Festival Review: Splendour In the Grass 2014

Whilst Splendour In the Grass has become renowned for its impressive headliners over the past decade, a large part of the festival’s appeal, and some of its best moments, belong to many of the smaller up and coming bands on the line-up, which was certainly the case for the 2014 edition of Splendour of the Grass. 

Much of the hype surrounding this year’s festival was connected to Outkast’s first Australian show as the complete Outkast outfit, and whilst their show was stellar and as much a spectacle as was expected by festivalgoers, the truly sublime moments at Splendour were far smaller and more intimate in nature, well, at least in comparison to the elaborateness of Outkast’s show.

The true knockout performers at this year’s Splendour proved to be English electropop group Metronomy, who really stood out from the rest of the pack with their highly inventive experimental indie sound. The band’s Saturday evening set provided a good overview of their discography, but at times it also felt very disjointed, which is of course related to Metronomy’s noteworthy evolution from instrumental electropop to more vocal-led tracks in recent years.

The band started with two songs from 2008’s Nights Out – Radio Ladio and Holiday, both of which are primarily instrumental 80s inspired synth tunes.  Whilst these two songs functioned as a great opener by establishing an upbeat mood, the band’s transition into the more minimalist electronic material from 2014’s Love Letters did feel a little jarring and somewhat disrupted the mood. Audiences responded most enthusiastically to Metronomy’s older dancier material, but it was the more intimate songs from their latest albums that provided some of the most poignant moments of the set, such as Everything Goes My Way, I’m Aquarius and The Month of Sundays, perfectly placed at the tail end of the set. At times the group’s quirky set up, with the band dressed in matching attire and performing some staged synchronised dance moves, felt a little too self-aware and somewhat detracted from their otherwise fantastic performance.

Also playing on Saturday was American solo-artist Sky Ferreira, who played a handful of songs from her debut record Night Time, My Time, as well as the song that catapulted her into the spotlight, Everything Is Embarrassing. At first glance Ferreira may seem just like any other manufactured pop starlet, but her vibrant set at Splendour proved she is anything but. Ferreira’s unique sound is the combination of a range of eclectic influences, from 80s synthpop to new wave and, more recently, indie rock. The result is a superbly fresh sound that boasts a distinctive 80s retro aesthetic, but hardly sounds derivative. Although it is interesting to note the variety of influences Ferreira incorporates into her own sound, the key to Ferreira’s magic formula is really her ability to write memorable pop songs, as well as her killer voice, which was immaculate throughout the entire set. The first half of Ferreira’s set showcased the best she had to offer, with songs such as 24 Hours, Ain’t Your Right, Boys, Omanko and I Blame Yourself played back to back, all of which hold up as equally superb pop songs. Omanko in particular stood out as featuring a more mature shoe-gaze influenced sound that it would be great to see Ferreira explore in more depth on future records. The second half of the set, which featured some songs from Ferreira’s EP Ghost, was stellar, but did not hold up as well as her opening songs.

As dusk fell Chvrches played to a packed out Amphitheatre crowd on Sunday evening, offering up their take on the synthpop genre. The group opened with hit after hit, playing We Sink, Lies, Lungs and Gun. Although Chvrches were on top of their game, delivering a pitch-perfect set, there was a sense of predictability to their performance and it would be great to hear some new stuff from the band or even some covers. Tunes like Recover and The Mother We Share inspired the most rambunctious crowd response, but it was the bass heavy track Science and Visions that stood out as the most layered and dynamic tune and best utilised the vast Amphitheatre space. As usual, Lauren Mayberry was a delight to watch, offering several memorable moments of banter, such as when she compared a glow-stick thrown on stage to a tampon, and then suddenly realised, “I’m probably the only person to talk about tampons on stage at Splendour.”

Also worth mentioning for their spin on the synthpop genre on Sunday evening was England’s Wild Beasts. The band had a lot of hype surrounding them prior to their set, which unfortunately, they did not really live up to – lacking the vibrancy that makes groups like Chvrches and Metronomy endlessly listenable. Whilst Wild Beasts do have their own sound, a darker and more sprawling take on the synthpop genre, it sounded a little bland in comparison to other bands on the line-up.

