Event - Wanderlust

Venues - The 1865, Heartbreakers and The Joiners

Town - Southampton

Date - 3rd and 4th May 2025

 The second year of Wanderlust was a blast, absolutely no doubt about it. With some 50 or so Bands and Artists spread between the 3 local Venues the only downside was who to see at what time? As with any Festival I did find the musical choices difficult and you have to just enjoy the moment and go see who you missed another day in the future. Sunday for instance, with Deadletter on last at The Joiners, was always going to cause consternation; I had to make sure I was ensconced in The 1865 ready for English Teacher, a dilemma I'm sure many had to consider. With the various talents on display it meant whoever you chose to see, you weren’t disappointed.

Ugly Ozo

Jopy

The 3 venues ran like clockwork, the strict timings were certainly more reliable than our railways and it meant you could get here and there confident of not missing anything, so hat’s off to the organising by Psych and the teams at each site.

Lugnut

 I started Saturday morning getting my photographic eye in at the Heartbreakers with the jazzy good timers - Lugnut, followed quickly by the more spikey poptastic Ugly Ozo with their nod to nineties Grunge echoing The Pixies at times. It was only a stroll around the corner to The 1865 where I just caught the end of Moon Machine, who at first glance would be hard to pigeonhole just from their different attire and appearance. Each member looked to be styled from a different musical genre, I am not sure if this was intentional or simply they all met and started a band? Though the brief snippet I heard was definitely interesting and demanded later investigation.

Canned Pineapple

 Following on were Canned Pineapple who though producing fairly conventional Rock, were excellent in the kick ass stakes, with Seán Drury out front putting in a fine Elvis Costello meets Kurt Cobain persona which worked wonders and the band do possess that certain charisma that so helps make a band popular. The songs are damn good too with maybe the Costello songwriting ability rubbing off on them, hints of The Cars, Ramones, Springsteen and Rick Springfield all bounced around my head while listening…. Could be a future in the USA for sure.

The 113

 I had agreed to take some photos of The 113 so it was a saunter along to The Joiners to see their dynamic set, brimming with atmosphere and attitude. Relentless pumping bass with driving guitar refrains over the top really worked. With songs in their repertoire like “Conscience” creating a dystopian, bleak, windswept soundscape their future is hopeful not bleak but in an ascendancy. The band were down to earth as well, we discussed the Leeds music scene and they were gutted not to be able to catch up with Adult DVD on the Sunday.

Personal Trainer

Personal Trainer seemed in a relaxed mood as they began at The 1865, playing their slacker indie rock in the vein of Pavement with a Dutch twist; Singer Willem Smit does have a vocal delivery akin to Stephen Malkmus which is no bad thing. Personal Trainer do have the ability to surprise with their songs, always an interesting angle or choice of instrument to keep you guessing. Mental note to self to delve deeper into their back catalogue.

Coach Party

 To follow at the same venue were Coach Party, I’ve always enjoyed their music, songs and nonchalant persona which is exemplified in tunes such as “All I wanna do is hate” and “What’s the point in Life?”. Let’s hope they never get positive as these are cracking songs. Watching Coach Party did mean I couldn’t make it to Keg at The Joiners and as I arrived there were lots of gleaming, joyful faces just leaving to whizz to another venue.

She's in Parties

Antony Szmierek

Back into the late evening sunshine it was time to see She’s In Parties deliver their bouncy pop, indie amalgam with a hint of reborn Shoegaze. Though opposite to traditional shoegaze  Katie Dillon has an energetic, cheerful approach, which rubbed off on the early evening crowd.

After a quick refresh break (pint of cider) it was back to finish day 1 at The 1865 for a groovy, 

feelgood show from Antony Szmierek who I did not have experience with before. A smooth danceable set of songs was just what the doctor ordered to end the day with a smile and shuffling feet that couldn’t resist the rhythms and Hip Hop that appealed to all. He also has stories to tell in his lyrics but his popularity is equally because of the music. The 1865 saved the best light show of the day for Szmierek which enhanced the whole experience. End of Day 1 and my Old Legs were beginning to rebel against me.

Highdrive

Sunday emerged bright and slightly breezy but full of more promise to come as I left my night’s accommodation and caught up with the Band Highdrive to take some impromptu photos outside Heartbreakers, before going inside to sample Reubin X and his brand of Rap mixed with traditional Rock backing. His band are awesome. Though they create a rowdy mix, they are clearly talented musicians who form a suitable backdrop for Reubin’s Poems and stories, which tackle diverse subjects such as his Jamaican upbringing to the UK’s inner city plight and degeneration. Half an hour went by swiftly and it was good to catch up with Reubin after for photos and a chat.

Reubin X

Wonderlux

Wonderlux are another modern take on the 90’s Shoegaze genre - they didn’t have far to travel as they are local to Southampton- and produce well played melodic sounds. Despite half way through being hampered by a few technical gremlins they survived and as we spoke after the band considered it another example of learning to battle through adversity…. No harm done.

The Sick Man Of Europe

At Heartbreakers next were Sickman Of Europe already an intriguing name, they produced one of the most mesmerising performances of the weekend. The crowd were set in stone in awe for thirty minutes as the band produced a great example of late seventies Post Punk mixed with Kraut Rock electro drums, sounding like Wire playing at being Kraftwerk. While the band produced the amazing background of Berlin in 1979 the singer is shrouded in mystery from the get go. The songs all segued into each other; the audience not sure if or when to clap, kept their eyes firmly fixed on the singer who spent most of the gig in a slow motion serenade amongst the assembled crowd. Simply put, what a fascinating show!

Terra Twin

Adult DVD

A run of bands took us towards the headliner at The 1865, starting with London based Terra Twin who have a whiff of the Seventies about them with singer Maxim Baldry rocking some Jim Morrison trouserage (if that is a real word?). Followed by Leeds band Adult DVD who I am sure knew what they were doing with that name and the results delivered when searching Google? They had a dancey post punk sound sourcing Mark E Smith if he had joined New Order.

Feet

Feet got quite a reception, a lot of fans at the front hoped to catch a glimpse of George Haverson pouting in their direction, he resembles the perfect front man a cross between indie rock and your traditional singer he relishes and owns the stage. The sound of the band reminds me of The Strokes and certainly some of the lyrical delivery backs that up. Being from the Midlands they don’t quite swagger like the New York band….yet

Pale Blue Eyes

Another nice surprise was Pale Blue Eyes who I had seen once before though had not maybe given them enough attention as on Sunday evening they were excellent, again the music was heading down the nineties route with plenty of effects and building crescendos to a lot of the songs…. “Motionless” was really enjoyable.

English Teacher

By the time English Teacher took to the stage of The 1865 at 10:00 pm the other two venues had finished their final performances, thus all the people were now camped to watch the Mercury Prize winners. They didn’t disappoint, the stage presence seemed stronger than last time I caught them live. Watching “Nearly Daffodils” I was amazed by the bass line being played by Nicholas Eden, just so effortless and original. This is a huge part of the bands success being the sum of the parts which can be very subtle and combine to work so well with of course Lily Fontaine at the forefront and main focal point; she was lapping up the appreciation and spent a lot of time smiling back at the very appreciative crowd. She commanded the front of stage and gave us faithful versions of  “The world's biggest paving slab”, “R&B” and for me their best in “Albert Road” which was the finale to their set and to an amazing weekend, I am already looking forward to next year…

English Teacher

Many more photos from the Festival down below........