Southsea Festival is arguably one of the best one-day festivals out there. With a huge variety of acts, big names and small names alike and a staggeringly tiny price tag– it’s really little wonder why Team 7bit keep going back year after year.
Kassassin Street
The Kings Theatre is a venue that quite easily lends an impressive air to all the shows that it hosts during Southsea Festival. Not that local band Kassassin Street need any help in putting on an impressive show– they’re already well versed. Within seconds of debut single ‘Royal Handkerchief Ballet‘ beginning, the crowd are up and on their feet dancing and don’t stop throughout the set. They’re right to be so enthused, because Kassassin Street put on one hell of a show. Their set is full of instant attention grabbing tracks unlike anything else currently on offer in the musical market– exotic, ethnic electronics meeting their psych-tinged indie and the energy that entire band puts in to the performance makes it one of the highlights of the festival.
Death of the Author
Death of the Author preface their show with a warning that it’s only their third live performance ever but no one would’ve known that unless told. Sure, there’s an underlying nervousness to the band– which is fair enough– but they’re more accomplished than they give themselves credit for. It’s a show that shows oodles of potential that just needs to be pointed in the right direction and refined to take out their more sluggish moments and make bring out the more of the garage-rabble elements that lurk below.
Wyldest
I’ve made a general, sweeping statement about disliking most female vocals several times before– something I’m regretting more and more as time goes on. Today it’s Wyldest that put my statement to shame as their set of synth, dream-pop sweeps the crowd off our feet and carries the off into the delicate soundscape that they seem to reside in. Admittedly it’s not the most engaging of performances– which is in part due to the lighting and intense heat we’re all experiencing– but sonically it’s the modern take of a lullaby. Utterly mesmerising.
Bloody Knees
After being warmed up (very literally) by ENATL, it’s up to Bloody Knees to keep the momentum going which they easily do. Diving straight in to their set without any preamble, it’s all about dirty, grungy scuzz getting fired straight into your ear drums. ‘Bones‘ is so sharp that it could flog skin and tissue straight off the bones whilst ‘Stitches’ sounds more brutal and battered in the Wine Vaults than it has in any of our previous encounters with Bloody Knees. I look forward to the day when I end up in a crowd that’s just turned out to see them, it’ll be downright dangerous.
The Magic Gang
Though the Wine Vaults empty after Bloody Knees— those that do stick around (Bloody Knees included) get a treat from the Brighton trio. There’s something instantly familiar about The Magic Gang and even if you’ve never heard any of their material, it’s impossible not to hum along to ‘She Won’t Ghost’. It’s an utterly charming set, the band are at ease and likeable, the music is upbeat and kooky and if you don’t like the band after this then frankly where is your cheer?
Happyness
After upstaging quite a few big name acts at Reading Festival, Happyness are in just as fine form tonight. It’s a set full of laid-back, slow jams delivered in their trademark mocking and completely ridiculous style. “I’m wearing swimming shorts because it’s a seaside festival, but it’s less sea than we were expecting” guitarist Benji Compton remarks at one point and, as it always is with Happyness, you’re not sure whether it’s sarcasm, mockery or wit behind the statement. Musically meanwhile their lo-fi, scuzzy slouch-rock is perfectly executed and takes you straight back to the 90’s. Watching this set you have to question why Happyness aren’t absolutely everywhere yet… They definitely should be.
We The Wild
The annoying grammar aside, We The Wild are one of the most surprising discoveries of the day. Their indietronica instantly reels you in, lifts the spirits before insisting that you dance along. It’d be easy to slot them in with the likes of Fenech-Soler and SBTRKT— that unity of guitars and synths to create a track that’s destined for the dancefloor but doesn’t lack the soul. Their performance is a little reserved at first, though as they hit their stride, the duo seem to loosen up which helps connect the audience to their music even more. By the time set closer ‘Body Electric (Blue)‘ is revealed, they’ve certainly won me over.
Blossoms
If Peace, Temples and The Horrors were to have a musical lovechild then Blossoms would be the result. They’ve distilled out the elements of the three bands that work so well, taken a few influences from Toy and gone down the monochrome stylistic angle to give another new branch to the psych world for us all to explore. It’s a branch that I reckon you could quite easily get lost in; it feels authentically more 60’s, more smoky and heck, more seductive than the likes of the borderline garish-at-times Temples. It’ll be interesting to see where they go with it
Mazes
With a crowd that remain stubbornly static, Mazes decide that they may as well jump around in their place… which, you can’t help but think is appalling form for the audience to be so detached. Especially when Mazes are so well put together, easily swinging their way from their 2 minute tracks into the 7 minute sprawling musical monster that is ‘Bodies‘ without so much of a pause. Material from their newly released Wooden Aquarium album shows off their progression– moving from ramshackled, taped together tracks to tracks of a heavier durability that channel the same lo-fi, genre merging spirit that the band always have.
It seems as though for Southsea Festival, their eighth time is most certainly the charm. Most of the issues we’ve run in to on previous years seem fewer and farther between whilst the line-up keeps improving every year. They can guarantee we’ll be back next year.
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