Breakbeat.

The show was opened by the distinctly less frantic musical stylings of Derry-born singer-songwriter SOAK, whose soft and inspired folk songs proved a wonderful apéritif for the main set. At only seventeen years old, she showed absolutely no fear in captivating the capacity crowd and showed herself to be a promising young talent.

When the time came for the main event of the evening, the audience was lethargic, having been waiting for two-and-a-quarter hours for the headline act to appear. CHVRCHES, however, were keen to win them over and began to do so with explosive renditions of ‘We Sink’ and ‘Lies’.

Despite this, they were extremely impressive throughout and their artistic growth since supporting Passion Pit in the exact same venue in 2011 was apparent. In terms of sound, their live set-up made no compromise in fidelity to their on-record brilliance and Iain Cook added a new dimension to their performance with live instrumentation, including a rib cage-rattling bass solo during ‘Lungs’. Their stage presence was drastically improved too – Lauren Mayberry proved a mesmerising frontwoman while Cook and second lead vocalist Martin Doherty exuded great energy from behind the synthesisers. This was all punctuated with an amazing light show, worthy of any festival headliner.   Several audience members kept their smartphones out all night to try and capture the spectacle, but a photo or video simply wouldn’t have done it justice. The lights, arranged and shaped like the symbols from their album cover, drastically enhanced the performance rather than distracting from it, changing from powerful strobes to a simulated starry twilight for ‘Night Sky’ which proved to be a highlight of the night. The way in which the drab and pokey Institute was completely transformed was remarkable – as someone who saw Muse at Wembley Stadium, it was among the most impressive on-stage displays I’ve ever seen.

A combination of all these factors meant that the audience began to come alive mid-way through the set, particularly during popular single ‘Recover’ where Mayberry really shone as a vocalist. Doherty got his opportunity to shine too, taking the lead microphone for ‘Under The Tide’ and then again during the encore for ‘You Caught The Light’. He was clearly a better singer on record then in a live setting, but what he lacked in vocal intensity he made up for with dynamic stage presence, showcasing some impressive shuffling skills which had spectators dancing along too.

If they hadn’t won the crowd over before, they definitely had by the end of main set closer and popular radio single ‘The Mother We Share’, which had the whole room singing along and led to some raucous encore chants. They duly delivered and, after threatening to play some Black Sabbath (‘Maybe next time, when we’re more prepared’ said Mayberry) they played ‘You Caught The Light’ and ‘By The Throat’.

She says she has ‘this massive interest [in] these mythical creatures and things that don’t exist anymore’,  pointing out the leg where she got a tattoo of a tyrannosaurus rex to remind her of her best friend and then another one of a stegosaurus ‘for absolutely no reason, but it looks cool’. It’s not just extinct animals though, giraffes are ‘pretty majestic too’.

But beyond her charming, youthful and carefree demeanour is something quite remarkable. We’re backstage at a sold-out Institute in downtown Digbeth and Bridie, a Derry-born acoustic singer-songwriter who goes by the stage name SOAK will soon take the stage as the main support act for CHVRCHES. It’s remarkable because SOAK is making waves all over the country with her unequivocally unique voice and her extraordinary song-writing talent. She’s been on tour with Snow Patrol, played on Irish television, supported The Undertones and has even had a snowball fight with Tegan and Sara in the Swiss Alps (‘They’re very feeble’, she quips), performing over 300 gigs for thousands of people in the past 3 years.  It’s remarkable because only a year prior to that, she learnt her first song on guitar from her dad; REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’. It’s remarkable because SOAK only turned 17 last May.

How did she rise so far so fast? She puts it down to a number of factors. She came from a musical household, where ‘Pink Floyd was always playing in the background’ and also cites Derry’s very musical community. ‘Everybody in Derry’s a musician. It’s a very small place and people are like “I can play everything”’, she laughs.  ‘There’s nobody really making a name for themselves as an acoustic artist but the bands are doing great’. I also ask her about her incredible work ethic, self-recording two EPs within a year which both saw prominent Northern Irish radio rotation. ‘You can play to a room of 1000 people but only those 1000 people will have heard your music, whereas an EP online you can reach as many people as possible’. She tells that the secret is ‘keeping your head in the game’, smirking when she realises ‘that’s like, a High School Musical quote’. 

Musically, she puts the dinosaurs aside, writing reverent and introspective lyrics, which she describes as ‘deep shit’, delivered in a tone so heart-rendingly vulnerable you have no choice but to listen (‘They don’t know what love is / They throw it around like it’s worthless’ for example, from her last EP Sea Creatures). ‘I know a lot of artists who sit and think “I’m going to write about this subject matter today.” I can’t do that. That’s not real music in my opinion’. Instead she writes about ‘serious situations’ in her life that cause the emotions which compel her to write music. ‘Even if [each song] doesn't come across as a story, it’s a story to me.’

