Dot To Dot is the highlight of the Nottingham gig calendar, a multi-venue city festival boasting some of the most exciting new names from the UK music scene and beyond. The Mic’s Communications Secretary, Louis Griffin, went along to see how this year’s edition shaped up.
The sun was shining (albeit intermittently), and the streets of Nottingham were heaving with music fans. This was it: Dot To Dot was back on in May, and it was time to see how quickly we could run across the city centre to fulfil our packed agenda.
First up was the wristband exchange, located directly next to Rock City – the largest venue taking part in the day. Irish shoegazers Just Mustard were warming up to an already substantial crowd, so we stopped by to see what their debut album, Heart Under, sounded like in the live arena. Unfortunately, their delicate balance of thundering guitar and gently powerful vocals just didn’t translate live – an early festival slot is never particularly kind to music that requires introspection, and their set fell foul of this.
"The raw energy was undeniable"
Next up we journeyed to Bodega for Powerplant, with a set that couldn’t have been further removed. Their frantic set blended the motorik power of hardcore drums and guitars with a synth that added an oddly pop-y edge to these tracks. The raw energy was undeniable, and their DIY affectations – a mic stand inverted to stand higher than the singer, a keyboard placed on the venue’s floor so that it must be played while crouching down – gave a real sense of authenticity to their slot. A band not to be missed live.
We were ready to head back up Pelham Street to Rock City for our appointment with Unschooling – a French band with math-rock affectations – but first stopped by 31K to see Souki, a post-punk group that combine the deadpan vocals of Dry Cleaning with the quietly powerful guitars of Slint. 31K is usually a cocktail bar, and we were intrigued as to how a band with a trumpeter would fit in amongst the mixologists. As it was, a small but enthusiastic crowd turned up to witness their short but affecting set, and with an EP on the horizon, they’re ones to watch.
Unschooling brought an endearingly bizarre set to Rock City’s Beta, talking to the crowd between songs via an iPhone’s text-to-speech function, played out over the speakers. Their set was jaw-droppingly complex, a wig-out that felt as if the wheels could fall off the whole thing at any moment. It’s moments like this – a packed crowd for a reasonably niche French five-piece – that reinforce the power of mixed lineups like Dot To Dot for venturing off the musical footpath into brilliant, strange territory.
"Recent singles 50/50 and Concrete Over Water were highlights"
Next we dashed to The Level – the Student’s Union Bar of Nottingham Trent – to witness perhaps the most-hyped set of the day. Jockstrap are a fairly strange proposition to garner such an electric reception – a two piece composed of an electronic music producer and a singer, combining classically-minded vocals with tongue-in-cheek Squarepusher-esque breakdowns. But Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye won Nottingham over and then some with their weirdly emotive take on electronica. Recent singles 50/50 and Concrete Over Water were highlights – the former a delightfully odd chopped and screwed vocal warm-up, the latter a wistful ballad.
Back once more to Hockley, for KEG – a seven-member band with a real sense of humour alongside their musical chops. They executed several songs from their Assembly EP with panache, storming through hits ‘Presidential Walk’ and ‘Farmhands’ with apparent ease. The band even managed to carry on despite their vocalist Albert fending off a frankly prodigious nosebleed. Top marks all round.
After catching the end of an accomplished synth-pop set from Jane Weaver, it was time for the headliners, Squid. The band played Rock City only last year on tour, and having sold it out six months ago, there was a real sense of anticipation in the room before the band came on. Squid manage to bring a degree of tension to every second of their set, and it’s testament to the band that they managed to win over the crowd to even their most prog-rock moments of synthesizer manipulation.
"Their set was easily the most physical of the day"
As it stands, their set was easily the most physical of the day, with churning crowds greeting tracks from their debut album, Bright Green Field. Sludge, The Cleaner and Narrator all prompted a hysterical reaction from the assembled crowd – it’s always surprising just how muscular their music sounds live. A thoroughly worthy headline performance, and perhaps the last time to catch the band in a room of this size. Finally, we wrapped up Dot To Dot 2022 with a midnight set from Honeyglaze. The Speedy Wunderground-signed band combine transcendent guitars with a witty, tightly-coiled pop nouse. Their set of wistful and beautiful ballads was interspersed with self-referential patter – a nice touch which leavened some of their more introspective moments. All in all, it was a beautiful send-off, and a set from a band that will be swiftly moving on to greater things.
Louis Griffin
Edited by: Gemma Cockrell
Featured image courtesy of Dot to Dot Festival via Facebook.
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