End of The Road 2013: Saturday's Best

The weather yesterday was perfect. Blazing sun and cold wind accompanied our frolics around the Larmer Tree Garden site, catching the best the End of The Road line-up had to offer.

East India Youth

Gripping a bass guitar, hunched over a microphone and standing before a vast array of cables and flashing lights, East India Youth opens Saturday at Big Top with forty-five minutes of apocalyptic electronica built on a foundation of intense Mogwai-like noise. In its bravery – and setup – it’s pretty reminiscent of Thom Yorke’s solo shows, but as far as the actual sound is concerned it’s in something of a league of its own. It seems a real shame that this set is wasted on this time slot; beneath the illuminated trees of the woods late at night it would have been nothing short of phenomenal. Merlin Jobst

Night Beds

Hazy slide guitars glide over the packed, sprawled out Garden stage – Winston Yellen’s wise, inescapably rich vocals grounding proceedings firmly in traditional country territory – the frivolity is his instrumentals only serving to further underline the tragedy and heart break in his lyrics. Mid set number ‘Lost Springs’ vocal delivery burns with the intensity of a young Ryan Adams. It’s resplendent. Lauren Down

Photograph by Burak Cingi

Deptford Goth

It might not seem a typical environment to catch the Deptford Goth live show, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last year, thoroughly immersed in his debut album, it’s that there’s a versatility here which doesn’t restrict the record to just rainy night bus journeys. The exquisite sound in the Big Top tent infuses the occasion with a richness that suits these songs perfectly, with Daniel Woolhouse’s soulful timbre rendering standout moments, ‘Feel Real’ and ‘Union’ inclusive and utterly immersive. Dave Rowlinson

Golden Fable

In danger of being one of the festival’s most overlooked bands due to a scheduling clash with Deptford Goth and Warpaint’s big comeback, the bright, soaring pop of Welsh duo Golden Fable was a breath of fresh air in the Tipi Tent. Playing songs from their 2012 debut Star Map and a soon-to-be-completed second album, the few we managed to catch were utterly charming. Alan Pedder

Angel Olsen

Photograph by Burak Cingi
Risking sunburn and squinting to see into the Garden Stage crowd, Angel Olsen cut a pale and serious figure as she began her set with the seductive ‘Acrobat’. Soon enough though, little smiles crept in as she started to relax, but it was a butterfly drifting past her nose mid-song that broke the mood into something gentler on the emotions. By the end she was all smiles. Alan Pedder

Anna Von Hausswolff

With her latest album Ceremony having been recorded in vast, cavernous, resonant spaces on church organs, we’re wondering how Gothenburg’s Anna Von Hausswolff will bring the drama and depth of her latest tracks to the festival’s Tipi Tent stage. It’s touch and go to start with, as the band work to balance their distinctive sound, but by the third song, Anna’s impressive, howling vocals are sweeping over the crowd, as her organ based compositions are brought to life through a five piece band. An attention-demanding performance, Anna’s set is not for the faint-hearted, but it does reward the patient. By the end of her 45 minute show, the crowd are completely captivated by the dramatic melodic shifts and masterful vocal performance – a powerful and uncompromising set from the unique Swedish artist. Francine Gorman

Daughter

Photograph by Burak Cingi
It is clearer than ever, in the light of the overflowing crowd of devotees that wait for their Garden Stage slot, that Daughter have quietly cemented themselves as one of the UK’s biggest new bands. On the basis of tonight‘s fragile, chilling hour, it’s a title wholly deserved – as their debut’s shards of skeletal vulnerability swell with new bite. Bathed in a warm yellow front light, ‘Smother’ swells and shrinks with a visceral rawness around its haunting vocal, as the band’s incredible capacity for stark moments of dark, beautiful clarity are overwhelming. It’s not the most uplifting Saturday night set, but the sense of community and solidarity in Daughter’s sharing of lowest ebbs and total fragmentation carry a sense of optimism – they might be in the emotional gutter, but there is a positive sense of the possibility of renewal. Like candles in the dark, Daughter are a band to clutch close for warmth. Sam Briggs

Sigur Ròs

Photograph by Burak Cingi
To say it’s a bizarre seeing Sigur Ròs, arguably Iceland’s most successful and quintessential alternative group – appearing tonight, strings, horns and all, as a ten-piece band – in a field in Dorset would be an understatement. Jònsi and his supremely ethereal band, clad all in black and surrounded by glowing bulbs, perform a true ‘greatest hits’ set that spans their eight-album back catalogue. The setup is magnificent; lights flare around the band as the plodding bass that introduces ‘Glosóli’ spills onto the illuminated audience. Images from respective music videos play on a gargantuan letterbox screen behind them throughout the set, throwing bright sparks into the deluge of light that paints the stage for ‘Hoppipolla’ and an earth-shattering thunderstorm for ‘Untitled #8′. A perfect way to close a perfect festival Saturday. Merlin Jobst

Daughn Gibson

Daughn Gibson is a huge individual. Pacing around the stage of this semi-secret set in the Tipi tent, his muscular power is a commanding presence, leading his tight, punchy band with his booming, country tinged baritone. It’s well suited to their late set time, but the meaty, full bodied approach undermines any electronic or hazy production potential so effective on debut ‘All Hell’, choosing rather to hit home with straighter, sharper blues rock. No frills, but different thrills. Sam Briggs

Lead photograph by Burak Cingi