As you’d expect, SOAK shows no signs of slowing down with yet another EP being released on St. Patrick’s Day, all the while continuing to develop her sound. ‘Sea Creatures used loads of wooden based instruments and a lot more folky, whereas this is going quite a lot into the indie scene. [It’s more] stripped back with electric stuff,’ something she claims will make this EP ‘a bigger sounding collection of songs’.

She does admit, however, that when she does get media coverage ‘it’s always the age thing first’. ‘You have to understand that I’m not the only person doing this at this age, there’s loads and loads of people doing this… probably much, much better than me that haven’t been given their recognition or chance.’ When I mention that Lorde won two Grammy Awards at her age, she’s not daunted at all, instead smiling and saying ‘if she can do it, it puts me in with a chance’. Her main career goal though? ‘If I make can an album that’s as good or half as good as Bon Iver’s For Emma Forever Ago, that would be it. I would retire.’ All I can say is so far, so good.

The date is February 13th 2005. It’s Grammy night. A young and visibly excited rapper, dressed in an all-white suit ascends the podium to give the unlikely presenter duo of Kevin Bacon and Ludacris awkward man-hugs while claiming his prize – the validation of his life’s work up to that point. This, of course, is the night that Kanye West won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, beating off stiff competition from established legends such as LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys and his own mentor, Jay Z. As West looked out at an audience of his musical and celebrity peers, he exuded the confidence which comes with having a torch passed to you, he promised to take advantage of his time, his moment. ‘People have been asking me what I would do if I didn’t win.’ He pauses for effect. The world waits. ‘I guess we’ll never know,’ he says, raising his golden gramophone to the sky to a raucous standing ovation. The ascension was complete.

How does a lower middle class black kid from Chicago complete the treacherous journey from Southside to super producer to Grammy Award winner in a matter of years? In The College Dropout – which many believe to be West’s magnum opus – one finds the answer to this and more. Though as the title suggests the record is largely aubiographical, Kanye does much more than just tell his story. The College Dropout is a musical variety performance, showing you assorted scenes from the story of the African American’s search for the American Dream in the 21st Century. As with every good production, some of these will make you laugh, others will move you to verge of tears (your challenge is to listen to ‘Family Business’ without feeling anything. You won’t succeed.) Every scene, however, will lure a reaction from you – be it down to Kanye’s frank and playful lyricism or refined, innovative production. This is a record with many faces; uncompromising, idealistic and sometimes just plain rude to the face of society but honest, introverted and self-deprecatingly witty behind its back. All at once, it’s fearless, harmless, flawless and timeless.

As prolific as the album is, one can also attribute its success to the evolution of tastes in hip-hop. The early 2000s was a time when rap music was underpinned by the culture of “the ‘hood” and gangsters ruled the industry, roaming the earth in throwback jerseys. There was little room for so-called ‘producer-rappers’. However, the explosion of rap music as a mainstream medium over the course of the 90s meant that it was also appealing to a myriad of other demographics; those who couldn’t directly relate to the story of the streets. In response to this, West challenged the contemporary image of rap music with backpacks, Ralph Lauren polo shirts a compulsion to tackle a wealth of issues that affected these new listeners, drawn from experiences in his own life. Whether it is a question of religion, family, work, courtship, black culture, consumerism, self-awareness or self-improvement, Kanye takes them all on, not with the deft scholarly approach that predecessors like Common and Talib Kweli used, but with the enhanced world view that comes from being in a near-fatal car accident. This ardent fervour for the here-and-now can be heard on challenging songs like ‘All Falls Down’ and ‘Jesus Walks’ as well as on the particularly inspiring ‘Through The Wire’, a song he recorded with his jaw, broken through impact with the steering wheel,  wired shut.

At around 20 past 9, they were happily obliged. Backed up by plain bright lights and a minimalist stage set-up, which complemented their trademark black-and-white aesthetic, Matt Healy and co. got straight down to business, warming the masses up with debut single ‘The City’ before sending them into raptures with fan favourite ‘Milk’.

Healy was a timid frontman at best; emerging hunched over the microphone with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head, he was reminiscent of a child in a school play. All signs of this disappeared when he picked up his guitar and began to really enjoy himself, only stopping to briefly acknowledge the frenzied audience after the first 4 songs. ‘Can I assume you know who we are?’ he asked, seemingly oblivious or simply incredulous his band’s own fame, proven by the unequivocal belting of lesser-known album and early EP cuts like ‘Talk!’, ‘She Way Out’, ‘Fallingforyou’ and ‘Heads.Cars.Bending’.

