Latitude 2015 highlights
Our bestest bits
Wolf Alice
Being at the barrier for a gig can be a mixture of things; painful, tiring, maybe sometimes not even worth it. However, this cannot be said for when Wolf Alice took to the stage at Latitude, the alternative four-piece bounding into the BBC Radio 6 tent. After a slow and somber set from Sun Kil Moon, this Camden based band have little to do to stir up the atmosphere, and yet they achieve it with exemplar musical excellence. Straight off the bat, Wolf Alice smash the start of their set into obliterated pieces, Fluffy causing the crowd to completely lose their minds. It was closely followed by two new tracks off the recently released debut album My Love Is Cool. Your Love’s Whore ‘s wonderfully sultry vocals from Ellie Rowsell compliment and yet contrast the followed dark and raspy You’re A Germ, a spectacular tune that gets the audience completely losing their wits and ways with every chorus. The set reaches a beautiful calm point after You’re A Germ kicks ass, with a mixture of old 90 Mile Beach (from the Blush EP from 2013) and new tracks like The Wonderwhy. . Wolf Alice have complete control over their audience; we weren’t able to take their eyes off the band. The penultimate song is most definitely the strongest, Giant Peach being the tune that everyone knows, loves, and has most probably waited for with baited breath to hear. With a punchy bassline from Theo, wonderfully rhythmic guitar beats from Joff and incredible drumming skill from Joel, Giant Peach quite literally bangs, the drop of the song generating unstoppable headbanging, fast paced moshing and a moment that all who witnessed will not forget. Finishing with Moaning Lisa Smile, Wolf Alice have demonstrated just how talented they really are; their grunge tones and calm-indie-pop, sparkling with golden glitter, this Latitude set epitomises just how magnificent Wolf Alice are.
Sass
The Vaccines
Heavy with tracks from their latest album English Graffiti, The Vaccines’ set at Latitude feels dissimilar to their 2011 appearance, despite performing on the same stage to the same sweaty, testosterone-fuelled, teenage-filled tent. Since their debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? the band’s sound has matured almost jarringly, and a form of hyper-stylised production has been chiselled from rawest-of-the-raw, grating indie rock. Yet despite their diverging style, as Handsome opens their Saturday night set, the crowd launched into old habits, stomping in time to the punctuated bass line and Justin Young’s bellowing vocals. Admittedly, this single is more reminiscent of their early songs, and the clapped beat seems made for thirsty festival crowds. It even eases naturally into the classic Wreckin’ Bar which is received predictably with screams of praise. Dream Lover a few songs demonstrates the band’s changed style as ‘70’s-esque techno beats echo about the tent, and the crowd laps up the galactic melodies with thuds and stomps. It sounds cinematic, enveloping listeners with hypnotic synths and glam vocals to form what feels like a magnetic field of noise. Breaking from the trance, Wetsuit, Post Break Up Sex and If You Wanna unsurprisingly remain instant crowd pleasers as the whole tent screams back every word that Young delivers to the mass of hands and clouds of kicked up dust. The Vaccines continue to slip in songs from English Graffiti with Minimal Affection not sounding unlike a track off The Strokes Comedown Machine, as well as Give Me A Sign which drawls and drips with a warmth that the band didn’t use to bear. The mood is somehow lifted even higher with a final jump around to the power chords of Norgaard and there’s not one person who isn’t shouting out the hammered initials of “A-M-A-N-D-A Norgaard” with all the vigour they can muster after a truly draining set. While some may have craved more of The Vaccines’ early tracks, their recent songs spliced in and amongst older pieces made for a much more refreshing gig; still raw, still violent, still raucous, yet laden with more dancey sounds and less brutal flailing about for all. One of my favourite acts of the festival, The Vaccines didn’t fail to deliver a wonderfully dynamic performance jam packed with power and energy, one that you’ll need bags of stamina to survive, but if you do, I assure you it’s worth it.
Mahalia
alt-J
It was Friday night and the crowd was beaming with the initial excitement of the weekend, not yet tainted by the inevitable gloom that camping for four nights in your own dirt brings. Alt-J opened with the instantly recognisable, soft, electric beat of Hunger of the Pine, captivating the audience. Throughout their set alt-J beautifully oscillated between their two albums to create a coherent and soothing performance; for example songs such as Bloodflood and Bloodflood Pt.2 were played consecutively as were Nara and Leaving Nara. Although they may have not satisfied the overly drunk teenagers fervently waiting to shove each other, no one can deny that alt-J conjured up something uniquely beautiful and memorable to prepare everyone for an incredible weekend at Latitude.
