Emma Way and Josh Williams hotfoot around Cardiff city centre to catch the great, the good, the up and the coming on the chockablock bill for Swn Festival’s big 2022 comeback.

GEORGE O’HANLON

Jacob’s Café, Sat 22 Oct

It’s a chilled vibe in Jacob’s Café this Saturday afternoon as Surrey singer-songwriter George O’Hanlon takes the stage, providing a solid set of soft indie bangers drawing from the likes of Sam Fender and Thom Yorke in terms of influences. An enjoyable and promising performance from O’Hanlon. JOSH WILLIAMS

PRIESTGATE

Jacob’s Backroom, Sat 22 Oct

Rocking up with a literal howl from frontman Rob Schofield, Priestgate provide a sensational 30-minute set, with Schofield an absolute natural onstage and off – prowling the crowd and thrusting his mic stand. Their brand of anthemic, new wave-tinged postpunk is brilliant, with recent single Some Things Never Change sounding instantly massive in Jacob’s back room alongside cuts from their Eyes Closed For The Winter EP earlier this year. It’s wonderfully chaotic on the tiny stage, but the Driffield five-piece make it work. JOSH WILLIAMS

GURRIERS

Fuel Rock Club, Sat 22 Oct

Another band from Dublin’s burgeoning alt scene that’s seen the likes of For Those I Love and The Murder Capital (the latter who played Sŵn in 2019) burst into life, Gurriers waste zero time in showing Fuel just what they’re all about. Whirring guitars and big alt-punk tunes come from the stage and they absolutely hit the spot. JOSH WILLIAMS

PLASTIC MERMAIDS

Clwb Ifor Bach, Sat 22 Oct

Watching Isle Of Wight natives Plastic Mermaids, it’s hard to place their sound in a sentence: the quintet make up intertwining synth pulses, samples, effect-packed harmonies, fuzzy guitar passages and booming rhythms, together they make up a melding of voices and influences. The result: an uplifting, high-energy cinematic set. Compositions building from the crackling of a whisper to great heights, Plastic Mermaids assemble a performance equal to a masterclass in self-produced, modern day pop hits. JOSH WILLIAMS

SNIFFANY & THE NITS

The Moon, Sat 22 Oct

Starting with an interactive line check – “and a bit more vocals out front… apparently” quips frontperson Sniffany – the London punks provide a positively unhinged set to a very sweaty Moon. They are brilliantly off-kilter drawing more and more punters in with their brand of punk to the point where even the sides are full by the end of their set. JOSH WILLIAMS

PLASTIC ESTATE

Clwb Ifor Bach, Sat 22 Oct

Cardiff’s own Plastic Estate are downstairs at Clwb Ifor Bach this evening, providing an enjoyable yet slightly middling set of 80s-infused alternative synthpop. Their slightly dreamy soundscapes sound impressive at times, but can’t help but fall ever so slightly flat on a Saturday night filled with amazing acts. JOSH WILLIAMS

WALT DISCO

Clwb Ifor Bach, Sat 22 Oct

“Stuck in the past, you lost yourself there…” sing Glasgow’s most glam, Walt Disco, on Cut Your Hair. They’ve recieved Bowie and Bolan comparisons with their playful, rock and roll delivery, but if this lyric tells you anything, it’s a focus on the future and Walt Disco’s place in it. The band took no time in making the stage their own. Faced with a packed crowd upstairs at Clwb Ifor Bach, lead vocalist James Potter jumped across the stage and from the bass drums in pursuit of a commanding live show, drummer Jack Martin rising from kit to mic to perform alongside James for a number. With the use of synths and hyper-imaginative soundcraft, Walt Disco’s set is metallic, classic and exhilarating from start to finish. EMMA WAY

BABY DAVE

Fuel, Sat 22 Oct

Former Slaves frontman Isaac Holman’s new project Baby Dave is over at Fuel on this fine Saturday night. Mostly gone is the raw punk energy of Slaves, replaced by a smoother reggae and ska vibe from Holman. The only hint of Holman’s former band is the end of Robert which went off so much that Holman needed “a sit down” afterwards. Gen Z Baby, Holman explains, is about Holman’s slightly younger girlfriend and was written on a £30 keyboard bought on a day out with her four-year-old daughter while 29, with its refrain of “I need a piss,” was written on a bus – both are highlights of a solid set. JOSH WILLIAMS

