7 Bands to Watch Out For at The Great Escape!
Tom Tye
02 May 2018
With the Great Escape rapidly approaching, we take a look at some of the bands who'll be making some noise at the UK's best new music showcase!
Tickets, line-up and more - click here!
The Great Escape is fast approaching, and with over 500 incredible bands and artists heading down to Brighton, we've had a rummage through the extensive line-up and picked out six bands we are getting hyped for!
Brighton's new music showcase has grown to become one of the festivals for artists looking for that breakthrough moment, for industry folks to spy the next big thing and for music fans to find their new favourite act. Established in 2006, the festival takes over the Brighton music scene for one weekend, with official venues popping up across the city. Check out the brand new 2000-cap beach venue opening its doors for the first time this year.
In the meantime, here are 7 bands we think you'll dig:
Sporting mullets and an aesthetic likened to that of the Australian ‘sharpie’ subculture of the ‘70s, Amyl And The Sniffers take a no-nonsense blend of early 70s Australian pub rock (AC/DC, Coloured Balls, Skyhooks) and turn the dial up a few more notches.
This in-your-face sound and attitude are balanced by sharp Australian wit and a knack for storytelling, with lead singer Amy drawing inspiration from a number of influences such as the tongue in cheek lyricism of Dolly Parton or the hard-headed spirit of Wanda Jackson.
A band that is just as comfortable at a cramped, sweaty pub gig as they are on a festival stage, Amyl And The Sniffers have been taken some pretty big steps over the last couple of years, supporting the likes of the Foo Fighters and Weezer, and touring and recording with infamous psych-rockers King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizzard.
Boy Azooga
With a shedload of influences from Sly & The Family Stone to the Beastie Boys, Boy Azooga are grabbing attention left, right and centre for all the right reasons.
Frontman and founder Davey Newington grew up playing in jazz bands, choirs and ensembles, forming the base on which Boy Azooga has been built upon. With help from friends Daf Davies, Dylan Morgan and Sam Barnes, this quartet pump out everything from symphonic instrumentals to churning krautrock which encompasses their love for all things music.
Their debut album, 1,2, Kung Fu, which drops on Heavenly Records early June, is a genre-packed collection of songs which reflect the impact of a wide range of influences; “The album is not all one thing for sure,” says Davey. “The whole point of Boy Azooga is to be a celebration of loads of different types of music. I wanted the album to be more like a mixtape or something. We wanted to include loads of contrasting styles.”
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
RBCF have carved out a unique place in the local musical landscape for their infectiously hooky guitars and wide-eyed lyricism, tinged with biting wit and self-awareness. Whilst their sound that lands confidently within the Indie pocket, their records have a stronger sense of urgency and sharpness that transcends your typical guitar band.
Emerging almost out of nowhere, fully-fledged and with a refined sound and aesthetic that most bands spend years crafting, this Australian five-piece have been moving from strength to strength with their debut full-length album, Hope Downs, scheduled for release on 15th June 2018 on Sub Pop.
Superorganism
Meet Superorganism, an international group consisting of members from New Zealand, Japan, Australia, South Korea and Lancashire, whose ages range from seventeen to thirty-two, all living under one roof in London’s East End.
The band rose to prominence at the start of 2017, releasing Something For Your M.I.N.D, a sensationally technicolour concentrate of pure pop which picked up plays on both Frank Ocean and Ezra Koenig’s radio shows. Since then, their momentum is is no way slowing down, with sold-out debut shows around the world, TV performances on Jools Holland and a debut self-titled album on Domino Records.
Soccor Mommy
Twenty-year-old Nashville native Sophie Allison is the driving force behind Soccer Mommy, a solo project grown out of the DIY scene. Moving to New York, Sophie spent her time crafting her sound behind closed doors before landing a record deal with Fat Possum after her debut show!
Landing somewhere inbetween bedroom pop and indie-rock, Soccor Mommy’s sound encompasses catchy and melodic elements of modern pop with lo-fi indie and post-rock vibes similar to that of Beach Fossils, Omni or Good Morning.
Trudy And The Romance
With whip-smart imagination and tongues firmly lodged in cheeks, Trudy and the Romance are nowhere boys for the 21st century. Self-branded as ‘mutant 50s pop’, Trudy and The Romance conjure up warped doo-wop and Cavern-club vibes whilst maintaining a modern sound in a lane of their own.
Having hit number 7 on the Spotify viral charts, Trudy finished last year as part of DIY’s Class of 2017, NME’s ‘100 for 2017’ and 14th most blogged artist of 2016 on the Hype Machine Zeitgeist end of year list.
Gizmo Varillas
Gizmo Varillas’ music could be described as ‘feel-good’; this belies the depth of sentiments contained within. It’s true he leans heavily on an encyclopedic knowledge of colourful rhythms drawn from across the globe: rumbas, flamenco; Salsas and Bossa Novas; African Highlife and Mali Blues. But these joyful tempos are undercut by wistful melodies or recognitions of life’s grimmer elements. “I like the idea of sad lyrics with happy music. It balances things out’.
Dreaming of Better Days – follow’s the release of Varillas’ debut album El Dorado in 2016, which included hit ‘Freedom For Change’. The album received critical acclaim from BBC 6 Music, Clash, Indie Shuffle, Classic Pop to name a few.