Just when you thought you were free of the titan grip of summer's festival season, Pitchfork come and drag you right back in - and we can't say quite how grateful we are that they did. One of the last huge festivals of 2014 turned out to be one the best.
Turning a sprawling space into a cathedral of sound and hub for the finest alternative acts on the road right now, Pitchfork Paris was more than just the last hurrah of 2014 and perfect farewell party, but a centre of discovery.
With an immculate line-up, pop-up playground and an inimitable atmosphere, we're not likely to forget our time at Pitchfork Paris any time soon. They couldn't have done much more. Hell, they even brought the sunshine back for three days only.
Here are the 13 best, most definitive moments of Pitchfork Paris Music Festival 2014.
1. Chvrches
We've lost count of the amount of times we've seen Chvrches live in the last two years, and the truth is we doubt we will ever tire of doing so.
Taking to the stage with singer Lauren Mayberry painted as a skeleton, the Scottish electro-pop trio delivered a set worthy of headliners. Fresh from selling out London's Brixton Academy the previous night, they've evolved from those nervous ones to watch we remember from 2012, into a band with arena-ready potential.
Shimmering gems from their flawless 2013 debut The Bones Of What You Believe sound as fresh as when we first fell in love with them, while new track 'Get Away' from the controversial BBC Drive re-scoring marks an adventurous leap into the future. With an absolute eyegasm of a sci-fi laser and light show, they have the songs, charisma and presence to match.
2. St Vincent
The electricity of anticipation for St Vincent hung heavily in the air, before the tension was burst with the arrival of her dystopian fever dream and the bubbling menace of 'Rattlesnake'. The wide-eyed firecracker adventure of 'Digital Witness', 'Marrow' and 'Cheerleader' held all present enraptured as Annie Clark and band artfully led through the clockwork-choreography of their alt-rock freakshow.
As the insanity of 'Krokodil' and 'Your Lips Are Red' brought things to a close as this future icon terrified the front rows, our only criticism was that it ended too soon. We could watch this all night.
3. The War On Drugs
Huge crowds gathered to see The War On Drugs for the sheer ecstasy of what they are as a live experience. The near flawless Americana-tinged haze-rock of Lost In The Dream is given the space in needs to breathe live on stage, and the warming embrace of 'Red Eyes' married all present in song - a fittingly unforgettable celebration of one of the true success stories of 2014.
4. Jungle
Wow. Just, wow. Jungle brought their incredible Mercury-nominated self-titled album to Paris, making the Grand Halle erupt in a relentless rave with their inescapably feel-good modern soul - taking the absolute best elements of soul and dance from the last 40 years, and sending them racing into the future.
It's one hell of a rush, and seeing the thousands present arm in arm and out of their minds to 'Busy Earnin' and 'The Heat' is a memory that will stay with us for years to come.
5. Caribou
The good times continued with a little help from Caribou, as Dan Snaith's blissed-out, psychedelic electronica caught everyone in its grip and locked them in a dreamy haze of dance. With a career-spanning set that culminated in a sea of balloons falling down upon the crowd, Caribou proved with the right sound and the right spirit, summer never really ends.
6. Foxygen
You can't beat a little unhinged insanity from Foxygen. Punk, blues, soul, grunge and everything else collided in a chaotic and pulse-racing set, with frontman Sam France terrifying the audience as he squawked and rolled across the stage with total abandon and no care for his own safety.
With the swagger of Jagger and more than a passing likeness to Iggy Pop's shirtless madmen routine, France left Paris breathless, and raised the bar for all that followed.
7. Mogwai
It's only bloody Mogwai. Of course they were going to be a highlight.
They received the warmest welcome on the opening evening - one fit for heroes. Opening with 'Heard About You Last Night' before the brooding perfection of 'I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead', the daddies of post-rock sent Paris into a deep trance, before painting a full spectrum of sound with classics 'Hunted By A Freak' and 'Mogwai Fear Satan', punctuated by 'Remurdered' and 'Mexican Grand Prix' to render a whole world of their own in glorious widescreen. It was bloody brilliant, and they always will be.
8. How To Dress Well
"Turn that shit off," ordered a good-humoured Tom Krell, instructing for the lights to be turned down low for a short but oh-so-sweet meander through his velvet-smooth electro-pop noir meets cheese-free R&B. Giving a shout out to his 'mentor' Beck who was watching the stream at home, Krell shone as one an marvellously compelling presence in his own right. The city of romance may have found its new Casanova.
9. Charlotte OC
Drawing an impressive crowd to be enchanted by her enigmatic pop-noir, Charlotte OC's set leaves an impression that more than matches the hype. Having then met her backstage, we're in no doubt that she's making music for only the right reasons. She's on her way - from Blackburn to the brightest of futures.
10. Jon Hopkins
Sensual, cinematic, three-dimensional, unreal. A sensation that runs from the back of the brain to the balls of your feet.
11. Tune-Yards
Tribal beats, eccentric energy and one hell of a live spectacle. Fine tuned and choreographed, but pumping with a sense of wild freedom, Paris saw the miraculous 2014 album Nikki Nack brought to life in such vivid technicolour and genre-crossing vim really does make for proof that this is one of the most inventive and exhilarating acts on the road right now. Go see Tune-Yards, at all costs.
12. Future Islands
"This song goes out to anyone who ever said I was a vampire," cackled frontman Samuel T Herring in booming Transylvanian accent, resplendent in fancy dress. "You were fucking right."
Indeed, there's something superhuman about the way this man performs. As he prowls the stage, beating his chest, barking and flowing through his fluid, elastic dance moves, there's a primal sense of urgency to his presence - and the energy is infectious. Paris being united in song as we jerked our way through 'Seasons (Waiting On You)' is a memory that shall endure.
13. Belle & Sebastian
If you can think of a more perfect place to see Belle & Sebastian than in Paris in the twilight hour of Halloween, then we'd love to hear it. Opening with 'You're Just A Baby', 'Funny Little Frog' and 'Sukie In The Graveyard', their bookish romance and melodrama blossoms in the open arms of their madly doting following.
The love is reciprocated as they ask those not in fancy dress to expose those who have made the effort, before inviting them on stage for a surreal dance-off. The classics 'The Fox In The Snow' and 'The Boy With The Arab Strap' are welcomed as old friends, while the bongo-driven disco curiosity of 'Perfect Couples' and dancefloor-filling 'The Party Line' showcase a refreshingly surprising new direction on upcoming album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance.
In short: Belle & Sebastian are national treasures, that we shall always hold dear.
Below: The beautiful people of Pitchfork Paris 2014 in photos
