Due to international geopolitical issues1, it was uncertain whether or not I’d be able to make it down to Leeds for StrangeForms this year. I live 200 miles away, I have to drive down, and fuel supply was not guaranteed. However, if you are reading this, I made it (obviously) and can bring you this comprehensive report. With footnotes.
(Before I go on, I should point out, to those who may have read my recent preview piece that those cheeky scamps at StrangeForms misled me about the running order, and you should pay no attention to the facts as previously stated. Read it, obviously, but don’t treat it as some kind of absolute truth. Because it isn’t.)
I’m not going to waste time describing the venue – it’s the same as it has been for years. If you want to know about the Brudenell, look it up. Google is your friend. It’s here, I am in it, and it hasn’t rained2.
Nor am I going to give you an exhaustive song-by-song write-up of each band’s set. Mostly because I have no idea what songs they play, but also because that would be far too long. If that sort of thing is important to you, try setlist.fm.
SATURDAY
Having skipped all of the scene-setting, we can get straight to the meat. Up first, one of the bands I am particularly excited about, Norwich-based3 doomgazers BIRDWITCH. They seem, at first, an unlikely opening act. Not bright and smiley and cheerful, definitely on the heftier end of the spectrum. They nevertheless have drawn a solid crowd, many of whom are clearly already fans, and many who soon will be. Singer Raya-Mhari Iglesias Beattie – whose name is bigger than she is – is impressive. Her voice swings easily between soft croons and harsh screams, and carries more than a hint of EMMA RUTH RUNDLE, which is never a bad thing. She’s clearly the focal point, owning the stage, whilst her band remains mostly immobile and invisible4. I’m impressed, and want more. I’m in luck, because a brief chat afterwards reveals plans to visit Glasgow next year. I’ll be there5.
Later, I will notice that quite a few more Birdwitch t-shirts leave the gig than arrive. Which is nice.
Birdwitch. Photo: Bruce Cowie
LAST OF EDEN – L.O.E. to their friends – are another band that I’m keen to see. Their brand of sturdy post-rock is just my cup of tea6, and they do it very well. There’s not much to see, though, as they asked Trev at the desk to keep the lights low. To be honest, there’s not much more to say – they play heavy instrumental post-rock, they play it very well, and it’s all good, but there’s no ‘act’, very little ‘flash’, nothing to get in the way of the music. We get only four songs in their half-hour, but they ARE post-rock so what else do you expect? There’s a couple of big tellies at the sides of the stage running some monochrome videos, and that’s it. And the music is what it’s all about, after all.
Also features the first band member of the weekend to join the crowd on the floor. There will be more.
Last Of Eden. Photo: Bruce Cowie
And now we come to the first7 band on the bill that I’ve seen before, AS LIVING ARROWS from, I think, Manchester. They’re too ‘metal’ to be post-rock, and not enough to be post-metal. I shall call them ‘post-hardcore-emo-screamo-metal’, and you can’t stop me because I’m the one writing this. Punchy and dynamic, and then subtle and atmospheric, they do both equally well, and get more than a few feet tapping. We get some brand new material, too, which is nice. I overhear someone in the crowd saying ‘Now, there’s a band that’s going from strength to strength’, and it’s hard to argue with that.
As Living Arrows. Photo: Bruce Cowie
Stepping back from the post stuff, we’re back to the doomy stuff next with the ominously named FORLORN and their ‘pagan metal’. Similar to – but heavier than – Birdwitch, once again we see the lads lurking in the shadow of a charismatic and eye-catching front-lady with her powerful and versatile voice and her twiggy crown8. They lurk in a hefty and crunchy manner, though, and they’re very good. I’m told that they’ll be up in Glasgow with Birdwitch next year, too, and that pleases me.
Forlorn. Photo: Bruce Cowie
Previously Seen Band #2, now, and it’s only GOD ALONE! Turbo-charged dance-math Corkers, they are an absolute cyclone on stage (and off it). Most of the thoughts that go through my head when watching them – and ducking to avoid being felled by them – are along the lines of:
‘What the fu…?’
‘How…?’
‘Wait, what?’
‘Is that even possible?’
God Alone. Photo: Bruce Cowie
I’ve said it before, elsewhere, and probably will say it again, but they are ridiculously, inhumanly skilful, playing more notes per show than many bands do throughout their entire career. They spend much of their 30 minutes in the crowd, and ON the crowd. They are the BEST fun ever and I’m out of breath when they’re done. How they’re still standing, I have no idea. I’d be dead if I did that.
