End of the Road Festival 2011 - Preview

End of the Road Festival is one of the success stories in another year that has seen many smaller UK festivals cancelled or run at large loses due to poor ticket sales. It has managed to buck the trend, keeping to a modest capacity and selling out several months in advance. It takes place on the 2-4 Septrember and if you're going you can find a handy clashfinder to determine what bands to see using this link.

The reasons? Probably because the festival has grown a dedicated niche fan base who return year after year knowing that End of the Road will supply the type of music they like (folk, country, indie and rock are heavy on the line up – there’s only a small amount of electronic music and the likes of hip hop or dubstep don't get a look in), in a setting they like (the lovely Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset – complete with roaming peacocks and pretty woodland), with an audience of a similar mind set to themselves, with plenty of attention to detail in the festivals design – there are little surprises round every corner that delight and enthral. End of the Road is the antithesis of the likes of V Festival in every respect and is all the better for it.

The festival sets out some of its key objectives on its website, namely that:

*You won't get all the over hyped bands headlining.

*Most bands play longer sets than usual.

*You can eat a range of quality food.

*You can drink a range of quality beers.

*The staff and security care about everyone and show respect.

*The festival takes pride in being an independent festival.

*The crowd will be there for the MUSIC.

It is this last point that is the most important. Breaking More Waves has been attending festivals for nearly 20 years and in that time one of the most noticeable changes as more and more festivals appear on the market is the behaviour of people who go. With a few exceptions, in the past people chose to go to festivals because of the music. These days an increasing number go because of the ‘experience’, ‘their friends are going’, ‘it will be a laugh’ or ‘to get wasted’. Sure these things have always happened at festivals, but in the past they’ve been secondary to the music. In the last few years there have been times when bands have played at festivals whilst a small but significant proportion of the audience stand there chatting, completely ignoring the performers, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’re even playing. One suggestion for these changes in behaviour is the mass media coverage that festivals now get – these days it seems that as part of your summer routine it is imperative that you go to a festival – it’s as much about ‘being there’ than the music for some. Thankfully you won’t see Zane Lowe or Jo Whiley sitting in a commentary box proclaiming how amazing everything is at End of the Road Festival, which maintains a low mass media profile.

So, to the music. For this is the most important thing. End of the Road is very much a serious music lovers festival. 'Serious music lovers' is a phrase which can sound rather stuck-up and worthy, suggesting that such people are chin-stroking disdainful intellectuals who look-down on anything that isn't full of deep complexity. This isn't what we mean. Serious music lovers, real serious music lovers, will appreciate all forms of music and understand that music can be full of fun and a great source of entertainment - it doesn't all have to be weighty or have heavier connotations. One of the characteristics of serious music lovers is that they will always give a performer their full attention and respect - irrespective of if they like it or not. Thankfully End of the Road's audience is full of serious music lovers.

If you’re going here are Breaking More Waves 6 recommendations of acts to see in both audio and audio / visual form (2 for each day), although frankly we could have chosen at least 20 for this list with ease, and besides if you’re the sort of person that’s going to End of the Road you probably know all the bands on the bill anyway.

Dry The River (Friday 14.15-15.15 Woods Stage)

Fresh from slots at Reading and Leeds festivals expect edgy and rousing alt. folk rock from this London based band who are blessed with melodies, energy, delicate violins and growling walls of noise.

Dry the River - "New Ceremony"



tUnE-yArDs (Friday 16.45-17.45 Garden Stage)

tUnE-yArDs is the inventive and quirky musical project of Merrill Garbus - an absolute must see at End of the Road as she hasn't bombarded the UK festival scene this summer. Mixing tribal afro-pop, funk-folk and a bold chaos of ideas to create something utterly unique her second album Whokill has been one of Breaking More Waves highlights of the year so far and we fully expect it to appear on a lot of end of year lists.



Austra (Saturday 16.00-16.45 Big Top)

Pulsing beaty synths, operatic vocals and songs that get under your skin. Like tUnE-yArDs, Austra is effectively a one woman project - that of Katie Stelmanis, but the songs are fleshed out in the live arena by an ensemble of other musicians.