If the crowd was lost at any point it was during the tender, more atmospheric moments in the set, where they seemed to be more content with taking it all in (principally through Snapchat, admittedly) than getting involved. Nonetheless, tracks like ‘Me’, ‘You’ and ‘Menswear’ went some way to showing The 1975 to be a band with substance as well as style – particularly when they brought out their touring saxophonist and when the sweeping chords of instrumental track ‘HNSCC’ washed over the 3,000+ heads of their faithful Birmingham supporters (called an ‘ear orgasm’ by one of my fellow gig goers).

Highlights of the night were not hard to pick out. Newest single ‘Settle Down’ was a perfect storm of soul and synth-pop and once again was a big hit with the shufflers and two-steppers in the building. When it finally came down to it, Matt barely had to sing any of Top 20 single ‘Chocolate’ as the whole building was more than happy to pick up the slack. Raucous set-closer ‘Sex’ wrapped up a neat and tidy performance and proved that whether the game is synth-laced R&B or guitar-driven indie howlers, The 1975 currently have the monopoly on the market. Expect these guys to send people home happy from much bigger venues in the near future. 

The first thing noticeable thing about the album is that it’s very long, this current standard edition clocking in at 53 minutes and 13 tracks, and the deluxe edition (coming November) will be longer than an hour with 16 tracks. The style of music ADTR play is not one which lends itself to holding attention for this length of time. The band do a good job of keeping the album exciting, with a fantastic flow from start to finish, selections of fast-paced songs broken up by lighter ones, the best of which is ‘I’m Already Gone’ (written on tour in the UK a few years back).

There is a selection of very strong tracks on the album. The first three, ‘City of Ocala’, ‘Right Back At It Again’ and ‘Sometimes You’re the Hammer, Sometimes You’re the Nail’ are all very strong, going from a great pop-punk opener, to an example of what ADTR do best, a metalcore pounder. The pairing of ‘End of Me’ and ‘The Document Speaks For Itself’ is another great part of the album, with two great tracks back to back.

Disappointingly though, there are some uninspiring tracks on display too. ‘Dead & Buried’ is an example of paint-by-numbers metalcore and ‘Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way’ feels very forced, and both tracks feel like they’re just here to appease fans at the heavier end of the spectrum fans, and feel a bit forced onto the album. When the band have been proven to write great heavy tracks before (‘Mr Highway’, ‘Shot in the Dark’ and even ‘Violence’) it seems a shame that the album feels a bit tainted by them.

On the whole Common Courtesy is a great album, it’s fun to listen through and has some great tunes. A Day To Remember fans will love it; the harder bits are harder and the softer bits are softer. The downside being that the album is formulaic like their previous work, and while it’s still working for them – it’s proving fantastic – next time out may be time for some experimentation. For now though, A Day To Remember have certainly been the hammer and firmly hit the nail on the head.

[ffo: Bring Me The Horizon, Parkway Drive, All Time Low]

[9]

The flavour of the album is obvious from cataclysmic opening track ‘King Push’; this is all about Pusha T finally stepping into the sun and claiming center-stage after years of mixtape drops, features and internet hype, painting himself as a revolutionary – a “Black Zack de la Rocha”. “I rap nigga about trap niggas, I don’t sing hooks” says Terrence, and from that point on you know to expect nothing but the purest-cut and most honest hustle-rap seen in years. Though largely he delivers, there are some deviations; My Name Is My Name sees a little bit of duality as Pusha moves to claim some of the crossover success he achieved as one half of Clipse, the best chance of which will come with the sultry Chris Brown hook on ‘Sweet Serenade’. He even switches up his delivery  goes on to invoke the spirit of Mase in off-step rap/sung collaboration ‘Let Me Love You’ which also features Kelly Rowland. It doesn’t suit him, but is a nice change of pace nonetheless.

Lyrically, Pusha draws heavily on his drug-dealing past and, unlike most rappers, it’s not a gimmick. All the proof you need that Pusha T actually dealt drugs comes from the multi-faceted nature of his approach the album’s concept. Phenomenal lead single ‘Numbers On The Board’ sees Pusha boldly state how dope money bought him the ‘baller’ lifestyle with weighty metaphors and a cold flow over an absolutely merciless Kanye West beat. Elsewhere, Push proves how real he is. On ‘Hold On’ speaking intimately about the dark side of drug-dealing that hip-hop often forgets – a means of escape for the subjugated African American community. This is a noteworthy track, tied to together by a superbly introspective feature from Rick Ross – a second superb in a row verse on a GOOD Music release. He compares the trade to a form of slavery on the wistful but hopeful ‘40 Acres’, which is made beautiful by the involvement of The-Dream. Finally, ‘Nosetalgia’ details the effects of coke on the community and delivers on its toting of two of hip-hop’s biggest names at the moment – both perform ably and the track provides Kendrick with another opportunity to show his versatility. Two references to Jay-Z in the first two tracks was no mistake. There are clear parallels. Anyone can see Pusha’s objective here, and he's certainly achieved it. This is more than just hustler's hip-hop. This is an East Coast Mafioso-rap album for our time, and I’d be surprised if critics didn’t draw comparisons between this and ‘Hov’s Reasonable Doubt.