Closing Sunday’s festivities was Darkside, who proved to have the most mature and nuanced take on the electronica genre, providing an artful slowed-down jazz-inspired rendition of electronic dance music. It is difficult to compare a group like Darkside to the more indie-pop styles of the other bands discussed in this review, but nevertheless, Darkside stole the show Sunday evening, relying on zero stage gimmicks to entice the audience, with the duo bathed in darkness for the majority of the set.The duo played a handful of songs from their conceptual debut album Psychic, beginning with an exotic drum solo that segues into the lo-fi noise pop tune Freak Go Home. Because many of their songs run about seven minutes long audiences were only privy to a preview of the band's album. It would have been great to hear the whole thing played from start to finish, as all conceptual albums should be heard, but what was heard was evidence enough of the band’s robust talent.

In contrast to all of the different takes on the electronica genre provided by Metronomy, Sky Ferriera, Chvrches, Wild Beasts and Darkside, were the more down to earth garage tones of Parquet Courts and Skaters, as well as the bluesy rock n roll style of The Strypes. All three bands inspired reasonable crowds and most importantly, provided a much-needed rock n roll presence on a heavily electronic lineup.

Parquet Courts’ crowd were particularly enthusiastic, with a sizeable group of male fans congregating at the bottom of the Amphitheatre stage and forming a circle pit during the band’s more popular tunes. The excitement of Parquet Courts' fans was understandable, as the band delivered a high energy set, but most importantly, played a lot of new material for the first time for Australian audiences. Max Savage, the group’s drummer, was unable to tour with the band last year for Laneway Festival and as a result, Parquet Courts decided to hold off on playing a lot of their new material until their return, which was wonderfully debuted at Splendour.

Warming up the Amphitheatre stage prior to Parquet Courts’ lively set was New York City’s Skaters. The group offered a similarly raw take on the garage genre, with a rowdy lunchtime set filled with catchy guitar riffs, although at times some of their songs did feel a little predictable. However, for a band who only have one record under their belt, Skaters demonstrated an impressive new sound and a memorable stage presence.

The Strypes had a lot of hype surrounding their name due to their very young age and their many superstar fans, such as Elton John, Jeff Beck and Rodger Daltry, who have all attested to the band’s immense talent. As the boys took the stage they did not quite live up to this image, appearing a little uneasy and meek-faced when they plunged into their set with fast-paced rock n roll anthem Mystery Man. However, the band soon relaxed into their set and began to dominate the stage like true pros, proving all of the claims of their raw talent absolutely true. In particular, Pete O’Hanlon, the group’s bassist and occasional harmonica soloist, maintained a dynamic stage presence; prancing all over the stage and absolutely killing it on the bass guitar. Whilst the group offered little in the way of stage banter, they maintained a strong connection with their audience by using up the entirety of their stage and getting as close as possible to the crowd. Many of the band’s tunes do sound a little too studio-perfect on their record, detracting from the raw rock n roll vibe they’re going for, but this is something that was easily remedied in the live arena.

Whilst the highlights of Splendour In The Grass belonged to many of the up and coming bands as opposed to the headliners, there was no denying New York City indie rock legends Interpol more than lived up to the hype surrounding their return to Australian shores. The band opened with many of their big hits, playing Say Hello to the Angels, Evil, C’mere and Hands Away back to back, all of which sounded as great as when they were first released, but the biggest surprise during Interpol’s set was how well the band’s new material held up against their old hits. The band followed with new tune My Desire, which featured a darker and more sombre sound, as well as playing their latest single All the Rage Back Home. It would have been great to hear some more new songs from Interpol, but I guess the band had plenty of classic tracks their Australian fans were eager to hear. Interpol finished off their set with one of their most popular and beloved tracks Slow Hands, which left me ravenous for their forthcoming fifth studio album.

Although this year’s Splendour lineup had me worried about the lack of diversity, this perception was proved wrong as the festival demonstrated a nice display of innovative electronica, pop music, folk, indie rock and garage, despite the fact that this was not exactly an even balance. But, if you get to the festival early enough and have a nice walkabout, it is easy to find plenty of diverse talents at Splendour representing a variety of genres of music.