Austra - Beat and the Pulse (Still Going Remix)

The Unthanks (Saturday 18.30-19.30 Garden Stage)

We make no apology for stating that The Unthanks are one of our favourite bands of the last few years, possibly with all things considered our absolute favourite. They have now managed to produce not one, not two, but three of our most listened to albums, the latest of which - Last is an incredibly downbeat yet gorgeous folk album. Probably the only time you'll ever get to hear a band sing songs about children being buried in a mining slag heap burial disaster and enjoy it and even if you don't it will probably still be the only time you get to hear a band sing about children being buried in a mining slag heap burial disaster. The Unthanks make sadness sound utterly beautiful, but watch out for their in between song banter is often surprisingly humorous.

Lanterns On The Lake (Sunday 13.30-14.15 Big Top)

The words 'eagerly anticipated' are often used with no real justification. Eagerly anticipated by who we wonder ? Well let's be clear, the debut album by Lanterns On The Lake, released through Bella Union next month is eagerly anticipated by Breaking More Waves. The live experience of Lanterns On The Lake is like having all of your emotions crushed into a tiny box and then exploding it with everything that is life affirming.

Sapsorrow by Lanterns on the Lake

Wild Nothing (Sunday 19.15-20.15 Big Top)

In between two further must see acts - Laura Marling and closing headliner Joanna Newsom why not get a little bit of fuzzy C-86 indie guitar pop into your life with Jack Tatum aka Wild Nothing. His music may pay hommage to 80's bedsit indie in bucketfuls, but its well executed and has more than a sprinkling of melody.

Summer Holiday by Wild_Nothing

Austra - Lose It (Video)

In every interview and tipster guide that we have read on new music blogging, one consistent doctrine comes across from every person who gives such guidance; establish your own voice. We’re still wrestling with this concept a little, even after music blogging for nearly three years, because surely every thought, every word we put down here, is our own voice?

Yes, sure there are blogs that just copy and paste press releases but the vast majority don’t and instead do what suits them. That may be just writing a few ‘cool’ and ‘arty’ words on a site with a funky design, or writing wordy Pitchfork-here-we-come journalistic essays, or simply posting a video with no commentary, or just banging a few words out about whatever comes into the author’s head and pressing post. There’s room for all types of blogs and there are no rules. Blogs are by and large written by just one or a handful of authors and therefore their style, their voice, their tastes, no matter how genre specific or all over the place, will come across. Of course some people will interpret ‘find your own voice’ as ‘be unique’ but the reality is this is very hard to do. There are so many blogs, so many voices, that to make yours stand out you have to be either a radical visionary or so way out there that the danger is nobody will actually want to hear that voice.

Today Austra unveiled the video for their single Lose It. It wins the award for strangest visuals of the week. We’ve already talked about the band and the song before. We’ve already mentioned that the song bears an odd similarity to the Lloyds TSB For The Journey advert. We’ve already thrown in some references about operatic Florence goes electronic. We’ve already got giddily excited. So today as we’re at a loss to explain this video, we find ourselves with absolutely no voice.

Failed blogger? No, because somehow we’ve managed to get 350+ words out about a video and said absolutely nothing, which in an odd way is a voice of its own.

We could have just posted the video and saved ourselves some time though couldn’t we?

The Saturday Surf #1

Welcome to our new regular Saturday feature titled The Saturday Surf. Every week we listen to a lot of new music. Only a tiny fraction of it makes it onto the blog. The Saturday Surf is a weekly sweep up of some of the best of the rest - a gentle skim of a number of songs that didn’t quite get their own individual post.

For this regular column we’ll never post too many tracks in any one week so as to not take up too much of your time – 5 will be the maximum - and much like the rest of Breaking More Waves the music chosen will not be from any particular genre. So expect our usual mix of folk, electronica, pop, indie, maybe even some hip hop or experimental oddness from time to time.

The only criteria will be that each and every piece of music gets our approval and is 100% amazing. The weekend really does start here.

