I've been a hardcore kid for nearly 30 years and this is the tenth anniversary of Outbreak Festival, a festival devoted to hardcore, punk and its various subgenres. However, this is the first Outbreak I've ever been to. It usually falls on a weekend when I'm away on holiday but I came back from Greece a couple of days ago so was able to make one of the days finally.
Wrong Man have a distinct 90s feel. The opening song, 'Big Plans', is like Deadguy's slower, less intense moments (think the last two songs on the 'Work Ethic' EP or 'Die With Your Mask On' or 'Riot Stairs'). The rocking 'Don't Remind Me' has a Rollins Band feel. The singer Bjorn has a similar vocal intensity to Rollins although he is rather static physically. 'Who Are You?' has a Rollins Band meets Poison Idea feel. Not many bands sound like this these days so they're a breath of fresh air. They definitely hark back to a time when rage in hardcore didn't necessarily mean metallic. There are some decent, subtle guitar solos within the songs and some nice jazzy touches too which again references mid 90s Rollins Band. The closing track 'Wait' has a decent rough edged chorus.
I wasn't planning on watching Angel Du$t but they sound much more punk than on record and that energy is enough to draw me into to watching them on the outside stage. The vocals sound a bit rough (and with the amount of people on stage, I'm not sure how much of them are sung by the singer) but musically, their catchy, bouncy punk is good. Tracks like 'Stay' are catchy and have tons of energy. The climax of 'Stay' is pretty heavy too. The crowd really love them.
I don't take any notes for Fiddlehead as I watched from the stage and it didn't seem appropriate. Their melodic emotional hardcore sounded really powerful and they sound much more hardcore live. There are tons of people on the stage from the very first note and they get a pretty amazing reaction. Unfortunately, I see very little of it because there are so many people watching from the side of the stage too. Still excellent though.
To be perfectly honest, I can't wait to get out of the backstage area. I prefer to watch from the front and knowing that I wasn't really meant to be there, I just found the whole thing very stressful.
The Hotelier are playing their 2014 album 'Home, Like No Place Is There' in full. They play 90s emo in the style of The Promise Ring. From the opening song 'An Introduction To The Album' there are hundreds of fists in the air, pumping away to every line and it's an impressive sight. 'In Framing' is more uptempo emo pop in the vein of Piebald with maybe a slight No Idea twist. The vocals remind me of Piebald too. 'Your Deep Rest' gets an amazing reaction. Stagedivers are crying and hugging each other, such is the emotional power. The screamier sections of 'Among The Wildflowers and 'Life In Drag'' are exhilarating. Emo and screamo are genres I used to love but as good as The Hotelier are, it starts to sound a bit samey towards the end. Final track 'Dendron' is pretty anthemic in a Jimmy Eats World or Get Up Kids way, and is a fine way to finish. The stage invasion is pretty insane (and I've heard that it's nothing compared to Poison the Well yesterday.).
Teenage Wrist open with an immense sounding 'Sunshine', its thick post-hardcore groove giving way to a melodic chorus. They mix a Swervedriver guitar tone with Hundred Reasons riffs and the end result is absolutely fantastic. They often bring to mind Dig's grungy shoegaze to mind and it is hypnotic, crushing and utterly joyous. Some tracks have a modern rock feel that suggests that they wouldn't be out of place in arenas. It all sounds very bass heavy but that just enhances the overall power. The final track 'Earth Is A Black Hole' has 'Don't Fear The Reaper' style bassline but is as anthemic as Creeper. Excellent.
I never intended to watch Hot Mulligan but I couldn't be bothered following the football text feed any longer. They are yet more melodic emotional hardcore which has made up the majority of the day's line up. They are reminiscent of Hot Water Music. Musically, it's not bad but the vocals are great. The vocals have a gruff edge and the singer Tades seems to push his voice to the limit which reminds me of the awesome Hunter Gatherer (and if you've never heard them, I'd recommend checking out their 'Low Standards For High Fives' album which came out in 2002 and is amazing). The vocals give Hot Mulligan an edge and are the main point of interest for me. Enjoyable.
Harms Way are surprisingly complex metallic hardcore on their most recent releases. Live, they are boiled down to their most primal elements and is simply music to destroy each other to. It's monstrously heavy and when the bass and beat drops, it sounds and feels like an atomic bomb. It's like the sound effect in Marvel movies where the big villain levels a city, and it feels like it would if you were watching it in a state of the art IMAX cinema. We've all seen the memes but the singer is an absolute unit and a very imposing presence. I like the sophistication of the records but as a live experience this is supremely effective. They're definitely better when playing slower but it's sooo intense, however they play. This is 40 minutes of unrelenting heaviness. Wow.
I only catch a song of Soccer Mommy but it doesn't really grab me. There is a much sparser crowd than any of the other bands I've seen so far and it just seems like the wrong crowd for her. Shame because I really like the records.
I go inside to watch the start of Thursday's set but I'm not really feeling it, so I make the decision to go home. I really want to see American Football later on but I'm feeling tired and to be honest, seven hours of bands is enough for me these days.
Harms Way ****
Hot Mulligan ***
Teenage Wrist ****
The Hotelier ***
Fiddlehead ****
Angel Du$t ***
Wrong Man ****
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