By Darren Grayer.
This weekend will see the third Wanderlust Festival take place in Southampton (23-24 May).
A total of fifty one bands drawn from across the alternative music scene will perform in three of the city’s venues-Heartbreakers Bar, The Joiners and The 1865.
A mixture of established and up and coming bands should provide a feast of entertainment with an eclectic mix of sounds. Saturday headliners Squid have already established themselves as one of the best UK live acts around with their engaging blend of post punk and experimental rock. Sunday night is headlined by The Horrors, whose six albums take in shoegaze, psychedelia and garage rock all sprinkled with a touch gothic darkness. I’m sure both bands will provide fitting finales to the respective days, but I thought I’d try and pick a few highlights from the undercard in the hope one or two punters might discover something and be pleasantly surprised.
Local five-piece Sonne will provide a lively start to proceedings when they play The Joiners at 12.30 on Saturday. Having played the local circuit regularly in the last few years, they are certainly ones to watch with a sound that blends post punk and krautrock influences. Recent single, Family Tree is a fine example of this, with strong vocals and guitar riffs a plenty, providing an almost arena filling experience.
Modern Woman, (pictured top, The Joiners 4.30pm) have just released one of the albums of the year so far. Fronted by singer/songwriter Sophie Harris, whose remarkable vocals make every hair on the back of your neck stand up one minute and then pin you to the wall the very next (see our interview with her here). Kate Bush, Aldous Harding and Courtney Love rolled into one, and her band’s brilliant mix of quiet/loud art rock will be a must see.
Common Goldfish (Heartbreakers 6.00pm) look to be a perfect fit for Wanderlust. The London four-piece mix authentic indie sounds with psychedelia, warped synths and bass grooves that will get heads nodding and feet tapping while also spreading a great deal of happiness with their colourful and enthusiastic delivery.
Mary In The Junkyard (1865 8.30pm) will provide a nice gentle warm up for headliners Squid with their soothing blend of indie/art rock. Latest single Candelabra is a lovely piece of acoustic finger picking pop planted in psych/folk territory and is a taster for debut album Role Model Hermit, released in July.
On to Sunday, Lemonsuckr (1865 3pm) will provide some with their discovery of the festival. Still in relative infancy, they are already polished performers. Bass heavy grooves and guitar riffs, coupled with strong vocals and motorik drums performed with an absolute assuredness. They will make many more festival appearances in the coming months.
If you love a bit of contrast, then don’t budge an inch for Cloth (1865 4pm). Glaswegian twins Rachael and Paul Swinton have released three absolutely stunning albums of atmospheric lo-fi guitar pop. The first of which was released on the patreon run Last Night From Glasgow label. So good it persuaded me to join and help fund releases from a whole host of great artists. They now reside on Mogwai’s Rock Action label and can rightfully be added to a long list of fantastic Scottish indie artists that stretch back to Josef K and Orange Juice, through to Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian.
A swift exit along Queensway will take you to Heartbreakers for 5pm and catch Cardiff youngsters Casual Smart. Wales has a habit of also producing pop royalty, stretching back to Datblygu, who inspired acts like the Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Minci, not to mention The Manic Street Preachers. Casual Smart seem to be continuing that tradition in their own way, by making music that exudes charm and fragility in the most candid way. The five-piece use an array of arrangements that include strings and brass without ever over polishing things.
Be sure to get yourself into Heartbreakers in plenty of time to catch Better Joy (9pm). After selling out The Joiners on last year’s tour, the band have gone from strength to strength with packed shows across the UK and Europe supporting the likes of Amy MacDonald.
Better Joy is in essence singer/songwriter Bria Keeley, who has a wonderful knack of writing anthemic and uplifting songs that will quickly enter your head and have you singing along.
Backed by a fine band that includes local drummer and promoter Jamie Ford, who is part of the team that puts so much effort in making Wanderlust Festival happen.
There is a lot to admire and discover next weekend, and as I write this, it looks like the sun has decided to shine over the festival for the third year running. A few tickets remain, so get yourself there and enjoy.
For more information, visit: wanderlustfestival.co.uk
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