Festival season is quickly drawing towards a close, but there are still a handful of opportunities left for music fans to head outdoors for some music. Whilst the weather may not have been kind this year, today in Gunnersbury Park, London is pretty much perfect festival weather ā itās warm without being too hot, itās cloudy but no rain in sight!
These London day events often struggle to bring in the fans, but the bill today has been enough to bring a healthy crowd to West London. The crowd are soon penned into what is now a standard minimalistic arena framed by overpriced food and drink.
There really isnāt a lot to do other than eat, drink and be merry, so the exuberant fifty minute change-overs are a tad extreme! Thankfully though, the early acts Deijuvhs, Joey Valence & Brae and KennyHoopla are all more than capable of getting the crowd hyped up.
Eventually we arrive at our special guests Pendulum who take to the stage at 18:40, which really feels a little early for a Pendulum set! The daylight in particular limits the effectiveness of their usual visual show.
Luckily the band themselves are more than capable to engaging the audience and building up the atmosphere. In a set that is perhaps more reliant on the music than normal, the likes of āPropane Nightmaresā, āGraniteā, āWitchcraftā, āTarantulaā and āWatercolourā, all have the crowd singing and moving along.
A highlight comes with Bullet For My Valentineās Matt Tuck joining the band for new single, āHaloā, which goes down very well. Along with āSelf vs Selfā, the heavier tracks fare well with an audience full of metalheads, and Pendulum leave the stage having once again proved their dexterity.
Comparatively on the other hand, headliners Limp Bizkit could be called a one trick pony, thankfully for them that trick is to get the audience riled up to then smash out an energetic and riotous set.
WATCH ‘BREAK STUFF’ on YOUTUBE
Limp Bizkit – ‘Break Stuff’
From the moment Fred Durst stalks across the stage, the atmosphere ratchets up a dozen notches, and he is able to control the crowd with absolute aplomb. The band are clearly on top form and the audience reciprocates this energy which creates a very special performance.
Early material predominantly makes up the set list and that works well with a crowd which by show of hands is mainly catching the band live for the first time. āDad Vibesā and āGold Cobraā do make appearances though and change up the pace for a short while.
The show comes to an end almost as soon as it starts due to the early curfew, and fans are left wanting more, but then this is always a good thing. It would appear that somehow in 2023 Limp Bizkit may be enjoying a second coming!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
Up first this week is the latest news from Download Festival who this week added additional bands whilst also confirming the stage splits for each day.
The Metallica, Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot headlined event will also now feature the likes of State Champs, Puscifer, Hundred Reasons, Static Dress, Cancer Bats and more.
Following the announcement of new album, ‘Starcatcher’, last week, this week has seen the news that Greta Van Fleet will be back out on tour later this year.
The UK will see the band tackling arena shows in London, Manchester and Glasgow with support from Mt. Joy.
Our News Report continues with Atreyu who have also announced when they will return to the UK. Alongside their EU tour the band will play a run of eight dates in the UK this November.
Continuing the theme of bands announcing their return to the UK, Danko Jones have revealed a full EU and UK tour for this Autumn that will finish at the Garage in London.
We segue our News Report now from tour announcement to new music as Dream Wife unveiled both this past week.
As the group get ready for the release of new album, ‘Social Lubrication’ on June 9th, they’ve set up a full UK tour set to take place in October.
Support for the tour will come from Ash Kenazi.
The band also had more new music on offer with new single, ‘Orbit’, which you can check out below.
Dream Wife – ‘Orbit’
On the single the band explain, āWritten through the joy of jamming together and locking into the groove like a multi limbed space age organism, Orbit has a dance rock edge from the early noughties of bands like New Young Pony Club and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Lyrically, it was inspired by post-lockdown London coming back to life and sharing a space through friendship and community. And how each day you never know whatās in store for you or how a stranger can become someone close to you – for a day, a heartbeat, a phase, or a lifetime.ā
Next up we have Skindred who have this week shared their new single, ‘If I Could’, which you can check out above.
The track comes from new album, ‘Smile’, which is out on August 4th.
