Live Report: Viva Sounds 2023

It’ll come as no surprise that Gothenburg in December is cold, very cold. The daytime temperature on the weekend of this year’s edition of Viva Sounds is around minus two, descending to nighttime lows of minus eight. There’s snow on the ground and the cold is dry and windless. Gothenburg of course is built for this weather – the pavements are gritted, there’s little traffic and every bar and venue is warm and inviting.

Viva Sounds takes place in the Majorna district, a friendly neighbourhood packed with bars, restaurants and more record shops than you could visit in one weekend. The festival is spread across ten venues, which are situated either side of and atop a small hill. All are connected by a tram line and none are located more than a minute or two from a station, allowing you to bounce between them with ease.

Arriving late on Friday afternoon, there’s just enough time to check into the hotel and grab a wristband from the beautiful Skeppet GBG (which isn’t pronounced anything like how it’s spelled) before heading across the road to Oceanen. Like many venues in Majorna, it’s also a restaurant, so it smells incredible – an alien concept to UK gig goers. Kerosene Kream are the first act on tonight. The Stockholm five-piece play a brand of Osees-esque psych-punk that’s immensely-fun, driven by a lively vocalist and subtle synths that fill out the bouncy rhythms.

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Then it’s a one-stop hop on the tram down to the sleek and modern Potatisen. Hands Off Plays Kilo+++ take the stage while most patrons are still seated, and enthusiastically encourage people to join them on the dancefloor. The Dutch two-piece are delightfully quirky, very camp and make an oddly-hypnotic racket. Their drum machine/synth sound is raw and full of odd samples, bordering on egg punk in its more uptempo moments.

Following a quick trip around the corner to check out rock bar The Abyss, it’s back up the hill to the festival’s largest venue Musikens Hus. Here, Bala draw seemingly all of Gothenburg’s rock fans, eager to check out the duo’s enthusiastic alt metal. The Spanish band’s riffs are a bit pedestrian, but they make up for it with some powerful vocals and drumming, as well as a wild cover of Nirvana’s ‘Tourettes’ to close out the set.

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A cool quirk of these hilltop venues is that, because of Gothenburg’s geography, which is situated on either side of an inlet with steep sides, several have basements that contain another bar, venue or even a record shop, as in Bengans’ case. Beneath Musikens Hus is the cosy Häng-Matten, which showcases gentler fare than its big upstairs brother. Young Danish band Hjalte Ross play an excellent set after Bala wrap up, with tracks that are one minute jazzy, the next motorik, the next like a shoegaze Belle & Sebastian.

Friday night is wrapped up by a trip back up to Oceanen to catch Adwaith. The Welsh four-piece came very close to not making it to Gothenburg, but fortunately arrived on time, powered by “about fifteen coffees between us”, according to frontwoman Hollie Singer. The band burn through a commanding set, highlighted by new single ‘Addo’ – a terrific slab of indie pop that might be the most confident and accessible track the two time Welsh Music Prize-winners have released thus far.

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Viva Sounds is an evening and night festival, which gives you plenty of time to explore Gothenburg. The trams are easy to use and the city centre is nearby. The Haga area is the place to visit, full of cobbled streets, a (busy) winter market and plenty of cafes. Just behind Haga there’s also the Skansen Kronan fort, which offers incredible views of the city.

Such cosy charm evaporates, however, when God Mother take the stage early the next evening. The Stockholm-based mathcore band are a force of nature and their explosive set in The Abyss is quickly hailed by attendees and organisers alike as the wildest of the weekend. Frontman Sebastian Campbell spends half the time in the pit, climbing atop chairs, the lighting rig and the crowd itself. A whirlwind hardcore masterclass.

Following a quick sojourn back up the hill to Bengans, Fiona-Lee offers a lovely palette cleanser. The Yorkshire singer-songwriter packs out the venue’s basement, enchanting a huge crowd with her powerful and emotive indie. Then it’s around the corner to Skeppet GBG to catch The Hanged Man. A stirring Swedish psych rock band featuring Viagra Boys’ Elias Jungqvist on keys, the band fill the grand venue hall and appear genuinely delighted by the enthusiastic reception.

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Some quick praise has to be given to Skeppet GBG. Once a pillar of Gothenburg’s fishing industry, the building is now one of the most aesthetically-gorgeous venues you’ll ever visit. From the dimly-lit downstairs bar boasting views of the city to the upstairs hall with its huge art deco light fixtures, it’s almost worth the visit to Viva Sounds alone.

Hollow Ship play here later in the evening, serving up more psych rock of the jam-heavy variety. One to casually watch from Skeppet’s seated balcony. Back over in Oceanen, in the midnight slot, is something completely different. FABRÄK are a Danish punk-rap duo whose genre-blend is initially disarming, but also infectious and unique. With plenty of between-song banter and rapidfire Danish-language bars atop post-punk and nu metal guitars, it’s the perfect, energetic vibe to end the festival on.

If there’s one tiny bit of constructive criticism to offer, it’s that on Saturday night Musikens Hus was enforcing a mandatory cloakroom policy. This might be more common in Sweden, but it’s not really conducive to a multi-venue festival, where moving quickly between locations is a big part of the experience.

This is a small complaint, however. Overall, Viva Sounds is a terrific and eclectic festival, set in some extraordinary venues. Just make sure to pack your thermals.

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Words: Tom Morgan