As a set, tonight is short but intense, which is for the best: any longer than forty-five minutes and we’d be a collective puddle of mush on the sticky floor, but it’s also the perfect length to showcase ‘Talk About It’. “It’s a little different from what we’ve done before,” warns Sid Ryan. The split between issues of “love, loss, grief, ambition, [and] hitting trouble’, which dominate their latest release, serves to show how much they’ve opened up and turned their troubles into a strengthened sound. Opener ‘Standing In The Downpour’ immediately grabs us by the collar for a good shaking in its purer and more immediate live incarnation. ‘Cut Throat’”s bass-binding is knotted in wire-sharp guitar, before the band slip in to the thrashing blast of ‘Midnight Ferry’. 

The hits punctuate Grade 2’s quick-fire set – and, of course, ‘Graveyard Island’ is a battery of storming energy, always dominated by force of attitude, which drags our phones up – but the fact that ‘Hangin’ On To You’, which only came out weeks ago, is already sparking a massive fan reaction is a sign that we’ve embraced their new direction. It’s a ray of sunlight that splits the ceiling when the intro drops, with each line a promise like the anonymous hand that grabs you up from the floor when you fall in the pit. Title track ‘Talk About It’ feels like a middle finger to anything that atomises, celebrating the growing community they’ve gathered around themselves. 

For the first time, Grade 2 feel like an independent force. Sure, there are echoes of Pennywise on ‘Better Today’ via their gruff vulnerability, and yes, we’re always aware that Rancid’s Matt Freeman is inspiration behind each complex note of Ryan’s bass. Of course, ‘Pubwatch’ carries a whole lot of wholesome Oi in each bellowed gang vocal, and we love these guys for being the smoothie that results from dropping all our favourite punk ingredients into a blender. But, just when we think we’ve got them figured out, they drop in a cover in the form of ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’, and we’re struck by how much originality and, above all, joy they can bring to a song we all know. They’ve slowly built on their origins to an endpoint where they’re true to themselves, and it shines through on every new track. ‘Wasteland’ opens up a packed pit and conjures a dark groove to send us slamming.

Grade Two are a blunt instrument in the punk scene, but such an effective one. Moving on with ‘Talk About It’ has resulted in a freshness seeping into their music and a personal touch which extends to more than just those enamoured of the street punk sound. Fast and energising, and unlikely to play to such a tiny room again in London, we’re lucky to have caught them before they explode. 

Kate Allvey

For the first time, it feels like we can discuss the Grade 2 sound as a product of their influences rather than just as a mashup of all their favourite things. Sure, ‘Cut Throat’ really, really sounds like Rancid, but there’s a ferocity to the drumming that’s all their own and an emo tint to Sid Ryan’s vocals that provides a much needed clarity. Precision is the name of the game, and their dedication to keeping their sound as sharp as humanly possibly is absolutely what is distinguishing them from their mentors. Even their lead single, ‘Hanging Onto You’, which tumbles through concrete skate parks and Pennywise callouts, features incredibly sharp shards of melodic guitar, and rapidly spat lyrics with a focus on the struggles of mundanity elevate ‘Standing In The Downpour’ above our expectations. Sure, the title track drags in some of the organ sound which we’ll always associate with the ‘Life Won’t Wait’ era of Rancid, but it’s just frosting on an original, straightforward and sarcastic little cupcake of a track. 

Ultimately, Grade 2 have grown into their own sound and got the bruises to match the toughness that their lyrics promise. ‘Better Today’ has to be autobiographical, and it’s a song which has the tendons pushed right to the skin through a clenched fist of determination to keep going. Their rock solid stance on continuing pushing through flourishes on ‘Don’t Worry About Me’, and if this was 2005, the lyrics would be emblazoned in Tip-Ex on every teenager’s bag. The short-sharp-shock approach is working for them: the whole album is less than half an hour, and half the tracks are ninety seconds long, but honestly? Having a tight blast of vicious street punk is what the genre calls for, a shot of something high proof rather than a lazy pint. ‘Rotten’, probably their most political track, is a case in point: screamed slogans and thrashed riffs make for fiery polemic in closely packed doses. This is the sort of thing they should have been doing all along, and stepping out from the shadows of punks past means that we can truly appreciate how far these lads have come and what they can offer the world. 