Undoubtedly, My Name Is My Name will rank highly on lists of the best hip-hop albums released this year. Pusha T’s decision to sign to GOOD Music and release this album has only emphasized his unchecked growth as an artist. While it stops just short of a crossover smash, Kanye can proudly say that Pusha ‘brought real rap back’.

[8/10]

FFO: Kanye West, Clipse, GOOD Music

  Old Souls – Deaf Havana [7]

With their third outing, Deaf Havana have moved away from the pop-rock stylings of their second record and more towards an American folk-rock sound reminiscent of The Gaslight Anthem. While not a massive disappointment as a record, fans of the band will definitely feel mixed feelings towards it. But with standout tracks like ‘22’, ‘Boston Square’ and ‘King’s Road Ghosts’ being among the best the band have ever written, this record will undoubtedly propel them to the forefront of British Rock music.

[ffo: You Me At Six, The Gaslight Anthem, Twin Atlantic]

  Peace – Kids in Glass Houses [10]

After alienating a portion of their fanbase with concept album In Gold Blood in 2011, Kids In Glass Houses have bounced back with a phenomenal fourth album with Peace. The writing has taken a step up since the first two records, displaying a more mature sound whilst keeping that same pop style with a harder edge when it’s needed. The best tracks on the record are lead singles ‘Peace’ and ‘Drive’, although any of the other eight could easily pass as singles. Doubters take note, Kids in Glass Houses are definitely back.

[ffo: Paramore, Brand New, Fall Out Boy]

  Anonymous – Stray From The Path [8]

Aside from its obvious Rage Against The Machine guitar influences and political agenda there are a lot of strong points to this album. The production is quite simply better than the band’s previous releases, and musically it’s a lot tighter and more professional without taking away from being a beastly hardcore record. Lead single ‘Badge & A Bullet’ is the only single-worthy track however, and the record only seems to work as an album rather than individual songs.

[ffo: Architects, Letlive, Rage Against the Machine]

Is Survived By – Touché Amoré [9]

With each of their two albums up to this point, Touché Amoré have set the Emo scene ablaze with their twenty minute bursts of raw passion and energy. With third outing Is Survived By, they’ve captured this once again with a collection of tracks which can be described as nothing else but explosions of punk rock ferocity. Vocalist  Jeremy Bolm takes you on a journey through his mind with each record and he manages to trap you inside for twenty nine minutes of anguish. Certainly a contender for album of the year.

[ffo: La Dispute, Defeater, Crying all night long]

Right from the start, ‘This Is Gospel’ does what Panic! does best – commands your full and undivided attention.  From the opening vocoder-laden lines to the song’s fading pulse, you’ll be absolutely riveted. It’s introspective and prose-like lyrics hardly fit with the album, but I had rather hoped to see more of this incarnation of Panic! this time around. The hefty guitar chords and Brendon’s impassioned vocal performance make chorus a must-see spectacle not unlike the Vegas lights themselves. Good luck unpinning yourself from the wall after this one.

Incidentally, the track ‘Vegas Lights’ gives you a much better sense of the record’s overall sound. . In previous Panic! releases, there were a plethora of different noises and nods to different musical powers; sadly, this is not the case with Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!  It draws heavily from contemporary electro and alternative pop, inspired no doubt by Brendon’s return to his hometown and subsequent romp through its infamous club scene, with ‘Vegas Lights’ and the following track ‘Girl That You Love’ leaning heavily on 80s influences. Refreshing at first and occasionally well used – the grandiose chords and bombastic drums of ‘Casual Affair’ are a fine example – but too many synthesizers make Brendon a dull boy and the show-stopping, beautifully simple closing ballad ‘The End Of All Things’ shows the album could have done with more sombre moments.

Theme-wise, much of the album’s lyrics revolve around typical nightclub behaviour and youthful indiscretions. For the most part, Urie does not take as much care over them as before, most obviously in the album’s single: “Miss Jackson / Miss Jackson / Miss Jackson / Are you nasty?” A catchy high-energy thriller, which would be a highlight if not for its undeniable similarities to Fall Out Boy’s ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark’, a track which is barely cold in the memory, having been released only back in February. Nevertheless, Panic! At The Disco’s trademark intricacy and clever, sexy wordplay can be seen in places, ‘Far Too Young To Die’ for instance: “I'm twisting allegories now / I want to complicate you”. Alongside, the very seductive ‘Casual Affair’, two tracks form the best section of the brisk ten-track album.

