It’s six years since the release of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah‘s self-titled debut, where we first heard the distinctive high-pitched voice of Alec Ounsworth and the slightly angular, possibly even nerdy sound of the Brooklynites. Their second album went OTT on the angular bits and often came off as if they’d joined a circus…

Oh Land – Electric Arena

The body had now taken a two-day pounding and it’s almost by accident we walk on site and into the Electric Arena where Oh Land is serving some morning pop. On stage is just Ms Øland and two guys either side on keys, for this, her first Irish gig. Initial…

I Am Kloot, Crawdaddy Stage

Quite an early start for the notoriously heavy-drinking I Am Kloot and John Bramwell does confirm to us that he did have a big night. We get a long, orchestral introduction and then sweep into the most recent album’s opener, ‘Northern Skies’, just tender enough for the aching heads and…

Arcade Fire, Main Stage

Aah, the weight of expectation. Reasons why 2005’s legendary tented gig at EP was a success: they got a much bigger crowd due to word-of-mouth for the slowly-catching-on Funeral… album. They had more-or-less come from nowhere. They did what they do best, brilliantly, spurred on my the bigger-than-they imagined crowd. They

Interpol, Main Stage

They have been on the circuit for an age now and on their third guitarist in two years but as darkness fell the New York boys dug into the bag and with pulled out a bombastic set. Paul Banks still keeps his presence quite plain and simple, letting the show itself add…

His years with the Beta Band behind him, Steve Mason‘s remarkably impressive solo album, Boys Outside, was released in 2010 as he climbed out of years of depression. Many of the State… team were converted after his small Electric Picnic performance 2009, his pop sensibilities mixed with some serious themes was the perfect present

Four days seems like a great idea on paper but the pressure on the legs alone makes standing for the final day a triumph of will. You look on those people with the fold-up chairs sitting in the middle of a jumping crowd with a little less scorn (though it must be said, still with…

Nothing if not creatures of habit, the State team make the pilgrimage to the bleak campsite landscape to see the annual Festival Radio Naked Race. It really wouldn’t be a Roskilde proper without it and our arrival is perfectly timed with the starters orders. There’s a wall of water this year, sponsored by the very…

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The sun has its hat on. Blue skies stretch over us this morning and you don’t need to tell the Danes twice to get their legs out. Suddenly it’s summer everywhere. It’s a strange cocktail that opens up the morning, but a perfect one for anyone with day two tent sweat and maybe a small…

Bags packed and car loaded with fine wine, an electric fridge and two bikes (well, it’s Denmark and accommodation is almost a kilometre from the entrance) – we’re off to Roskilde, Denmark’s annual four-day festival. Our memory of last year is all music, sun and cold Tuborg – except on the drive out of Copenhagen…

Futureperfect is a new festival kicking off its first year in Karlstad, Sweden on the 28-31 July, being billed as “the festival that explores what’s possible. It celebrates the many ways that ordinary people can individually and collectively create lifestyles for better personal and planetary health. It’s time to go beyond recycling!”
There are plenty…

Recently State made a foray over to Malmo, in the south of Sweden to catch early ’90s golden boys The Charlatans run through an intimate set of classics, and by doing so showed our age. We’d totally forgot about songs like ‘One To Another’, which sounded damn good for a tune over 15 years old.…

It’s been a long wait. When Justin Vernon rose to success, and ultimately sold 300,000 copies of For Emma, Forever Ago…, Bush was in the White House and the Olympics were taking place in Beijing. The token solo offering since then (though Vernon has been busy), was a more experimental recording of four songs