Somewhat exausted, but still game, the SOURCE team managed to catch another 20 acts on the final day of The Great Escape. Brighton bands featured heavily with Garden Centre, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Arxx and Penelope Isles playing blinding sets alongside Black Midi, Confidence Man and Fat White Family. We also reviewed Thursday and Friday in separate posts.

Stonefield, The Deep End (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Stonefield, The Deep End (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Stonefield, The Deep End
Today the beach site is hosting a glut of the seemingly endless number of great bands that are coming out of Australia at the moment. We kick off with the four Findlay sisters from Victoria, Stonefield. They’ve been touring with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ahead of their new album ‘Far From Earth’ so, as you’d imagine, they’re pretty heavy. Cue Sabbathy riffs and swirling synths, stomping drums and fat bass. They look very similar and we’re tempted to ascribe a sisterly instinct to the tightness of the band… but it’s probably just hard work and lots of rehearsing. It’s clearly paid off, there’s a lot here for classic rock fans to like. In particular ‘Dead Alive’ is a banger: if AC/DC tried krautrock. (RR)

Babii, The Tempest (photo by Matt Knight)

Babii, The Tempest
Enigmatic pop percussionist Babii plays four shows this weekend but typically we only see her at the last moment, at an unofficial all-dayer hidden among the catacombs of The Tempest. As we adjust from the blazing sunshine outside to the gloom within, Babii starts up the elongated tones of ‘Seiizure’, microphone in one hand, drumstick in the other, triggering beats and samples from her electronic kit. If the Kent artist’s name suggests a cutesy image, this afternoon’s performance is more solid and fierce, blasting away old foes in song (“Get out my way! Get out my face!”) as her drum-cracks thud into the venue’s sculpted cave walls. When we leave, we find she’s summoned down a thunderstorm outside too. (SH)

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, The Dive Bar
It’s one in, one out for the Perth psych rockers Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. We’re crammed in, during what we thought was still a soundcheck, when they launch into ‘Gurzle’. Unashamedly techy guitar lines cascade over a White Stripes’ beat and lyrics of disillusion: “These perplexing times need accompanying instructions”. If you like King Gizzard And The Wizard Lizard – whom they recently toured with – or leaders of the Aussie psych renaissance Tame Impala you’re in good company here. There’s a slightly Pearl Jam, rockier-side-of-grunge flavour in the blend that sets them aside from some of their contemporaries. Satisfyingly trippy and smashy, if you’re looking for instructions for these perplexing times you could find worse places to start than a ‘Crumpets moshpit. (RR)

Askjell, One Church
Norway five-piece, Askjell, consist of a drummer, synth player, guitarist, cellist, plus composer and producer, Askjell Bergstrand, on keyboards. We first became aware of him as a producer of Norwegian pop singer, Aurora. His own work is altogether more reflective; gentle instrumentals like ‘To Be Loved’ that starts quietly then builds, creating filmscapes of lush music. “I hope you’re ready for some sad piano,” he says mid-set, before launching into a desperately yearning solo piece that conjures up loss and regret. The marriage of the music and the setting works incredibly well, the acoustics and high-vaulted ceilings of the church echoing the grandeur of the compositions. When it is all over, we leave feeling warmly at peace with the world. (PS)

Tropical Fuck Storm, The Deep End (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Tropical Fuck Storm, The Deep End (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Tropical Fuck Storm, The Deep End
There’s dark humour and lyrical complexity beneath the scuzz and vitriol of Tropical Fuck Storm. See standout track ‘You Let My Tyres Down’: “Bebe’s in remand right now… for the wounding of a rent-a-cop”. It reminds us of Grinderman with Thee Oh Sees’ production and the counterpoint harmonies of Pixies (you can probably tell by now that we like them!). The chaos and out-of-tune levels of vibrato aren’t for everyone – ditto the singer’s patriotic mullet – and there’s a boatload of seasick dissonance. But for fans of weird, pissed-off guitar bands these guys are exciting. If that’s you then we’d recommend their debut ‘A Laughing Death In Meatspace’. It’s great. (RR)

