Following on from last year’s successful launch, Core. Festival has returned to make Glasgow Great Again. There’s a greater focus on homegrown talent this time round, with a mix of local legends, up-and-comers and a few blasts from the past making up an exciting roster, especially for those who have followed Scotland’s vibrant underground scene for any time, but beyond that there will be no shortage of quality acts from across the UK, Europe and US that will make this year go down a treat. Split across three stages and two venues, namely The Hug and Pint and Woodside Halls, it will be a little bit more compact than last year but it’s still worth limbering up to catch as much as you can.
Festivities open on Friday night in the new venue for this year at Woodside Halls, where all eyes will rightly be on Show Me The Body, whose caustic noise-rock will bring a little NYC volatility back to Glasgow. Glitterer, the latest project from ex-Title Fight mainman Ned Russin, will undoubtedly please anyone solely missing some late noughties emo-tinged rock in their lives, but it will definitely be worth turning up early for the dreamy, woozy shoegaze of Whitelands.
In terms of home-grown talent, there are no shortage of gems to be found on Saturday, from the riot grrl-inflected Hey, Lonely Planet opening up the day’s packed schedule over at The Hug and Pint to the long-awaited return of Glasgow’s own astral travellers Holy Mountain. It’s been many a year since they last played and the fortunate few who saw them at various sweaty dives in the 2010s will have felt their absence greatly. Expect riffs, beards and heady vibes in that order.
Over at Woodside Halls’ Room 2, another familiar bunch of noisy ne’er-do-wells by the name of Cutty’s Gym will be returning to the stage for the first time in what feels like forever to do what they do best – play loud and take no prisoners. From further afield, Manchester doom-punk four-piece Witch Fever are sure to floor anyone who catches their set. If 2022’s debut album Congregation didn’t make them huge, high-profile support slots with the likes of My Chemical Romance and Idles have brought them creeping ever closer to the mainstream, so this will be one to watch. Machukha aren’t quite as well known but as they close the room on Saturday, expect blackened hardcore and moments of errant tranquillity in what could well be the most intense performance of the weekend.
The main stage is naturally all about the heavyweights and you don’t get much heavier than Part Chimp. The London sludge squad have been plying their trade for over two decades now, and anyone that’s caught them in the past few years will testify that time is doing nothing to slow them down. As equally deserving of legendary status is McLusky, a band whose influence you’ll undoubtedly have perceived even if you’ve never heard a single note, and their appearance here is the first certified miss-them-and-miss-out set of the festival. Woking’s Employed To Serve will be returning again to open pits and melt faces, and the fact that they have just finished recording their next album means a few new treats may be in store. Finally, Core. faves Gilla Band will finish the evening off with a barrage of woozy, irreverent and caustic noise rock that should wake you up right before bedtime.
Sunday’s main stage offerings are no slouch either, given that they’ll be opening with none other than Echoes and Dust faves DVNE. Their latest full-length Voidkind is possibly their most ambitious release to date so there’s little doubt that this set will be a highlight for lovers of riffage and proggy bliss. Washington titans of post-hardcore The Fall Of Troy will also makes their first Scottish appearance in eight years and based on recent setlists, we can expect a few rare gems in amongst the classics here. For anyone who hasn’t seen one-man industrial juggernaut Author & Punisher before, go into this blind and have any preconceptions blown out of the water; for everyone else, you already know why you’ll be here for every second of what will certainly be a blistering performance. Finally, Empire State Bastard, the idiosyncratic grind lovechild of Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil and Mike Vennart of Oceansize, will be making a welcome return to Glasgow. Following two well-received shows last year (as well as that debut album), they should be firing on all cylinders and closing with a bang.
Room 2’s buzz is all about OMO, a new project featuring members of DeSalvo, Mogwai and Take A Worm For A Walk Week, will be playing their first show. Very little is known about them so far but based on the personnel alone, this will be loud! There will be plenty to watch prior to that, though, including local hardcore outfit False Hopes playing their first show in seven years, The Rhubarb letting rip with some monolithic stoner doom and Nottingham’s Underdark keeping the black metal contingent happy(ish) with their sleek, savage and socially conscious take on metal’s most misanthropic subgenre.
For heaviness, though, The Hug and Pint will be the place to be on Sunday. Danish blackened hardcore veterans Hexis will be tearing up the stage over there and what will certainly be a visceral experience. Their live shows are rightly infamous now so this will be worth getting an early spot for. Kaonashi might not pack the same punch but with strong songwriting, finely tuned hooks and emotional depth, they’re more than worth checking out, and if more brutality is what you’re after, you can stick around for the anti-fascist black metal onslaught of Tyrannus. That just leaves the mighty Coffin Mulch to close the festival for the year. For old-school death metal that’s heavy on razor-sharp riffing and light on trend-following gimmickry, they’re the perfect band to sign off on. Uncompromising, unpredictable and unmissable – just like the festival itself.
