manchester psych fest review

The recently revived Kraak Gallery played joint host to the fourth installment of Manchester's psych fest. Renamed AATMA, the venue began to play host to gigs and club nights in the winter of 2015 after closing just a few months earlier in September. 

Name change aside, it was business as usual once you'd navigated the cobbled streets of the Northern Quarter and made your way upstairs into a darkened pit of swirling psych rock. 

Silver Vials were the band given the honour of opening this year's festival, the three piece demonstrating all the qualities you'd need to do so and closed with an impressive and excessive pile driver of a song. It flickered beautifully between a slow Brian Jonestown like groove into a Pink Floyd-esque brain melter to brilliant effect and did more than enough to set the precedent for the rest of the festival.

Second on the bill, Psyblings diminished any doubts with a rousing set that saw frontman Greg Dixon well and truly immersing himself in the spirit (and the crowd) of the day with some excellent showmanship. There was certainly an air of punk to him and he came across as a tie dyed John Lydon, which is by no means an insult.

The finest example of this was during '24 Hour Glass', the band's opening song, which after its ballsy intro descended into a swampy trudge. With an impressive amount of musical ingenuity and some memorable hooks, Psyblings did more than enough to cement their place amongst the older and more experienced psych rockers.

Between each act the bleached DJs and Wet dream DJs were on hand to spin an extensive range of vinyl and keep the atmosphere bubbling nicely.

Over at Night and Day proceedings began a little later and the first band to take to its hallowed stage were one of the days best acts, Lavender. There was style, swagger and substance in abundance from such a young band and they had the crowd captivated. 

The likes of 'Hinterland' and 'The Void' have all the makings of great psych tunes with shimmering guitars and powerhouse choruses and with a lead singer who stalks the stage in a britpop haze they have the presence to match. 

As night fell things onstage became darker too and the Psych fest really lived up to its name. The likes of Spectres and Triptides offered something a bit more 'grown up' and while they were perhaps less accessible, they added a further dimension to what had been a diverse display of the genre. 

The day reached its closing point as Telegram took the place of Clinic and headlined the event, and they did not disappoint. Few bands dress with such style and sense of place and before even a chord was struck you couldn't help but admire them. After dropping their debut album earlier this year, it was exactly the right occasion for the band to step up to the fore and there were plenty of tunes from Regatta on display. 

'Follow', the track that first got the music world's ears twitching, has the kind of early Status Quo sound that lights a flame in your chest and makes the band instantly likable. There is an awful lot of hype around the four piece and it is easy to see why and they provided the perfect ending to this year's Psych festival.

The city embraces the weird and the wonderful, and those who were present at AATMA or Night and Day certainly seemed to enjoy their trip, whatever kind. 

Find more events like this at Night and Day Cafe - including Electric Jug's 2nd birthday, Doomsquad and Jagwar Ma DJ set. 

Read our review of Sounds From The Other City