Confidence Man, The Deep End (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Confidence Man, The Deep End (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Confidence Man, The Deep End
Partly at the behest of a drunken promoter from Sheffield (“best band you’ll see all weekend…”) we’re watching the DJ and drummer of Confidence Man get settled. They’re dressed in veiled black beekeeper-type hats. The housey propulsive beat of ‘Better Sit Down Boy’ kicks in and no one is ready for what follows. It’s sexy, camp, silly and above all fun: a Fatboy Slim-scored Eurovision. The two singers/hype people, Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, have angel-ish costumes, choreographed dance moves, flashing rainbow boob cones and shoulder pads, respectively, and generally ridiculous levels of energy. It’s totally infectious, this is the most we’ve seen the crowd move this weekend by a long way. A must-see at any festivals you’ve got planned this summer. (RR)

Hotel Lux, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Hotel Lux, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Hotel Lux, The Deep End
Of all the genre descriptions you could give Hotel Lux, it’s perhaps pub rock that fits the best. Lead singer Lewis Duffin swaggers out with confidence and soon has a beer in his hand. With a long black trench coat and hands often in pockets, he makes quite the impression. The Portsmouth five-piece bring with them a buzz and high expectations. With songs like ‘English Disease’, full of pub nostalgia and references to horse racing, Stella and Danny Dyer, you can almost smell the ale and second-hand smoke. The rhythms and guitar tone reminds us at times of The Fall, but the band’s charming, bitter and vivid lyrical descriptions of modern Britain have a sound all of their own. (MT)

Gaffa Tape Sandy, Beyond Retro (photo by Matt Knight)

Gaffa Tape Sandy, Beyond Retro (photo by Matt Knight)

Gaffa Tape Sandy, Beyond Retro
Continuing our accidental mission to catch The Great Escape’s main acts in all manner of unofficial, off-beat locations, we enter North Laine’s cavernous branch of Beyond Retro in time for garage punk trio Gaffa Tape Sandy, stationed bravely on the balcony above our heads. Hailing from Bury St Edmunds but now firmly adopted by Brighton, the band’s hardcore fans start moshing with abandon as guitarist Kim Jarvis rips into ‘Water Bottle’, sending unbalanced onlookers staggering towards the clothes racks. Led by bassist Catherine Lindley-Neilson, jubilantly catchy newbie ‘Headlights’ inspires one fan up onto the tables, conducting the crowd in a full singalong before leaping back into the throng. Devotion this intense marks Gaffa Tape Sandy out as something pretty special. (SH)

J-Felix, Fortune Of War (photo by Matt Knight)

J-Felix, Fortune Of War
On our last unofficial stop before re-entering the festival proper, we duck into 1BTN’s parallel weekender at the Fortune Of War to find Tru Thoughts’ J-Felix and his reasonably big band squeezed into the window space upstairs. With twin guest singers and a trumpet player among their ranks, the group roll thick, rubbery funk out through the arched confines of the bar, pulsing through a swell of grooving bodies and, unfortunately for them, the odd family of pensioners attempting to locate the toilets. We still consider J-Felix to be one of Brighton’s best kept secrets and this sweet, low-key show makes us curse our lack of dancing space. We just want to surrender to the flow. (SH)

Pom Poko, Sallis Benney Theatre (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Pom Poko, Sallis Benney Theatre
Watching Pom Poko in the Sallis Benney Theatre before a bitcrushed fluorescent back wall is like seeing a battle of the bands in a parallel universe where everyone’s a math rock prodigy. That seems to be where this band has come from. Yet it’s difficult to find the right words for this: punky and techy, sweet and dissonant, off kilter and singalong. Definitively explosive. The singer’s vocals are reminiscent of Bjork or Alt-J as she floats around smiling, arms wide. Her happiness is catching. The band maybe sound a little like The Mars Volta, but anyway, as someone once said, comparisons are odious and this is possibly the most original thing we’ve seen all weekend. Check them out when you can and in the meanwhile their debut, ‘Birthday’, is fantastic. (RR)