First up is indie-electro-dance-pop (that’s a fair few bases covered) group Strange Talk from Melbourne, Australia, whose song Climbing Walls has been kicking around for some time now, being one of the highlights on the 2010 Kitsuné Maison Compilation 10. The track is now being given a further release through Neon Gold on the labels first ever vinyl and CD release. It’s got choppy guitars, cascading synth stabs and plenty of rhythmic synergy. If you haven’t heard Climbing Walls yet, and enjoy the likes of Friendly Fires, Phoenix and French Horn Rebellion, now is the time to fully acquaint yourself.

Climbing Walls by Strange Talk

Next comes something from the opposite end of the musical spectrum. Way back in December 2009 we named Beth Jeans Houghton, the Geordie lass who was making oddball Celtic folk music, as one of our Ones to Watch for 2010. Since then there’s been diddly squat from her except for a tour with Stornoway and a few festival appearances, although we should have taken notice when she sang "I will return." Finally she’s secured a deal with Mute and a Ben Hillier (Blur, Doves, Elbow) produced album is readying itself for release, although you will still have to wait until autumn to get that. Dodecahedron is the first slice of multi-sided folk-pop to be released from it and is available as a free download by clicking on the arrow on the player below.

Beth Jeans Houghton - Dodecahedron by Mute UK

We featured Picture Book as a new wave at the start of the year and now a new demo has surfaced from the Liverpool based three-piece. “Can I kiss you tonight?” lead singer Greta asks before leading us to the dance floor and musically sticking her tongue down our throat, which is absolutely fine with us. Take us home now please. Musical underwear may be coming off soon.

Satellites (demo) by Picture Book

Finally, we leave the best to last. Canada’s Austra is another act that first featured on Breaking More Waves back in January before a Hype Machine frenzy gradually grew through February and into March with this track – the groups signature tune - Lose It. Music bloggers can often get too wrapped up into being ‘the first to post’ about a particular song. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the most important ingredient of music is time. So, we’re swinging the spotlight back onto Austra slowly, confident that after a couple of months of listening their Zola-meets-Florence-operatic-electronica is 100% worthy of the buzz. Lose It elevates Austra above cult status, even if it does sound a little like the the Lloyds TSB For The Journey advert (here).

Austra - Lose It by DominoRecordCo

More surfing next week. Same time, same place ?

Austra - Beat And The Pulse (Video)

You may remember last month we introduced you to the synth-sex-sounds of Austra and their icy cool propulsive keyboard thrusting pulse, which probably left you feeling hot sticky and spent. If this is all sounding a little too much like music-porn and you don’t like it we suggest you avert your eyes now, because it’s time to reveal the new Austra video for Beat and the Pulse which features a rather large amount of topless and underwear wearing women in the name of art.

AUSTRA "Beat and the Pulse"
Uploaded by domino. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Austra - New Waves

Give us a brooding pulsing synth line and vocals out of the Florence / Zola Jesus school of big hitters and there’s a pretty high chance that if such a sound is coupled with a degree of pop sensibility, we’ll be punching the air and shouting “Yes!” This may well explain the hole in our ceiling today, because Austra made us do exactly that – despite having a name that sounds like a model of a car.

Austra is the product of one Katie Stelmanis who has created a series of stately pop-noir electronic dance tunes that give us shivers of delight and fear in equal measures. It's not a 100% solo project though - she's being helped out by a number of others including two further female vocalists. Despite being from Canada, the references Austra take seem to be very eighties European – we could imagine them being popular in eastern Europe particularly – although the “ah-ah” vocal sound used on parts of the debut single Beat & The Pulse are not dissimilar to Laurie Anderson’s Oh Superman – and she was American. Having recently supported Hercules & Love Affair in the UK, Austra are due to release this single in February and we’re streaming it below together with the mechanical- turbo-throb-rhythm of Young & Gay. If you’ve enjoyed the likes of Labyrinth Ear and Mirrors who we’ve posted about before, we’re pretty sure that once you’ve had an earful of Austra you’ll be putting holes in your ceiling as well.

Austra - Beat & The Pulse (Radio Edit) by DominoRecordCo

Austra - Young & Gay by DominoRecordCo

Austra - Beat & The Pulse (Extended Version) by DominoRecordCo