GUIDE & PLAYLIST: The Great Escape 2018

The Great Escape Festival kicks off in just 7 days time (17th-19th May), and we’re ready to tread Brighton’s pebble beach, chomp on some chips, and trek around town trying to catch the best new music acts.

The prolific 3-day event is renowned for championing new music from all genres, and their female-friendly line-up (which Mari celebrated in her recent article about women & festival lineups for Trash) features some of our all time favourite bands. Dream Wife, Queen Zee, REWS, Pillow Queens & Amaroun will all be strutting their stuff by the seaside over the course of the weekend, but we’re excited to discover some brand new talent too.

In alphabetical order, these are the artists we’re keen to catch at 2018’s Great Escape Festival. Scroll down to our Spotify playlist to get better acquainted with them, and make a note of their stage times too…

Audiobooks
Playing at: HORATIOS – 3:30pm Friday 18th

Art School Girlfriend
Playing at: THE WALRUS – 8:15pm Friday 18th

Amaroun
Playing at: THE WALRUS – 8:15pm, Thursday 17th

Amyl & The Sniffers
Playing at: PRINCE ALBERT 11:10pm – Friday 18th & BEACH HOUSE 12:50pm – Saturday 19th

Benin City
Playing at: PAGANINI BALLROOM (THE OLD SHIP) – 11:15pm Saturday 19th

Brooke Bentham
Playing at: PATTERNS (UPSTAIRS) – 6:15pm Friday 18th

CHROMA
Playing at: LATEST MUSIC BAR – 12:45pm Thursday 17th

Deep Throat Choir
Playing at: SALLIS BENNEY THEATRE – 10:15pm Saturday 19th

Dream Wife
Playing at: BEACH CLUB – 8:45pm Thursday 17th

Elsa Hewitt
Playing at: KOMEDIA STUDIO BAR – 11:45pm Saturday 19th

Flohio
Playing at: EAST WING (BRIGHTON CENTRE) – 6:15pm Thursday 17th
KOMEDIA STUDIO BAR – 3:30pm Saturday 19th
SHOOSHH – 9:30pm Saturday 19th

Girlhood
Playing at: DR. MARTENS STAGE – 12:45pm Thursday 17th
THE HAUNT – 7:30pm Thursday 17th

Goat Girl
Playing at: THE ARCH – 9:15pm Thursday 17th

Hatchie
Playing at: KOMEDIA – 12:50pm Thursday 17th
HORATIOS – 1:00pm Friday 18th
THE ARCH – 6:00pm Friday 18th

Hero Fisher
Playing at: QUEENS HOTEL – 1:30pm Saturday 18th

Japanese Breakfast
Playing at: KOMEDIA – 11:15pm Thursday 17th

Jealous Of The Birds
Playing at: BAU WOW – 9:15pm Thursday 17th
JUBILEE SQUARE – 2:00pm Friday 18th

Men I Trust
Playing at: KOMEDIA – 7:15pm Thursday 17th

Nao
Playing at: BEACH CLUB – 10:00pm Friday 18th

Nelson Can
Playing at: DR. MARTENS STAGE – 1:00pm Friday 18th
STICKY MIKE’S FROG BAR – 10:30pm Saturday 19th

The Orielles
Playing at: BEACH HOUSE – 2:30pm Thursday 17th
HORATIOS – 9:00pm Thursday 17th

Phoebe Bridgers
Playing at: KOMEDIA – 9:15pm Friday 18th

Pillow Queens
Playing at: PRINCE ALBERT – 1:00pm Thursday 17th

Partner
Playing at: GREEN DOOR STORE – 1:30pm Thursday 17th
GREEN DOOR STORE – 7:15pm Thursday 17th
THE WALRUS – 2:15pm Saturday 18th

Queen Zee
Playing at: THE HOPE AND RUIN – 10:45pm Thursday 17th

REWS
Playing at: BEACH HOUSE – 9:15pm Friday 18th

The Regrettes
Playing at: HORATIOS 11:15pm Saturday

Soccer Mommy
Playing at: BEACH CLUB – 7:30pm Thursday 17th

Snail Mail
Playing at: BEACH CLUB – 6:30pm Thursday 17th

Stella Donnelly
Playing at: KOMEDIA – 8:15pm Thursday 17th
UNITARIAN CHURCH – 7:45pm Friday 18th
DR. MARTENS STAGE – 1:20pm Saturday 19th

The Ninth Wave
Playing at: HORATIOS – 3:30pm Thursday 17th
THE HAUNT – 9:30pm Friday 18th
MARINE ROOM (HARBOUR HOTEL) – 10:15pm Saturday 19th

The Vegan Leather
Playing at: HORATIOS – 1:45pm Thursday 17th
STICKY MIKE’S FROG BAR – 8:15pm Friday 18th

 

Get your tickets for The Great Escape here.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: ILL – ‘ILL SONG’

A manic cacophony of post-punk & prog noise, Manchester’s ILL have shared new single ‘ILL SONG’ ahead of the release of their debut album, We Are ILL, tomorrow on May 11th via Box Records.

