional ebb and flow of their debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’ with greater impact. The immediate uplift generated from Josh Redding’s guitar playing, so often emulating the Greats is now entering a realm of its own. The spirals of Hendrix and Squire on ‘Only Human’ drag the audience into their despairing, yet illuminating world. Redding is beginning to develop a funk and soul swagger to his rock ‘n’ roll on stage, increasing his magnetism to that of the mesmerising frontman, Dan Popplewell.

At the 100 Club, with time on their side, ‘Ups and Downs’ thrilled with its piano loops but descended into an apocalyptic ‘XTRMNTR’ meets Jagz Kooner tear-up. At Truck, it stays it’s in lane but, to no less effect as the rammed tent grooves towards the heavens like it was 1991. Its effortless flow into album closer ‘Simple Minds’ was masterful, the kind that begs for sunsets on mainstages.

Frontman Dan Popplewell’s vocal was on point all night but, at this juncture, went from indie also ran to a magician toying with its artform. His soul power flashed its teeth but, with the essence of the song about drifting off poetically into the sun, he softens his snarl, allowing his vocal to transcend music and become a vocal breeze kissing the cheeks of onlookers.

There is such confidence, such exceptional precision to everything they do now, 2024 simply must see The Utopiates pack out big top tents and open main stages to the more casual music fan. Their melody, intensity, and ability will them over with ease. It’s inevitable.