Ever since the first edition (July 25 in 1992) took place, London Calling Festival has shown to have a keen eye for talents. Acts like Tame Impala, The Libertines, Blur, Florence + The Machine, Franz Ferdinand, Mac DeMarco, Wolf Alice, Placebo, Royal Blood, Kaiser Chiefs, White Lies en Two Door Cinema Club all played early in their careers. Now, 27 years later and with one year of (forced) absence, it Is time to show you my favourite discoveries of London Calling 2021:
TALK SHOW
The London based group Talk Show burst onto the scene at the beginning of 2019 with the release of their debut single ‘Fast and Loud’; an intense, raucous outlay of post-punk energy, that races its way through a jagged, dark account of an imagined metropolis. Since their debut release, Talk Show have gone from strength-to-strength, capturing the imagination of new and existing fans alike with their unique pairing of raw, punk-inspired delivery, with melodic elements that hark to influences such as The Cure. Offering up an exhilarating live show that pairs the stomping, brooding focus of Swann, with the wild, escapist energy of drummer Chloe MacGregor, bassist George Sullivan and guitarist Tom Holmes, Talk Show have well and truly set themselves aside as a band that mean business.
In their short time as a band to date, they have already performed throughout the UK and Europe in support of artists including Fontaines D.C., Squid, Fat White Family, Crows, The Murder Capital and Black Country New Road. The band have brought their unmissable live show for the first time to Amsterdam via London Calling and it was easy to see why the were booked: their set was raw, energetic, smart in build-up and led by a charismatic frontman. Getting the focus of a (mainly) Dutch audience from start to closure without loosing its’ focus, shows the full potential of this band. Which is, in my opinion: touring around the globe (hopefully with a debut album) and start rocking even bigger venues and festivals.
THE NINTH WAVE
The Ninth Wave are a noise pop four piece from Glasgow influenced by 80s new wave and goth pop music creating their own unique identity. Brooding synths, jagged guitars and female against male vocals carve this sound. They have been compared to the likes of Pixies and The Cure.
They started in 2014 as trio of young lads playing in the streets of Glasgow. Since than, the band has gone different shifts in the line up, but with Haydn Park-Patterson (Vocals & Guitar), Amilia Kidd (Vocals & Bass), Kyalo Searle-nbullu: (Keyboards & Synths) and Calum Stewart (Drums & Percussion), the band had become a 4 piece again.
Despite some (little) technical issues in the beginning, this band have demonstrated that they are ready to rock stadiums with their irresistible sounds and hooks. Both charismatic and intriguing (also because of their significant on stage styling) this band has shown to be ready to give their new album Heavy Like a Headache (March 2022) a proper live experience.
MOLLY PAYTON
Molly Payton is a singer-songwriter hailing from Auckland, New Zealand. At 16 she decided to relocate to London to pursue her musical ambitions. 2 years later her first EP titled “Mess” is already released to critical acclaim & is a great start, which has been followed up by Porcupine (EP, 2020) and ’Slack’ (album, 2021). Inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen, her uniquely powerful voice and acoustic indie-pop soundscape depicts a story of life and love in the 21st century, as observed by a storyteller with an old heart and a young mind. If you have to compare Payton to more modern day musicians: audiences that like Phoebe Bridgers, Fenne Lily and Julia Jacklin, will soon definetly start to have a crush on Payton as well.
Together with her band, Molly has opened the second day of London Calling in the already fully packed upstairs room. With her latest release (album Slack) and two solid EP’S as her music catalogue, Molly was able to create a more than descent showcase setlist. However, seemingly nervous at the start, the charismatic front woman quickly admitted that this was her biggest venue as an artist yet. Together with her band she was able to quickly loose the stress and played an impressive showcase that showed her full potential. Molly Payton is here to stay.
Text: Mike Warrink / Capturing Creativity
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