Yuck are the epitome of the ’90s revival that seems to be in full global force. We’re not complaining, though. Sporting double denim, fuzzy-headed frontman Daniel Blumberg released every word like he meant it, receiving slow claps and head nods from attentive fans in the front row. The army of others (and there were a lot of ‘em) with tired feet chilled out on the hill, swaying to heavily distorted layers of the band’s scuzzy slacker rock.
From the moment they stepped out on stage, it became clear
The Horrors are in a league of their own. Free from their past novelty goth look and disposing of banter and band theatrics, The Horrors reminded us that what really was important was the music. Hiding behind a veil of a fringe, spindly vocalist Faris Badwan spent almost the entire set static, with guitarist Joshua Hayward and bassist Rhys Webb occasionally spinning around behind him. The opening of each song was prompted with a cheer, but like the band the crowd stood still and expressionless, presumably taking in each nuance of their sound. The Horrors predominantly played tracks off their latest album
Skying, reaching into their back catalogue for an excellent rendition of ‘Who Can Say’ and rounding out on ‘Still Life’ (though their "last song" was followed by an encore of the expansive shoegazey ‘Moving Further Away’, much to our delight). Despite being told by some little birdies that Faris acted like a complete twat at his Can’t Say DJ set the night before (he allegedly refused to take photos with fans), we can’t help but excuse the arrogance of a band this good.
As the sky turned dark, ‘Happy Birthday’ balloons floated around a waiting audience. Whoever was celebrating their day of days was sure in for a treat. In front of a starry backdrop, French electro-pop act
M83 sent out life-affirming synthy goodness under smoke and flashing lights. It was epic, with clapping, people on shoulders and chants of "oh, oh, oh". Obvious favourites were ‘Midnight City’ and ‘Reunion’, with most songs coming off their latest album
Hurry Up We're Dreaming. The brains behind the trust, Anthony Gonzales at one point commented on the "endless sea of people". And it, quite literally, was that – a dense sea of people from the stage to the festival entrance (trust us, we had to squeeze our way out mid-set). But seeing as M83’s ‘Midnight City’ was crowned the 2011 Song of the Year by demigods Pitchfork (and received accolades from the rest of the music press), it came as no surprise.
Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the festival,
SBTRKT were running 25 minutes late. Not that anyone waiting seemed to mind – they were all savouring the last minutes of the day getting down to the DJs' tunes (which were very well-selected all day, might I add). The ‘technical difficulties’ worked out pretty well for us, and anyone who wandered down after M83/Washed Out/Oneman, because it meant the festival ran overtime and virtually everyone got the chance to party to tribal drums and cowbells, singing “you’re giving me the coldest stare” at the top of their lungs. It’s a rare occasion when a negative becomes a plus – not bad Laneway, not bad.
Head to the Laneway Band gallery for the first half of our review.
PHOTOS: Ian Laidlaw
WORDS: Bianca Fioritti