Frank YangNYC Popfest is wonderful for many reasons, not least of which is a built-in excuse to jet off to New York for the May long weekend. I did so back in 2009 when The Radio Dept. as headliners were enough to get me out to two nights, and while I was already planning on being in town this year regardless, the opportunity to see Allo Darlin’ – who were skipping Toronto on their tour in support of Europe after visiting last year – close the festival out was to be happily accepted.

The Sunday itinerary was a marathon of sorts, starting mid-afternoon and running into the night. I had other stuff to do that day so I only made it to Littlefield in time for the last four acts, starting with White Town. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because England’s Jyoti Mishra has had more worldwide hits than pretty much everyone else on the Popfest lineup – which is to say, one. “Your Woman” was a smash way back in 1997 and while to most White Town is the epitome of one-hit wonder, it was nice to see Mishra happily still making music and releasing records, his flukey brush with success achieved on his own terms. A funny and genial fellow, he performed solo and acoustic overtop pre-recorded backing tracks and proved to have equal facility with twee strummy pop and more electronic-based compositions and you know what? “Your Woman”? Solid tune.

I feel a bit ashamed that I hadn’t ever heard Leicstershire’s Wave Pictures before this evening, despite them having released double digits of albums – the latest being Long Black Cars, collaborated with the likes of Hefner and The Mountain Goats, and were touring with Allo Darlin’ for the past month. But better late than never, yeah? They came with all the hallmarks of good British indie-pop – clever lyrics, sharp melodies – but distinguished themselves with a few forays into crooning ballads and David Tattersall’s serious guitar chops. This isn’t a style of music that you’ll often hear guitarists step up and tear off an extended solo, but Tattersall’s leads were really stylish and interesting, and not just to other guitarists (I would hope). Excellent stuff, and I’ll be dipping my toe into their extensive discography soon enough.

Watching The Ladybug Transistor, I had a sudden sense of deja vu, and that’s because I saw them right here in New York – okay, Manhattan – on a whim back in 2009 at The Cake Shop. Since that show, they’d released a new album in Clutching Stems and though I haven’t heard it – I’ve only a very passing familiarity with their stuff – it was a good set, with their American-ness very much contrasting with the other acts’ British-ness, though not quite in the way you might expect. Their style of pop was very ornate and sophisticated while the other acts’ rawer, C86-ish roots was still evident. They closed their set with a dedication to Robin Gibb, who’d passed away earlier in the day, and in the process were the bearers of bad news to some fans who’d been sequestered away in this corner of Brooklyn all day. Alas.

Every time I’ve written up one of Allo Darlin’s records, the gist of it has been how despite their being an indie pop band, the strength of their songwriting comes from a wistful, melancholic streak. Which is all well and good, but fails to point out that the reason they still qualify as an indie pop band is because they’re a damn good indie-pop band live, what with the big, bouncy, hand clappy pop moves. Their set largely stuck to the uptempo notes of their two records – “Capricornia” and “The Polaroid Song” being highlights, as was Elizabeth Morris trading her ukulele for a Fender Mustang for a few songs of added rock power – and certainly made my night by playing both sides of last year’s “Darren” 7″, including their cover of The French’s “Wu Tang Clan” which I thought would have gotten more of a response from the New York audience, but maybe the Popfest crowd just isn’t down with the Wu. They did slow it down to open the encore with Morris playing the lovely “Tallulah” solo, but closed out on the highest of high notes with members of Wave Pictures and Ladybug Transistor’s Gary Olson subbing in for Monster Bobby on “Dreaming”.

The Hartford Courant interviews Allo Darlin’ and The Daily Reville checks in with Wave Pictures.

Photos: Allo Darlin’, The Ladybug Transistor, The Wave Pictures, White Town @ Littlefield – May 21, 2012
MP3: Allo Darlin’ – “My Heart Is A Drummer”
MP3: Allo Darlin’ – “Dreaming”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “Clutching Stems”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “Breaking Up On The Beat”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “Splendor In The Grass”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “The Reclusive Hero”
MP3: The Ladybug Transistor – “A Burial At Sea”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “People In My Sleep”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “Front From The Front”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “Notes For A Book On Buster Keaton”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “I Saw Your Hair Between The Trees”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “Long Island”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “We Sugared Our Apples”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “Chinese Takeaway”
MP3: The Wave Pictures – “Leave The Scene Behind”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “Capricornia”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “Tallulah”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “My Heart Is A Drummer”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “If Loneliness Was Art”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “Dreaming”
Video: Allo Darlin’ – “The Polaroid Song”
Video: The Ladybug Transistor – “Always On The Telephone”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Spaghetti”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Eskimo Kiss”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “If You Leave It Alone”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Blue Harbour”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Little Surprise”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Sweetheart”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “I Love You Like A Madman”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Just Like A Drummer”
Video: The Wave Pictures – “Strange Fruit For David”
Video: White Town – “Invisible Elastic”
Video: White Town – “Missing Her Again”
Video: White Town – “She’s A Lot Like You”
Video: White Town – “Cut Out My Heart”
Video: White Town – “Make The World Go Away”
Video: White Town – “Undressed”
Video: White Town – “Your Woman”