Talk Show, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Talk Show, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Talk Show, The Deep End
London four-piece Talk Show deliver heavy, bouncy rhythms with impassioned scratchy vocals. The lead singer cannot keep still and seems to be clawing at the sky to punctuate his demands. Guitar high, head down, legs apart and not holding back. Energetic post punk builds and explodes into grand guitar riffs and chanting choruses. Meanwhile, bands members are merrily bouncing into each other across the stage which gets the packed crowd nodding and jumping around with them. We didn’t expect Tom Waits-style throaty vocals or the occasional echoes of The Cure, but part of what makes this festival great is the unexpected. Definitely ones to watch. (MT)

Garden Centre, Jubilee Square (photo by Matt Knight)

Garden Centre, Jubilee Square (photo by Matt Knight)

Garden Centre, Jubilee Square
It’s heartening that, with hordes of ambitious Brighton bands gasping for a chance to get onto The Great Escape line-up proper, DIY stalwarts Garden Centre are among those getting the official nod this year. “It’s nice being where I live,” muses bandleader Max Levy, surveying the industry throng, “but under a sort of Perspex cage.” Levy’s voice is a cracked warble, but it’s one of the most distinct and honest we’ve heard all weekend and he applies it to rattling, immediately appealing guitar and organ powered tunes. With members of the scene friends Porridge Radio in their line-up, Garden Centre’s giddy set builds to a final race through the delightful ‘Wheelie’, winning plenty of new hearts along the way. (SH)

Penelope Isles, Sallis Benney Theatre (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Penelope Isles, Sallis Benney Theatre (photo by Ashley Laurence)

Penelope Isles, Sallis Benney Theatre
Having recently played at SXSW after signing to Bella Union, Penelope Isles are definitely one of Brighton’s of-the-moment bands, so we’re happy to see them packing out a 450-cap venue in their hometown. Their sound is deep and dreamy and at times sweetly deafening. A pure pop vein runs through it, too. It’s as if The Magic Numbers were backed by Slowdive and produced like ‘In Rainbows’. It’s perfectly pitched in a way that’s both familiarly comforting and totally their own. Mid-set the singer/synth/bass player announces that it’s the birthday of her boyfriend Max who is on the sound desk. We all sing, which is nice. Our standout track is the last one ‘Gnarbone’ – they cut loose and it’s loud. We can’t wait for their forthcoming debut. (RR)

Black Country New Road, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Black Country New Road, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Black Country New Road, The Deep End
This London post-rock band seem determined to stick to a plan of remaining almost completely stationary on stage, perhaps taking the Godspeed! approach of making the music the focus. There are slow builds followed by unexpected metal riff crescendos, and it’s hard to predict what will happen next when songs descend into arrhythmic jazzy periods of saxophone and violin. At times it touches on the territory of extended Mars Volta breakdowns. The lone vocalist on the left of stage delivers strained and intensely strange stories of escaping into the TV and other odd encounters. If you missed them and are left curious then their six minute single ‘Athens, France’ will give you a taste. (MT)

Blomst, Presuming Ed
This set at Presuming Ed’s is the first time the Norwegian four-piece have ever played in the UK and they take the hipster cafe by storm with a raucous set of tuneful punky rock. Blomst are sometimes quirky, but always tight and energetic. Dressed in football shirts and shorts, they seem to make a point about not caring what anyone thinks, yet these are four masterful musicians. Lead singer-guitarist Ida Horpestad is also charming and funny, joking about how their songs are all in Norwegian which must be for us like it was for them growing up in Norway listening to American pop songs. Without missing a beat, bassist Chris Omdah responds with a Britney Spears lyric in a perfect pastiche of a bad Scandinavian accent. And then they burst into another song. Blomst’s stunning performance has the audience rocking with pure unadulterated rock’n’roll joy. (JS)

Arxx, North Laine Brewhouse (photo by Matt Knight)

