{"id":24532,"date":"2012-10-16T15:08:49","date_gmt":"2012-10-16T15:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejoycollective.co.uk\/blog\/?p=24532"},"modified":"2014-09-05T18:11:40","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T18:11:40","slug":"swn2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/review\/swn2012\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u0175ncrawling 2012: Your dispensible guide to this year’s highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It sort of creeps up on you.\u00a0 It never feels like it’s been a year since the last one, and suddenly you’re there again, delirious on Womanby Street wearing one shoe and with half a dozen smudged band names written on your arm.\u00a0 Ah, S\u0175n weekend.\u00a0 Good to see you.\u00a0 So here, in the grand tradition and only slightly misleadingly labelled, is the Joy preview of the myriad treats ahead for the upcoming 96 hours or so.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As was the case last year, Thursday at S\u0175n is a relatively low-key affair.\u00a0 That\u2019s all relative, of course, and in layman\u2019s terms means you\u2019re only likely to have one or two frustrating clashes, the downside being that the bigger draws will likely be very heavily subscribed.\u00a0 Sharpen those elbows, then, and get into the swing early at Clwb with youthful Lancastrians Effluence<\/strong>, all sweetened grunge-pop hooks peppered with nascent rockabilly poise.\u00a0 Upstairs, their unlikely spiritual stepdads could be the Experimental Tropic Blues Band<\/strong>, straight outta Liege with a heady brew of dirty blooze, Detroit garage and trashy R n\u2019 R classicism.\u00a0 Call them this year\u2019s Jim Jones Revue and consider proceedings open.\u00a0 Sup on the madness of Eilir Pierce<\/strong> over at little O\u2019Neills; Bethesda\u2019s answer to R. Stevie Moore has hundreds of warped home-recorded curios at his disposal and a splendidly disquieting stage presence.\u00a0 There\u2019s a first chance to catch Gulp<\/strong>\u2019s beautifully poised electronic folk-pop at the Solus, but smart cookies will wait till Sunday and instead return to Clwb for Pulled Apart By Horses<\/strong>, one of the hits of the weekend when they laid waste to the smaller room in 2009.\u00a0 Shirtless, sweaty and prone to onstage vomiting, they also wielded enough screamalong tunes and winning charm to carry them regardless.\u00a0 Tighter, crunchier and louder still in 2012, this should be a shoo-in, even if they have to play on an actual stage this time.\u00a0 It\u2019s frustrating that they clash with the Lovely Eggs<\/strong>, especially given a gap in the schedules an hour later.\u00a0 Whichever you choose, head to Solus afterwards to ensure you squeeze in for de facto Thursday headliners Django Django<\/strong>.\u00a0 Their spiritual and fraternal binds with the Beta Band are as clear as they\u2019re tiresome, but their clockwork sci-fi psych and bubbling electro also recalls Clinic, Hot Chip or Archie Bronson Outfit at different moments.\u00a0 They do effortlessly well what scores of bands strive hard yet fail to.\u00a0 Suitably buoyed, scorn the workplace by staying out, either to the grime all-nighter at Undertone where M.I.K.<\/strong> will be a cheeky, cocksure highlight or to take in the messy scuzz-pop of Milk Maid<\/strong> at the Full Moon before repairing to Dempseys where Adam Walton and Gary Twisted take up their duelling pistols and scratched 7\u201ds for a vinyl-only showdown.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Friday, and the hapless among us will have endured work\u2019s club-footed drudgery while daydreaming of a golden pint of gassy lager.\u00a0 Your first best bet for this momentous moment is the twinkling electronica of Jewellers<\/strong> in little O\u2019Neills, who edge out the DIY slacker-pop gems of Mazes<\/strong> (Great Hall) by dint of the shorter trot to the Full Moon for the utterly splendid wig-out bliss of Lisbon\u2019s Gala Drop<\/strong>, practitioners of hairy psych jams tinged with tropicalia and blurry krautrock.\u00a0 They open up this year\u2019s inevitably magnificent Lesson No. 1 bill, once again both the weekend\u2019s highlight and home to your new favourite band(s).\u00a0 It dovetails mostly nicely with events at Clwb, where the careering art-punk thrills of \u2013 yes! – award-nominated <\/em>local heroes Kutosis<\/strong> air for the first of two valedictory S\u0175n weekend sets.