“I never thought I’d make it out alive, I’ve made it through to the other side,” Ryan beams on closer ‘Otherside’, and it feels like a perfect headline for the coming-of-age record that is ‘Talk About It’. Grade 2 are standing on their own as proper punk rockers, their youthful freshness burned away by a bass inferno and pit experience, and that sense of post accomplishment and promise for what they could accomplish next is what ‘Talk About It’ emits from every riff. The sheer force of will to distill their complex emotions into explosions of seventies punk is admirable on its own, but the result is even more impressive as it comes in the form of an absolutely cracking record.

KATE ALLVEY

Words: Kate Allvey and Rob Dand  //  Photos: Penny Bennett and Paul Lyme

San Demas

Outside the Neu tent, it’s a gorgeous English summer, but inside? San Demas are brewing a potion of upbeat regret. ‘You and I’ sets the tone for pop-ish catchiness, and their cover of Paramore’s  ‘Aint It Fun’ injects a good humoured groove into the morning. With classic rock guitar and a wail from vocalist Lucy Parish to shake us awake, San Demas are an intriguing, bass-heavy start to the day. [Kate Allvey]

Karen Dio

An energetic Karen Dió is kind enough to remind us that the unrelenting midday sun is not a big problem for her, owing to her Brazilian heritage. For the rest of us, the quietly rising heat is an ominous sign of things to come. In spite of this, her buoyant pop-rock has more than a few heads bobbing. A rampaging Chappell Roan cover even manages to massage a mosh pit from the early crowd, and she finishes strong with the 1-2 punch of ‘3am’ and ‘Sick Ride’ (her “best songs”, by her own admission). It’s a polished and commanding set, honed during some high-profile recent support slots, and perfect for a festival main stage. [Rob Dand]

Himalayas

A breath of fresh mountain air, Himalayas stomp across the main stage. The squealing guitar and resolute insecurity on ‘What If’ making it an atmospheric listen, and ‘Afterlife’ is full of relish for strategic lonely bridges packed with fuzz. Their “50 million streams on Spotify” hit, ‘Thank God I’m With You’ rings out as vibrantly as the turquoise flags lining the main stage, and no one expected a post-apocalyptic ’Gangsta’s Paradise’ as a closer. [Kate Allvey]

Unpeople

Just two years on from their live debut (at this very festival), and a matter of weeks after their first headline performance, unpeople have ascended to the main stage at 2000 Trees like a bear up a tree – still with but one EP to their name. Although there’s room in the schedule for two new songs, the setlist now possesses an unavoidable familiarity that in no way dampens the crowd’s appreciation for the material, so when the band take to the stage ready to launch into ‘Waste’, it takes no time at all for the madness to take hold. Beach balls, beer and human limbs (still attached) are flying through the air almost immediately, and this doesn’t stop for the next half an hour.

“We are unpeople. You are unpeople. We are all fuckin’ unpeople, let’s ‘ave it” is the rallying cry that introduces the final raucous moments of set closer ’The Garden’, during which a swirling vortex engulfs ever-adventurous guitarist Luke Caley, who has (as is customary) launched himself out into the eye of the storm and perched himself on a big bloke’s shoulders. He plays the last notes from the crowd and surfs his way back to the stage. unpeople have well and truly conquered their lateral move to the main stage – the only way to go now is up the ranks. [Rob Dand]

Bandit

Making their 2000 Trees debut, Liverpool’s Bandit entice a respectable crowd into the shade of the Neu stage. Combining the brooding minor key guitar attack of The Amazons with the everyman persona of early Arctic Monkeys, their approach to danceable Saturday night indie is polished with an early 2000s charm that many here are old enough to find nostalgic (including yours truly). A Vodka-Red Bull, sticky dancefloor, white-label ATM, rubber-stamped club logo on your wrist kind of set, full of upbeat and instantly palatable songs, culminates with ‘Masquerade’, the recent single that finds the band at their anthemic peak. [Rob Dand]

