Missy Lorelei gives her highlights from Latitude.
Trudging wearily through the fields battling trench foot and sunburn simultaneously, the line-up this year more than makes up for it, with the more established rubbing shoulders with promising new acts. I was disappointed to miss First Aid Kit, Amadou and Mariam, Tuneyards and Laura Marling, but timing and clashes are always an inevitable problem at festivals.
Metronomy
Headliners Metronomy, with lead singer/songwriterJoe Mount in Tiggerish mode,make the ideal festival band as their bittersweet Wurlitzer/Moog hybrid is an ideal accompaniment to the all-too-brief pockets of sunshine. Heart Rate Rapid is sadly absent, as are Roxanne Gifford's honeyed tones on Everything Goes My Way, but The Look and Heartbreaker more than make up for it. It's as though the Look Around You house band got the funk... Love 'em.
Walls
This is an undiscovered gem. Duo Walls are arevelation, hidden away in a small tent on Saturday night. Their sound floats somewhere between space-rock and rave-squiggles, as demonstrated in their self-titled debut. One half of the band is Alessio Natalizia from hipster acoustic experimentalists Banjo Or Freakout. Soon there is a sudden outbreak of old-school dancing amid the Trevor Whatevers in the crowd. Expect them to get a higher billing next year as the world catches up.
Janelle Monae
Big Boi's protege Janelle Monae brings a high camp, showbiz sensibility to proceedings, and she and her lindy-hopping band are always hi-octane. Sadly a lacklustre lull, not helped by a half-assed cover of Prince's Take Me with You, drags a potentially zippy set down a bit. A real shame, as her James Bond- style intro promised so much.
Battles
Whittled down to a three-piece, Battles' sound is chunky. Nonetheless, their signature tune Race:In still sounds like the Glitter Band being abducted by helium-filled Daleks. Their set may be too short, and I forfeited an Edgar Wright appearance for this, but it's worth it. The brilliantly titled Sweetie and Shag is played twice for luck—first, the version from Gloss Drop, with guest vocalist Kazu Makino on the backscreen, then in remix mode, a la Dross Glop. It doesn't get more post-modern than that.
alt-j
With An Awesome Wave, their hugely acclaimed debut album behind them, Cambridge quartet alt-j can rest easy. Not that you would know from their tense, jitter-pop undercut by Joe Newman's fragile vocals, always teetering on the brink of collapse. Most recent single Tessellate floats over the hills and almost doesn't make it back. They will surely headline in the next three years at this rate.
Bat for Lashes
After a four year absence, Natasha Khan's otherwordly wonders return, and on the evidence of this are sounding as gorgeous as ever. Not much has changed except Khan now sports a bob cut, and when the dreaded words "new song'' ring out there's a slight sinking feeling. No Jazz Odyssey here, however, as said song has the immediacy of Daniel. Old favourites Travelling Woman and Glass still soothe and soar. Third album syndrome? Not likely. You can even forgive Khan's trousersuit. Nearly...
Paul Weller
It is so easy to be cynical about the legend that is Paul Weller, trotting out the usual ''dadrock'' crap, but let's face it: he sells a shitload decades after his Jam heyday while remaining defiantly populist and experimental at the same time. Would Noel Gallagher manage that? Unlikely. The Modfather also has a great voice, brilliant band and The Changing Man and A Town Called Malice still swagger. A cross generational headline act with true broad appeal.
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