Belfast post-rock maniacs And So I Watch You From Afar will be at The Horseshoe on July 14, tickets $10.50 in advance.

MP3: And So I Watch You From Afar – “The Voiceless”

How do we know The xx have a new record in the can? They’ve announced an intimate North American tour that brings them to The Phoenix on July 28, tickets $30, on sale Friday. It counts as intimate because they could easily play a room three times that size; I mean really, they already have.

MP3: The xx – “Basic Space”

DIY has an interview with Saint Etienne, whose new album Words & Music By Saint Etienne is streaming in whole at NPR ahead of its release next week.

Stream: Saint Etienne / Words & Music By Saint Etienne

Interview talks to Dev Hynes of Blood Orange about his history with Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

Prefix talks to Hannah Thurlow of 2:54 about their plans to conquer North America with their self-titled debut, out May 29 release. They play Lee’s Palace on June 15 as part of NXNE.

Hot Chip have released a new video from the forthcoming In Our Heads, out June 12. They’re at The Sound Academy on July 15.

Video: Hot Chip – “Night & Day”

J Spaceman of Spiritualized details a life of musical influences for Pitchfork.

Carl von ArbinIf you require an introduction to We Are Serenades – which you probably do – then let it be known that they are the collaborative project of Swedes Adam Olenius, whom you may know as frontman of of Shout Out Louds, and Markus Krunegard, who led an outfit called Laakso. If the latter doesn’t mean that much to you, that’s reasonable as I don’t think they made it overseas at all, and really, Shout Out Louds is really the only reference point you really need for We Are Serenades’ (who were called just “Serenades” until earlier this year) debut Criminal Heaven.

Olenius and Krunegard make a point of singing together across most of the tracks, but Olenius’ faintly Robert Smith-y delivery largely defines the vocals and guest vocals from fellow Shout-er Out Loud Bebban Stenborg, most notably on “Daydreaming”, only serve to make proceedings that much more familiar for fans of the outfit. Musically, it’s more of a stylistic hodge-podge with nods to the electro-, orch-, acoustic-, and power- varietals of pop music but the pastiche largely works in favour of the greater whole. As it’s culled from across a few years of writing and recording sessions during the downtime from their main gigs, it was probably a better idea to simply pull together the strongest selections rather than craft a more cohesive statement. Yeah, it may listen more like a compilation than am album but it’s a good listen and will scratch that certain itch until the next Shout Out Louds record comes along.

We Are Serenades are bringing Criminal Heaven to North America for a Spring tour and will be at The Garrison in Toronto on Monday, May 14. Tickets are $10 in advance but courtesy of Embrace, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Serenades” in the subject line and your full name in the body and have that in to me before midnight, May 9.

MP3: We Are Serenades – “Birds”
MP3: We Are Serenades – “Oceans”
Video: We Are Serenades – “Birds”
Video: We Are Serenades – “Oceans”
Video: We Are Serenades – “Come Home”
Stream: We Are Serenades / Criminal Heaven

Reunions/hiatus-ends are usually trumpeted with press releases/press conferences so that the whole world knows, but I had no idea The Cardigans were back in action until seeing this interview with Nina Persson at The Guardian. It’s just some Scandinavian (and one Russian and two Japanese) festivals where they’ll be performing all of 1998’s Gran Turismo with no promises of further activity when it’s all done, but the idea of The Cardigans as an active concern, even in limited capacity, makes me happy.

The Quietus talks to Ane Brun; her record It All Starts With One is out tomorrow and she’s in town at The Great Hall on May 10.

A second taste of Sigur Rós’ forthcoming Valtari is available as a streamed BBC radio rip; the album is out May 29 and they play Echo Beach on August 1.