To be frank, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! is not a well assembled album, the first two and final tracks feel like they were left over from previous sessions, bolted onto yet another mostly-mediocre indie party record. It doesn’t speak for Brendon Urie’s musicianship or Spencer Smith and Dallon Weekes’ valued contribution to the band, but it’s as fun and as fresh as the old Panic! records and you have to give to the boys for trying yet another new musical style, one that will definitely resonate with younger fans.

[5/10]

For fans of: fun., Maroon 5 (recent), The Naked & Famous

Friday morning began the music, with the great punk-rock energy of Brighton’s Gnarwolves [6]. They tore through a set of almost their entire back catalogue, while the crowd leapt around enjoying every moment. Following up on the Main Stage were its openers While She Sleeps [7], who brought their A Game and proved that they definitely deserved to be in the slot they were in. Skindred [8] took to the main stage afterwards, providing one of the best early performances possible. The crowd size was staggering, and every person was bouncing around with them. They also played a new song which sounded fantastic, expect good things from this album.

New Found Glory [6] were next up on the Main Stage, performing the Sticks and Stones album in its entirety. Although it’s a great album, it was clear that the crowd on the whole didn’t know it and ‘My Friends Over You’ got the biggest reaction of the set. Closing with ‘All Downhill FromHere’certainly kicked the crowd into life. Despite not having a tough act to follow, Bring Me The Horizon [8] hit the Main Stage at a thousand miles per hour and tore through a set predominantly drawn from recent album Sempiternal. This was probably the best idea with the crowd obviously being more familiar with the newer material. Adventurous with the crowd, they even tried to get a circle pit going around the sound tower and with Oli capable of singing far better now than he could two years ago, BMTH are definitely on an upwards spiral at the minute.

Toning things down a little Frank Turner [8] brought everyone together for a great afternoon singalong whilst suffering from a back injury, whilst Deftones [8] picked the pace right back up again with the opening salvo of ‘Diamond Eyes’, ‘Rocket Skates’ and ‘Be Quiet and Drive’. Mixed into the set were a number of songs from last year’s Koi No Yokan album which sounded massive on the Main Stage. The crowd were great too, far more involved than in 2011, and the band were clearly enjoying the show more than they had been two years ago.

Finally it was time, the band that had been the centre of hyping up to the festival. From the moment System of a Down [10] started playing ‘Aerials’ there was an atmosphere unmatched by any band across the weekend. The front section of the crowd was filled with SOAD fans, lapping it up from start to finish. The band were on fantastic form, and were enjoying the show. The performance was light years away from that at Download 2011, and it’s a disappointing thought that they may never play in the UK again. Easily the set of the weekend.

Closing down the Friday night was Green Day [7] who proved to be one of few disappointments of the weekend. The show was fantastic as they ran through their most popular tracks (Drawing heavily from American Idiot) before going on to play Dookie from front to back. Despite Dookie being the trio’s best album, there was something slightly disappointing about the performance of it live. Perhaps it was that I’d seen it at Brixton Academytwo days earlier, but they just didn’t seem 100% into it as they did for other tracks. It was still a lot of good fun though, and I’m sure the fans who hadn’t seen Green Day before would have had the best time, I just came away feeling slightly disappointed.

Saturday looked to be the weakest day line-up wise, especially now that Brand New had been forced to pull out. Opening the Main Stage were Mallory Knox [6], who cheered everyone up from the weather with a great early sing along. ‘Lighthouse’ felt like it was built for a Main Stage audience, and this band will definitely be worth catching on their tour later this year. Lower Than Atlantis [4] however couldn’t produce a great set on the rain drenched stage, and it just felt they weren’t putting in the effort they usually do. The set was also ruined for those of us in the front section of crowd when vocalist Mikethrew his guitar into the crowd, and a brawl ensued throughout the rest of the set. The setlist was great however, props to them for that, it’s just a shame considering I’ve seen them play shows a thousand times better than this before. The Blackout [4] also fell dully on the crowd, with many peeling off to other stages throughout the set.

Just as the rain really started to fall, Deaf Havana [9] took to the Radio 1/NME stage to a completely rammed audience (Though the rain would have contributed to this). The sheer number of people before them didn’t stop them putting in one of the best shows of their lives however, with new tracks ‘Mildred’, ‘Boston Square’ and ‘Kings Road Ghost’s’slotting in nicely amongst tracks from their second album. It’s a shame how much they dislike their first album material however, as it would be nice to hear them playing a track or two from it again. One of the best performances this band has put on in a while though, onwards and upwards!