Laura
Ezra Furman
Here are three crucial things you need to know about Boston based indie-rocker Ezra Furman: firstly, he’s a phenomenal musician; secondly he’s a gender-fluid cross dresser and finally if you’re a misogynist or a homophobe, he will absolutely destroy you. After seeing him perform Restless Year from his latest album Perpetual Motion People on Jools Holland in May wearing a red dress, pearls and lipstick (YouTube it, you won’t be disappointed) the anticipation was high for his Friday afternoon set in the Latitude iArena. When the time came his jazzy, bluegrass-inspired set was one of the best-received festival performances I have ever experienced. Performing alongside his obscure looking band The Boyfriends (which included a saxophonist in camo-pants with a pink mohawk) the show was a celebration of the weird and wonderful, breaking down any social construct you can think of, be it age, gender or sexuality related. Musically it was lively and upbeat but full of meaning too; before Tip of a Match Furman stopped the show to confront the issue of sexual assault seen so often at festivals. In his own words, “ladies be careful, and men, have some fucking respect”. A truly modern star in the making, Furman’s live show was incredibly inspiring and his lyrics, self deprecating as they are, reflect this (see “it don’t make a difference who loves who but baby take care” from And Maybe God is a Train). Proudly presenting your new favourite babe on the block, Ezra Furman.
Alex
Caribou
As a drowsy sun descends over the Obelisk Arena at Latitude festival, Caribou take to the stage shrouded in their signature all-white attire, and are met by a buzzing crowd now fully reinvigorated after a blisteringly hot first day. With muted digital beats and hedonistic melodies, the four-piece are undoubtedly a perfect Friday evening soundtrack and precursor to the main headliner, a fact confirmed as their set opens with the title track of latest album, Our Love. Blossoming from slow ripples to a throbbing intensity, the song manages to fuse both high pitched treble and deep vocals in easeful harmony and sets up the sweeping tranquillity that continues throughout their set. Despite lengthy and somewhat repetitive tracks of five or six minutes, Caribou still manage to hold the crowd enthralled as soft hums expand into blazing percussive energy time and time again. Perhaps the festival audience feed off the electro-pop songs too eagerly as a few members attempt to open a mosh pit (unsuccessfully), and the gaping space is then awkwardly refilled at the realisation of no forthcoming drop; the rest of the crowd gulp down their annoyance with headshakes, but this thankfully doesn’t damage the glowing aura surrounding Caribou’s presence, and their set continues with the acclaimed Odessa, a track of bubbling synth and sparkling cadence. Can’t Do Without You was easily the highlight for me, quite possibly of the whole weekend, as the crowd launch into a mass hands-in-the-air sing along, surging in time to a rich pulsating bass line which is soon amplified to vibrating euphoria. Following the tender intro, the track peaks with Dan Snaith’s celestial vocals layered amongst deeply saturated melodies, and sat on shoulders above the crowd, the song radiated love-struck elation and epitomised a festival dance anthem. While seemingly nothing could beat this song live, the extended version of Sun that Caribou ends with is still brimming with force as they play a syrup-thick rendition of the original, packed with denser sounds and heavier beats. Although surprisingly long, Snaith takes side stage for an impressive build up before returning to the centre to play a series of bright metallic synth reverberations, keeping the audience swaying and dancing right until the final thunder of drums and flash of strobe lights. With a set entirely constructed from tracks from the albums Our Love and Swim, Caribou are most definitely an incredible live band who can balance both soulful sensitivity and pounding sonority in a delicate equipoise.
Mahalia
Marika Hackman
Friday brought equally as much magic as the brooding and elegant vocals of Marika Hackman suffused through the stifling hot iArena tent. Despite the numerous technical problems and Marika herself forgetting how to play one of the songs, her calm and enchanting nature made anything that went wrong instantly forgivable. The ethereal qualities of her voice combined with the soft guitar playing made Marika’s performance one that provided the audience with a much needed calm before the storm of later acts such as The Vaccines and Wolf Alice. Her set beautifully blended some of her more eerie songs from her early EP’s like 81 with her newer, more vibrant songs such as Animal Fear altogether creating a bewitching and stunning performance.