Stream: Sigur Rós – “Varúð”

The Guardian and Irish Times are doing their bit to get people excited about the new Richard Hawley record Standing At The Sky’s Edge, with The Guardian augmenting their feature interview with a stream of the album. It’s out May 7.

Stream: Richard Hawley / Standing At The Sky’s Edge

The Line Of Best Fit offers a precis of an interview with Kevin Shields in the pages of the latest Mojo wherein he offers more concrete information on the alleged new My Bloody Valentine album and EP which could be out before the end of the year. The Loveless, Isn’t Anything, and EP’s 1988-1991 remasters are out May 7.

DIY chats with The Cribs about their new record In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull, out May 15.

Maxïmo Park are streaming the new single from their forthcoming The National Health, out June 11.

Stream: Maxïmo Park – “Hips And Lips”

NPR is streaming a World Cafe session with Michael Kiwanuka. He plays The Great Hall on June 19.

The New York Times talks to Dev Hynes about the new, first-person shooter Blood Orange video for “Champagne Coast” from Coastal Grooves.

Video: Blood Orange – “Champagne Coast”

DIY talks to Gerard Love of Lightships.

Magnet Q&As The Twilight Sad as the Scots prepare to take the editorial reins of the magazine’s website this week and fill it with all kinds of doom, gloom, and comic books.

eMusic explores the discography of XTC.

Frank YangWords to go with the first afternoon spent in sunny Austin can be found over here.

Blouse
– Portland dream-pop outfit indebted to the ’80s who released their self-titled debut last Fall and will be at The Garrison on May 5 opening for Bear In Heaven.

Photos: Blouse @ Shangri-La – March 14, 2012
MP3: Blouse – “Into Black”
Video: Blouse – “Ghost Dream”
Video: Blouse – “Videotapes”
Video: Blouse – “Into Black”
Stream: Blouse / Blouse

Niki & The Dove
– After months of buzz-building, the Swedish electro-pop duo who echo any and all of Kate Bush, The Knife and Lykke Li are ready to release their debut album Instinct on May 14. Daytrotter just posted a session with the band and another of their SXSW performances at the Hype Hotel can be watched in full at Livestream.

Photos: Niki & The Dove @ Flamingo Cantina – March 14, 2012
MP3: Niki & The Dove – “The Fox”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Fox”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “DJ Ease My Mind”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “Mother Protect”
Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Drummer”
Stream: Niki & The Dove / The Drummer

La Sera
– Side-project from Vivian Girls bassist Kickball Katy – aka Katy Goodman – that treads the same real estate but gets out of the garage and cleans itself up a bit; their second album Sees The Light was just released. Austinist has an interview.

Photos: La Sera @ Red 7 Patio – March 14, 2012
MP3: La Sera – “Please Be My Third Eye”
MP3: La Sera – “Never Come Around”
MP3: La Sera – “Break My Heart”
Video: La Sera – “Real Boy/Drive On”
Video: La Sera – “Please Be My Third Eye”
Video: La Sera – “Never Come Around”
Video: La Sera – “Devil Hearts Grow Cold”

Widowspeak
– Country-gaze that melts in your ears thanks to the vocals of Molly Hamilton; their self-titled debut almost makes the return of Mazzy Star unneecssary.

Photos: Widowspeak @ Red 7 Patio – March 14, 2012
MP3: Widowspeak – “Harsh Realm”
MP3: Widowspeak – “Gun Shy”

Korallreven
– Radio Dept. offshoot that proves via their debut album An Album By Korallreven that chillwave from Sweden doesn’t sound too different from chillwave made domestically, just with better guest vocalists. There’s interviews at Gapers Block, Prefix, We Love DC, and The Village Voice.

Photos: Korallreven @ Red 7 – March 14, 2012
MP3: Korallreven -“Sa Sa Samoa” (featuring Julianna Barwick)
MP3: Korallreven – “As Young As Yesterday” (featuring Victoria Bergsman)
MP3: Korallreven – “Honey Mine” (featuring Victoria Bergsman)
Video: Korallreven – “The Truest Faith”
Video: Korallreven – “Sa Sa Samoa”
video: Korallreven – “As Young As Yesterday”

Blood Orange
– Former Lightspeed Champion making bedroom funk-soul for the masses via his debut album Coastal Grooves.