Puppy

London three-piece Puppy have been honing their craft since 2014, but have only played four gigs since last appearing here in 2022 (three of them on a run of UK dates last month). Their mid-afternoon set draws one of the biggest crowds the Axiom tent has seen so far today, eagerly anticipating the live return of their oddball Weezer-goes-grunge sound; a jarring and slightly theatrical mash-up of down-tuned guitar riffs and singalongs sweeter than a bag of Tesco own-brand jelly babies. After lumbering opener ‘…And Watched it Glow’ kicks things off, debut album favourite ‘Black Hole’ gets a particularly feverish reception, as does debut single ‘Forever’. Forty minutes of punchy alt-rock and minor technical hitches passes, and the band deliver a tight set that climaxes with the menacing riffery of 2016 single ‘Entombed’. A triumphant return in an environment that cherishes this kind of band. [Rob Dand]

The Hunna

They won’t stop, they won’t slow down (at least according to opener ‘The Storm’) and the Hunna keep their promise. They’re a guitar driven juggernaut, propelled by Ryan Potter’s spring loaded moves that send crystalline echoes of guitar across the field. They give new single ‘Hide and Seek’ its live debut, and it’s jagged acceptance with beautifully stretched lulls feels like it’s drawing in the blue skies above. Their talent for turning the foibles of modern relationships into dynamic bass-booming alt sounds makes for a winning set with tracks like ‘Bonfire’ drawing devoted song from the crowd. [Kate Allvey]

Love Letter

Love Letter are a tantalising prospect. Featuring two of modern hardcore’s most iconic figures in Quinn Murphy (ex-Verse vocalist) and Jay Maas (ex-Defeater guitarist), it’s hard to avoid the obvious comparisons. Opener ‘Wellness Checks and Dead Friends’ is perhaps the best example of this, with Murphy’s impassioned screams fighting to be heard above muscular and characteristically bleak melodies. Maas’ interspersed backing vocals immediately call to mind those early Defeater records.

Whether what Love Letter achieves can escape the broad shadow of its members’ past lives is a whole other conversation, but there is considerable joy to be found here today in witnessing these figureheads of the genre ready for the challenge of proving themselves all over again, with gritted teeth and the same burning fire that saw them hit the heights with their previous bands. [Rob Dand]

Big Special 

We might be a long way from anything that can be called a street, but Big Special are channeling Mike Skinner by way of Soft Play to create a postmodern dance party. ‘God Save The Party’ drops an irreverent summer groove, and “filthy capitalist” tune ‘Shop Music’ chucks in slogans with tense, danceable samples to create rowdy magic. Thumbs up across the crowd and anecdotes about kestrels add a touch of the surreal to their slice of life lyrics and eloquent commentary, and ‘This Here Ain’t Water’, which sees Joe Hicklin unleash his rich blues capacity, burns brightly across the field. [Kate Allvey]

Spaced

Grungy, shoegaze-tinged hardcore is having a moment right now. It would be easy to call Spaced and others beneficiaries of the rising tide that Turnstile swelled, but they are taking full advantage of the opportunity. Groovy, effect-laden and full of energy, this adrenalising set condenses all the best bits of Upstate NY hardcore, and it’s a welcome shot in the arm for anyone in the crowd starting to suffer from the early evening lull. [Rob Dand]

Kid Kapichi

Over at the Axiom, there’s a huge migration to catch the mighty Kid Kapichi. ‘see me laugh in the face of a gun’ is all harsh, distorted power before they start the party with ‘Get To Work’, a song exploding with casual savagery that was hidden on record. ‘I.N.V.U’ is burned away to its bare essential fuzz, the chanted chorus sarcastic and involving. When they soften a little, they’re Oasis from a parallel timeline but their heavy, speeding numbers are what we’re here for. They’re beyond absorbing with their considered rawness and smacking riffs, and we’re hooked by the rough energy of ‘Get Down’ as we’re saddened by the impending lineup change to Kapichi. [Kate Allvey]

PVRIS

Tonight’s co-headline slot comes at the end of a UK run in celebration of debut album ‘White Noise’, a stomping dance-rock record that looks increasingly like a high-watermark in the band’s sometimes inconsistent discography. But rather than the leading drum intro of that record’s opener ‘Smoke’, PVRIS take to the stage and launch into 2024 single ‘Burn the Witch’.

