Creamfields 2008
With the Olympics winding down, Creamfields head honcho, Ryan Barton seems to be in the mood to feed off the frenzy it created by arranging for a relay of high profile, hard-hitting and groove inducing acts over an extended two days. Queuing revellers have also caught the Olympic bug, as news filters through that the strategy of last year to confiscate all pre-purchased alcohol is continuing into this year. This means that panic sets in and weird and wonderful containers of beer, vodka and most other spirits are being passed around like a relay baton. You couldn’t script it, but as scary looking concoction of vodka, red bull and few unknown ingredients is swiftly passed to a Californian, who is here to check out the legend of Ian Brown. The container falls out of his hand and the contents disappear, becoming absorbed in the combination of mud and water quicker than you can say “the Americans have dropped the baton again!”.
The Presets shake up those towards the front of the main-stage area, who have gathered early in order to be in the mix for Fatboy Slim. Creaky, slow building tunes are crafted by the friendly Aussie duo of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. The low-key pearl ‘Girl and the Sea’, basks in the main-stage profile, giving off a chilled out, mildly lazy and thoughtful vibe. The main difficulty for The Presets, seems to be in the fact that their versatile, genre skipping approach has allowed them to tour with the likes of 2ManyDJs and The Rapture, but it means that their sound is usually moulded to fit in with the needs of the main act crowd. Today, their more pop-friendly side comes out for their Main-Stage billing. It is time for this pair to be given free-range to explore their eclectic approach on their own terms.
Seedy 90’s dance resurrecting stompers, Simian Mobile Disco use their off-kilter digitalism to draw at first, perplexed looks and then to inspire some quirky gyrating that hasn’t been seen since the auditions for Hairspray. Jas Shaw & James Ford manage to use enough cheekiness and flashes of controlled feistiness, to earn themselves the tag of being a male Salt N‘ Peppa, at times. Intrigued? You should be! Having built up a reputation in his home country of Argentina for his blistering, futuristic dance sets during his residency at Pacha, Buenos Aires, DJ Hernan Cattaneo uses his ability to work up a crowd. He does so with a climax of swirling stings to make full use of the stunning strobe-lights. This has the impact of getting the glow sticks soaring and bodies swaying.
Of course, if you are going to remain an icon for your lifetime and beyond it, you need a lot of help. Films like 24 Hour Party People, has aided the profile of the Madchester era. For many gathered to watch Ian Brown, his Stone Roses legendary status was what drew them here, not his politically nudged, world-music slanting new material. However, ‘Sister Rose’ one of the funkier new tracks, finds favour for its distorted guitar approach and the fact that Brown sings quite well on it. Creamfields is certainly full of surprises. A rising run through Roses’ classic ‘Waterfall’, is just what the nostalgic doctor ordered and feeling is put into it. Brownie has certainly exorcised demons of Roses past and it helps give his set variety and authenticity.
For many, the main disappointment of the last two years of this event, was in the below par showings from the headline acts; Prodigy and Chemical Brothers. This year, it is down to Fatboy Slim to restore the faith. His more universal appeal helps and when he kicks into a fuzzed out, elongated mix of House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’, the spasms of euphoria that certain sections of the crowd are sent into is justification enough. With Festivals waning this year through expectation and the disappointment of cancellations from some of the star turns, Creamfields has stepped it up a notch.
By Dave Adair
Mogwai – Batcat
The band are set to release their sixth album “The Hawk Is Howling” later this Fall. “Batcat” is the first song lifted off that record. Naturally, with any post-rock band it is hard to call any of their songs a “single.” But, if there was a band that could pull it off it would be Mogwai. Going into the record I had a lot of high expectations due to the fact that “Mr. Beast” was such a remarkable album and one of the bands finest to date. “Batcat” still follows the bands trademark sound to the bone. The song is a thick and loud and stunning piece of instrumentation. But, for some reason during the song I got the feeling like we have done this all before already. It is tough for a band like this to release a single but I have little doubts that “The Hawk Is Howling” will deliver.
By John Siwicki
Travis – Something Anything
I feel bad for Travis sometimes. They all seem like such a lovely bunch of guys but lately their output has been so unforgettable. I completely had forgotten that they released a record last year. A few tracks showed some promise but still wasn’t there. “Something Anything” is the first album from their sixth album “Ode To J.Smith” due out in a few weeks time. It will be the first Travis single not to be written by singer Fran Healy. The track goes back to the bands rockier roots which has not been seen in quite some time now. It is just a really nice change of pace to the slower tracks that the band has released on their last few albums. The track also does have a very catchy sensibility to it. The band are now on their own after having left their label and they seem to be relishing in it.
By John Siwicki
Vessels – White Fields and Open Devices
Vessels are a five-piece hailing from Leeds, light on vocals but more than compensating with an array of guitar-based songs that some have given the label post-rock. Not that I want to stick anyone in a neat little box but post-rock is probably quite apt for a band that sound like a more minimal Muse. And seeing as Muse now get bogged down in descriptions like Apocalyptic, space post-rock, it would seem fair that Vessels get a more minimalist tag. When it’s put like that, it almost sounds logical…
White Fields and Open Devices had already begun to win me over before I had even played the album. For a start, just the names of the songs are brilliant. A Hundred Times in Every Direction, Look at That Cloud! and Wave Those Arms Airmen, sound like they’ve been thought up by a philosopher with A.D.D! The songs themselves aren’t as manic as the titles suggest, but build and surge around, full of crashing, distorted guitars and the occasional understated vocal from Tom Evans.
When I first put the album on to give it a listen, a good old technical hitch meant the proper speakers weren’t working, so I started off with it just coming through the tinny speakers of my laptop. Once I got up and found some headphones it was like hearing a different album. White Fields and Open Devices is a big, ethereal sound which demands proper playback. I’ve already drawn the obvious Muse comparison but here’s another one that’s not so quick to mind – Elbow. Not in any kind of melodic or structural sense but in the way that Vessels can create a vast sound that flows over you.
Atmospherically vast is not their only modus operandi though, as proven on track eight, Yuki, the more chilled Sigur Ros-esque effort on the album, even featuring a bit of birdsong. Bleakness is also given a run on Walking Through Walls, one of the shortest tracks on the album at four and half minutes.
For a debut album (having released a self-titled EP in 2006), White Fields and Open Devices is an absolute gem of the post-rock variety. While the tracks are indeed quite weighty in length, they don’t feel overly long or get stuck in self serving mediocrity once (cough cough… Forth… cough cough Verve… cough… who said that?)
The tricky second album challenge they have left themselves though is to keep up with the fantastic track names. I mean, how do you top An Idle Brain And The Devil’s Workshop?
By Mark Williams