Photos: Blood Orange @ The Mohawk Patio – March 14, 2012
MP3: Blood Orange – “Dinner”
MP3: Blood Orange – “Sutphin Boulevard”
MP3: Blood Orange – “Champagne Coast”
Video: Blood Orange – “Forget It”
Video: Blood Orange – “Sutphin Boulevard”
Video: Blood Orange – “Dinner”
Video: Blood Orange – “S’Cooled”
Video: Blood Orange – “I’m Sorry We Lied”

Clock Opera
– London-based quartet who’ve moved from doing remixes for others to making arena-sized electro-rock for themselves. Their debut full-length Ways To Forget comes out April 23.

Photos: Clock Opera @ The Mohawk – March 14, 2012
MP3: Clock Opera – “Once And For All”
MP3: Clock Opera – “Belongings” (live at Maida Vale)
Video: Clock Opera – “Man Made”
Video: Clock Opera – “Once And For All” (2012)
Video: Clock Opera – “Lesson No. 7”
Video: Clock Opera – “Belongings”
Video: Clock Opera – “Once And For All”
Video: Clock Opera – “White Noise”

Frank YangOstensibly, SXSW is a festival meant to expose new music to the world and vice versa, so the fact that I’d spent the past evening and afternoon seeing established artists – I think Springsteen counts as established – rather than seeking out something new wasn’t lost on me. So the festival’s Friday night was devoted wholly to discovery. Onwards!

Los Angeles’ Tashaki Miyaki are working the “mysterious” angle, declining to offer information about their identities – she sings and drums and goes by Lucy, he plays guitar and is called Rocky and at Latitude 30 they were joined by an unnamed bassist/vocalist – and letting the music speak for them. I’d briefed myself with their debut EP on the way down to Austin and was led to expect some lo-fi, fuzzy garage pop but live, they were much cleaner and more precise with the vocals more up front, the harmonies intricate and the guitars reminiscent of Neil Young at his Crazy Horsiest. Their debts to The Velvet Underground are obvious – “If Not For You” is basically “Sweet Jane” – but they spend it in a boutique dealing in ’90s shoegaze. Despite looking, um, great, they weren’t the most charismatic outfit and are operate in a pretty clearly defined niche – it just happens to be my niche.

The longer you go to SXSW, the more venues show up on your no-go list; some rooms are just terrible for seeing a show. Of course, that the rooms seem to change names every year or so makes it difficult to maintain said list – it has happened that I’ve gone to what I thought was a new room and discovered it was an old hated room, Vice/Exodus I’m looking in your direction – but rarer is finding the same name in a different location. So it was that I gave Karma Lounge another shot, seeing as how it was no longer a gross upper level on 8th St but a new (?) street-level bar on 5th. So of course when I got there, everyone was dancing to Ginuwine. Maybe ironically. I don’t know. The point of this story is also unclear to me. But I was there, I was a bit confused and I was waiting for New York’s Fort Lean, whom I’d not heard but had heard good things about. And once they got underway, they were fine but not especially inspiring. The musicianship was impressive and there was clearly lots of ideas and creativity at work, with a base of old school rock’n’roll and jazzy/r&b flourishes to the vocals, but the songs seemed to lack passion. It’s not something that I’d say was specific to Fort Lean but is rather endemic in American indie rock nowadays. Wonder what things are like in, oh, Norway?

Well if Razika, playing the Iron Bear not far from where the original Karma Lounge was, were any indication, ska-pop is much more in vogue in Bergen – at least amongst the early-20’s girl-band set. Okay, probably not a good sample group but still a fun time. They were playing their seventh and final show in three days and despite being justifiably and visibly tired, they mustered up the energy for a strong finish. They played simple, bouncy pop tunes – clean and strummy without a distortion pedal in sight – and though the Norwegian half of their bilingual set was incomprehensible to me, the singalong qualities were pretty clear – you don’t need Google Translate for “whoa whoa whoa”. Basic but plenty likeable, even beyond the foreign novelty factor.

Here’s a thing about SXSW – where else can you see two young Norwegian bands, back to back, in different venues? Besides in Norway, that is. Post-Razika, I hoofed it back to the chaos of 6th St to see Oslo’s Team Me, whose debut To The Treetops! had gotten a worldwide release at the end of February. The musical gang of exuberant youths angle isn’t any new thing – every country seems to have at least a few – but if you were to put Team Me into a Hunger Games/Battle Royale scenario against, say, Los Campesinos!, I would give the edge to the Norwegians and not just because they come from Viking stock. Like their peers, they specialized in amped up twee-pop that made it feel like a drag to be old, but they managed to keep things on the right side of the enthusiastic/annoying line throughout the course of their set. I’d only heard their EP before arriving in Austin so I was pleased to hear by way of the unfamiliar material that they’d already matured in the songwriting department from those tunes. It’s to their credit that the irresistible fun of their performance was able to get me to shelve my, “I’ve seen/heard this before” reservations and just enjoy it.

