REVIEW: RADAR Festival, Sunday
Leprous by Nic Howells
Leprous headlines an electrifying finale to RADAR Festival 2024
Sunday at RADAR Festival 2024 delivered an electrifying finale to the weekend, filled with a diverse lineup that showcased the rich tapestry of modern music. The final day retained the festival's eclectic spirit while infusing it with unique performances and surprises. The undeniable highlight was Leprous' headlining set on the main stage, which offered a rare and interactive experience, bringing the festival to a memorable close. Here's a breakdown:
Atheana
Starting the day with vigour, Atheana was one of the best young bands on the UK scene that RADAR could’ve booked to open the stage. This bunch did a great job in captivating the audience and blended a lot of styles in with some heavy music for a three-piece band. Many festivals struggle from a slow Sunday in terms of kicking things off, but Atheana suited this slot down to the ground as a means of avoiding that, and by the looks of it have plenty of room to grow if they appear at the festival again.
Ashen
Next up was Ashen on the main stage. These French lads brought an intense and emotionally charged set to further lift the Sunday blues, as well as seemingly bringing in a few of their own loyal fans, with a chorus line of people jumping for the second band of the day. The sound from Asher’s set was a lot heavier than the main stage standard of 2024, save for Ithaca. Personally, these were quite an unknown band, but we left RADAR with Ashen being one of the best bands of the weekend.
Adharma
Adharma continued the momentum over on the Sneak stage by bringing things back in the direction of more melodic tracks. Vocalist Charlie was featured on RADAR’s socials ahead of this gig, saying how much the band were looking forward to tearing things up at the festival. That, plus this set is a serious earmarking for the future Adharma could have at RADAR as well as on the UK Scene in general. They entered in an irritated and well-attended performance as the day ticked on and really added to the flow for Sunday's lineup.
Future Static
If there’s one thing RADAR has done especially well again this year, it's bringing in some serious international flair to the festival. Future Static took to the Sneak Energy Stage all the way from Melbourne to blow a few minds as the clock ticked into late afternoon. This group was electric from the outset, with crushing riffs, crowd surfing, and even some salsa dancing from vocalist Amariah Cook. This set was part of some major moves being made by Future Static as they featured RADAR as part of their full UK tour, supported by Friday’s opener Giant Walker, as well as fellow Sneak Stage band Adharma for select dates.
Mike Dawes
One thing has to be addressed upfront. At this point in the day, we were still in great mourning over the absence of Oxymorrons, who had to adjust their EU tour plans. In their place, Mike Dawes enchanted the main stage audience with his virtuoso guitar skills. His solo performance was a masterclass in musicianship, at times producing both the percussive beat, the bass, and the rhythm to songs, as well as spewing some comedy during a few tracks. This set was an amazing showcase of his ability to weave intricate melodies with effortless precision, with nods to some immensely popular previous RADAR acts like a cover of Sleep Token’s “Euclid”. Dawes' set was a testament to the adaptability of acoustic music but also offered a real state of calm amidst the day's louder acts.
Pintglass
For Sunday of RADAR there were unfortunately some back-to-back casualties. On top of Oxy’s cancellation, fans were informed as the festival was ongoing that Siamese would be unable to attend for their slot on the Sneak Stage. RADAR was coy with how to go about their replacement, merely stating that it was a band that had already played. This set a fair bit of speculation in motion given that bands such as Giant Walker had been in attendance for the full weekend. But the replacement lay beyond the lineups of Victoria Warehouse. Hot off the Friday afterparty, Pintglass were called in to save the day and stop the time slot from going into the skip. Though only on sale from Sunday morning, the crowd was awash with Pintglasses Hi-Vis Waistcoat available from merch. The brashness and crushing sound of these geezas was an incredible experience. One can wonder how the Siamese set would have gone, but this Pintglass party was exactly what RADAR needed.
Sungazer
The latter half of RADAR’s Sunday was a true free-for-all as far as styles go. No one band was like the other, and even in that Sungazer stuck out somewhat. The band themselves stated they were not sure how they ended up on this particular lineup, and looking at their summer dates there’s barely a line that doesn’t say “Jazz Festival”, and then just RADAR nestled in the middle. That said, the UK rarely disappoints, still managing all the features of a RADAR set down to the circle pit. Sungazer was a reprieve of sorts, and truly unlike anything else on the day's lineup. They brought a unique fusion of progressive rock and jazz to the stage. And some very snazzy matching rainbow PJs.
Blood Command
Describing Sungazer as a reprieve was deliberate, as what came next took everyone’s peace and spat in its face. Pun intended. Norwegian punks Blood Command were all about that noise as they bounded onto the second stage to cause some chaos. While it was a popular part of the stage, the catwalk step at the front of the Sneak stage was Nikki Brumen’s home for that 45 minutes, with they themselves even stating it was probably a mistake as they weren’t getting her down from it easily. Now would be a fair time to say they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but to The Scene, the presentation of this group is excellent campy tracksuit tribal mayhem. Blood Command's ability to engage the audience, spit at/on them and be cheered for it was a wild atmosphere.
Holding Absence
The penultimate band of the main stage is probably the main band outside of the headliners that needed no introductions. Holding Absence was very clearly held as a special commodity in the eyes of RADAR Festival given they were the final announcement of the festival and treated as a major bag at that. There are few places this group hasn't been in the last year and made a special exception from their festival hiatus just to play at RADAR. As ever, Holding Absence delivered a powerful performance that lived up to the hype RADAR had built for them. The band's ability to connect with their audience made their set a standout moment. Oh, and high kicks. Lots of high kicks.
Humanity's Last Breath
Adding a dose of heaviness to the proceedings, Humanity's Last Breath brought a crushing set to the stage as they headlined the Sneak lineup. Their brutal sound and intense performance were a hit with fans of extreme music. Whilst visually this may have been one of the more challenging sets, you can't argue with the skill and ability HLB had on show. As far as grading it against other RADAR fair, these were incredibly heavy, and will probably had a pretty prolific standing in RADAR’s history among insanely heavy bands that just *worked*.
Leprous
The festival concluded with a special set from Leprous, who wrapped up the weekend with a unique performance that we would probably grade as the best amongst those who were returning to RADAR. Leprous themselves commented on the joy it was to be back at RADAR, as well as commending the upgrade the festival has had both in moving to Manchester in general, as well as the venue. Spoiler: they weren’t fans of the old one. This set had one of the most unique distinctions we’d ever seen, allowing fans to choose songs in the set in real-time. That being by cheers and show of hands amongst options of 4 at various times in the set. The lighting guy's nerves must be in tatters. One of the shots in this gallery shows one particular fan's joy at being able to hear “The Valley” when offered up early in the set. Just look at the happy chap. Leprous' willingness to take risks and their flawless execution made for an unforgettable finale, leaving fans satisfied and eagerly anticipating the next instalment of RADAR Festival. Onward to 2025.
