Swans’ Michael Gira – clearly ready for some Sound City action
Sound City reveal the latest acts for May’s festival including Fat White Family, Iceage and various Liverpool talent, Getintothis’ Patrick Clarke foots the bill.
With The Vaccines, Belle & Sebastian and The Flaming Lips already unveiled as headliners for Liverpool Sound City 2015, organisers have announced the next batch of bands for the May date.
Wakefield lo-fi legends The Cribs are front-and-centre, whose sixth studio album For All My Sisters is released this March 23. Having established themselves as true cult heroes since their self-titled debut album in 2004, the three Jarman brothers bring an almighty live reputation along with them to the docks.
Also hitting Sound City off the back of their latest record are 90s-revivalist rockers Peace, whose sophomore album Happy People appeared on February 9. The band were in Liverpool only last month with a raucous two-night residency at The Kazimier; their hook-driven, melodic brand of guitar-pop evidently still snowballing in popularity.
The inclusion of critically-adored noise-rockers Swans is another coup for the festival and sure to delight their dedicated following. Originally active with a continuing rotation of members from 1982-1997, the band reformed in 2010 and have since released three new albums to almost universal acclaim. Known for their experimental, intense, and incredibly loud live shows, their set is already shaping up to be a highlight of the weekend.
Manchester-based art-rockers Everything Everything join the bill and will support The Vaccines on the opening night of the festival. “Liverpool has such a sense and conspicuous love of live music so we always feel at home there, we always have a good time and a great party” said bassist Jeremy Pritchard looking ahead to the slot.
“In the early days of Everything Everything we always seemed to end up roaring drunk, sleeping on someone else’s floor on Smithdown Road,” he continued.
“It will be particularly cool to play at the new location on the docks, that kind of post-industrial landscape is always inspiring.”
Adding to the Merseyside-based contingent are former Coral guitarist turned elegant solo artist Bill Ryder-Jones, cult alt-ravers The Tea Street Band and GIT Award 2015 nominees The Sundowners.
Among the rest of the artists are slick indie-poppers Spector, fearsome Danish punk outfit Iceage, politically-driven spoken-word performer George the Poet and MOBO-winning grime artist Stormzy. Glaswegian guitar duo Honeyblood, East London garage-rockers The Bohicas and tender electrosmiths Aquilo are similarly confirmed.
Liverpool Sound City so far – not bad, eh?
The notorious Fat White Family will also return to the festival for the second consecutive year following a chaotic and controversial set at the Black-E in 2014. Their incendiary Kazimier date later that summer saw similar scenes of debauchery.
The final round up of new additions are Neon Waltz, Real Lies, Blossoms, Loyle Carner, Moon King, Clarence Clarity, Formation, The Griswolds, Bad Meds, YAK, KOF, Gulf, R Seiliog, Moats, Barberos, The Vryll Society, Strange Collective, Sekuoia, Okkyung Lee, Thabo & The Real Deal and Prose.
Sound City CEO Dave Pichilingi said: “It’s a really big year for Sound City - with the move to our incredible new industrial home at Bramley Moore Dock we promised to create a bill that smashed expectations. We believe we have more than delivered on this promise.
“You would literally pay three times the price of our tickets to see half the bill we have put together and we haven’t finished yet – we’ve still got a surprise or two up our sleeve.
“Our new model and approach will redefine the approach to metropolitan festivals and make us the brand to be imitated.”
More acts are to be regularly announced by the festival throughout the coming weeks, including additional keynote speakers at the accompanying conference, already to feature Julian Cope, Mark E Smith and The Slits‘ Viv Albertine among others.
The festival takes place this May 22-24, the conference beginning the previous day. Tickets and further information are available from the official Liverpool Sound City website.