Laura
Savages
As a band I’d never really listened to, Savages set on the 6Music stage on Saturday evening was initially just an excuse to pass the time, but my god, what I experienced in that tent left me speechless. There are few post-punk bands around nowadays, and even fewer all female ones, who so seriously address feminist issues and actually captivate a solid ethos of anger and revolution whilst simultaneously making some fucking good rock music, but Savages do it and they do it bloody well. Opening with I Am Here and Shut Up they tore through the hot, lazy afternoon atmosphere in favour of a rapturous apocalypse, absorbing and enthralling the huge tent like siren calls, leading naïve sailors to a gruesomely seductive ending. New material Adore and the cataclysmic Sad Person suggested that whilst their upcoming second LP pursues a less riotous structure it, of course, loses none of the passion and intensity that make Savages a ‘one of those bands’ band. The show itself was phenomenal – midway through the set front woman Jehnny Beth hurled herself into the drooling masses at the front of the crowd, spot lit like a gothic beacon for feminism and female power. At one point a wandering hand from within the sprawling crowd reached out boldly for a feel, only to be batted away with ease by Beth (and rightly so). “This song is for the girls!” she screamed, hurling the room into Fuckers, a raging beast of a song with burning red eyes and anger in the pit of its stomach. A phenomenal show in every respect they were savage by name, savage by… oh, you know the rest.
Alex
Shura
Shura, as one of the acts shortlisted for the BBC’s prestigious Sound of 2015 poll at the end of last year, was one of my top to-sees at Latitude and she certainly didn’t disappoint. Taking to the picturesque iArena stage on Sunday afternoon her cool electropop/indietronica tunes instantly lifted the spirits of the somewhat hung-over but enthusiastic audience as blinking lights and thick, white smoke poured out from behind her. Backed by a slick looking trio of male musicians she opened with a new song titled Figure Stuff Out, a promising insight into her upcoming (as of yet untitled) debut album. Crowd favourites 2Shy and Indecision were met with eager applause, despite the sound cutting out repeatedly – “that was a special version for you Latitude!” Older songs Touch and Just Once sounded as fresh as ever, reworked beautifully for a live context with their contemporary, electronic beats (reminiscent of Years & Years and Jungle). Sporting her signature green fringe and a koala emoji t-shirt, Shura may not be look like your average run of the mill pop star but who really gives a damn? Like her look, her set was alternative and unique, undeniably setting her aside from the crowd as one to watch for the foreseeable future.
Alex
Drenge
The early morning heat rises in the BBC Radio 6 tent as Drenge take to the stage, and Latitude festivallers pile in to see the acclaimed Loveless brothers. Starting with Running Wild from their recently released second album, Drenge instantly create the atmosphere that they are renowned for, with mosh-pits opening left right and centre to Eoin’s heavy guitar riffs. As the crowd becomes more and more squashed together, and Rory’s drumming continues to be spectacularly impressive, Drenge blare out more tunes from Undertow; single We Can Do What We Want throws bodies against bodies, chants of “no-one tells us when to stop” epitomises the crowd’s inability to control their angst. The highlight of the set were tracks Bloodsports and I Wanna Break You In Half, the duo’s energy writhing about on stage, seeping into the crowd and causing a response like no other before. As the audience starts to cough and splutter after 45 minutes of intensive screaming and dancing, Drenge begin to blare out the notes to Let’s Pretend, an eight minute masterpiece that involves communal shouting until the song reaches an incredibly wonderful slow and steady incline, drum beat and guitar strumming picking up pace and becoming faster and faster with each repeated sequence. As the song continues to build, the monster mosh-pit becomes the biggest and most deathly circle anyone could possibly envisage. With all generations running wild (pun intended) around this ridiculous pit, Drenge’s set comes to a close, leaving the crowd completely satisfied at the same time as being awfully exhausted and battered.
Sass
La Roux
Looking back at myself as an impressionable 12 year old in 2009, Bulletproof sends me back to the days of worshipping whatever song appeared on the 4music Top 20. However as I’ve grown up I’ve drawn a new type of energy from La Roux’s music. Her new album Trouble in Paradise was released last year and gave old fans of La Roux a chance to reconnect with a fresh, bold and vibrant body of pop songs. She opened with Uptight Downtown that literally kicked up the dust for the hungover and half asleep audience in that sweltering and dusty 6Music tent. As her set wove through classics such as In For The Kill and Tropical Chancer it became evident that La Roux’s music set off something within that crowd; I saw people clumsily scrabble onto shoulders and scream the lyrics back to her whilst Elly Jackson herself seemed to perfectly match and almost embody the infectious electricity of her music. After she’d finished her performance my friends and I all looked at each other feeling the same; that she’d been everything we’d been expecting and there was no doubt that La Roux had provided us with one of the most fun, carefree and exciting sets of the festival.
Laura