Back over on the Main Stage, Earlwolf [5] were trying to replicate the chaos of Odd Future last year. Opening up moshpits and fannying around in them isn’t cool, kids. Swim Deep [5] over on the Festival Republic stage also drew a sizable crowd, although most people in the tent seemed unfamiliar with the material and this seemed to hinder the energy the band was putting in. Finally with the rain subsiding, Twin Atantic [3] take to the Main Stage with a new song and some slower tracks from Free. This leads to a disappointing show and an unimpressed crowd. It may have picked up later in the set, but from what I saw it was thoroughly unimpressive. Sonic Boom Six [9] over on the Lock-Up stage however were drawing a massive crowd and everybody in the tent was skanking and dancing to bangers such as Sound of a Revolution and Virus. They proved to be one of the highlights of the weekend.

White Lies [5] were next on the Main Stage, and drew a fairly sizable crowd as they supported recent album Big TV. Unfortunately they don’t seem to be built for a big outdoor stage, and they came across as dull and uninspiring. This is a stark contrast to their indoor performances and it’s a shame they weren’t in the tent, as the atmosphere would have been miles away from what it was.

Popular up and comers Lonely The Brave [7] took the Introducing stage by storm that evening, while The Bronx [8] ripped a hole in the ground of the Lock-Up with their aggressive punk rock assault, and achieved something with the sheer number of fans flying over the barrier during ‘Heart Attack American’. Meanwhile, Foals [7] were tackling their Main Stage slot with everything they had, proving to be one of the best live bands doing the rounds at the minute. Sub-headliners Chase and Status [6] managed to draw one of the largest crowds I’ve ever seen at a festival, while also one of the most violent. They had to stop the set three times whilst I was watching to prevent crushing of people at the very front. Venturing away to catch some of Lucy Rose [7] was probably the best idea.

Saturday night headliner Eminem [8] was probably the most talked about in the run up to the festival, and if you spoke to anyone at the festival who they were seeing that night it would be him. With an extensive stage setup and live band behind him, his show was quite something and great to watch. The main criticism I can make is the way he would only rap a chorus and verse from most songs, as it’d have been great to here more of some ie: ‘Like Toy Soldiers’, ‘Sing For The Moment’ and ‘Cleaning Out My Closet’. All In all, a pleasant surprise how enjoyable it was.

Exploding onto the Main Stage with the duo of Lionheart’ and Sceptres was the best way for Bury Tomorrow [5] to make their impression on the sizable crowd, unfortunately these were the highlights of their set which was mostly ruined by a crowd full of dicks. Wavves [7] over on the Radio 1/NME stage proved to be a far more exciting prospect this early in the day while even the vocalist’s good looks couldn’t save We Are The In Crowd [4] from their dull set. Hadouken! [7] provided a very exciting set with one of the liveliest crowds of the weekend, with moshpit after moshpit opening all over the place sending bodies flying everywhere.

Next up were the mighty Don Broco [9] who have shot up the lineup in the past three years, to a fairly high Main Stage slot. Playing mostly material from last year’s Priorities album, they commanded the crowd perfectly and played the best show they could have. The crowd was fairly large and loved every second of the set and it was clear the band did too. I’d recommend you get your tickets for their winter tour right now to avoid disappointment. Watch this band. Next up were Editors [7] who drew a fairly small crowd, but smashed through their hits. Crossfaith [8] then brought the roof down of the Lock-Up stage. The Lumineers [4] drew a huge crowd to the Main Stage, although didn’t have the material to keep them entertained.

Finally it was time for Fall Out Boy [10] who tore through a set of some of their best hits and brought the crowd to its knees before them. I could sit here all day and complain that they didn’t play songs x y and z, but my only real complaints can come from some of the crowd reactions, how they didn’t know ‘Saturday’, how nobody jumped around for ‘Thriller’. But these are minor niggles, words cannot express how good this set was. In Contrast, Nine Inch Nails [6] put on a very disappointing set, not playing ‘The Hand That Feeds’, ‘Head Like A Hole’ and ‘Hurt’.The lightshow was intense and the new material sounded great, and the atmosphere was incredible. But the way they were cut from the stage was a massive disappointment and I can only hope that when they come around again it’ll be far better.

Biffy Clyro [10] closed the festival down, with pyro, fireworks, twenty odd absolutely kick-ass Rock songs. There was never any doubt about how good their set would be, but with a set that included ‘57’ and ‘Folding Stars’, It was just perfect. The atmosphere was electric and everybody was singing back every single word. The band were their usual crazy selves, and went to every end to make the set special from both their perspective and ours, and the burning of the guitar at the end just sealed it to being a special night. Mon The Biff.