Recorded over 18 months in the crumbling mills of Ancoats, Manchester, the band channelled their furious love of pop punk into a record that challenges not just the ears, but the stigma surrounding mental health issues; the politics of identity and gender, capitalism and misogyny. Their single ‘ILL Song’ is a surreal, humorous blend of this activism, with a healthy dose of fun thrown in too.

We Are ILL will be released on limited edition transparent blue vinyl, gatefold CD and as a digital audio download on May 11th. The release is accompanied by a launch show at Sebright Arms on the same date, with support from LibraLibra and The Ethical Debating Society, hosted by Club The Mammoth (RSVP here).

Watch the video for ‘ILL Song’ below and follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

ILL UK Tour Dates 2018

11 May Sebright Arms, London (album launch)
12 May Doubledotbash Festival, Reading
21 May Soup Kitchen, Manchester (supporting Screaming Females)
31 May The Soundhouse, Leicester
1 June Head of Steam, Newcastle
15 June Liverpool (TBA)
16 June The Deaf Institute, Manchester (album launch)

Photo Credit: Megan Powell

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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EP: Kate Stapley – ‘Centella’

Informed by personal and wider histories, Kate Stapley‘s debut solo EP Centella is a poignant blend of music and relatable metaphors. The Bristol-based songwriter explores mental health and forces beyond her control through gentle percussion, soft guitars and poetic lyricism, allowing her grief to blossom in to a positive force for change.

Released in January via Breakfast Records, listening to Centella is an aural breath of fresh air. ‘Iceland’ opens the EP, a gentle ode to snowy peaks and a comforting reminder that there’s new life on the horizon, even if you can’t crawl out of “creased bed sheets” whilst listening to it. Kate’s feelings of “numb translucency” are laid bare and resolved with the aid of a friend here – “Oh there’s more for me, takes a friend like you to remind me” – as tender percussion and soft guitar sounds score her moments of reflection.

‘Potted History Of Mum’ laments the fragmented memories of a loved one who’s life is slowly being lost to the cruelty of dementia. “It’s all so cyclical” sings Kate, in a soothing, accepting tone, before revealing a tender truth: “It only means a thing to me, ‘cos it means the world to you”. ‘Irises’ flows in a similar vein, with strings underscoring more of Kate’s beautifully honest lyrics: “it destroys me, the truth, that’s why I distance myself from you”. Despite the melancholy nature, this tune (and the whole record) brims with hope.

On ‘Interlude’, Kate studies a precious family photograph in a musical monologue – “It’s funny how it runs through the family, there’s so much of you that I see in me” – before striking penultimate track ‘These Planets’ explores the “darkness” in her bones. “I learned from the witches who began this” she sings, before profound and personal statements like “gender is not genital, that’s a fact we can’t escape” and “I may have inherited your pain, but it’s what drives me” flood her consciousness alongside more subtle percussion and soothing guitar sounds.

‘Stabilisers’ closes the EP with a sense of perseverance. The poignant line “Now we ride side by side, I even overtake you sometimes” resonates long after the track stops spinning. Kate Stapley’s blend of nostalgia and new hope on Centella is admirable and emotional, which makes listening to her debut a real gem of an experience.

Order your copy of Centella here . Follow Kate Stapley on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Simon Holliday 

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: New Haunts – ‘Worlds Left Behind’

A soundtrack for the witching hour, New Haunts‘ debut album Worlds Left Behind is a veiled, intriguing exploration of independence. Fusing elements of coldwave, goth, early industrial and synthpop, she’s crafted a collection of distinctive, ominous sounds.

As the album’s title suggests, New Haunts is caught between the world she inhabits and the world she once knew. She explores this on opening track ‘Ingrained’ through urgent vocal harmonies that rise and fall against a backdrop of slow, scratchy drum sounds. It bleeds into lead single ‘Reactions’, a cold but magnetic offering which laments the simultaneous beauty and horror of having emotional connections. It’s connections like these that make the tortured howls on following track ‘Left Me Cold’ feel so sharp. They contrast well with her tentative and pained vocals during the verses, as foreboding synths underscore another moment of painful clarity.

‘Hymns’ and ‘New Haunts’ take listeners on a gentler electronic turn, with some Kate Bush-style wavering vocals, whilst ‘Waves’ breaks through this ambient interlude with jagged synths and more of New Haunts fluttering, urgent vocals. Its dark, glittering defiance flows into the subdued ‘Same Medicine’, followed by ‘Safe Out Here’ which is full of more brooding synths and wavering vocals.

Whispers of insecurity permeate closing track ‘Ice’ – “and I give it my all / as far as I know / as far as I can” – before abrasive synths push through a “concrete truth.” New Haunts may be at the beginning of her solo journey, but her debut record shows she is well equipped for these intriguing sonic ventures. Fans of Zola Jesus and Kate Bush will approve of her gothic noise on Worlds Left Behind.

Listen to Worlds Left Behind on Spotify & follow New Haunts on Facebook for more updates.

Purchase the album from bandcamp here.

Photo Credit: Katie Murt

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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