Minnesota’s Howler came into the festival with a pretty good head of hype behind them – mostly thanks to the enthusiasm of the UK music press – and were perhaps even ready for the backlash stage of the media cycle; I get the sense that some would have been perfectly happy for them to fall flat during SXSW so they could play the “overrated” card. That backlash may yet happen, but it wouldn’t be because of their official showcase back at Latitude 30. They looked a combination of stylishly tousled and lazily disheveled but didn’t come with any sort of pretense – the Strokes comparisons they’re frequently saddled with certainly didn’t extend that far. Instead, they were exactly what they purported to be – five young men with a sharp if occasionally sophomoric sense of humour and a propensity for writing and playing good rock music and having a blast doing it. They blew through their 30-minute set with gusto and no small amount of anarchy – more than you might expect from their debut America Give Up and largely thanks to the axe flailing – meant in the best way – of lead guitarist Ian Nygaard. Despite liking the record, I counted myself somewhat skeptical heading into the show – consider me convinced. Howler play The Drake Underground on April 5.

The venue went from Brit-beloved to Brit-bred for the final act of the night, 2:54. Led by a pair of sisters, the four-piece has been framed as a dreampop/shoegazey kind of band but really, they’re more aggressively seductive than dreamy, with dark, goth-y tones. Lead guitarist Hannah Thurlow might prefer to examine her shoes than put on a show, but guitarist-vocalist Colette Thurlow has no problem making eye contact and holding it, all with a bit of a snarl; certainly more Siouxsie than Slowdive. I could do with a little more melody and less moodiness in their sound, but with the band having just signed with Fat Possum for the North American release of their self-titled debut on May 28, I’ll probably be hearing more of them either way.

See? All new bands on Friday night. Get off my case.

Elsewhere: Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard have reconvened as Dead Can Dance and are targeting a Summer release for a new record. So confident are they that this will be the case, that they’ve booked a North American tour – their first in some seven years – for late Summer that includes an August 23 date at the Sony Centre in Toronto, with tickets at the $49.50, $67.50, and $99.50 price points.

Video: Dead Can Dance – “The Carnival Is Over”

Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine tells NME that there may some sort of collaboration with Dev Hynes of Blood Orange in the works. Blood Orange is opening up some of her dates this Summer, though not August 2 at The Molson Amphitheatre.

eMusic and The AV Club chat with David Gedge of The Wedding Present. They’re at The Horseshoe on Sunday night, March 25.

So those My Bloody Valentine remasters/reissues that have been promised since the band reunited four years ago but have been constantly pushed back? Well DIY reports that they’re finally really truly going to come out on May 7, and in addition to the double-disc sets of Loveless and Isn’t Anything, there’ll be a third release entitled EP’s 1988-1991 which, as the name cryptically implies, collects the EPs and singles of the era as well as some unreleased material. I guess we may as well believe it will happen because it doesn’t really make a difference if we don’t.

Video: My Bloody Valentine – “Soon”

Whilst we’re back in the UK of the ’90s, let’s meet up with PopMatters who’ve a piece on the greatness of Swervedriver and another one that celebrates the 20th anniversaries this month of The Charlatans’ Between 10th and 11th and Ride’s Going Blank Again. Twenty. Yes. Old. You. Me. All.

Taking the noise-pop and eading back to Norway, Drowned In Sound talks to The Megaphonic Thrift, who’ve just released their second self-titled album last week.

Stream: The Megaphonic Thrift – “Raising Flags”
Video: The Megaphonic Thrift – “Moonstruck”

The Village Voice and The New York Daily News profile First Aid Kit, in town at The Great Hall on April 4.

eMusic talks to the founders of the great Swedish label Labrador. Who’d have guessed that a desire to not sign Stars would lead to their “Swedes only!” roster policy!

