NEW wave outfit The Futureheads provided one of the highlights of Sunday’s T in the Park with a hugely entertaining set.
Hailing from Sunderland, the post-punk outfit provide an intelligent updating of late 70s early 80s British greats, most notably The Skids, The Jam, Gang of Four and XTC.
With all their now trademark vigour, the black-clad foursome duly launched into cuts from both their eponymous debut album, released in 2004, and the critically-acclaimed recent follow-up ‘News and Tributes’.
All angular, spiky guitars and pounding drums, dynamic and at the same time catchy tracks like ‘Decent Days And Nights’ and ‘Skip To The End’ had an appreciative audience literally jumping with delight.
While the acoustics inside the King Tut’s tent perhaps weren’t the best, lending the event the air of an oversize and incredibly boisterous school disco, the ‘Heads continued to endear throughout with sheer enthusiasm and their no little charm.
The full-on blast of ‘Return Of The Berserker’ led on to the more poppy ‘A To B’, before the glorious ‘Area’ heralded the arrival of the inevitable crowd participation section. All present entered into the spirit of the moment by singing with gusto as the band prepared to launch into their idiosyncratic cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds Of Love’ - surely one of the greatest singles ever.
All in all, a vital performance from a band who have shaken the present day music scene out of its torpor with an aggressive and muscular new take on past glories.
