SATURDAY is going to be a day to remember for live music fans as venues across Reading come together for the annual Are You Listening? Festival.
The independent event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Reading Mencap, and this year it’s going to be bigger and better than ever. And quite right too, as the charity is marking its 60th birthday.
It fuses home-grown talent with some bigger names, with a desire to boost lineup diversity and ensure the venues all live up to standards set by Safe Gigs For Women.
One of the acts on the bill is Slow Down Molasses, a group that say they are confronting bristling anxious energy with highly-pronounced pop edges.
They are from Saskatoon, Sask in Canada,
The group has never been shy about traversing shifting sonic territories, and in their latest iteration, the four-piece plunge deep into delay trails and feedback decay with a sound steeped in existential dread and simmering guitar rock post-punk sunshine.
The group’s 2016 album, 100% Sunshine saw them forge new sounds, but their evolution continues.
They’ve developed an increasingly euphoric live performance, which saw them playing on stages worldwide.
Retreating to their Saskatoon studio, ruminating on the sonic afterburn left in their wake, Slow Down Molasses emerged last autumn with a new LP – said to be their most concise and devastating work yet.
Minor Deaths is a suite of eight songs that the band says make controlled swerves into melodic indie rock landscapes while paying homage to the tightly-wound nervousness of post-punk unease.
Having shared the stage with like-minded groups such as Deerhoof, Animal Collective, Swervedriver and Built to Spill, Slow Down Molasses are once again gearing up to take their explosive live show to audiences worldwide – and that includes Reading.
The band will be at Rising Sun Arts Centre on Saturday night from 7.30pm.
Other venues taking part on the day include Sub89, Purple Turtle, Oakford Social Club, Milk, St Laurence Church and The Face Bar. There is also an Are You Listening? hub planned for Market Place with performances from early afternoon.
Tickets cost £33, including a booking fee and allows access to every venue taking part.
For more details, log on to areyoulistening.org.uk
