Latitude 2012 - Review

As about 96% of the comedians appearing over the weekend hastened to remind us, Latitude is very middle class. Probably one of the most middle class festivals ever. There is a Loch Fyne Oyster stall and a Costa. There are morning yoga workshops, talks about the Higgs-Boson and radio 4 recordings. In the comedy tent people use pages from The Independent to sit on. It is basically Adam Buxton’s festival song, in real life. At least this means that a lot of the toilets are nice and, (hallelujah!) there are showers.


FRIDAY

At i arena, Cold Specks aka Canadian born Al Spx, is asking the crowd: ‘Wanna hear a dirty cannibal joke?’ from behind her dark sunglasses. Instead she opts for a warbled version of ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ theme tune, getting some of the words wrong. She manages to make it as ‘depressing’ (her word) as her own music. I can’t help but feel that her set would have benefited from a dirty cannibal joke. More impressive, Swedish sister act First Aid Kit craft their famous harmonies dressed in swoon-worthy 70s style dresses on the Main stage. The early time doesn’t affect their beautiful performance, husky voices accompanied by clap-alongs and plenty of hair swishing. 

We head to the comedy tent to catch one of my new favourites, Doc Brown, a comedy rapper. Don’t let the phrase ‘comedy rapper’ put you off. As an ex-rapper, Doc Brown/Ben Smith knows his way around a rhyme. He is one of the highlights of the weekend, with his righteously angry rap about people who put the milk in first when it comes to making a cuppa. Next up is one of the biggest names in comedy, Tim Minchin, whose musical comedy has made him something of a rock star. His set includes old-time favourites such as ‘Prejudice’ and new favourite ‘Woody Allen Jesus’ (the song that was infamously deemed too controversial for The Jonathan Ross Show). Unfortunately, some parts of his set seem a tad too indulgent, with some songs dragging on too long and some gags coming across a bit too big-headed.

Another act which surprisingly disappoints is Alt-J, a band which normally impresses live with their intricate percussion and offbeat, catchy songs. The stage may not help; playing an enclosed tent may have aided the atmosphere of their set better. This seems a shame for a band who has just released a debut album.

The Antlers, luckily, don’t disappoint. Much rockier live than on record, they play a fantastic set in the Word Arena, including a beautiful rendition of ‘Two’ from third album, ‘Hospice’. Yeasayer follow, playing a set full of new songs, including the fantastic ‘Henrietta’. They also play some fantastic live versions of the ‘Odd Blood’ favourite, ‘O.N.E’, which catches everyone in the crowd by surprise. Neither the very drunk couple staggering into everyone, nor the annoying girls holding up a message on paper plates (and therefore blocking a lot of people’s view) can detract from a triumphant, highly enjoyable set.

Bon Iver is the headliner for the night, and plays on a beautiful stage decked out in fishing nets and lights. The set includes many songs from both albums, and it is a joy to see how well the ‘Bon Iver’ songs translate so well live, with Justin Vernon’s haunting vocals entwining with a myriad of different instruments.

SATURDAY

It is early (11am) on the Saturday morning and already there is a considerably sized queue outside the comedy tent. Someone, half-serious, tries to start a chant: ‘What do we want? Science based comedy? When do we want it…?’ When at last the tent opens there is a huge rush to get to the front. People are running. What is all the fuss about? Brian Cox is in the vicinity, that’s what. The first event of the Saturday Morning is a recording of the last in the series of Radio 4’s ‘science based comedy’ show ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’. The show is co-presented with comedian Robin Ince, who brings his brilliant, enthusiastic humour to the mix. At the end of a very interesting discussion about the importance of both science and art in life (unfortunately simplified, rather confusingly, to ‘Science Vs. Art’ at first), Brian Cox is surrounded by teenagers as if he were (still) a rock star. Well, he is on the telly. And he does have very lovely hair…

Over on the Word stage, Sharon Van Etten plays a beautiful set. Her voice is husky and powerful, and this works very well with her fantastic guitar playing. The highlight of her set is the last song, with a plodding drumbeat leading up to a majestic, Sigur Rós-style build up, layered with echoing Warpaint like vocals.