Frontman Benji Webbe recalls that the track was inspired by lockdown and how much he hated 2020 and the effect it had on the world. āOn the other hand, 2023 is a different story,ā he says. āWeāve released new music and weāre still to drop another few monsters from our album āSmileā. Weāve got the KISS tour coming, and weāve also got our headline tour supporting the new album. So 2023, to me, looks like a very exciting time to be in Skindred. Iām very optimistic about the future!ā
The Amity Affliction debut ‘Not Without My Ghosts’
The Amity Affliction – ‘Not Without My Ghosts’
This week also saw The Amity Affliction release their latest single, ‘Not Without My Ghosts’, which features Phem, and you guessed it – you can check it out above!
The new album of the same name will be out on May 12th.
It was a big week for James and the Cold Gun as they announced that their self-titled debut album will arrive on July 21st!
Accompanying that announcement was new single, ‘Something to Say’, which you can check out above.
Speaking on the album, frontman James Joseph says, āWe can’t wait to get this album out into the world, it’s a no frills rock and roll ripper recorded ourselves in the garage where we first started jamming as a band, we think it’s a great introduction to what we’re about at our core, loud, energetic guitar rock…ā
Another band approaching the release of their debut album is Militarie Gun who will release, ‘Life Under The Gun’ on June 23rd!
This week the group shared the latest single from them ahead of that album. You can check out ‘Very High’ above.
The record is inextricably linked to Sheltonās past. āI grew up in a household with family members struggling with addiction,ā he explains. āIt was an oppressive force. We were always wondering, āIs it going to be a good day or a bad day? Are the cops going to come today? What am I going to come home to after school?’ā
On the album, āThis is what I thought we sounded like all along,ā Shelton laughs. āItās always felt like a melody-forward band to me, but I think now weāre finally achieving what I was always setting out to do.ā
Willie J Healey has shared his latest single, ‘Little Sister’, which you can listen to above.
The track features on upcoming album, ‘Bunny’, which is due for release August 25th.
Willie says āThe whole era is something that I love. Long before making āTwin Heavyā, I had always listened to funk, soul and R&B, but for some reason it never translated into my own music. Really my inspiration was just the feel of things.āā
He goes on to say about āLittle Sisterā specifically “We recorded it in New York, just one take, it was magical. I remember spending a couple of hours learning and messing around with it and then it was done. I really just enjoy playing music that makes you feel really good.ā
Lottery Winners – ‘Letter To Myself’ feat. Frank Turner
Lottery Winners had more music to share this with as they debuted their new single, ‘Letter To Myself’, which features Frank Turner. You can listen to the track above.
The band are set for the release of their new album, ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’, on April 28th!
With just a month to go until their debut EP ‘Youāre Welcome’, out 19th May, Lambrini Girls share new single āLads Lads Ladsā about toxic masculinity.
“In order to be a lad, make sure to follow the following guidelines: excessive drinking, harassing anyone with a pulse and starting fights. Most importantly, make sure to never talk about your feelings as this simply cannot be associated with manliness. Lad culture is the shit stain on the bathroom floor and toxic masculinity is the toilet paper that refuses to unstick from the shoe of society. Nobody wins.” says the band.
headcage – ‘false gold’
Alternative Post-Hardcore band headcage have shared their brand new single āfalse goldā.
āWith this track Iām trying to lay down the premise of always wanting more from life, as in wealth, status or fame but ultimately realising the people and culture that those things predominantly exist in are not the world I come from or identify with in any way, shape or form. To put it simply, it’s something Iāve always wanted for so long, and is also something I hateā. – Vocalist, Leyum Pattinson.
Grove Street – ‘Lessons of the Past’
Recently signed to UNFD, get yourselves acquainted with Grove Street via recent single, āLessons of the Pastā!
āGrove Street becoming a part of UNFD felt like it was meant to happen,ā says guitarist Sandy. āA label that fully believes in us and wants to nurture our growth as a band is a rare thing to be seen. This band started out as fun between friends, we never had any expectations of reaching the levels we have and with UNFD behind us we can push those levels even further.ā
Speaking of the track, the band share, āLessons of the Past focuses on police brutality, abuse of power, systemic oppression and racism. People not taking a stand against these things only encourages them to manifest further, and we as people must do better to hold those in power accountable.”
