CARDIFF PSYCH & NOISE FEST | LIVE REVIEW
Womanby Street, Cardiff, Fri 25-Sun 27 May
The May bank holiday weekend saw the first Cardiff Psych & Noise Fest, which promised a diverse range of sounds with an eclectic lineup of local and national, new and established acts. The festival was the brainchild of The Moon venue, but also featured sets in Clwb Ifor Bach, Tiny Rebel and the Blue Honey Night Cafe.
The weekend started with a free opening night at The Moon. Being a free opening night, it was hard to tell who was there for the weekend and who was just wandering in, thus to get a sense of how it would go down. Starting early were Flowers For Freaks, who got things off to a good start with a nostalgic retro sound. Coming on just after six meant the audience wasn’t too big, but had begun to grow by the time Soundwire [left] hit the stage and picked up where FFF left off with a spaced-out, trippy sound. Rounding off the night were Cardiff’s Gindrinker, whose woolly jumper-clad frontman shouted with punk rock vitriol and then topped it all off by playing a bit of cornet, ending the first night in a suitably odd fashion.
Saturday got off to a roaring start with the punk rock intensity of Die! Chihuahua Die!. An early start means a small crowd again, but those that did turn up early were treated to a lively racket, with a frontman who spent the set in the audience ranting at the small but energetic crowd.
Blue Honey’s intimate upstairs space saw singer-songwriter Saccharyn played an acoustic set of her own songs, including a Chris Isaak cover, which went down well with the crowd. At Tiny Rebel, things were back in order with a thundering set of sludge from drum/bass duo Vails. Bands with a limited setup tend to run low on ideas but the Swansea outfit kept things fresh with some effects pedals and an infectious energy. Over in Clwb Ifor, Kayla Painter brought a set of dark moody ambience, playing from in between two giant screen projections. Abstract shapes moved around hypnotically as we only saw her in silhouette. It’s a welcome bit of calm – if unnerving – music at an otherwise noisy fesival.
Back in the Moon, nobody is quite prepared for Cattle [left]. Composed of a drummer, another drummer with half a kit, a bassist, a guy with electronic gear and a vocalist who plays in the crowd, the band proceed to just about tear the roof off the place. The crowd love the set so much it seems to have been extended, as the frontman at one point seems to bargain with the guy on the mixing desk to let them go on a little longer. They undoubtedly proved a hard act to follow: as Thee MVPs take the stage, the crowd thins out with people still reeling from what they just saw. Their punky indie goes down OK, but it feels like the eye of the storm before the night closes with Part Chimp. Playing sludgy noiserock at a dangerously loud volume, people who file into the club beside the stage frantically cover their ears having no idea what they’ve just walked into. Part Chimp’s riffs are so big you can physically feel each pounding rhythm; they’re impossible to ignore and brought Saturday to an ideal close.
Sunday would have a lot to live up to, and things get off to a modest start at The Moon with some decent indie from Hippodrone. Again, an early start means a small crowd, which while letting you stand wherever you want, can give sets an awkward atmosphere – especially when a band are really giving it their all. Over at Tiny Rebel, the ‘noise’ part of the fest’s name is taken about as literally as it gets with Pathogenesis, a solo project played on various equipment arranged on the floor. Playing vocal samples backed by harsh static drones, and occasionally picking up some chains and using them as another instrument, it’s an acquired taste for sure, and easy to dismiss as aimless and random. If Pathogenesis’ equipment malfunctioned during the set you wonder if anyone would notice, since malfunctioning equipment is essentially the sound he’s going for. Luckily, the crowd appreciated it.
Luckily, too, there’s more to The Girl Sweat Pleasure Temple Ritual Band than a silly sounding moniker. The seven members are clad in red robes, with a frontman that resembles Jesus. Their stoner psychedelia, if sometimes a tad repetitive, goes over well with the Moon crowd. Elsewhere Knifedoutofexistence brought more noise to Tiny Rebel and Quodega brought an interesting instrumental mix of post- and math-rock to Clwb Ifor Bach. Ed Schrader’s Music Beat came all the way from Baltimore to play at The Moon, and the sparse attendance didn’t get things off to a good start. The duo stood out as an oddity among the lineup, mixing scattered electronic beats with poppy influences, and a frontman who could easily front Tears For Fears if he wanted. They put on a lively performance however, and by the end more people came in to dance along.
The Moon had really filled out by the time Thought Forms [top] start, and with good reason. Their brand of shoegazey alternative rock kept the crowd captivated as the night was nearing its end. We finished with the eardrum-obliterating Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs [above left] who arrived on stage to an eager crowd. Bathed in a red light they proceeded to pummel the audience with relentless slabs of sludgy riffage. With songs that often last well over 10 minutes, each track was an epic assault on the senses that just kept on going. It was one of the most intense live shows I’ve seen, and it brought the weekend to a perfect close. If this first outing was any indication this will be a festival to watch out for in the future.
words MATT LEE photos NOEL GARDNER