Frank YangAs something of a SXSW veteran – eight years, now – one thing I try to explain to the newbs heading down to the big Texan throwdown is that there’s simply so much happening at any given time that it’s a mathematical certainty that you’re missing something great. So don’t sweat it, enjoy what you’re at and don’t try to do too much or it will cost you not far down the road. I think it’s good advice, and for the first proper day of the festival, it’s advice I probably should have taken.

But then it’s just so easy to see stuff. Wednesday started out on the east end at Shangri-La for Portland’s Blouse, even though their electro-pop was probably better suited to post-midnight moods rather than the bright noontime sun, they made it work. The four-piece actually sounded better than I’d have expected based on some live performance videos I’d seen – tighter and more precise. They were as icy as you’d want but smooth and deliberate, and seemed more comfortable live than their origins as a studio project might have led you to expect.

With Swedes Niki & The Dove being one of the hotter and busier acts going into SXSW, I thought I might have some trouble getting in to see them. But the nice thing about 1:30PM is that a lot of people are still asleep and/or hung over, which made getting into their Under The Radar showcase much easier than I expected. As was evident from the abbreviated set I saw in Iceland, the duo had star quality in spades and within the first three songs, demonstrated their command of pop, dance and balladry all while maintaining a consistent sound reminiscent of a bedazzled, electro-pop Kate Bush. Their debut album Instinct, out May 14, should be big.

I know that set times are no sure thing – particularly for day shows – but it’s always annoying when someone gets bumped on the order of hours. So upon getting to The Mohawk and seeing that Blood Orange got moved back two hours, plan B went into effect and doubled back to Red 7’s patio. Seeing La Sera wasn’t part of that plan but was a pretty good bit of luck as it turns out I like them more than Vivian Girls. Having never been a real Vivian Girls fan, I probably needed the reminding that Katy Goodman can sing and she can write and – as turned out to be necessary – she can recover from an self-immolating bass amp. Good, light-hearted pop songs and big smiles.

But they were just a warm-up for Widowspeak, whom I had come to regret missing on their visit to Toronto last Fall. The sweet shyness of their self-titled debut came across with much more coyly, even playfully, in the live setting thanks to Molly Hamilton’s magnetic presence and glowing smile. It was quite a contrast to their labelmates Blouse whom I started the day with; warmth versus detachment, honey versus ice. Both delicious in their way but Widowspeak really hit the spot.

Korallreven was on my schedule by virtue of being a Radio Dept. offshoot – they share keyboardist Daniel Tjäder on their rosters – but I didn’t really plan on making an effort to see them, they were more of a safety. But when they’re starting to play the moment you enter the room – I had to cut through the Red 7 inside room to leave – you may as well check them out. The presence of live instrumentation and a singer made me hope the live show would be more focused than their An Album By Korallreven, which I filed largely under pretty but hazy chillwave. And while it sounded alright – there was definitely more immediacy to it all – it was still pretty low key in delivery. I stuck around for a bit then headed back to re-engage plan A at The Mohawk.

When Dev Hynes – aka Blood Orange – started his set, just singing overtop pre-recorded backing tracks – I kind of hoped that there were some in the audience who were unfamiliar with him ready to dismiss him as some kind of karaoke act; that would have make their inevitable jaw drop when he picked up his guitar that much more delicious. As demonstrated when he came through Toronto last October, Hynes makes the one-man show far more dynamic and engaging than anyone could expect, ripping guitar solo after guitar solo between crooning funk-soul verses be it from the stage or in the audience. Blood Orange may have begun as a bedroom studio project, but rather than abandon that aesthetic to bring Coastal Grooves to the stage, he’s instead brought the stage into his bedroom – with sexy results.

I’d meant to save London’s Clock Opera – one of last year’s discoveries – for later in the week, but they were playing the inside room of The Mohawk right then and there so… yeah. May as well. And if there was any acts that I’d be fine with seeing multiple time over the festival, they were one. It turned out to not be quite then and there as their set was delayed with soundchecking – their electro-rock , but when they got underway it was mostly all good. Mostly, because the material they opened with – presumably new songs from Ways To Forget, out April 23 – wasn’t as immediate as the singles that had built their buzz over the past year, but by the time their set wrapped with the trio of “Once And For All”, “Belongings” and “Lesson No. 7” the energy was definitely there. Net terms, it wasn’t as anthemically triumphant as past shows I’d seen but that made a good excuse to see them again later in the week – maybe they’d have found their groove or maybe they’d be burnt out. We would see. Though with seven bands in the first afternoon, odds were that I’d be the one burnt out.