Burn It Down Festival has always had a knack for putting established names alongside the bands who look destined to become tomorrow’s headliners. Spread across Torquay’s grassroots venues, the festival feels less like a traditional festival and more like a city-wide celebration of alternative music, intimate, energetic and gloriously loud.
This year’s Foundry bill was no exception, with a run of performances from Exit Dream, Sunday Best, PENGSHUi, As It Is, unpeople, The Meffs and VUKOVI providing plenty of highlights.
Opening the day for us at The Foundry, Exit Dream had the task of setting the bar for the day, and they did so with confidence. There was no sense of easing the audience gently into the festival; their performance immediately established the atmosphere that Burn It Down thrives on. Their sound had enough melody to draw people in while retaining the weight and urgency expected from a festival like this. They played with the hunger of a band who know that these early festival slots are an opportunity to win over new listeners, and by the end of the set it was difficult not to feel that they had done exactly that.
Over at The Apple & Parrot, Sunday Best brought a different flavour to the proceedings. Their set demonstrated why Burn It Down works so well as a festival: rather than giving audiences three days of variations on the same sound, the bill constantly shifts between styles and moods. Sunday Best delivered a lively, engaging performance that felt perfectly suited to the smaller venue. There was an intimacy to the set, with the band feeding off the room and the audience responding in kind. It was the sort of performance that makes the smaller stages at Burn It Down every bit as important as the headline slots.
Things stepped up considerably when PENGSHUi hit The Foundry. Their genre-bending combination of punk, grime, hip-hop and heavy bass is difficult to categorise, and even harder to ignore.
The London trio have built a reputation for explosive live shows, and their Burn It Down appearance was another demonstration of just how effective that formula can be. Frontman Illaman commands the stage with the presence of an MC rather than a conventional rock vocalist, while the rhythm section provides a relentless foundation. The result is chaotic, physical and hugely entertaining.
PENGSHUi don't simply perform songs; they create an atmosphere, and the Foundry audience was more than willing to embrace it. As It Is brought a more melodic, emotionally charged side of alternative rock to the festival. With their roots firmly in the pop-punk and emo world, they have the rare ability to make a festival crowd sing as loudly as they mosh.
Their performance struck a good balance between nostalgia and momentum. There was enough familiarity for longtime fans to lose themselves in the songs, but the set never felt like a simple trip down memory lane. The band looked comfortable on the Foundry stage and delivered the kind of polished, crowd-focused performance you'd expect from a group that has spent years playing to increasingly large audiences.
If PENGSHUi brought controlled chaos, unpeople brought something altogether darker and heavier. Their position high on the Foundry bill felt justified, with a performance that demonstrated why they have become one of the more interesting names in the UK's modern alternative scene.
There was a real sense of tension running through the set, heavy riffs, huge dynamics and an intensity that never quite allowed the audience to relax. Rather than relying solely on volume, unpeople understand the value of atmosphere, building songs that feel as though they're constantly on the verge of exploding. And when that explosion comes, it's seriously impressive.
The Meffs were everything you want from a punk festival: loud, direct, energetic and completely unwilling to stand still. Their stripped-back approach makes the songs hit with an immediacy that suits the Burn It Down environment perfectly. There was little room for pretence. This was punk in its most direct form, with plenty of attitude and an obvious connection between band and crowd. The Meffs have the ability to make a relatively small stage feel enormous, and their performance was a reminder that you don't need elaborate production to create a memorable festival moment. Sometimes all you need is a guitar, drums, a great song and an audience ready to go wild.
Then came VUKOVI. Closing out the Foundry's Thursday programme, the Scottish alt-rockers had the job of taking the energy built throughout the day and pushing it over the top.
They delivered exactly that. VUKOVI's greatest strength is their ability to combine huge, hook-driven alternative rock with an unpredictable, slightly unhinged edge. Their songs can move from melody to ferocity in an instant, and live that contrast becomes even more effective.
The performance was energetic from start to finish, with the band showing why they have become such a compelling live act. There was a sense that the entire day had been building towards this point: the crowd was fully warmed up, the venue was buzzing and VUKOVI were more than happy to throw fuel onto the fire. It was a fitting finale.
What made this particular Burn It Down lineup work was the variety. Exit Dream and Sunday Best provided opportunities to discover newer names; PENGSHUi injected genre-defying chaos; As It Is delivered the big melodic moments; unpeople brought weight and atmosphere; The Meffs supplied pure punk energy; and VUKOVI finished the night with a suitably explosive performance.
That is ultimately what Burn It Down does best. It creates an environment where a band you've never heard of can play immediately before an established favourite, and both can leave you talking about them afterwards.
Review and Photos by Martha Fitzpatrick ©