What follows is a similarly disjointed set that delights and frustrates in equal measure, from the euphoric sun-dappled trio of ‘You & I’, ‘White Noise’ and ‘Fire’ to a subdued mid-section run of deeper cuts and recent singles, and back again via a triumphant ‘My House’, the lit match that finally sparks some action in the moshpit with just one song to go. Whether it’s the obtuse song choices or the stripped-back on-stage set-up, there’s a disparity between the energy present in these renditions and the energy the crowd are ready to reciprocate with. Ultimately, although it’s a polished and professional performance with much to enjoy, it doesn’t quite feel like the uninhibited sunset hoe-down we’d all been hoping for. [Rob Dand]

Grade 2

The spirit of 1977 is alive and well in Grade 2. ‘Graveyard Shift’ is a much needed street punk update and their rowdy (standing in the downpour listen to the rain fall down) is pure shoutable joy. Their Rancid influence comes to the forefront on ‘Fast Pace’ in in the middle of all the big production, cutting edge commentary which characterises the weekend, it’s incredibly refreshing to hear a punk band just making a hell of a lot of noise. Grade 2’s throwback take on the world never fails to excited we make the most of the near-ska happiness that is ‘Hanging On To You’. [Kate Allvey]

Bambi Thug

Considering Bambi Thug is practically a cryptid already, the Forest stage is an immaculate setting for them. Today, they’re startlingly human, screaming with all their might through ‘Hex So Heavy’, reminding us of the homicidal potential musically contained in a tiny frame. While the heaviness of the bass shakes the roots of the eponymous trees, it’s the silences and pauses to appreciate Thug’s voice and magnetic stage presence which are the most striking. Between the danger and sex they coat every song in, it’s impossible to ignore how much Thug has grown as an artist since just last year, with ‘I know What You Did Last Summer’ kickstarting a rave between the impassive trees. [Kate Allvey]

Kneecap

It seems like most of the crowd have come here specifically to see the politically inflammatory Irishmen, and both Palestinian and Irish flags have proudly flown in support of Kneecap all day. Opening with ‘It’s Been Ages’ is practically a middle finger up to their critics, but now they’ve had their rebuttal, they’re ready to focus on just giving us a solid headline set. ‘Amach Anocht’ sounds absolutely massive, and ‘Fenian Cunts’ combines smoothly served satire with a butt-shaking beat. There’s a certain irony in getting an entire crowd of Brits to sing the chorus back, which Kneecap undoubtedly appreciate. ‘H.O.O.D’ is a top festival jam, and the ability to open up a mosh pit as a hiphop act is beyond impressive. When they go dark, as they do on ‘Your Sniffer Dogs Are Shite’, they show they can flip the tone away from levity in an instance.

Kneecap’s set answers a lot of questions. The crowd at 2000 Trees will embrace hiphop as a headliner, especially when it’s fast, hard and full of fire. Kneecap have the courage to lay their beliefs bare in front of us in a precise and reasoned way, without further fanning the flames of infamy. When Kneecap go hard, with tracks straight from The Prodigy, it’s so clear why they’ve been invited back for a third year running. Of course some of the crowd are attracted by their status as the establishment’s most wanted, but we’re staying for the mix of bangers, political boldness, and absolute nonsense that Mo Chara sprinkles over a set that’s so much bigger than the hour it lasts. [Kate Allvey]

Lagwagon, Voodoo Glow Skulls, 999, Idles, The Members, Grade 2, Evil Blizzard, Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican, The Drones, The Liptones, Sem Futuro, Revolt-Chix, The Inflatable Dolls, Viki Vortex and the Cumshots, Royal Oi, Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart, and The Queers will join the likes of Adolescents, Cockney Rejects, UK Subs and more at the Blackpool based punk fest at the Winter Gardens, from the 2nd to the 5th August 2018.

