Lichens

One of the highlights of the Explosions In The Sky curated ATP festival on the weekend was the Sunday performance by LICHENS on the mainstage. His primal, looped vocal squeels and drones over the moody improv-guitar washes were very warmly received by the crowd. Combined with his kinky Kramer hair and crazy WWI moustache, it was an incredibly captivating performance, both aurally and visually.

Robert Lowe is Lichens, and his records come out through Kranky. More details here too.

Lichens was a lovely surprise at still the best indie-music weekend around. Battles were startling as ever, and Dinosaur Jr earnt themselves some new converts, while De La Soul, Silver Jews and Jens Lekman impressed in the hollow surrounds of the Pavillion stage. But many of the performances lacked the spark and buzz of those the previous weekend in Camber Sands (curated by Pitchfork), and its difficult to think of anyone at the ATP in Minehead who I would describe as utterly compelling. The accommodation is better though, and as usual the vibe just as positive and relaxed, but i quite often left venues with a shrug of the shoulder - satisfied, but not excited. I did make a few new discoveries though, over both festivals, which i'll post about at a later date.

Oh, here's a video of Lichens in Paris: