Splendour In The Grass is one of
Queensland’s largest festivals, and for many Queenslanders, one of our only
chances to catch international bands during their busy touring schedules.
Whilst Splendour always boasts a
wide variety of popular bands, it is also a great chance to catch more
underground acts destined to break it big time. If you look back at any of the
past Splendour line-ups you will see a host of massively successful bands
playing an early daytime slot from back when they had just started out.
Skaters: Sunday, 12:45
pm
This year’s Splendour features a
whole lot of electronica and not a lot of down to earth rock music, something
this is becoming more and more apparent every year. Skaters are of the latter
variety and will hopefully inspire enough dirty rock n roll antics to make up
for this year’s serious lack of garage. Like many great rock groups, Skaters
came into form at a house party in the summer of 2011 when songwriter Michael
Ian Cummings met English guitarist Josh Hubbard. Fast forward a few months and
Cummings got a call from Hubbard inquiring about the possibility of getting a
group together. From there on the pieces all fell together as Cummings enlisted
the help of drummer Noah Rubin and bassist Dan Burke, and Skaters was
officially formed. Later that year the group’s fate was sealed as they signed
with Warner Bros. and then eventually released their debut album Manhattan
to near universal acclaim. This is the kind of band that embody all the myths
about rock n roll in New York City.
Broods: Sunday, 1:45
pm
Broods are one of many minimalist
electronic groups popping up as of late, somewhat riding the coattails of
Lorde’s massive success, with more than a few similarities evident between the
two, including the facts that both hail from New Zealand and share the producer
Joel Little. Broods consists of one part Georgia Notts and one part Caleb Nott,
brother and sister. The duo veer the line between indie cool and generic pop a
little too closely at times, but there is definitely enough incentive to check
out their Sunday afternoon set. Whilst their single Bridges put them
under the spotlight, it is some of the more downbeat, melancholic tunes on
their EP, such as Sleep Baby Sleep that really stand out as having a lot
of potential.
Ásgeir: Saturday, 5:30
pm
Fans of singer-songwriter John
Grant may have already heard Asgeir’s debut album, In The
Silence, as Grant was enlisted to translate the album into English and
then eventually helped to create an English reproduction. For most people,
however, Asgeir’s melodic folk will be an entirely new sound. Asgeir
Trausti Einarsson, the man behind ‘Asgeir’, harks all the way from Iceland,
which certainly shows on his album with his trademark accented vocals. The
sensitive and vulnerable lyrics evoke a Bon Iver aesthetic, whilst the ethereal
backdrop brings to mind Sigur Ros, just the kind of hybrid that would likely
appeal to a Splendour regular.
Darkside: Sunday,
10:30 pm
Okay, there’s a reason Darkside is
closing out the festival on Sunday evening and that’s because they are one of
the most exciting and innovative acts to play this year’s festival. Fans of
Nicholas Jarr will have probably heard Darkside’s debut album, as the
singer-songwriter forms one half of the duo, along with Dave Harrington. Whilst
Darkside continues to buster the electronic trend of this year’s festival, the
duo bring their own unique stamp to the genre, creating a fusion of old school
70s rock n roll vibes with an otherworldly electronic aesthetic. Fans of
Darkside and Jarr would also do well to check out Jarr’s DJ set later that
night.
Darlia: Friday, 12:45
pm
Amongst the onslaught of diverse,
if not somewhat generic electronic acts featured on this festival’s lineup, is
Darlia, a Blackpool grunge revivalist group you can file next to Drenge and
Royal Blood. The band have generated a fair amount of hype following the
release of their EP Candyman, which spurred a few Nirvana and
Placebo comparasions and landed them a spot on the Splendor In The Grass
lineup. The band’s Australian tour, including their sideshows in Melbourne and
Sydney, marks frontman Nathan Day’s first plane trip – not a bad way to
celebrate the occasion.
First Aid Kit: Sunday,
7:00 pm
Whilst we have talked a fair bit
about the inundation of electronica at this year’s Splendour, there also seems
to be a bit of a folk trend going on. One such artist is the Swedish folk duo
First Aid Kit, consisting of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg. Rather then
being overly sentimental or minimalist acoustic like many of the indie folk
groups that have headed Splendor, First Aid Kit are refreshingly rich and down
to earth. They're one of those one in a million Youtube success stories, rising
to prominence in 2008 when their video cover of Fleet Foxes' Tiger
Mountain Peasant Song spread their name across the internet, even
though they were already fairly well-known in Sweden.They released their debut
album in 2010 and have since then being going strong both in their homeland and
in their international circuit; this year's Splendour will surely see them
break through the Australian market.
DMA’s: Friday, 1:15 pm
We’ve talked about DMA's enough on
AAA so I won't detail the band’s short history, but suffice to say, if you
arrive early enough on Friday afternoon, DMA’s are one act not to miss. Their
first tour of Australia earlier this year proved the band could live up to the
hype generated after they were signed to I OH YOU with only one song recorded,
with their exclusive spot on the Splendor line-up only cementing the success
that is surely lurking right around the corner for DMA’s. With their sunny
Britpop inspired sound DMA’s are sure to stand out against this year’s
electronic drenched line-up.
The Preatures: Friday,
2:40 pm
Even though they haven’t even
released a debut album yet it is somewhat controversial to classify The
Preatures as an ‘underground’ act considering how much press has surrounded
their name in the past year. Their hit song Is This How You Feel? circulated
Australian radio stations for months last year and landed a spot in the top ten
of Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown. This year they’ve released a second
single, Two Tone, boasting a dreamy 70s rock n roll vibe that nicely
demonstrates the group’s wide range. Their upcoming debut album is surely one
of the most hyped up Australian releases for this year and Splendor will be Australian
audiences’ first chance to preview some new material.
The Strypes: Friday,
4:00 pm
When you look at The Strypes images of
The Strokes, Jake Bugg and The Arctic Monkeys all spring to mind, and a hybrid
of all these artists and their old school blues influences is not a bad way of
describing how The Strypes sound. Whilst The Strypes have been kicking around
since 2011, they’ve only released one album so far, but they’re not exactly an
under the radar sort of band, having garnered the praise of Elton John (who
signed them to his label), the ever voluble Noel Gallagher, Jeff Beck and Roger
Daltry, amongst many others. The Strypes make music that truly recalls
yesteryear, a neo-early-sixties sound that strikes a great balance between
nostalgia and a more modern day rock n roll attitude.
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