Weekend tickets cost £150 plus £5 booking fee and can be purchased here.

It is taken from their upcoming debut album, ‘As the Tide Turns’, which will be released on the 8th September via TNS Records.

They will also be playing the following UK shows.

AUGUST
30 LONDON The Underworld Camden w/ Street Dogs, Grade 2 + Pints
SEPTEMBER
08 SEDLESCOMBE The Big Green Cardigan Festival
09 LONDON T.Chances* w/ Zounds, Millie Manders, Dealing with Damage, Murderhouse, The Burnt Tapes + Second in Line
17 BRIGHTON The Prince Albert w/ River Jumpers + Jake Martin
29 HASTINGS Wotsit Called Fest
OCTOBER
14 EAST SUSSEX Battle Festival, The Bull
27 LONDON New Cross Inn w/ Captain Hotknives + Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls
28 EASTBOURNE The Eagle
NOVEMBER
04 IPSWICH The Smokehouse* w/ Red Flag 77 + Casual Nausea
11 LEEDS Pie Race Festival, Wharf Chambers
12 CANTERBURY The Lady Luck
18 SHEFFIELD The Cremorne
19 LONDON Back from the Dead Punk Fest, T.Chances
26 LONDON The Cricketers^
27 LONDON T.Chances^

* w/ Ducking Punches
^ Flatfoot 56, The Lagan, Andrew Paley + Warshy

It will be released on the 8th September via TNS Records. You can listen to the first single, ‘Take It to the Streets’, below.

They will also be playing the following UK shows.

AUGUST
03 BRADFORD Al’s Dime Bar
04 BLACKPOOL Rebellion Festival
05 COMPTON MARTIN Outcider Festival
10-13 WINCHESTER Boomtown Fair
10 LONDON The Cricketers*
11 LONDON Stag’s Head Hoxton*
17 HONITON Beautiful Days Festival, Escot Park
18 SOUTHSEA The Festing w/ Captain Trips, Carl Lewis: Track and Field + Cyprian Sceptre
30 LONDON The Underworld w/ Street Dogs, Grade 2 + Pints
SEPTEMBER
09 LONDON T.Chances w/ Zounds, Ducking Punches, Millie Manders, Dealing with Damage, Murderhouse, The Burnt Tapes + Second in Line
17 BRIGHTON The Prince Albert w/ River Jumpers + Jake Martin
29 HASTINGS Wotsit Called Fest
OCTOBER
27 LONDON New Cross Inn w/ Captain Hotknives + Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls
NOVEMBER
10-12 LEEDS Pie Race Festival, Wharf Chambers
17-20 LONDON Back from the Dead Punk Fest, T.Chances
26 LONDON The Cricketers^
27 LONDON T.Chances^

* w/ Dead Maggies + Benny Mayhem
^ w/ Flatfoot 56, The Lagan, Andrew Paley + Warshy

The band recently signed to Century Media Records. Their last release was their 2013 EP, ‘Crooked Drunken Sons’, on Pirate Press Records.

AUGUST
28 MANCHESTER Rebellion
29 BRISTOL The Exchange w/ Criminal Mine + Crash Landings
30 LONDON The Underworld w/ Grade 2, Matilda’s Scoundrels + Pints

New music from the band is expected to be released through their new label soon. Their last release was their 2013 EP, ‘Crooked Drunken Sons’, on Pirate Press Records.

The band also will be playing the following UK dates next month, with more shows to be announced soon.

AUGUST
29 BRISTOL The Exchange w/ Criminal Mine + Crash Landings
30 LONDON The Underworld w/ Grade 2