\u00a0 Back at the Moon, don’t miss the excellently sardonic post-punk lurch of The Bent Moustache<\/strong>, Anglo-Dutch shamblers with a neat line in Fall-meets-The Ex bloody-mindedness, before some tough decisions are presented.\u00a0 Three great bands overlap, though it’s possible to take in all three at a pinch; The Invisible<\/strong>‘s dark, claustrophobic and sumptuous melange of TV On The Radio, Hot Chip and the shivering techno-soul of The Aloof precede the inimitable, ungraspable brilliance of Liars<\/strong> at Clwb, while the Moon reverberates to the strung-out psych-noise bliss weaved by Ben Chasny, Richard Bishop and Chris Corsano as Rangda<\/strong>, whose 2010 gig at the Norwegian Church still makes me grin beatifically.\u00a0 There’s an alternative path to be picked out, taking in Richard James and friends’ inclusive, inspiring In Chapters<\/strong> collective, the charming indie-folk of Joyce The Librarian<\/strong> and, in particular, Stealing Sheep<\/strong>‘s smart, sharp-eyed take on witchy modernist folk.\u00a0 Depending on which you take, your late-night thrills may include Bo Ningen<\/strong>‘s blunderbuss psych-fuzz attack in Dempseys and the primary-coloured stew of elastic funk, jump-up dancehall and crisp Basement Jaxx pop of Toddla T<\/strong>, seeing the night out in Clwb; it may take in Gwenno and pals’ hyper-eclectic Bof!<\/strong> DJ set over in Bacchus before a one-two hit of woozy, melancholic electronica and post-dubstep loveliness in Undertone care of Pedestrian<\/strong> and Ifan Dafydd<\/strong>.\u00a0 It may involve sitting in a puddle on Womanby Street, weeping silently at the thought of two more days of this stuff.\u00a0 Just don’t complain about lack of choice, eh?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Day three.\u00a0 Thousand yard stare sets in.\u00a0 Staring down the barrel of a 12-hour shift, the only sensible option is to wade straight in.\u00a0 Top tip: convince yourself you haven’t been to bed by starting with Deptford Goth<\/strong> at Buffalo.\u00a0 His sleepy beats and soul-tinged, glitchy take on dubstep and electronica are a fine bridge from the night before, and the hungover faces when \u2018Real Love Fantasy\u2019 reveals itself will be an absolute picture.\u00a0 Cock an intrigued ear towards Rene Griffiths<\/strong> \u2013 the Patagonian folkie tracked down by Gruff Rhys\u2019 Separado!<\/em> \u2013 in Gwdihw then head to Undertone for this year\u2019s Sweet Baboo<\/strong> set, not least because he\u2019s hardly ever in Cardiff these days but also because his upcoming fourth album Ships<\/em> is stuffed with life-affirming pop tunes and his current line-up may be his best band ever.\u00a0 Ha.\u00a0 Pariso <\/strong>deal not in life-affirming pop; skull-cracking, blackened hardcore with sharp detours into sludgy metal will vapourise any lingering cobwebs.\u00a0 They\u2019re followed at the Full Moon by the Physics House Band<\/strong>, bearing muscular math-rock with lurching, instinctual jazz and spacey prog interludes.\u00a0 At this point things get busy, and there are some big decisions to be made.\u00a0 Essential picks if you ask me, and you most assuredly did not, are former Electrelane leader Verity Susman<\/strong> (Chapter), essaying the personal and political through organ-driven kraut-pop, dizzying choral vocals, loops and saxophone, and former Czars leader John Grant <\/strong>(Reardon Smith Theatre), essaying the personal and political through heartbreaking piano-and-voice arrangements of the beautiful, prickly, morbidly humourous songs from Queen of Denmark<\/em>.\u00a0 Between those two, check the dark, Siouxsie-esque post-punk of PINS<\/strong> (big O\u2019Neills) or AlunaGeorge<\/strong>\u2019s poised techno-soul (Buffalo), followed by Pale Seas<\/strong>\u2019 pretty, drifting twee-folk (Undertone) or the gut-punching wall of noise proffered by Holy Mountain<\/strong> (Clwb).\u00a0 I can\u2019t do it for you.\u00a0 I can highly recommend Face + Heel <\/strong>in Buffalo, though, so anyone eschewing the reliably brilliant one-two of Errors<\/strong> and Islet<\/strong> in Chapter in favour or lesser-known thrills should make time for them; mordant, slo-mo dubstep and garage-flavoured rhythms, beautifully poised, treated vocals and a spare, deliberate compositional sense make them one of Cardiff\u2019s most promising turns.\u00a0 You can probably catch a few minutes of Sun Drums<\/strong>\u2019 synth-heavy percussive battery at Undertone en route to John Grant\u2019s show, after which things calm down.\u00a0 A bit.