Norwich Sound & Vision 2014

Norwich Sound + Vision 2014 begins. For the first time, I stay in one venue all night; Epic Studios.

Opener Jim Higgs has a strong voice, similar to the Levellers' Mark Chadwick, but didn’t really sparkle for me. (5/10)

With very good songs, Daisy Victoria mixes PJ Harvey, the Bad Seeds and Patti Smith, with a touch of The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson about the vocals. (8/10)

The setting does electropop duo Treasureseason no favours. Not exactly original but I'd like to hear Jess and David through a more suitable PA. (5/10)

Ulrich Schnauss mixes Max Richter/Steve Reich style avant-classical with trance and old school electronics. One for a darkened room rather than a gig setting. (6/10)

Back downstairs for keyboard-playing vocalist Robyn Sherwell. Backed up by acoustic guitar, at times this could be a less flat, bluesy Dido. Hardly earth shattering but some good songs. (6/10)

Without the Radiophonic Workshop there may be no electronic music as we know it. Who would have thought four pensioners (and their younger drummer) would make a funky space rock with soul and humour? Naturally, they finished with the Dr Who theme. (8/10)

Last time I saw Public Service Broadcasting it was in the small room at OPEN and they struggled with technical issues. No such problems today. From opener London Can Take It to closer Everest, this was a strong set but it didn't blow me away like their NS+V set two years ago. (8/10).

Day two of NS+V and time to start jogging between venues.

I arrive at the Craft Beer Festival in time for Bird of Hell’s closing number, a Suicide-like drone which interested me more than the last time I saw him at NAC. (5/10)

Mutant Vinyl is clearly talented, peddling James Chance stye sax over heavy beats and loops, with a decent voice. Interesting, but not my thing. (4/10)

On to NAC for Kid Wave and a mix of alt and Britpop with splashes of spacerock and Drive By Truckers. An intriguing mix of Breeders, Elastica, Pink Floyd and Drive By Truckers. New single Gloom was a stand-out. (8/10)

Bad Breeding blew the place apart with a set of extreme hardcore. With a vocalist who stalks the audience, when he isn’t being kicked and stood on by the guitarist, this was intense stuff. (9/10)

After that, Lovepark were always on a sticky wicket, and their calypso/afrobeat did nowt for me (3/10) so it was off to the Mash Tun.

The always reliable Antlered Man turned in a great, if short, set of their angular, twisted hardcore-mathrock hybrid. Whatever the setting, the likes of Platuno of Uno, Gdz and Misruly Roo are always welcome. (9/10)

Back to NAC for Childhood’s earnest arena alt rock. Well played, well constructed but lacking originality and bite. (7/10)

A return to the Tun sees Black Moth and a trip down memory lane to the days of NWOBHM. This was power metal in the classic 80s style. Hardly original but an entertaining diversion at the end of a long evening. (7/10)

Day three of NS+V and the fatigue is starting to set in.

True Adventures kicks things off at Epic with a set of pleasant if hardly ground-breaking jazz- and country-tinged folk. (6/10)

More rough and ready is Hello Pedro, another singing guitarist. Whilst there is passion, there is little originality. (5/10)

Abigail Blake opens on keys before moving on to guitar whilst singing a mix of covers and originals in a high, clear voice. Single Tainted Lyrics is worth a listen. (6/10)

Harder and more spirited than the previous three, Jack Daniel takes things up a gear with some folk-punk. (6/10)

Upstairs in the main auditorium for a more full-on take on folk-punk from Ducking Punches. Despite some issues with broken strings, the five piece deliver a stonking set that wins over the admittedly still fairly sparse crowd with the likes of Six Years. (9/10)

Hearing So So Glos, it is pretty obvious they hail from New York. This is a set of punky NY rawk, referencing the likes of Cerebral Ballzy, Strokes, Ramones and Richard Hell. (8/10)

The Hold Steady deliver a professional, polished set that had the vast majority of the crowd eating out of the hands. Frankly, the Band-meets-Springsteen-meets-Clash schtick rock left me a little cold but I was in the minority. (7/10)

Off to the sweaty room upstairs at the Mash Tun and the closing act of the festival, Bad Grammar. Right now, I can’t think of a better band or place to end this. Ben and Lucy can never be described as polished but deliver a set full of impassioned noise. Punk and blues inflected, this references everything from Hendrix to Black Keys via Royal Trux and Andrew WK. Excellent. (9/10)

Pavils