Back to the comedy tent, we catch Josie Long at her finest; her enthusiastic and passionate political comedy is really impressive. She is not afraid to let rip onstage and go a bit mad either, which makes her even cooler. She really is one of the best stand-ups in the country!

Django Django play the teeny-tiny i arena in the woods, and there are as many people outside the tent, craning in as there are packed like sardines inside. There is such a buzz about this band, and there is no wonder; their angular pop sounds just as good live as it does on record. They also have a fantastic, energetic stage presence (from what I could see through the low branches outside the tent).

Later on at the i arena, Nika Danilova, or Zola Jesus is prowling around the stage, dressed head to toe in white. (“Its days like this I wish I wasn’t so committed to wearing white!” she laughs, alluding to the sea of mud). She is every bit caged animal as she eschews the mic stand for the majority of the set and paces the stage. Her operatic voice really is something, especially live, and versions of ‘Sea Talk’ and the powerful, bittersweet ‘Night’ bring a tear to the eye.

Later that night, Robin Ince brings his Late Night Revolution, a pick and mix of sketches and singers, to the Literature tent. This boasted the amazing Grace Petrie, who is the female Billy Bragg, pedalling stories of love and politics with the help an acoustic guitar and fantastic voice. Another highlight of the ‘Revolution’ is Johnny and The Baptists, my new favourite comedy folk band. They sings songs about having sex in a library (NOT the children’s section) and unrequited love amongst many other things, aided with fantastic violin playing and melodramatic singing. One thing the ‘Late Night Revolution’ was missing was a bit more Robin Ince/Josie Long stand-up, but alas, time was tight. Still, a very nice excuse to stay up late.

SUNDAY

Reginald D Hunter and Rich Hall bring their unique views of Britain from Americans point of view to the comedy tent. Reginald D Hunter exudes cool where Rich Hall is grumpy, but with a twinkle in his eye. He shouts at teenagers in the front row who are leaving for a loo break, before deciding he wanted youngsters to leave, yelling ‘JUSTIN BIEBER IS A C***!’ to try and achieve this.

St Vincent plays at that time of the day on the Sunday afternoon where the lack of sleep starts to catch up with some of the less hardy punters (me). However, ANNIE CLARKE?! impresses, with a fantastic stage presence- red lips and jet-black, curly hair teamed with the perfect shuffle dance. Her sexy vocals entwine with amazing guitar riffs, and I’m pretty sure everyone leaves a little bit in love with her.

Slow Club open their set in the packed out i arena with a cover of ‘Disco 2000’ by Pulp, and end it with a party; their friends dancing onstage with pom-poms and bassist Steve/Sweet Baboo taking his shirt off to play the last song. Their set is a bit short of songs from debut ‘Yeah, so’, however, wellie-stomping ‘Giving Up On Love’ being the only one which seems a little bit of a shame. Perfume Genius follows, and what a heart-rending-ly beautiful set he provides. You can tell just how much Mike Hadreas connects with what he creates, and how much it means to him emotionally. The prime example is during ‘Mr. Peterson’, he himself cries just as much as many of the people in the audience. You would have to be pretty tough not to cry too. The atmosphere in the tent is spell-bound, the fragility and raw emotion in Hadreas’ voice and the delicate piano notes watched in absolute silence before being applauded enthusiastically. Hadreas is also incredibly humble (a really refreshing and appealing attribute), looking genuinely surprised when he said, several times, ‘I hadn’t expected this, thank you so much’ about the reception his beautiful songs received. We leave the set slightly emotionally bruised and a little bit breathless, with watery eyes and a feeling that we have just seen something incredibly special.