Previously Seen Band #3. Well, not BAND, strictly speaking, but you know what I mean. It’s that there ADAM BETTS, AKA COLOSSAL SQUID and his drum masterclass. If you’ve seen him before, there are no surprises. He sits and batters several shades of shit out of his kit, triggering his samples and being all affable and that. His momentum falters briefly after only one ‘song’, and he calls his computer ‘a twat’ when it decides that sound cards don’t like as much vibration as the Brude’s amplification is providing. A bit of propping-up, and things proceed. We get some very new stuff, some very old stuff, and some other stuff, and it’s all excellent.
Colossal Squid (Adam Betts). Photo: Bruce Cowie
Rather worryingly, it seems that KNIVES have a saxophone and, generally, I hate saxophones9. But it’s OK, it seems to work here. Knives are explosive and chaotic, definitely on the PUNK end of post-punk. They demand only green lights, for some reason, and that’s what they get. They rattle through 45 minutes of short, sharp shocks, squalling and abrasive, encouraging (and joining in with) mosh-pits and crowd surfing. There is quite a lot of coarse language. I get pushed and pummelled and it’s all just fine. I should expect nothing else from a band like this. I’m grinning now.
Knives. Photo: Bruce Cowie
Closing out Saturday we have, perhaps, an odd choice of headliner. MERYL STREEK, an angry protest poet, alone on stage with his laptop, a flickering torch, and his soap-box. (I’m told that he normally plays with a live drummer, but not tonight. Why, I don’t know.) He stalks the stage restlessly, back and forth, on to and off his box, into the crowd and out again, a ‘council house boy’ railing against the horrors and injustice of modern society – specifically Irish, but equally applicable anywhere – targeting poverty, politicians, homelessness, police brutality, sectarianism and religion to a backing of pounding electro beats. Is this entertainment or education? Can’t it be both? It’s thought-provoking and disturbing stuff, but it still rocks hard. Something to think about on the walk home10.
Meryl Streek. Photo: Bruce Cowie
SUNDAY
It’s Day Two and it still hasn’t rained. I’ve had a wander around Leeds, bought two CDs from the market, and a new pair of boots from a shop. You don’t need to know that, do you?
You’d think that Stewart and Kerry might have organized something hangover-friendly to start the day, but no. None of that. THE SOUND OF MODESTY – essentially a vehicle for the songwriting talents of singer Yvonne Han – bring out a crunchy and danceable blend of J-rock and alt-pop, all skittery drums and rushing guitar with Han’s distinctive yelping/screaming and occasionally delicate voice. The room is already pretty busy, and TSoM go down nicely.
The Sound of Modesty. Photo: Bruce Cowie
As do the magnificent PEACH. Although there’s not a lot of soft and sweet about them. Jagged and lurching alt-noise is the order of the day. Do I recognise the singer? Why, yes I do! It’s that there Ellie Godwin of IN VIOLET and erstwhile guest vocalist for a-tota-so! My hastily scribbled notes say that they stray into MUSE territory occasionally, and I guess that I must’ve meant that in a good way, because I like them a great deal. I would buy a CD from them, but they clearly don’t hold with such primitive technology and don‘t have any. Bugger!
Peach. Photo: Bruce Cowie
COWBOYY are supposed to be next, with their extra Y, but they’ve been held up in traffic and can’t get here on time, so I’ll have to wait to see what they’re all about. London ‘industrial pop’ combo TAYNE step up to fill the gap, and they’re awesome! MUCH heftier than their description would suggest, they rock like absolute bastards. Comparisons with HEALTH are inevitable because, to be fair, they DO sound very similar. But I have seen Health, and Tayne are, IMHO, a great deal better11. Short songs, pounding industrial rhythms and soaring/roaring vocals. Today’s New Favourite Band. Unfortunate lack of lights, though, and a strange use of an American accent12.
Tayne. Photos: Bruce Cowie
If anybody has been wondering where the ‘math’ has got to, well, here it comes. Starting with the aforementioned COWBOYY, who can give God Alone a run for their money in the ‘How the fuck can they even DO that?’ stakes. Tippy-tappy guitaring of the highest order, bass and drums to match, they are the best fun. I’d dance, if I weren’t an old fat man. Mind you, their guitar-wrangler doesn’t move around much either though. Perhaps that pedal board is so vast it has its own gravity.