Arxx, North Laine Brewhouse
Calling in on another lengthy Alternative Escape showcase in the North Laine Brewhouse, we find raw guitar-and-drums Brighton duo Arxx wowing the festival massive. Impressively, they’ve also drawn in some of the city’s more casual Saturday night revellers, who happen to have wandered in (several sheets to the wind) attempting to Facebook Live their adventures with chaotic results. Singer Hannah Pidduck roars and rips through the mighty likes of ‘Tired Of You’ and ‘Stuck On You’, the latter’s ragged prairie sound causing drummer Clara Townsend to protest, “I joined a rock band, not a country band!” As the unsteady Saturday night lads can attest, Arxx are definitely a rock band and a damn good one. (SH)

The Beths, Horatio’s
Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, The Beths are four long-term friends – and it shows. The camaraderie on stage is almost tangible. Though it’s appropriate that they’re playing at the end of the pier, perhaps their beach pop might be better suited to golden sand rather than Brighton’s pebbles. They play high-energy, hook-laden guitar pop that stands out from superficially similar bands by the sharpness of the lyrics. The title of last year’s album – ‘Future Me Hates Me’ – sums up the introspective take that lead singer and guitarist, Elizabeth Stokes, brings to her songs. The self-deprecating ‘You Wouldn’t Like Me’, goes down particularly well. It is ten o’clock on the final night of The Great Escape, but The Beths’ upbeat performance ensures that everyone goes away happy. (PS)

Black Midi, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Black Midi, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Black Midi, The Deep End
The most striking thing about Black Midi isn’t their cowboy hats and long jackets (they’re a band supposedly shrouded in an anti-image mystique). It’s actually the drummer. The relentless power and pace of Morgan Simpson’s incredible drumming lifts Black Midi’s sound to giddying heights. The drums on their song ‘Talking Heads’ hits the maddening timing changes of bands like Hella, and we don’t make that comparison lightly. Tense, fast and bass-heavy with prolonged guitar breaks; it’s often unclear when songs end and new ones begin. We think they like it that way, and want to keep people guessing. (MT)

Mint, The Richmond (photo by Matt Knight)

Mint, The Richmond
Mint take to the stage, needles in the red, amps in meltdown, hair a wild mess as the pile-driving riff of ‘Nothing Seems To Get Me High’ erupts. At the festival’s last gasp, they’re determined to make their mark. “We’ve come all the way from Cleethorpes!” frontman Zak Rashid exclaims. “It’s a six-hour drive!” Two songs in and he’s ditched his red corduroy suit in favour of bare chest, sweat and tattoos. Buzz-bomb ‘Nagasaki’ addresses the Syrian conflict, undercutting Zak’s protestation that Mint aren’t a political band, and it feels like (Extinction Rebellion’s flyposting aside) real world politics have been rare at TGE. Crashing into the crowd, Mint exit in a hail of feedback, leaving damaged ears ringing. Game over. (SH)

Fat White Family, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Fat White Family, The Deep End (photo by Mike Tudor)

Fat White Family, The Deep End
They may have played in Brighton only the week before, but there’s a big queue to see Fat White Family and inside the venue is full to bursting. A few choice adjectives like ‘unhygienic’ and ‘vulgar’ might give an indication of what to expect, but to be honest it’s all good fun. Nevertheless, there’s a severed pig’s head in the centre of the drum kit, which is the only thing illuminated before the band walks on stage. Technically speaking, Fat White Family are an English rock band, but they’ve definitely carved out a unique place of their own these last eight years. Frontman Lias Saoudi is straight down the front and starts singing from the barricade, screaming into a crowd that happily joins in. It’s provocative and sultry and has all the makings of a madhouse. What a way to finish a festival. (MT)

Words by Jon Southcoasting, Mike Tudor, Paul Stewart, Rowan Reddington and Stuart Huggett
Photos by Ashley Laurence, Matt Knight and Mike Tudor

The SOURCE team covered all three days of The Great Escape 2019.
Check out our reviews from Thursday and Friday.