AS A sunny day dawned on Saturday, May 9, stages in some of Reading’s favourite venues were set to welcome new names and firm favourites alike as Are You Listening? Festival was back in town.
After a warm-up show the previous night, which saw indie darlings Cassia joined by Pale Blue Eyes and Ciao Lucifer in St Laurence Church, the festival began in earnest with the one-two punch of Reading’s own Miss Hunte, bringing RnB-influenced, jazz-inflected neo-soul; and the subtler sounds of Brighton’s Ladylike.
With the day’s events underway in earnest, Charli Lucas brought iridescent indie pop–and an undeniable irreverance– to proceedings, ahead of a secret set.
While rumours abounded, festival favourites AKDK graced the stage once again for a frenetic set, barrelling through with high energy and hands aloft.
The two-piece commanded the stage with an air of casual approachability–slightly at odds with their blood-pumping, tech-driven set of driving, danceable, digital fare.
Meanwhile over at Purple Turtle, LEMONSUCKR brought a similarly tech-tinged indie rock tirade reminiscent of the best of the early 2010s, but with thumping bass and drum beats laced with arpeggiated synth and antagonistic angst – as well as the occasional cow bell.
The set represented the outfit’s first show in Reading and included their very latest single, Stain, released as recently as Friday.
The excitement was palpable, including among the band themselves, as they were compelled to scale the bar at Purple Turtle and play the drums with a number of light fittings at the venue, to the delight of the crowd.
Elsewhere, home-grown talent was continuing to plant its flag as The Borough brought the latest chapter of a subtle but significant rise to dominance over at Sub 89.
The Tilehurst quartet took to the stage, stalked through their first couple of songs by a be-suited secret service snoop in sunglasses.
The Borough bring paranoid new-indie surf rock, wrapped in the leather jacket of a laconic, stand-offish, coolly detached attitude which compliments it perfectly.
While understated, the set was tightly-performed and well-received, engagingly ironic and promising in equal measure.
Having cemented themselves as one of the highlights of the day, they closed their set with an airtight rendition of the crowd-pleasing track Thursday in Baghdad.
Hot on their heels was another local offering, as Darius Zaltash brought something altogether different to the Market Place stage.
Zaltash’s earnest, approachable songwriting is a perfect fit for his impressive vocal ability and subtle but assured musicianship, reminiscent of the likes of Sea Girls.
Among the highlights was an acoustic rendition of the soulful single September Blur, followed up by a cover of U2’s Where the Streets Have No Name, which transitioned into Zaltash’s upcoming track, Glorious, due for release later this month.
Yet another of Reading’s rising roster, Bone-Idle brought assured indie rock to Face Bar with humour and aplomb.
The band wasted no time making themselves at home and were firing on all cylinders from the off.
Songs like Stones showed the band at their most ebullient and irreverent, and an as-yet-unreleased track showed particular promise.
Closing out the set with the barnstorming performance of Liquorice, Bone-Idle are a band grabbing the bull by the horns–and thoroughly enjoying the ride.
Back over at Sub89, Reading’s showcase of its diverse deluge of talent was yet to slow, as Puma Theory set out their stall.
The band radiated cool, confident charm–one which is well-earned as an outfit that has gone the distance and earned their stripes through their self-assured songwriting and assertive live performance.
Among the highlights of their consummate set was Telephone Man, which only recently saw the light of day in their live(ish) EP, Live At Farm Road Studios, ahead of its inclusion on their upcoming album.
After a slew of the town’s own talent, it was time for some fresh faces at St Laurence Church, where Adult DVD made their Reading debut.
The venue was packed to its impressively lofty rafters as the outfit brought a flurry of techno, howl-along vocals, and driving beat–infectious, ebullient, and effusive.
They were followed by the even more affronting electro-punk outfit Yard, whose brand of screamo-laced dance was a sight–and sound– to behold.
The pair took to the stage with a disarming charm and understated politeness, before diving head-first into a barrage of chest-thumping beats, addling arpeggios, and voracious vocals.
Over at Face Bar, things continued to hot up with Good Health Good Wealth, who returned to town following their rapturous appearance at Reading Festival last year.
The band–now with a new permanent member on drums–wasted little time, kicking into fan-favourites Guinness and Moonlight, before setting the venue ablaze (purely metaphorically) with the undeniable anthem Eating Good.
Good Health Good Wealth are charmingly cocky, yet considered, bringing just as much rowdy ruckus as incisive introspection; exacting in their abandon, and appropriately unabashed.
Frontman Bruce Breakey was a commanding presence well-matched by an enthusiastic crowd, especially as the set continued from You Don’t Know Me into a slightly more introspective The Weekend, before closing out with Beautiful Boy
As the night began to truly draw in, AYL had a few more tricks up its sleeve, as Dan Le Sac took to the stage over at Milk.
He makes a return to the festival after having appeared at the inaugural event 13 years ago, making it one of the most anticipated and momentous sets of the night.
A small but complicated set-up was presided over with charm and disarming friendliness, as Dan Le Sac brings the audience into the process of his performance, often giving peeks behind the curtain as a musical soundscape unfurls around him.
The pure size and complexity of the set effortlessly filled the venue, making its cosy extent feel acres bigger, even despite a closely-packed and energised audience.
Riotous sets from Panic Shack and Murkage Dave brought things to a dizzying crescendo at Sub 89 and Face Bar respectively, before O.T.R.D and DJ Gilbert ensured the most enduring attendees had their fill back in Milk.
With Are You Listening? over for another year, the festival has never seemed more of an unmissable showcase for the very best that Reading has to offer, both in terms of its fan-favourite venues and–more strikingly–in its absolute wealth of local talent.
At a time when the music industry seems more unsure than ever, AYL is at its most vital, most celebrated, and most triumphant.
More information about upcoming shows and the continued community work of Heavy Pop is available via: heavypop.co.uk
News, updates, and announcements for next year’s festival can be found over at: areyoulistening.org.uk
