Heading to The Great Escape in 2010 – well, these are the bands you need to see.
THE DIRTY DISCO
Oh boy, are we in for a treat – glitter queens The Dirty Disco finally come to Brighton in a flurry of sequins. Think Aladdin Sane joining Dead Or Alive sporting that fabulous catsuit Kylie Minogue wore in her video for Can’t Get You Out Of My Head. The provocative electro-popsters are certainly live music eye-candy. (LS)
BO-NINGEN
Bo-Ningen sound exactly like Led Zeppelin would’ve sounded like if they’d worn flares made out of rusty razorblades and had spent ten years in the Japanese education system. And they look a bit like it too. More screaming experimental guitar sounds than you can shake a psychedelic nosebleed at. And well worth every drop. (DC)
CHICKENHAWK
Heavyweight contenders from Leeds rock up to Great Escape this year. Expect relentless thrash-fuelled noise from the brutal foursome, having kicked-off the year touring with Outcry Collective, to recording their Maida Vale live session for Radio One, we expect big things to come for these lads in 2010, watch this space Brighton. (LS)
KILL IT KID
First things first, you will be shocked to hear that voice come from the mouth of their baby-faced singer, Chris Turpin. Unbelievably, the comparisons to Antony Hegarty (of Antony & The Johnsons fame) are actually rather accurate, with his sometimes bellowing, sometimes husky inflections. Their power blues has tinges of fiddle-playing folk and indie rock twisted up in their rootsy music. This show is likely to be as astonishing as it is enjoyable. (MB)
WILD PALMS
A few months ago, this band released a fantastic, spiky debut single, Over Time, gathering much online chatter. They’ve subsequently put a lot of effort into escaping any pigeonholes by adding an emotional depth to their songs which otherwise featured angular guitar riffs. The results show us a more rounded array of talents, particularly Lou Hill’s vocals, and a band storming ahead once more. (MB)
TINASHE
This Zimbabwe-born London resident has emerged in recent months to plenty of buzz. His song, Come On Over (This Could Be Love), is a mighty pop song and was produced by none other than Radio One’s Kissy Sell Out, but he’s undoubtedly at his best when he’s showing his romantic African roots. This set will range from intimate ballads, involving native instruments such as the mbira, to room-thumping power pop. Expect to walk away beaming with positivity. (MB)
THE BIG PINK
In Brighton following the success of their debut album, A Brief History Of Love, whose one defining feature was their ability to charge up a sound so huge even Phil Spector would probably be scared. It’s quite surprising when you consider there are only two of them, pairing up with Pre’s drummer when playing live. Their powerful love songs and excellent, climactic singles will likely suit Digital’s superior soundsystem. (MB)
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
Numerous leading acolytes of the Canadian music scene have served their time amongst the ranks of this behemoth sized collective. At anyone time the group can swell from six to nineteen members and include two drummers and a mini orchestral suite. This timely headline performance ties in perfectly with the release of their first album in three years. So expect to hear a plateau of unheard material amongst the grand sweeping anthems of Baroque pop that we’ve come to expect. (DV)
CRYSTAL FIGHTERS
What are they? Some kind of electro, rave, indie, dance fusion is what. Add in a dizzying mixture of strange, earthly sounds made with Spanish wood instruments and the picture starts to become clearer. Perhaps that doesn’t help you all that much, but what we do know is this Kitsune-backed group arrive with a proven live reputation, with their ability to sweat the hipsters into a drum-fuelled carnage at every gig. (MB)
DELPHIC
We caught them live in Oxford at the start of the year and were totally blown away by their majestic, artfully crafted electro pop. What came across better live than on the home stereo is that they seem to jam like fury at the completion of each song. A few days later we saw the same set in Brighton to a rather muted reception. Tonight’s gig will perhaps depend on which Delphic, or indeed which crowd, turn up. (MB)
EGYPTIAN HIP HOP
This four piece, alongside Everything Everything, Delphic and Hurts, emerge as part of a group of bands that share absolutely nothing, except they’re all from Manchester. Oh and that they’re hotly tipped for big things in 2010 and all probably now live somewhere near Shoreditch. Expect a strange but rather enjoyable set of songs that owe as much to The Cure as they do nu rave. (MB)
FENECH SOLER
Loved by blogs and getting releases through the French taste-making label, Kitsune, this is one of Thursday’s highlights for sure. Like Delphic before them, this intelligent electro pop quartet, who enjoy the slightly more danceable end of that genre’s spectrum, are aiming for the crown currently adorning Friendly Fires’ temples. (MB)
HURTS
At what point did style exit the music business? Was it when Johnny Borrell put on those white trousers? Or maybe Bono’s cowboy hat? Well, hooray for Hurts, the moody, monochrome and sartorially switched on Manchester duo, sublimely described by one critic as “Tears For Fears, as shot by Anton Corbijn”. Happily, they have the tunes to match, as anyone who heard Arthur Baker’s mix of their debut, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, will attest. Fix up, look sharp tonight people. (BG)
THE INVISIBLE
Despite a Mercury nomination last year and seemingly ubiquitous adoration from critics, mainstream recognition has remained elusive for this London trio. The Invisible formed almost by accident, deciding to stick together after originally coming together to work on lead singer Dave Okumu’s, solo project. Sometimes complex experimentation, sometimes melodic pop, but rich and beautiful with a lyrical intensity that expertly captures the feeling of disaffection and uncertainty. (DCh)
THEOPHILUS LONDON
This New Yorker has been ripping it up on the blogs in recent months, with his whirlwind of hip hop-tinged, bouncing pop songs. Always styled to perfection, mixing baseball caps with a studded leather jacket, he clearly applies the same delicate craft to his music. With tracks like the fearless Humdrum Town, darkly urban Cold Pillow and the rip-up of Witney Houston’s Always Love U, this is one slick, smooth and refreshingly talented motherfucker. Heading rapidly skywards. (MB)
MARINA & THE DIAMONDS
Initially, it seems everything is perfect about this one. She’s beautiful, she’s really attractive and she’s quite stunning. Plus, there is the talent, acclaim and unbelievable coincidence that her surname – Diamandis – sounds, like, almost exactly the same as Diamonds. Amazing! The one problem, however, is that voice. Is it not rather akin to a modulating foghorn? SOURCE plans to attend tonight’s gig with said device to see if anyone can tell the difference. Stand clear! (BG)
NICK KENT: APATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Both loathed and revered in equal measures, legendary UK music hack extraordinaire Nick Kent lived out the same last days of the Roman Empire-type excesses as his famous subjects. With a career that spanned early assignments interviewing the MC5 and Lou Reed for Rolling Stone, to chronicling the advent of punk for NME. Kent could always be relied upon to send sneering dispatches from the seedy side of rock’n’roll. See him deliver anecdotes and observations aplenty, as he reads passages from his latest memoir. (DV)
REAL ESTATE
One thing is for sure, this kind of washed out, sunny, beach life music goes down particularly well in parts of America, so seeing as Brighton enjoys its own positive disposition, it would appear this may well go down swimmingly. At worst it’s perhaps a little like The Thrills, but at its best it’s a lush Beach Boys, or ambient Yo La Tengo delight. (MB)
WILD BEASTS
Indie darlings of 2009, the Wild Beasts’ intricate and indolent prose drew many favourable and critical reviews for their second album, Two Dancers. Those high falsetto diatribes of diaphanous ethereal beauty and wry commentary on the trudges and dirge of modern life go down well amongst the sensitive sophisticated fop fraternity. But even uncaring sorts can relate to those infectious, multifaceted rhythms that underpin their sound. (DV)