STRANGEFORMS 2026 – BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS

‘Is anybody’, I ask, ‘going to do a STRANGEFORMS 2026 preview’?

‘That’ll be you, then’ comes the reply.

Oh. Well, I DID ask.

Let’s see, then, what Stewart, Kerry and the BAD OWL team have in store for us this year, the eleventh year of the finest little festival in t’North.

SETTING THE SCENE

For those unfortunates who have never been to, or just don’t know about, the StrangeForms Festival, it’s a yearly two-day feast of post-rock, post-metal, math-rock, shoegaze and other assorted alternative/underground rock music. In Leeds. Originally in WHARF CHAMBERS, but now firmly established in the BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB. Alumni of the fest include MAYBESHEWILL, NORDIC GIANTS, AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR, SVALBARD, CONJURER and the like. It’s always sometime close to the Easter weekend, as, indeed, it is this year, being on the 18^th and 19^th of April. It never rains for StrangeForms¹.

WHAT’S ON?

It’s an unusual year, in that there are very few returnees this time around. None of the frequently seen faces are here – no POLY-MATH, no ALPHA MALE TEA PARTY, no FALL OF MESIAH, etc. There are, in fact, only four names who have been here before – I’ll get to them shortly. Now, it depends entirely on your own viewpoint whether this is A GOOD THING or not but, personally, I like seeing new things. Either way, I think we can rely on the Bad Owl team to field a class selection of players, with all of the major food groups represented.

Let’s see.

SATURDAY.

Saturday opens with hefty post-rockers L.O.E. (or, as their mums call them, LAST OF EDEN), and that gets me moist right from the kick off. Never seen them before, and I’m more than happy to rectify that. Another new name to me is KNIVES, a noise collective from Bristol, who will shake things loose before the first of the familiar faces, Cork’s own dance/math nutters GOD ALONE come back for their second SF appearance, having previously delivered a sound kicking in 2023. If these lads don’t get your feet moving then, sadly, you are probably dead. Which will set you up nicely for Londoners FORLORN, and their horror-obsessed folky metalcore, if you can imagine such a thing. Technical metal for Twilight fans?

The largest cephalopod in rock – a veritable COLOSSAL SQUID, AKA Adam Betts, legendary drummer/producer – will slither in behind his MASSIVE kit and beat it senseless in a ferocious drum’n’bass style. Having seen him before, I’m not actually sure if what he does is even humanly possible. I couldn’t do it.

New kids BIRDWITCH from Norwich are one of my personal must-sees, with their ecstatic doomgazey post-metal. Never heard of them? Imagine, if you will, a sludgy, doomy Emma Ruth Rundle and you’ll not be far off the mark. Or just listen to them on Bandcamp. That’ll work.

We continue the (very tentative) bird theme next with post-hardcore emo-screamers AS LIVING ARROWS, the third, and last, returnee of the day, who are jolly fine chaps, and really good at what they do. What’s the ‘bird connection’, you ask? They used to be called DEAD BIRD. See, I told you it was tentative.

Who the heck are MERYL STREEK, I wonder, other than Saturday’s headliner? Wrong question. Rather, Who IS Meryl Streek? He is an avant-garde, electro-punk from Dublin. One man and his laptop, very political, very angry. Expect samples, visceral spoken word poetry and uncomfortable history lessons. Something to think about on the way home after the gig.

SUNDAY.

OK, you’re back. You’ve recovered from Saturday night – or are nursing the mother of all hangovers – you’ve been to Abu Bakr’s and have had yourself a nice samosa, and now you’re up for some more class entertainment. If you’re the one with the hangover, Sunday’s opener might be a bit too perky for you. THE SOUND OF MODESTY, a 5-piece from that there London, are a bit like a J-rock Paramore, a bouncy alt-rock Evanescence.

If that doesn’t wake you up, TAYNE should finish the job. Industrial pop, a slightly less abrasive NIN. Or maybe HEALTH. All of which may, or may not, prepare you for the final old faces of the weekend, the magnificent SUGAR HORSE, who are so much more than the self-declared ‘decidedly average band’. Prog-sludge post-metal of the highest order, you’re never entirely sure what they’re going to do next, but it’s guaranteed to be interesting, at the very least. Something that could, perhaps, also be said about SHAKING HAND. A curious blend of mathy/jazzy emo, post-punk and post-rock, vocals softly sung. Bristol’s PEACH, on the other hand, take the post-punk in an entirely different direction, noisier and angrier, emphasising the ‘punk’ bit. Reminded me of DEAD KENNEDYS in places, but I’m no expert.

You could’ve knocked me sideways when they announced that Californian post-hardcore sludge crew KOWLOON WALLED CITY would be joining in this year. I was NOT expecting that! It’s surprises like that that make this such an exciting festival. Prepare for a pummelling. Weirdly followed by the sunniest of math rock from COWBOYY. Yes, 2 Y’s. Information is scant, but they’re from the south coast – of England, presumably – and apparently they sound a bit like BLACK MIDI [RIP Ed.]. Whoever THEY were.

Now, Sunday’s headliner has got me unreasonably excited. I was going to see DARKHER in Edinburgh a while back, but the tax man closed the venue and they had to cancel, so I’m SO happy to see them here. Beautiful, haunting, doomy dark folk, and the spine-chillingly gorgeous voice of JAYN MAIVEN, it would be easy to compare Darkher to CHELSEA WOLFE, but they’re more than just that. Find out for yourself by buying a StrangeForms ticket –or several – and getting yourself down – or up – to Leeds in April. I’ll be there, but you don’t need to speak to me.

StrangeForms is always a wildly varied feast of alternative music, and this year’s is no different, but still very different. There’s a lot less math this year, and a lot more… other stuff. Will it be the best yet? I don’t know, but it’s going to be up there.

LINKS’N’STUFF:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1895403594525852

SATURDAY

MERYL STREEK
https://merylstreek.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/merylstreek/

AS LIVING ARROWS
https://aslivingarrows.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/aslivingarrows.band/

BIRDWITCH
https://birdwitch.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Birdwitch

COLOSSAL SQUID
https://adambettscolossalsquid.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/colossalsquidmusic1

FORLORN
https://weareallforlorn.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/weareallforlorn

GOD ALONE
https://godalone.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/godalonecork

KNIVES
https://knivesnoise.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/knivesnoise

L.O.E.
https://weareloemusic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/weareloemusic

SUNDAY