Live Review :: Liverpool Psych Fest - Day Two - Sep 27 2014

Liverpool Psych Fest (Day Two)

Camp & Furnace, Liverpool

September 26 - 27 2014

Words/Photos: Leanne Crowley

Following on from yesterday's activities, with a few sore heads and bleary eyes around, day two of Liverpool Psych Fest begins.

The Glass Moths start the day in the Blade Factory with what will be their last ever show; their Doors-esque organ driven sound is powerful and enchanting, and it will be a loss to not experience it again. Moving swiftly on to Camp, Temple Songs are delivering their breed of pop-punk style psych. Speaking to their label RIP Records afterwards, there is a change of name on the cards and the band are attempting to move away from the psych scene. Whether this comes to fruition remains to be seen, but given the reception here it seems unlikely thay fans will want to see them depart too much from their present course.

The staggering seven-member strong Sudden Death of Stars from France create a depth of sound that is jangly and charming. The sitar element is different from what has been presented so far, and they very quickly get the crowd on side even though it is still early in the day. Nueva Costa are strong and prescribed, but Welsh outfit Islet are the early stars of the day. Their blend of energy and madness on stage is mesmerising and the crowd are captivated.

Whistlejacket, who evidently thoroughly enjoyed their experience here, pack out the Blade Factory to present their cross of neo-psych and shoegaze. With submerged vocals and catchy guitar riffs and ever-driving drum beat, they do not disappoint and their execution is perfect. Whistlejacket are one of the bands to watch with the release of their debut EP not far away.

A band many have been poised to see are next up in Furnace: The Janitors. The Swedish outfit have been turning heads since their LP 'Drone Head' hit the scene in 2013, and their packed set lives up to expectation. Tracks from the new LP ‘Evil Doings Of An Evil Kind' turn heads, in particular ‘Greed' with its stance against fascism and capitalism. Speaking to percussionist Anders Thorell, he says the band were just pleased to be there as due to traffic on the journey north from the previous night's show in London, it looked touch and go at one point. He also praised the reaction of the crowd and thought that their set went well and they all enjoyed it.

The Lucid Dream - playing the festival for the third year running - take to the stage once more and, as always, proceed to blow the minds of those listening. Focusing mainly on tracks from the new album, the experience is interesting as it sees the band move in the new direction of strong dub hints and less vocal presence. Singer Mark Emmerson said that quite simply, "it was even better than last year".

Bed Rugs offer up another version of pop-punk psych, with swirly effected guitars dominating along with high toned vocals. In complete contrast comes Anthroprophh with their blend of electronic noise psych. The overall loudness of their set is enthralling and it appears that many in the crowd are quite simply awestruck by what they are experiencing here in Liverpool. ‘Crow With A Sore Throat' is the standout track of the set, and although somewhat of an unknown entity (despite being signed to Rocket Recordings), they have certainly gathered some new fans here tonight.

Closing the night are two acts who need no introducing. Firstly, it's Black Angels member Christian Bland with his solo project, The Revelators. Releasing their third album ‘The Unseen Green Obscene' this week, the band take to the stage and dominate. The sound is fantastic and the crowd is hard pushed to find fault in the set. Speaking to Christian after it is amazing to learn that on stage they couldn't actually hear themselves play and so were conscious of how the music was coming across. However, despite all that they loved the crowd reaction and had a lot of fun during the set.

Goat are the unmissable headline act of the festival and they take to stage shrouded in masks and mystery. The venue is full to capacity and even then there are those who have been locked outside from the set. Focusing on a perfect blend between debut album ‘World Music' and new release ‘Commune', they traverse the set fantastically. Highlights in the form of 'Words', 'Run To Your Mama' and 'Disco Fever' steal the show, but overall the set is perfect and since so many have waited such a long time to experience this, there is not a disappointed face to be seen in the room. They may not be to everyone's taste, and their bizarre costumes ruffle more than a few feathers, but no one can dispute that Goat can really put on a show.

As day two concludes and the festival draws to a close, there is no doubt it has been an overwhelming success. Bands and organisation have been superb, the facilities applaudable (even if they have now run out of beer), and the crowd have loved every single minute of it. Just another twelve months until the next Liverpool Psych Fest.