It does seem a little bit of a shame that the highlights of Headliner Paul Weller’s set are mostly songs by The Jam. However, he is not, as one smart arse near us claims ‘shit’, and even if he was, they are perfectly welcome to go and watch something else. Smoking endless cigarettes on stage, The Modfather does look just a bit, well, old. Too old for all this maybe. However, some songs from his new album ‘Sonik Kicks’ do go down well, especially ‘Dangerous Age’ with its doo-wap style vocals. When he does play the Jam, it’s fantastic, especially ‘Town Called Malice’, which gets everyone dancing.

Latitude was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, a beautiful site packed with countless activities and stalls and of course, the coloured sheep. The atmosphere was also incredibly friendly and not once did I feel unsafe, even when alone. This was topped off with an impressive line-up of music, comedy and literature. A really wonderful festival.


Words and Photos: Holly Read Challen

Bon Iver - Towers

It’s that time again. Time to listen to Justin Vernon’s voice and cry. Yeah, BON IVER TIME. Never do I feel such a conflict of emotion.

Bon Iver have released ‘Towers’, the latest single from sophomore self-titled album, which also sees the appearance of acclaimed pedal steel guitar player Greg Leisz. Not quite as heart-wrenching as previous releases (you know which song I’m hinting at), Towers is admittedly much more upbeat and ‘energetic’ (we’re talking about Bon Iver here) but the vocals of Vernon are still just as intimate and delicate and compliment the string section superbly. Interestingly, percussion is absent from the track until about two minutes in, and even then they’re only present for about thirty seconds before fading off into the distance, letting the focus return to those vocals.

A perfect song. I’ve stopped crying now. Honest… 

By Emily Arc

Sound Influx - Albums of 2011: Part 2 10 - 1

10. SBTRKT - SBTRKT



This debut by masked producer Aaron Jerome was dance music’s adrenaline shot in 2011. On it, is a variety of treats spanning many contrasting yet compelling ways of looking at music. There’s soulful crooning by Sampha on ‘Hold On’ and ‘Never Never’, warped forays into contemporary dubstep and Drum ‘N’ Bass influence on ‘Wildfire’ and ‘Sanctuary’ and even a straight up house banger ‘Pharaohs’. For a record that could easily have been a messy shambles, SBTRKT is lean, focused and incredibly precise in his production, and most importantly is engaging and often danceable from start to finish. By Toby McCarron

9. Friendly Fires - Pala

I don’t know about you but I’d say friendly fires where without a doubt the band that sound-tracked my summer. ‘Hawaiian Air’ in particular – which filled the air with some much needed summer spirit, we usually crave all year round. The album as a whole when released was nothing but refreshing and fun to say the least. Pala features vibrant dance tracks with Friendly Fires’ indie take on neon pop, particularly on songs like ‘Hurting’ and ‘Blue Cassette’. And to top it off lead singer Ed Macfarlane’s dancing over the festival session gave the band some extra gold stars from the crowds. But yes they may love a bit of cow bell; however Pala has been a huge stepping stone for the band as they re-emerged with a new colourful side. By Ailsa Morris

8. Fucked Up! - David Comes To Life



David Comes to Life manages the rare feat of being at once a ridiculously plotted rock opera about industrial sabotage and lost love in a northern mining town in the late 70’s and also one of the most shamelessly fists-aloft, life embracing albums ever made. It’s a testament to Fucked Up’s knowledge of working the hard graft that they could undertake a project so enormous in scale without losing an ounce of credibility. Not only did this result in the creation of a record 78(!) minutes in length but also an album of songs recorded by the band in the guise of numerous bands dwelling in the fictional town that the action is centred around. Throughout it’s 18 tracks, the album loses none of it’s velocity or power. The decision to drop The Other Shoe, a powerhouse that builds from a lone female voice to a crescendo of noise so overpoweringly wondrous that the listener is forced to simple relinquish their grip and embrace the totality of it, only fourth in the tracklisting shows the band had no fear about the unbridled energy that drips from every corner of the album. By Ned Powley

