As a media partner of the 21st Dour Festival – held in Belgium on July 16-20 – Clash is pretty dang excited by the bill the organisers have assembled: it’s safe to say it’s the best line-up you’ll see on the continent this summer.
With the likes of Apehx Twin, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mercury Rev, Roots Manuva, Diplo, Crystal Castles, …Trail Of Dead, 65daysofstatic, Deadmau5, Animal Collective and Venetian Snares on the bill, Dour truly promises something for everyone across four days and six stages.
Tickets are 85 euros for the weekend – information at the festival’s official site – but Clash still has a handful of them to give away (our old competition is closed). These are tickets only, though – transport is not covered. But if you want a pair, simply email mike AT clashmusic DOT com right now and tell us why you should attend.
Easy!
Here’s Clash online ed Mike Diver’s top five bands to see at Dour this year…
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ISIS
Simply the finest exponents of their chosen craft, which itself has developed over the years from a primal industrial metal sound into something more texturally detailed, Isis in the live arena are never to be missed, and especially not with a superb fifth LP, ‘Wavering Radiant’, recently released. Expect emotional progressions through convulsive cacophonies, always guided by frontman Aaron Turner’s incredible roar. Skin-tingling stuff from start to finish, but perhaps pack the earplugs if it gets too much.
MySpace
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ROLO TOMASSI
Acerbic teens (ish – some are in their 20s now) Rolo Tomassi have long been a live force to be reckoned with in the UK – they hail from Sheffield – but in the last 12 months the five-piece have truly honed their sound, incorporating wonderfully weird tangents into their Locust-meets-Dillinger splatter-core racket. A liberal dash of jazz-tinged wobbliness here, a little blast-beat electro there – it’s a mixture that never fails to enthral.
MySpace
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THE HORRORS
Although wrongly dismissed by some as a fashionista band around the time of their debut album ‘Strange House’, London’s finest-dressed out-there-rock quintet have confounded critics, in the best possible way, with this year’s ‘Primary Colours’ long-player (REVIEW), a sophomore that’s less artistic development, more entire reinvention. Taking cues from the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Can, the end result’s accessibility is exquisitely realised, and there’s longevity aplenty in the rippling rhythms that run throughout. Expect a confrontational, but captivating, live set.
MySpace
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SLEEPY SUN
With their debut album ‘Embrace’ (REVIEW) earning plaudits by the skipload, this young Californian band have conjured the magic of Comets On Fire without resorting to simple sound-alike structures – the similarities, instead, lie in the feeling, the vibes, the raging battle between freak-out lust and meticulous instrumental precision. They can chill you down one second before setting fire to your soul the very next, and their show at All Tomorrow’s Parties – they’re signed to the festival’s label – was an ear-stinging highlight of an amazing weekend. Dour is, indeed, blessed.
MySpace
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MONOTONIX
Really, no words can do this trio justice – they are a live phenomenon. See them, do, and pray the wind doesn’t suddenly change or you’ll be stuck with that dumb grin of delight forever.
MySpace
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Find more information on Dour Festival at its official website.
To win a pair of tickets – no travel! – simple e-mail mike AT clashmusic DOT com telling us (me) why you deserve ’em.
