Croydon duo Frauds have been hosting this excellent all-dayer at South London’s finest rock & roll hangout, The Windmill, for four years now, and this year’s line-up shows no let up in the onslaught of high quality punk rock that preceded it.
London hardcore outfit Diamond In The Dirt kick things off at a furious pace and volume with that doesn’t relent until kicking out time. Modern Men then take up the noise rock baton with a set that veers back and forth across the line that demarcates my indieboy-engrained heaviness tolerance level.
Perhaps my favourite new discovery in a line-up that includes plenty of existing favourites are Cardiff trio Twisted Ankle, whose bewildering and hilarious between song patter is almost as entertaining as their skewed art-punk tunes.
They’re followed by Bristolians Heavy Lungs, whose artfully messy post-punk is both delivered and received with fervent intensity. They’ve been selected to support Idles on their upcoming UK tour and it’s easy to see why.
In a line-up that features no fewer than five two-piece drum & guitar garage rock outfits, it’s pleasing to see the immense variety that can be achieved with so few ingredients. The first of the quintet are JOHN – we’ve been fans of their taut guitar lines and thunderous drums for a while, and they’re sounding better than ever tonight.
We’ve been following the ascent of tonight’s hosts Frauds for quite a while now and they just keep on getting better and better. Their unique blend of punchy garage punk and serrated noise rock, with lyrics that range from insightful to hilariously puerile, often in the same line, has everyone onside immediately and the smattering of new songs debuted tonight are just as good as favourites from last year’s debut LP.
Milo’s Planes, the second act on tonight’s bill to hail from Bristol are next up with a set of melodic post-punk full of crunchy guitars and sudden gear shifts.
Haggard Cat take to the stage in front of a wall of vintage amps, and proceed to blast and swagger their way through a set of stirling psych-infused garage rock. Matt Reynolds is the consummate frontman, while Tom Marsh’s powerful but intricate drumbeats help to set the band apart from the many others attempting to occupy similar territory.
Youth Man are perhaps the most established name on the line-up today, flitting seamlessly between easy-going chat with the crowd and intense, wiry punk rock outs, it’s not hard to see why they’re held in such high regard.
Our final two-piece of the night are Sit Down, who had absolutely blown us away when we first saw them supporting Frauds and JOHN at a Roadkill Records night in February. They’re just as good tonight and their catchy, upbeat, sweary power-garage is just the thing to keep everyone moving as we pass midnight.
Review and Photography by Paul Maps
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