Last Saturday I went to X&Y Festival at Liverpool's O2 Academy.
With many city-based 'festivals' springing up around the country (Dot to Dot, Sound City) it's no wonder X&Y has taken off, despite only being in it's second year of running.
The lineup was a mixed bag - bigger names, emerging bands, and bands just starting out. For £10 it was definitely worth a try. The festival took place over two days; Saturday at the O2 Academy using both stages, and Sunday at East Village Arts Club.
photo: X&Y Festival/I Love Live Events
We arrived at about 6pm, and caught the end of Run Tiger Run's set - a new contribution to the Liverpool music scene with a sound reminiscent of Dance a la Plage, and guitar riffs to rival those created by a certain Yannis Philipakkis. You can check out their Youtube channel here.
Next up were Jaws, one of my favourite new bands, from Birmingham. Their new single 'Gold' (and every other track they've released) will be top of your summer playlist, I can guarantee it.
Then we had to divide our time between Discopolis on stage 2, and Catfish and The Bottlemen on stage 1. Discopolis are an electronic four-piece band from Edinburgh. Their sound is hard to describe, but you can listen to their debut single 'Lofty Ambitions' on their Soundcloud page here.
Do I even need to tell you who Catfish and the Bottlemen are? They played a fantastic set, as always. Probably my favourite of the day, but then maybe I'm just biased..? You can check out the interview I did with them back in January here, and their new single 'Homesick' (with an even catchier B-side, 'Pacifier') is available on iTunes now.
Lastly, but by no means least, The Heartbreaks who were brilliant as expected. They played mostly new material, which sounded really good! I even got to ask Matthew a few questions..
photo: louderthanwar.com
You're from a little seaside town with a pretty much non-existent music scene. Was this a reason for starting the band - to get out of Morcambe?
Certainly. I’ve been trying to escape since the first time I ran away from home; five years old, a bindle over my shoulder and a bottle of lemonade under my arm. The best pop music is all about escapism. And we make the very best pop music.
If you weren't in the band what do you think you'd be doing?
We’d be in the gutter. Looking at the gutter.
Your top 5 bands at the moment?
We hate everything.
Aside from a new album this autumn (?), what else is on the cards for The Heartbreaks?
Oh, I don’t know about the autumn. A single certainly, but not an album... Until then? I dunno. A little miniature golf, a little football perhaps...
Who did you enjoy seeing at X&Y?
Catfish & The Bottlemen. They're sweet guys. They remind me of ourselves, before the cruel and shallow money trench that is the music industry sucked out any joy that we once felt for life.
You can find The Heartbreaks on:
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