Whittling down an itinerary at the UK’s premiere music showcase event The Great Escape is an ordeal in itself. Not that you’d ever actually miss any music, mind you, given that every nook and cranny of Brighton’s boutique streets are transformed into pop-venues for the weekend.
The likes of Adele, Grimes, Stormzy, Charli XCX, The 1975, The xx, Mac Demarco, Disclosure, Bon Iver, Foals, and countless more have performed on Brighton’s shores over the years – it’s a rite of passage for many a future superstar.
Whilst it’d be remiss to not mention nearly 20% of the acts on the bill have opted out of playing in protest to the festival’s ties to Barclays, there is still an innumerate amount of talent to get your lobes around.
Here are ten must-see artists at The Great Escape 2024 and where to see them:
Angélica Garcia
Thursday 16th May: Komedia Basement
Angélica Garcia gained widespread attention in 2019 after receiving presidential praise from Barack Obama for her song ‘Jicama’. But she’s evolved since then: blending the vibrant nuances of streetlife growing up as an Angeleno to the empowerment she’s discovered working part-time in a New York City nightclub, Garcia has embraced a gothic theatricality as she’s shifted geographical locations. The latest offerings from her first album on Partisan Records, Gemelo, confirm her sensual noise pop remains firmly rooted in her Mexican-Salvadoran heritage.
Big Special
Friday 17th May: Horatios
Towering post-punk duo Big Special found their origins – in the shadow of the Black Country’s industrial history and forgotten local communities that have since been left behind – fertile ground to shape their unignorable, poetic approach to music-making. No doubt, one of the year’s breakout acts after the recent release of debut album, Postindustrial Hometown Blues, you’ll be preaching the gospel of the monstrous Midlands two-piece in no time.
Cardinals
Thursday 16th May: Horatios
Adding another chapter to Cork’s legacy of producing intriguing indie pop acts, Cardinals very well might be the next big guitar group to come out of Ireland: Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten seems to think so, describing them as “one of my favourite new bands”. ‘Unreal’ showcases a frantic accordion-laced post-punk which rings true to their Celtic traditions, whilst there are glimmers of Lou Reed in their most intimate moments like ‘Roseland’, which both feature on their eponymous debut EP set for release via So Young Records on 7th June.
Corridor
Friday 17th May: Green Door Store + Mucky Duck
Saturday 18th May: Patterns Downstairs
French-speaking Montreal art-punks Corridor released their fourth studio album, Mimi, via Sub Pop recently, and the lauded label rarely misses the mark when unearthing guitar-based gems. Dazzling with angular jams that evoke the spectral indie psychedelia of Pitchfork darlings Deerhunter, the five-piece returned after a five-year gap between albums, enwrapped in as much ennui as ever.
Earth Tongue
Thursday 16th May: Patterns Downstairs
Sharing their name with a primitive type of fungus, New Zealand two-piece Earth Tongue’s eerie riffs sound like they were summoned from the soil as part of a psychedelic ritual induced by mind-expanding substances. Arguably the sludgiest band in Antipodean history, In The Red Records – who count Ty Segall, Wand, and The Linda Lindas amongst their roster – snagged the Kiwi duo for their upcoming album, Great Haunting, which is set for release on 14th June. Expect the walls to melt.
Fabiana Palladino
Thursday 16th May: Komedia Basement
On her recent self-titled, self-produced debut album, Fabiana Palladino’s synth-pop perfection is the product of her pain-staking obsessiveness. Gently ricocheting between glossy earnestness of the ballads which soundtracked Hollywood blockbusters of the eighties and twinkling synth-funk jams that showcase her unassuming yet triumphant knack for melody, Palladino’s retro-indebted attention to detail well and truly pays off. Producer Jai Paul also features on the album.
King Hannah
Saturday 18th May: Patterns Upstairs + Players
The dusty highway to destiny never sounded so seductive: King Hannah’s heartland rock optimism is imbued with a Mazzy Star-esque allure thanks to singer Hannah Merrick’s smoky, sagacious vocal. The Liverpudlian duo’s widescreen sonics are the handiwork of multi-instrumentalist Craig Whittle, which haven’t gone unnoticed by their heroes – superfan in Sharon Van Etten joined them for recent single ‘Big Swimmer’, the title track from their impending sophomore album.
Lip Critic
Saturday 18th May: TGE Beach – The Deep End
New York City quartet Lip Critic have two, yes, two drummers. It makes for a blistering live set, blending thought-out art performance with the sweaty abandon of a nightclub dancefloor occupied with hardcore kids. Comparisons to Death Grips will precede them due to their punishing, percussive sound. But Lip Critic seems more intent on skewering genre and expectation, especially when you take chest-bursting eye-twitchers like ‘It’s The Magic’ and ‘Milky Max’ into consideration.
Miso Extra
Thursday 16th May: Players
Few artists can flawlessly sing and rap, let alone in multiple languages. Welcome to the imaginarium of Miso Extra: where J Dilla-inspired hip-hop stylings merge with Studio Ghibli-esque wonderment, Miso’s multi-hyphenate creations pay homage to her dual heritage with a sound she self-describes as “umami for the ears”. With EP releases titled MSG and Great Taste – sharing labelmates in Foals, Arlo Parks, and Julia Jacklin on Transgressive Records – it’s hard to argue with her sonic palette.
Slate
Thursday 16th May: Black Lion + Komedia Studio
Friday 17th May: One Church
Ambitious Cardiff-based rock band Slate warmly hark back to their rich Welsh roots, be it their musical elders in Manic Street Preachers or the timeless poetry of Dylan Thomas. A sense of foreboding preoccupies the spritely twenty-somethings however, whose intense brand of psychedelic post-punk reflects both the stormy surrounds of Wales’ misty vistas as much as it does the bleak claustrophobia of residing in post-industrial wastelands.
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