Noise In The Valley
Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire
16th November 2024
Sauntering through its second year, Noise In The Valley Festival (curated by regular performers The Tall Trees) now bears vibrant signs of growth and greater ambition, drawing underground experimental music titans like Pulled Apart By Horses and Objections into its green, luscious, Calder Valley embrace. Meanwhile, the festival maintains crucial, rare to never-before-seen values, like the clash-free stage times, a blessing for resting the legs or ears.
Veteran busker Frankie Porter brought the traditional folk of Woodie Guthrie into the present, his finely-aged vocals and whistling-infused shuffle suiting the rustic Hollins Mill – a steady build-up to the most well-received track’s mix of rock ‘n’ roll and skiffle.
Stageminus, opening up The Blind Pig, occupied the grunge section of the lineup, echoing Nirvana and Soundgarden. For such a young band – one of many that the festival gave a platform to – they were surprisingly adept in meting out onstage banter, quipping that they were an “international band” due to their origins in multiple local cities. As well as the alternative rock, from silvery bass runs to feedback-topped outros, another surprise was the bluesy Sabbathian musicality, adding an extra dimension to a band with burgeoning potential.
Like Stageminus, youthful rock trio Screams Of Youth were a scrappy, more rhythmic, less melodic act, performing a rough ‘n’ rowdy version of Pixies’ Where Is My Mind?, peppered in amongst their own mechanical grunge in the vein of Kiss. Meanwhile, Stiletto’s jazz-rock was a psychedelic hit with the full crowds of the Puzzle Hall Inn. Their style rested in fluid, repeated and unconventional structures as a viscous accompaniment to the sonic details, from vivid and punchy keys to pedalled-to-the-max guitars.
Returning to The Blind Pig, Chiang worked up a considerably barnstorming impression of Ozzy and Iggy whilst toting Ron Asheton squalls and vocal bellows of “yeah”, balancing classic rock pomp and adrenaline-fuelled cringe. Besides the riotous bands themselves, the stellar quality of the festival’s own beer, and the literal stone’s throw from most venues, The Blind Pig was notable for its surprising entrance. A bookshelf was located just behind the stage itself, a strange place to have a quiet read, you’d think. Then, however, it swiveled on its axis, revealing itself to be a portal for the band’s noise-making, as intriguing as the entrance to the Batcave.
A trio of Leeds legends Claire Adams, Joe O’Sullivan and Neil Turpin formed from the latter’s former iconoclast, settling on the name Objections after some deliberation. They performed a mighty set at the festival’s busiest venue, where guitarist Joe O’Sullivan and drummer Neil Turpin had previously played as Leeds post-punk icons Bilge Pump. Alongside Turpin’s rhythm section completion, Adams brought the headbanging appeal via catchy bass, intriguing lyrics, and freewheeling movements; each member turned to face the others at multiple points, an act as endearing as their work-in-progress for tracks.
One of these working titles was Any Old Iron – a new track getting its premiere. It was the second new track of the night, the first of which was built on foundations of fast, Fugazi tempos and insistent bass. The second had other novel Objections features in the form of quasi-staccato rhythms that relied on the crunching mechanics of Neil Turpin’s cymbal and cowbell double act. The aforementioned yet-to-be-confirmed track was an unprecedented feat: none of their previous bands has tackled such rapid, complex dynamic swerves. This frantic mood, from feverish to slow and sludgy Melvins grind, was complimented by Joe O’Sullivan’s guitar manoeuvres: they could be located near Slash, had he dabbled in warped techno, acid, and the Butthole Surfers’ discography. In short, noodling, but the knowingly Bo Diddly-esque, humorous and ironic kind. With such a skilled rhythmic change, while maintaining a certain chaotic raw nature associated with their other post-punk heavy-hitters, they formed an inversion of Shellac, in their slower but equally glorious staccato.
TJOMT was sandwiched between Objections’ two new barnstorming complexities, an equally gripping debut album pick focused on barrelling towards its chorus’ sprinting vocals. Other moments of ear-scorching delight included Hymns, among the album’s most sensational noise-rock bangers, boasting perpetually insistent rhythms and melodic bass. Live, the pace was matched by the barreling speed of the tongue-twisting lyrics, which drew further attention to the layered lyrics, detailing a workmate lured to prejudiced worldviews. This track was a critical point of the audience’s whooping adoration, the post-track applause (almost) as loud as the pedal-heavy guitars. It’s a fair contest for volume, considering the high saturation of the venue’s capacity.
The Puzzle Hall Inn was an inspired choice for the band, easily filling up to provide grand acoustics and sweaty energy to align with their own. There were also multiple vantage points for the crowd, an alcove to the trio’s side overflowing with bodies exploiting the intimate spot. The entire side, even at their noisiest and most Beefheart-like, there’s an intensely melodic and sonorous sonic area measured out by the chunky guitar chords and bass rumbles. This is partly thanks to the venue’s stellar acoustics too, and one factor in making Objections the best band they have played in.
The oscillator was the Delia Derbyshire-esque star of the show for several tracks, including the opener – Idiot Fill – and the closer – Excuses. The oscillator on Idiot Fill acts as an expansive, atmospheric ballast, giving the tight trio a Hawkwind wonder. On Excuses you should instead imagine a noisier version of Derbyshire’s Doctor Who score, using an item engineered by Steve Albini. Excuses is a perfect finale, a tidal build-up of a progressive rock behemoth followed by a noise-rock crescendo to rival the best.
With most venues filling their ancient rafters almost throughout the day, the festival was a huge success, and perhaps would have been even more so had the likes of Lands & Body and Dan’s Girlfriend (both at The Puzzle Hall Inn) been gifted a more sizable venue to accommodate more punters. This isn’t a criticism however, as every gig at each venue had a feverish, friendly, fun atmosphere at all times, tearing the town’s quieter sensibility asunder; it’s more part of a wishlist, as a memorable day is guaranteed either way.
Follow Noise In The Valley Festival here.
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Photography by James A Mumby.
Review by James Kilkenny. Find more of his Louder Than War articles here.
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