JOE & THE SHITBOYS

The Moon, Sat 22 Oct

Saturday night is a sudden burst into oblivion as Faroe Islands noise makers Joe & The Shitboys command the Moon’s packed floor as if it was their born right to do so. The punk trio (one man down due to bassist Ollie’s shattered shoulder) deliver fast-paced, short-lived numbers characterised by distortion, thunderous drums and politically relevant shouts not from the stage, but the pit itself. Lead vocalist Joe stays within the crowd’s grasps the whole set, pulling his mic cable to its limits. Like a conductor of electricity, he hands his microphone over, audience members happily answering his yells with their own. Speaking up on topics of sexism, global warming and the meat industry, the band’s short, punchy lines are unmistakably purposeful and as the set closes there’s a clear skin feeling and a rejuvenation present from everyone who witnessed, chucked themselves about a bit and shouted their lungs out. EMMA WAY

PEANESS

Jacob’s Backroom, Sun 23 Oct

Chester’s finest indie trio Peaness, armed with the addition of touring keyboardist Nikki Noodles, are up in Jacob’s  playing cuts from their debut album World Full Of Worry along with highlights from earlier EPs, such as Oh George and the brilliant Kaizen. But it’s album closer Sad Song that hits the spot, as bassist Jess reveals it was written about drummer Rachel and Rachel’s ex-boyfriend. A lovely Sunday afternoon highlight from the four peas of Peaness. JOSH WILLIAMS

TOM JENKINS

O’Neill’s, Sun 23 Oct

Up at O’Neill’s, Pontypridd boy and former Straight Lines frontman Tom Jenkins provides an enjoyable experience with his soft melodic songwriting and beautiful storytelling. The highlight comes in the form of When The Coal Dust Settled (written about Jenkins’ hometown), striking in its lyrical poetry. Jenkins informs the crowd his next Cardiff gig is at the Principality Stadium, as part of the WRU’s Fanzone during the forthcoming Wales v New Zealand game – so a bit of a change from O’Neill’s on a rainy Sunday afternoon – nonetheless, in this environment it’s just what the doctor ordered. JOSH WILLIAMS

SHOW DOGS

Fuel Rock Club, Sun 23 Oct

Performing at Fuel in matching green boilersuits, Show Dogs deliver bluesy, harmony-boosted indie-rock. Their festival set precedes debut EP Y Wladychda (A Trilogy), which includes most recent single Hollywood Stole My Life – a track voicing frustration regarding tax-free filming in Wales. The room is packed as audience members rush over from Jacob’s Market and Clwb, and they receive well-intentioned, relevant politics (also including the dumping of sewage into Welsh water and disordered eating in the touring industry, touched on in Vacuum Food) soaked in the sunshine of 60s-style jangly guitars and layered pop melodies. EMMA WAY

BUGGS

The Moon, Sun 23 Oct

South-east London four-piece Buggs grace The Moon’s stage on Sunday evening. Expressive, melodic and humorous, the band’s 2020 cut Nick Gowland is a song to a bully, trapped inside a slow-beat, indie rock number for the rest of his days. Flaws is a lockdown-induced introspection, washed with self-analysis. The group’s vocal harmonies are stacked lightly and stay impactful throughout. The low, encountering ceiling might have felt like it’s caving in for them, but the band’s grungy, indie rock cuts look to take them a long way. I just can’t wait to hear the next steps. EMMA WAY

VLURE

Clwb Ifor Bach, Sun 23 Oct

The room goes dark as Prodigy classic Omen blares and Vlure take the stage to provide an instant high energy set mostly comprising of tracks from their recent Euphoria EP. “WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING CARDIFF?!” shouts frontman Hamish Hutcheson, “WE ARE V-FUCKING-LURE AND WE’VE COME FROM GLASGOW TO CARDIFF TO BE WITH YOU TODAY!” adorned in just tracksuit bottoms, sunglasses, and a bucket hat. The Scots provide an intense rave of big bold electronic dance, seemingly inspired by the likes of Underworld (particularly on Euphoria’s title track) with a postpunk edge. It’s one of the best sets of the weekend and leaves many wanting more. JOSH WILLIAMS

ME REX

The Moon, Sun 23 Oct

Signed to the Big Scary Monsters label, I’ve wanted to catch a Me Rex show for some time, and this was very much a right place, right time situation. Incorporating multi-layered vocal parts from all three members, guitar tapping and a cover of Daniel Bedingfield’s Gotta Get Thru This, Me Rex are engaging, timekeeping, multi-instrumental wizards. Lead vocalist, guitarist and keys player Myles McCabe is commander of the ship even from a stool: his back is shot but the show continues, kicking out into the air mid-guitar passage. Packing in harmonies, rhythms and busy melodies, Me Rex are bare-souled, balancing mature, carefully crafted compositions with the edge of a contrasting younger self. EMMA WAY

Swn Festival, Cardiff city centre, Sat 22 + Sun 23 Oct 2022

words EMMA WAY / JOSH WILLIAMS photos NADINE BALLANTYNE / ASHLEA BEA / JAMIE CHAPMAN / NOEL GARDNER / DAVID GRIFFITHS