Cowboyy. Photo: Bruce Cowie
SHAKING HAND, on the other hand, do math of an entirely different sort. It’s proggy, chin-strokey, thoughtful math-rock. It’s ‘cinematic’ and expansive, nodding in the direction of post-rock and emo, and really rather fine. I have to skip the end of their set, though, as I need to eat and I DO NOT want to miss any of what comes next.
Shaking Hand. Photo: Bruce Cowie
Because what comes next is the last of the bands I’ve seen before, and a band I would be happy to see again and again and again, the mighty, the incomparable SUGAR HORSE13. The Bristolian post-sludge titans have a new album to plug, and they do exactly that, with most of their all-too-brief 30 minutes being culled from that masterpiece. They are spectacularly loud, and their guitar sound is absolutely filthy14 and it’s glorious. If I didn’t already have the album, I’d be up at that merch stall with my cash in my hand. It’s called Not a Sound in Heaven and you should buy it. They finish with old favourite ‘Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan’ and I wish they would stay and play more. They’re not the prettiest band of the weekend, though.
Sugar Horse. Photo: Bruce Cowie
Two to go. . .
Kowloon Walled City. Photos: Bruce Cowie
The penultimate band of the weekend, and the only one from actual far away, is one I’d NEVER have expected to see at StrangeForms. Fresh off a European tour, it’s the Californian sludge-metal behemoth that is KOWLOON WALLED CITY. The heaviest metal of the day, by a long way, and with what seems to be the biggest crowd. Not surprisingly, I guess, as they haven’t graced these shores for some seven years. I reckon a lot of folks would have been happy to pay for a day ticket just to see them, regardless of whoever else was on the bill. And, perhaps, deservedly so, for they are phenomenal. Punishingly loud, this is angry music. As I write this I’m re-watching the video I made of their set and, holy fuck, that bass is monstrous, clanging and just brutal. You could use that sound to demolish buildings.
After KWC and Sugar Horse, my microphone is whimpering gently, and needs something gentle, and it gets just that next with the very, very lovely DARKHER. I am more than delighted to see her here, as I had a ticket to see her in Edinburgh a while back, but the evil tax collector shut down the venue and she had to cancel. But here she is now, accompanied by, it seems, the drummer from A FOREST OF STARS and all is well. The start is a little delayed due to a persistent and annoying hum coming from somewhere, but we go ahead anyway. Windswept gothic folk-doom, sometimes ethereal and wispy, sometimes crushingly heavy, but never less than glorious. Not unlike a spookier Chelsea Wolfe. Absolutely enthralling. In the past, I have sometimes chosen to head off ahead of the crowd at the end of the day, but not this time. I am NOT missing A SECOND of this. As with KWC, I’m watching the video and it’s genuinely bringing tears to my eyes. She’s THAT good. And she has MAGNIFICENT hair.
Darkher. Photos: Bruce Cowie
OK, we’re done for another year. It has been, I think, one of the best StrangeForms fests ever. If not the best ever festival, then possibly the best ever single day. The Sugar Horse/KWC/Darkher triptych15 is right up there with DAMNATION FEST 2012 when we got BOSSK, MAYBESHEWILL and AMENRA back to back. The wildly varied line-up has been most excellent, curated to near perfection. Nobody has been terrible. Everything ran to schedule. The beer was good. We’ve maybe shifted a wee bit away from the math-heavy format of the past, but there’s no harm in that. No doubt it’ll be back, next year maybe, and that’ll be fine too. I’m going home tired but happy, and my life is just that little bit better for having been here.
It’s on again next year, early April. I have no idea who is going to be there. I don’t care. I have my ticket already.
StrangeForms: Life enhancing.
DISCLAIMER: No part of this report was created using AI, as if it isn’t obvious. Any and all Genuine Stupidity is mine and mine alone. [Editor writes: Apart from the edits]
FOOTNOTES:
- That thing in Iran. You might have heard about it.
- Another reference to the preview piece. Keep up at the back, there.
- But half Scottish.
- Because it’s smokey and dark.
- Ripcord Festival 3. Nice’n’Sleazy. March. Be there.
- Actually, I’m a coffee kinda guy. Don’t drink tea.
- Of a total of only four. Four out of sixteen.
- Which only lasts a couple of songs before getting the heave-ho.
- Honking monstrosities.
- Back to the hotel. I live 200 miles away.
- To be fair to Health, that was in an awful venue with awful sound.
- Maybe he IS American, and the band is just BASED in London. Who knows?
- I really like Sugar Horse.
- I blame Jake Healy and his baritone.
- Triptych – a work of art in three parts.
