Already, it’s been seven days since I last fell in love… This time, it’s an affection I’ve developed for a new kind of music! It was at the Green Man Festival last weekend where I feel I was first properly introduced to the genre commonly known as indie music. Folk, world, blues; I’ve heard them all before and they’re appreciated. But for some reason, some how, I’ve gone almost 30 years without experiencing indie. To tell you the truth, I still cannot quite define how it can be differentiated from ‘light rock’!
With days of coming home, I was online, to the iTunes store and downloading three new albums; each from a an artist to have featured at the festival (in fact, all three performed on the same Friday night). We begin in alphabetical order…
They are Augustines. I keep adding a prefix (The) but it doesn’t appear to be correct. Reading through the festival programme, there was a noted inspiration from the likes of Bruce Springsteen. This song I’ve selected pretty much epitomises the aura I experienced during their set last week. Powerful vocals, energy, a urge to interact and encourage the audience… The Boss would surely be proud! My own little way of summarising this track is to suggest it sounds like Springsteen’s improvising over U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name… You’re welcome to disagree but I’d expect to see these guys feature in future festivals all over.
Next on my list is a band from Norway known as Highasakite. Their name alone is a head-turner and I saw a girl appear on stage (as the head of the band) wearing what appeared to be an American football jersey, my expectations, for whatever reason, diminished. But when she unleashed her voice and I witnessed the almost-tribal rhythm flowing throughout the band, I gained a great appreciation for them. Having since downloaded their album, I’ve realised they’re a little more ‘pop’ and not as loud than I would prefer to admit. The video above lacks some of the ‘punch’ I witnessed upon the Mountain Stage last week but perhaps what I found most impressive of all was when I realised the singer was making that noise with only her mouth!
Breaking the alphabetical regime for this final act and we have a British band who were elated to the status of headliners long before the festival began. I approached them with an open mind, while half-expecting a near-acoustic sound of ballads… And so, I was blown away by a show that instantly became my personal highlight for the weekend! I’m sure every Daughter fan has their own favorite track and there appear to be several EPs that I’ve yet to discover but choosing one track to share with you here was almost an impossible task. I’ve gone with one in which I feel highlights the haunting guitar melodies that drew me in during the live show in Wales. There’s a kind of eerie familiarity within their lyrics that I also find comforting… I certainly hope to see them live again.
Thanks for reading. This is my hat-trick and I hope you may give them your time.