\u00a0 Martin Creed<\/strong> \u2013 just your average S\u0175n guest, being a Turner Prize-winning conceptual artist and Olympic-endorsed composer \u2013 also turns out catchy, minimal and insistent Wire-flavoured post-punk, so catch the back half of that in Dempseys then hop to big O\u2019Neills for Tom (Zwolf) Raybould\u2019s highly promising post-rock\/kraut-pop combo Fist Of The First Man<\/strong>.\u00a0 Stubborn Heart<\/strong>\u2019s soulful electro balladry (Undertone) will be more than decent but may lose out to a rare sighting of Welsh dub\/techno prankster pioneers Llwybr Llaethog<\/strong>, who have a late-night set in St Davids Hall of all places.\u00a0 Back in big O\u2019Neills, S\u0175n ever-presents Gallops<\/strong> will end the night on a blissful high, though the hardy will soldier on for Hexstatic<\/strong>\u2019s trademark AV set at the Full Moon.\u00a0 Sleep soundly, Cardiff.\u00a0 You\u2019ve earned it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By Sunday morning you will hate all known forms of music, and will possibly envy the deaf.\u00a0 Too bad, for there\u2019s the better part of another full day ahead which, while nowhere near as intense as Saturday, still offers plenty of lesser-known treats.\u00a0 Regain lost vim and dignity at Quiz Quest<\/strong> \u2013 this year in 10 Feet Tall \u2013 for your annual dose of absurd non-sequiturs, wildly tangential links to S\u0175n bands and the cream of 1997\u2019s hit parade.\u00a0 Suitably composed, entrust yourself to the redoubtable Adam Walton who helms the Dempseys stage today, kicking off with Irma Vep<\/strong> – if you\u2019ve ever wondered what it might be like to be buried alive by Clinic, wonder no more \u2013 and the giddy, surf-tinged noise pop of Mowbird<\/strong>.\u00a0 With apologies to Y Pencadlys<\/strong> and Samoans<\/strong>, the day\u2019s most essential hour will be in the company of Micachu & The Shapes<\/strong>, performing in a large Irish chain pub for possibly the first time.\u00a0 Let your conscience decide whether you skip out early for either Jemma Roper<\/strong> and (ahem) the Ropists in Clwb or shambling Mancunians Sex Hands<\/strong> in Dempseys.\u00a0 If the latter do their remarkable Gorkys cover, and they surely might, it\u2019ll be worth it.\u00a0 Take in some of the cute, Allo Darlin\u2019-style acoustic indiepop of My First Tooth<\/strong> over in Chapter, then zip back to Clwb for former Joy Collective guests Cold Pumas<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sheets of guitars ringing like insistent factory alarms and knackered strobe lights, shuddering rhythms and cooing falsetto. \u00a0Ace.\u00a0 Bit of a gigclash to face down following them; Toy<\/strong> are best placed to take the baton from Cold Pumas, sharing with them some of Liars\u2019 beatific, heavy-lidded psychedelic noise.\u00a0 Alternatively, Clwb has Bristolian brother-sister duo the Hysterical Injury<\/strong>, who are excellent arse-kicking primal blues-punk fun, like a liquored-up Lightning Bolt.\u00a0 Mystery option C, though, is Tim & Puma Mimi<\/strong>, quite possibly the fevered dreamwish of a Manga scriptwriter and the oddest S\u0175n turn since Agoskodo Teliverek a few years back; a Swiss-Japanese electro-pop duo given to performing via Skype and utilising an electrified cucumber.\u00a0 If you recall Stereo Total with fondness, this could be your outside bet.\u00a0 From here, wind down via Rozi Plain<\/strong>\u2019s gorgeous, wide-eyed folk (10 Feet Tall), the burrowing analogue earworms of R. Seiliog<\/strong> over in Gwdihw and what, in the absence of a unifying last-night set this year, might be a fairly packed 10 Feet Tall to witness Gulp<\/strong> bringing your weekend to a close.\u00a0 Unless you plump for the pristine pop perfection of The School<\/strong> over in Chapter instead.\u00a0 Or join the walking wounded for one last go round at the Dim S\u0175n closing party in Clwb.\u00a0 Shirts off in the street at 7am again, is it?\u00a0 Righto.\u00a0 Same time next year. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It sort of creeps up on you.\u00a0 It never feels like it’s been a year since the last one, and suddenly you’re there again, delirious on Womanby Street wearing one shoe and with half a dozen smudged band names written on your arm.\u00a0 Ah, S\u0175n weekend.\u00a0 Good to see you.\u00a0 So here, in the grand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[459],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonnyjaniero.com\/thejoycollective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}