The full line up has been confirmed for the annual Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia, and as usual it more than impresses.
Songhoy Blues, a desert blues group from Timbuktu, Mali. The band was formed in Bamako after they were forced to leave their homes during the civil conflict and the imposition of Sharia Law. Their latest album Résistance has received critical acclaim and their addition as headliners on the Friday shows the esteem they are held in.
American psych main stays The Black Angels are a name familiar with many and the presence as headliners on the Saturday has caused many to rejoice. Named after a Velvet Underground song and taking inspiration from Edvard Munch quotes, 2017’s fifth album Death Song has split opinion in the community yet no-one can deny the quality it contains. Known for their exciting live performances, Furnace will no doubt be full to capacity for their set.
Friday hosts an array of other treats including Croydon’s Loop, Rocket Recordings’ Gnod, Swedish prog trail blazers Träd, Gräs Och Stenar, The KVB who channel industrial psych at the finest level and The Telescopes who recently released new album As Light Return. As is the way with LPF, a treasure trove of lesser known delights are also on offer, we recommend Italy’s Julie’s Haircut, Boston’s Magic Shoppe who are touring their new EP High Goodbye recently released on Little Cloud Records, LA Witch, Londoners girl power quintet Yassassin and Manchester lads Purple Heart Parade who return for a second time.
Saturday highlights are numerous, but the late addition of A Place to Bury Strangers has caused quite a stir and rapidly become a must see. The return of the ever rising Jane Weaver is welcome and Chile’s The Holydrug Couple are sure to command attention. There aren’t really any lesser known bands on the Saturday, the quality it that good, but of particular note are Argentina’s Hurricane Heart Attacks (named after The Warlocks song), Sweden’s Dead Vibrations and NONN who are both affiliated with Fuzz Club Records, elusive Norwegian’s Rancho Relaxo whose latest release was on Wrong Way Records and Spaniards Celestial Bums.
The beauty of LPF that even though everyone has a list of ‘must-sees’, there will still be an exciting plethora of new discoveries.