7. Slow Club - Paradise

Paradise is 11 perfectly crafted pop songs with pounding pianos, boy girl harmonies, dance inducing drum beats and the occasional saxophone solo. Sad lyrics about broken families, lovers that are hard to forget and the fact that "no-one really is a mystery" are accompanied by Rebecca’s dreamy voice to create something truly magical. Songs like "Two Cousins" and "Where I’m Waking" have the power to make you get up and dance. That not your thing? Well songs like "Earth, Air and Ash" could make you break down in tears. On paper "Paradise" sounds like there’s too much going on but it works so well and successfully pulls at the heartstrings whilst making you tap your feet. Slow Club proved everyone wrong with Paradise and shed themselves of their "twee" label. Paradise is Slow Club. By Eden Young

6. Yuck - Yuck

Mixing a typically indie sound with both grunge and pop, Yuck are a band like few others. Born out of the demise of Cajun Dance Party and adding a few members in, Yuck have formed a tight ship and created an album that’s slowly proved itself over time as one of the best crafted of the year. From the blissful heartbreak of Georgia to the painfully beautiful Rubber via the statement of intent that is Get Away, it’s an album that goes down well with a drink in the summer and at the same time doesn’t feel too out of place when it’s snowing due to the full sound of that guitar noise. Let’s hope that they stick around a little longer than their previous suggests and we might just have a genuine indie contender on our hands. By Braden Fletcher

5. Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain



Shrouded in mystery, WU LYF ’s approach to being "more than just a band" has been copied many times. The difference being that WU LYF, and only a couple of others, have managed to back it up with exciting music. ‘Go Tell Fire to the Mountain’ may have been overshadowed by some of the bigger releases of the year, but it should never ever be overlooked, especially considering its brilliance throughout. The incendiary howl of opener "L Y F" and the gang rebellion of "We Bros" flow seamlessly to the adolescent revolution of "Dirt" and the sonic explosion of closer "Heavy Pop". ‘Go Tell Fire to the Mountain’ contains blistering melodies, an abundance of references to fire and crowns, and choruses that should be shouted from rooftops. This is an album that has made music exciting again. By Calum Stephen

4. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Back in 2006, Justin Vernon secluded himself in a cabin in Wisconsin, in an attempt to "hibernate". Three months in solitude had created ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, beauty and anguish shown in every song. Five years later, ‘Bon Iver’ was released, and Justin Vernon seemed like a new man. From the opening 30 seconds of "Perth", it’s as if ‘Bon Iver’ would pick up where ‘For Emma…’ left off. But a military drum beat foreshadows what sounds like war, a frantic closing to the album’s opening track, one of many highlights. Vernon’s ability to write gorgeous vocal melodies is shown best in "Holocene" and "Michicant", both are breathtaking from start to finish. On the album’s closer "Beth/Rest" Vernon cites Bruce Hornsby as a major influence, the track containing ‘80s synthesizers and saxophones. ‘Bon Iver’ is a magnificent album, one that can be listened to countless times until Justin Vernon’s next release, which is an incredibly promising thought. By Calum Stephen

3. Battles - Gloss Drop

 After the departure of Tyondai Braxton from Battles, the first version of their second album had been scrapped as the newly trio went back to the drawing board and produced Gloss Drop, one of the most outside-of-the-box records this year. Featuring Kazu Makino, Gary Numan, Yamantaka Eye and Matias Aguayo, they’ve taken a similar approach to bands like Gorillaz who featured several prolific artists on Plastic Beach. Although without these collaborations, Konopka, Stanier and Williams each portray their musical idiosyncrasies with ease and that’s what makes Gloss Drop, as well as Battles, so loveable. Peppered with glitch, electronica and the obvious experimental instrumental elements, Gloss Drop manages to captivate throughout. Especially on ‘Futura’, showcasing an looping synth and Stanier’s beastly drumming skills that tide you over for just over 6 minutes without any sign of vocals and instead of the usual constant anxious waiting that often accompanies listening to an instrumental track, for the first time; you stop waiting and just enjoy the song. The experimental trio have proved that they’re so much more than ‘Atlas’, and for many people who were looking for the same of old, the album no doubt disappointed. By Aurora Mitchell