Reading 2013 was a fantastic festival, with very few poor sets. Hopefully next year brings much of the same, hopefully featuring Queens of the Stone Age, Rise Against, Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, The Black Keys. Any of the above would be good for me.

Then, the restless fans in the sweltering sold-out nightclub were rewarded for their patience with a short, but frenetic DJ set from Taco. But when Tyler, Earl and Jasper (playing the role of hypeman) finally did hit the stage, nobody showed any signs of tiring as they launched into ‘Drop’ from Sweatshirt’s debut mixtape Earl, OF Tape Vol. 2 cut ‘Sam (Is Dead)’ and Goblin favourite ‘Tron Cat’. Tyler seemed blown away by the feverish London crowd, referring to them many times as “fuckin’ nasty”, but he was nethertheless prepared to counter-amaze with a setlist which drew heavily from his latest effort Wolf. ‘Bimmer’, ‘IFHY’, and ‘Domo 23’ proved to be favourites, with room-rattling chants of “GOLF WANG!” throughout the latter.

Earl showed no signs of nerves during his first-ever London show either. Though, he often had to shout to be heard over the speakers, the crowd was very much on his side throughout. They were also receptive to both old and brand new material as Earl got great reactions with ‘Kill’ and self-titled track ‘Earl’, as well as with ‘Burgundy’, ‘Hive’, ‘Chum’ and ‘Whoa’ all off debut album Doris which only came out the day before the gig. Time and again, he engaged the crowd, leading them in chants of “I’ll fuck the freckles off your face, bitch!” during ‘Molasses’ and getting a chance to show off his skills in an acapella version of the last verse in ‘Centurion’.

Together, they did a fantastic job of hyping the crowd, from targeting specific members of the crowd to towering above them on stacks of speakers, and the room full of rowdy London teenagers gave as good as they got, with those on the floor starting raucous chants of “Upstairs wankers!”. “Oh wait… Dude, I think they just called you all fags…” said Tyler to those who had taken the safer option of standing on the balcony.

Highlights also included Jasper and Taco joining Earl and Tyler on the mic for rousing renditions of ‘We Got Bitches’ and ‘Bitch Suck Duck’, nearly bringing down the building with set-closer ‘Tamale’ and yes, even a twerking security guard. If you’re headed to Reading this weekend, factor these guys into our plans by any means. They’re fresh off a supporting tour with Eminem and two big album releases, they’re two of the most promising talents in hip-hop and, if that wasn’t enough, you’ll be in for guaranteed pandemonium.

The answer isn’t clear from the sinister-sounding album opener, down-tempo trap track ‘Pre’. Most will consider it foolhardy for Earl to choose to spit what seems like guest verse on the first song on the album, but it does make you pay even closer attention to SK Laflare the first 2 minutes as the listener waits with baited breath for the first tongue-twisting bars from Earl. And he doesn’t disappoint, picking up right where he left off and promising to ‘kill ‘em all in a minute’. It does seem at times that Earl is trying to shy away from the spotlight on his own record, with no less than 13 features on 15 tracks, 6 of which come in the first 5 tracks – at times it feels like an Odd Future tape, allbeit with a far heavier amount of Earl verses. However, you will find that Earl takes on – and beats – some of the best on this album, including Mac Miller, Domo Genesis and Tyler himself, proving that he knows exactly what he’s doing.

For those expecting a statement of intent, a signature track perhaps like ‘Bastard’, we get it with ‘Burgundy’. The Neptunes’ jovial and triumphant production signifies victory, yet Earl raps pessimistically about the heavy expectation he is laden with and why he has to succeed against all odds. “This is painfully honest”, he says on the brilliant ‘Sunday’, which also includes a rare, but stellar rap verse from Frank Ocean. Indeed, Earl does bear his soul on this album, with the overbearing theme concerning two personalities and constant internal odds – the honour student “crackin’ locks off of them bicycle racks”, “the ticket dodging aristocrat”. The ensemble is delivered perfectly with Earl’s sleepy, stream-of-consciousness style of rapping, which is peppered with unsettling but utterly compelling imagery, “Escobarbarian” and “luggage from the ‘shroom trips” for example. The effect? You feel like you are being taken for a ride, with the destination ever-changing, but the journey itself is so good that you don’t care where you end up.

