Photo: WENN
The promising line-up of Latitude day two more than delivered this afternoon, as Wolf Alice, Lianne La Havas and Marika Hackman all played blissful, packed-out sets.
After a slightly late start, Marika Hackman overcame some accidental, spacey feedback ("I'd like to thank my angry amp for backing vocals on that one") to deliver a set as brooding and discordant as she is on record.
Playing a few of her earlier hits as well as much of We Slept At Last, the melancholic, discordant atmosphere was only occasionally broken when Hackman fumbled over her guitar parts. During 'Animal Fear', for example, a playfully sinister, strangely moving album highlight, she stopped suddenly and admitted, "Sorry, I've forgotten how to play this one."
These momentary lapses only further endeared Hackman to the crowd though, and she left the stage to a triumphant roar from the stiflingly hot tent.
As it turned out though, that heat was a cool oasis compared to the viscous humidity that emanated from Wolf Alice's set in the rammed BBC 6 Music tent. Treading the line, with their usual sense of effortlessness, between heavy, raucous screams and guitar shredding, buoyant pop melodies and minimalist, wistful vocals, the band showcased tracks from their immaculate debut album My Love Is Cool.
Lead singer and guitarist Ellie Rowsell eschewed a pick in order to slide her arm up and down the neck of the guitar to create angry, screeching chords as she and Theo Ellis stepped side to side in unison, closing the set with the anthemic 'Giant Peach'. The rest of the set made for a true highlight of the weekend that will be hard to beat.
Badly Drawn Boy, meanwhile, had some highs and lows as he performed In The Hour Of Bewilderbeast in full. At one point, clearly unhappy with the sound quality, he turned to the side of stage and said, "I can't hear the fucking band. How am I supposed to play if I can't hear the fucking band?"
Latitude Festival continues this evening with a headline set from Portishead, as well as perfomances from The Vaccines, Laura Marling and a secret set from Thom Yorke. Check back with Gigwise for more news, photos and reviews from the festival .
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