A two-day celebration of global psychedelia and all things fuzz, reverb and drone, the festival (founded by the London-based label of the same name and now on its fifth edition) returned to the Effenaar in Eindhoven, the Netherlands this past weekend.
The line up contained bands from 16 different countries, and we did our best to see (at least some of) as many as we could.
The first band for us was the mighty Lorelle Meets the Obsolete, a Mexican garage rock, psych infused project that are lead by Lorena and Alberton. No strangers to this scene, they have been around for many years and seeing their name on a line up always makes me smile. They power through their set with an unmatched professionalism, lulling the crowd deeper with every rotation. So cleverly crafted are their songs that you could easily feel you have fallen down the rabbit hole. They have a UK tour this week, check their socials to see if they are playing in your town.
Next up are Strange Lot, Texans with a jangle to their sound so damn catchy I’m still humming days later. Their last single ‘Hatin’ You’ was produced by Alex Maas of Black Angels fame, so with that kind of pedigree behind them, it goes without saying people were curious. Their set is full of songs that see heads bobbing and feet tapping. Every song is beautifully crafted, listening to what people are saying after and the merch that’s flying from their stall, they’ve certainly made a few new fans here today, myself included.
Minami Deutsch are a band who need no introducing and the psych faithful dutifully flock whenever they tour. The Japanese krautrock masters take to the stage and then fly through a set so intense it literally takes your breath away. With a sound so intricate it ripples from the stage in undulations that sweep away everyone in their path. A stunning performance enhanced by the stunning visuals of Sam Wiehl, some things cannot be captured well in words, this set was one of them.
Headlining today are Brooklyn’s, if not the world’s finest, noise rock maestros, A Place to Bury Strangers. Having seen them over 20 times, I can say with some experience that this is them at their very best; caustic, blisteringly loud and ashamedly in your face. They played, and we reviewed them in the same context back in 2018 (read about it here). Their set takes everyone prisoner, eyes glued to the stage. As is their custom, mid set they venture in to the crowd and perform their for several visceral numbers, before returning to the stage and bursting ear drums once more. From the looks on people’s faces, there are a few uninitiated in the crowd, each one now a convert to the cause.
Quite frankly we don’t know what could possibly follow that so we save our energy for what promises to be a full on day two. Full report to follow…