Sonically, the music ranges from trippy, menacing minor beats to pensive triumphs of real instrumentation, with the occasional gangster/Mafioso inflections on ‘20 Wave Caps’ and the RZA-produced ‘Molasses’. With ‘Sunday’ begins a prolific section of the album, encompassing the fantastic ‘Hive’ which includes a show-stealing verse from Casey Veggies ( a career best in my opinion) and ending with Hoarse, an ominous number soundtracked brilliantly by post-modern jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD . Earl also flexes his production muscles under the alias Randomblackdude, having a hand in much of album, including stoner-rap track ‘Guild’ and the sensational confessional ‘Chum’. Earl’s real gift, however, is his flow – his identity as a rapper with a real sensitivity to rhythm when writing and performing lyrics, the likes of which is really missing in the game.

This was always going to be my favourite album of 2013 so far. At the tender age of 19, Earl Sweatshirt has proven himself to be a profound and gifted individual, with a near-flawless debut record under his belt that lives up to the hype. I can hardly wait to see what he’ll create as he grows older and gains more confidence, but for now, Doris is introverted, awkward, off-key, and yet, completely enthralling.

[9]

Latest record Wrongdoers starts with the lengthy ‘Hive Minds’ which could be seen as being in the vein of Converse's ‘Jane Doe’. It’s a good track, but frankly it’s not amazing. Follow up ‘If You’ve Got It At Five, You’ve Got It At Fifty’ is significantly more impressive although could’ve been taken straight from an Every Time I Die album. This theme is followed through for much of the album. None of it is particularly bad, but it’s hard to find the original ideas featured. There are some standout tracks, ‘Sword In Mouth’, ‘Fire Eyes’ is a solid track and ‘The Lash Whistled Like a Singing Wind Explodes’ for a minute of chaos.

Wrongdoers is a good album, and it’s good for Norma Jean to be replicating the styles of the leaders of the scene, but in that it makes the album rather less interesting. It’s worth a listen, but I can’t see it being one of the top albums of the year.

FFO: Converge, Every Time I Die, Dillinger Escape Plan

[5]

Many considered last year’s Four a scintillating return to form following their divisive 2009 record Intimacy, and no doubt fans and observers will be curious to hear the band’s first tentative steps since that album’s release, amid yet more rumours of fresh tensions between members. It’s important, people, so much so that we’re going to go through track-by-track.

Track no. 1 – ‘Ratchet’

Most fans will recognise this one as the cheesy dance-rock number they began playing live towards the end of their last tour. I’ve always praised Bloc Party both for experimenting and for always releasing great singles between albums. Think ‘Flux’. It feels like they’ve done it again here, but this is definitely an acquired taste. Kele Okereke’s attempt at UK Garage-style MC-ing, in which he drops about every East London slang word conceivably makes you want to laugh as opposed to listen, which isn’t ideal. It’s a funky one nonetheless, with Matt Tong’s superb drumming driving it as he often is, and that bridge/ending riff almost makes it all worth it.

Track no. 2 – ‘Obscene’

Bloc Party drop the tempo and the energy level of the record right through the floor with this one, with a foray into ambient dubstep. The vocals and lyrics have a sincere and apologetic tone which really would settle any doubts about the band’s songwriting ability following ‘Ratchet’. Best described as a song with the mechanics of Intimacy but with the fragility of the Four­-era ballads. It’s difficult however, to ascertain exactly what the other band members do in this song, it’s very Kele-heavy, similar to but less aggressive than his solo work.

Track no. 3 – ‘French Exit’

This, unlike the previous track, is a great four-piece band song, with the bombastic guitar work present on Four feeling floated and light as it was on Silent Alarm. However, with the exception of Matt Tong’s once-again brilliant work behind the kit and the neat call-and-response interludes, this track feels phoned-in and forgettable. A very pedestrian effort.

Track no. 4 – ‘Montreal’

Another dialled-back, minimalist but rhythmic song with immediate similarities to Radiohead, ‘Montreal’ may be the highlight of this EP. The track really emphasises Kele’s amazing empathy – his ability to play characters and tell stories, with a trembling tenor which brings home the overtones of vulnerability deliciously. The song is further blessed by Gordon Moakes’ work on bass guitar, who often doesn’t get a chance to shine but makes a very convincing case for how underrated he is. I’d be interested to see Bloc Party pursue a direction like this.

Track no. 5 – ‘Children Of The Future’

A controlled end to the record which harkens all the way back to the 2004 ‘Little Thoughts’ days, but there is nothing youthful about this song, with its message to the “children of the future” to “be all we never were”. A wistful song to make you think, as Bloc Party go on their second break, about young men growing old.

Overall, The Nextwave Sessions is a very eclectic mix of Bloc Party’s many musical identities which doesn make you wonder what angle they will pursue in the future butdoesn’t bring a lot that’ll wow you to the table. A record which won’t make fans clamour for Bloc Party to stay on the scene for a few more years but it should be enough to tide them over until the band return once more.

  FFO: Friendly Fires, Kasabian, The Temper Trap

[6.5]