2. Wild Beasts - Smother

As Wild Beasts’ career has progressed, they’ve become even more grandiose and overly confusing to some. Although, to others, myself included, their crazily genius concepts and excessive naturalistic metaphors are endearing and make their music close to an art form. Smother embodies the concept of the word ‘smother’ and the two interpretations of which they decided to form the album around, the literal smothering, like that of a pillow and the kind of smothering you get from a feeling. The former inspired the artwork, designed by Matthew Cooper and Jason Evans, as it depicts different coloured feathers merging together and this theme has continued onto all of the singles taken from Smother. Thorpe’s crooning falsetto resonates throughout the album and surrounds itself like a warm bath around the smoothly flowing instrumental. Thorpe’s vocals are delivered precariously as if he’s over thinking the meaning, which reflects the lamented nature of the lyrics that feature on the album. Full of off-beat percussion, woozy synth loops and repeated guitar riffs, Smother is the perfect start point to get into Wild Beasts and a natural continuation from Two Dancers for already adoring fans. By Aurora Mitchell

1. Metronomy - The English Riviera

And so, our album of the year is the third album that shocked and delighted so many in 2011 from Devon resident/electronic visionary Joe Mount’s band Metronomy. Where second album Nights Out dealt in melodies in abundance and youthful energy, The English Riviera is sophisticated and grown up and a truly stunning listening experience created by Mount’s love of his upbringing on the Devon Coast. The best thing about the album is that there isn’t a single weak moment. There’s the trademark bouncy indie-pop Metronomy became known for on secret hit of the summer "The Look" and the exceptionally ludicrous yaucht-rock romp "The Bay". Yet there’s also the tender quirky love songs such the sultry "Loving Arm" and the boy/girl heart-warming tale of young love "Everything Goes My Way". Metronomy matured without losing their spirit, something many young bands right now can hope to aspire to, but good luck reaching this standard. By Toby Mccarron

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

This lovable rugged folk superstar has recently rubbed shoulders with rap phenomenon Kanye West and featured on his critically acclaimed album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'. After 'For Emma, Forever Ago', an ambiguous mind shattering debut effort from Justin Vernon, his music a luxurious muse on the heartbreak from his former relationship, 'Bon Iver' brings richer texture, building upon a musical platform that few musicians have accomplished before. Lead single 'Calgary' sees Justin abandon the trademark guitar and delight us with a dreamy, velvet synth which lulls you into a sleep like state. The comfort that Justin conveys in his music is incomparable to others in the folk genre. He offers an emotional palette to obedient ears so incredibly honest and mind blowing that it's impossible not to become completely infatuated with the record. His falsetto resounds clearer and commands all attention with the instrumental following his every move and not the other way around. 


The echoing guitars on 'Minnesota, WI' bring a jazz element to Bon Iver's predominantly folk style and the song evolves constantly, introducing a frequenting guitar riff and scuzzy drums in the background. The impossible thought crossing every music fan's minds, 'How can Bon Iver top For Emma, Forever Ago?', has been eternally answered. Although 'For Emma...' brought heartwrenching tales of lost love, 'Bon Iver' is pleasantly unexpected with a more uplifting approach to his increasingly popular music. Bon Iver has the ability to make those long awaited tears stuck in your eyes escape and open up your heart but he can also bring you hope that someday, you can use your negative emotions to produce pieces of art just as Justin Vernon has with his music.


9/10
By Aurora Mitchell