Misery Loves Company round-up
Last weekend, the UK alt-music community descended on Bristol for the inaugural Misery Loves Company festival. Across four tightly packed, closely knit venues, with five total stages, MLC perfectly reflected the community it served.
The atmosphere at MLC was joyous, as we all collectively celebrated everything that is good in the current UK alt scene. It was clear that this is a tight community, not just in the crowds gathered to hear the music but in the artists themselves. As we jumped from set to set, we kept bumping into artists on the bill watching and supporting each other.
Misery Loves Company was also the first UK rock festival with a gender-balanced lineup, with 52% of acts identifying as female or non-binary. It's staggering to know it’s taken until 2023 for this to be the case, but it was great to see MLC take on the patriarchy's tight grip on the UK rock festival scene!
Our directors, Kelly Rose and Thom Earle, were joined by John Bevan and Josh Bradshaw for a joyous, if exhausting day, celebrating the UK’s alt scene at its best.
Split Chain - The Lanes
Split Chain opened up The Lanes stage lineup with a bang. The rapid-rising Tiktok stars completely filled the room and it was only their fifth show to date (not many bands have pulled that off, let alone at a festival!). The 5-piece Bristol band were very happy to see so much support from their hometown, and it showed through their audience engagement and stage presence, where the fruitful banter and immovable smiles shone through their grunge sound.
Adding extra elements to their staging in the form of early-2000’s TV, featuring the bands iconic static edits, further added to building the right atmosphere for Split Chain’s music. While only three singles have been released, the band included unreleased tracks in their set, thankfully hinting that more is definitely on the way for us! Their cover of “Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)” by the Deftones brought the house down and the mosh up. I was proud to be wearing a Deftones shirt, which was pointed out by band and crowd alike! It was a great kick-off for the day and a pleasure to speak with the band after (interview incoming). (Josh)
BEX
BEX - Rough Trade
BEX was my first set for the day, and what a set it was! Packed in the already steamy Rough Trade venue, the room was buzzing with energy to match the almost giddy bopping from the daemonic fairy that is BEX. Supported by a band of drummer and bassist, along with her own bass….
I’ve not seen BEX before but was enthralled by her juxtaposition of aggressive music and rather soft messaging. There’s something about an electric redhead screaming EMPATHY over and over while kicking across the stage that’s just heart warming. And the crowd matched her kick for kick, dancing and bopping right along with every scream and haunting giggle. (Kelly)
Adharma - The Lanes
Guildford-based Charlie Draper's unique pop-fused progressive metal sound captivated the packed Bristol audience, who loved every minute of the Adharam's energetic set. While she sounds almost demure in her recordings, live she produces powerful, room-filling vocals that float over the heavy backing of the band. We couldn’t help but be reminded of Vedera, one of Kelly’s favourite noughts bands. (Thom)
Immerse - The Lanes
Immerse's homecoming set at The Lanes was so popular, we almost struggled to get in. The Bristol four-piece had just released their EP, Everyone to Blame, a week before, and the atmosphere was celebratory. Even frontman Archie's three-year-old godson rocked out to the band, his first ever gig! Despite guitarist Tim playing on a borrowed guitar amp head, Immerse filled the venue with a tight and powerful metalcore sound. (Thom)
Kite Thief - Rough Trade
Bristol-based Kite Thief produced a sound ready to bust out of the confines of the back room of Rough Trade. Songs like Sweepstake offer purposeful and soaring vocals with pockets for the guitar and rhythm section to lay down some sultry metal grooves. By the culmination of the set, the crowd were bellowing back the catchy chorus of Hindsight in a rousing reciprocation of energy. (John)
Kite Thief
Kid Bookie - The Station
South-East London’s Kid Bookie blended some blistering rap monologues with crunching guitars to form an intriguing nu metal blend. While the intricate lines may have gotten a little lost in The Station’s acoustics, the three-piece kept us guessing with covers of Radiohead’s “Creep” before closing with “Bookie’s Dirtbag”, their remix of the Wheatus classic. (John)
Lake Malice
Lake Malice - The Lanes
What can I even say? We’ve gushed before about Lake Malice, and we’ll continue right on gushing, because we’re just. so. proud! It was only our second time seeing the duo perform, and our first in a tightly packed venue rather than the sometimes-expansive festival stages. The energy was frankly unreal, people were giddy in anticipation and doing little excited jigs when Blake and Alice finally his the stage. Crammed in like a school of happy little sardines, there was just enough space for a bit of mosh and all the crowd surfing, with small-framed Alice literally saving lives as she continued to belt and scream while helping surfers land on their feet.
Come for the malice, stay for the fun. (Kelly)
Vexed - The Lanes
Vexed was top of my list to see at this festival. Since their album Negative Energy was released earlier this year, I’ve been mesmerised by vocalist Megan Targett’s abilities. Unsurprisingly, Megan commanded every inch of that stage and together, the quartet was effortlessly punishing. Is it weird to say it was refreshing to be back in a packed room for a half hour of punching drums, stabbing guitar and menacing sound? (Kelly)
InMe - The Station
“Is that THE InMe?!” I asked Thom on inspection of the festival running order. Yes, the InMe, that had been a major influence for 16 year old John’s first bands, was back on the final leg of their short tour. Celebrating 20 years since the release of their album Overgrown Eden, we got to hear the whole album played start to finish. The set was a nostalgic treat, with promises from frontman Dave McPherson of new music in 2024. (John)
Thanks to Misery Loves Company team for having us out! Stay tuned with us for interviews with Gürl, BEX, Exit Child, Split Chain, Immerse, Kite Thief, Giant Walker, Lake Malice and Vexed!
