indietracks 08

as you may have deduced, pull yourself together are tweeindiepopfans. as such, indietracks is the best festival in the world ever, or at least for the likes of us. we had an amazing time, meeting people, watching ace bands, trying to pet darren hayman's dog, pootling about on steam trains and dancing till the wee small hours to the sound of the 1990s in a locomotive shed.


there are so many things to talk about, and to be honest you would probably be really bored if we told you about all the cool stuff we saw. so we'll just do a few highlights. dan bought a dinosaur badge, hannah got an owl. allo, darling played on a train and was great. the stifling heat of the train was less fun, but then again how often do you see a band play in the engine room of a steam train? huh?!


there was fun to be had on the platform too, with a nighttime medley from many of the lovely folk on wee pop! records - the just joans, allo, darling, let's whisper...at the mention that they should have been at their label's impromptu show, little my hastily arranged a short set the following day, with borrowed instruments and smiles a-plenty - you can watch 'sellotape my hands' here.


without wishing to gloss over anything, a hell of a lot of bands deserve a mention...
*silence at sea did a sterling job of opening the festival, and wearing a cat suit (like a furry one, not a lycra one) is a brave move in the heat of the engine shed!


*esiotrot continue to be 5 parts self depreciating to 5 parts brilliant. these guys and gal seemed to be the band that all the bands wanted to watch with los camp, hayman et al crammed into the church. funpoptastic.


*ballboy left us shocked as to why on earth we don't yet own any of their five long players. gorgeous scottish melancholy which also packs a punch, these guys went down so well that headliners los campesinos! couldn't start until ballboy's outdoor set was finished.


*brontosaurus chorus were loud and fun and hitting different things and generally making sure that everyone was awake and ready to run at sunday full steam. pun intended.


*the smittens leave you feeling just that. sweet as candy tweepop for a sunny sunday afternoon? why yes please! they also have great badges. fact.


*liechtenstein are three swedish girls who make pop music but are not those dancing days. but do make you dance. in the daytime. and at nighttime.


*headline bands. oh yeah, there were a couple of them. punkTV on the outdoor stage are russia's biggest indieband. they sound like a much more accomplished the whip, a bit new order but with dark undertones. everyone turned out for the wedding present - and well deserved the reception was too. sunday night saw los campesinos! turn it up another notch - their show just seems to get better every time, especially when they're so chuffed to be somewhere. seeing gary of twisted by design fame grin so much a tear may have been shed all through you! me! dancing! only served to make the night even better.


so. indietracks was a load of fun. setting a festival in a railway museum - great move. lovely band/fan run merch stand - brilliant. ace bands and great people watching them - our favourite festival of the year! roll on (can i get away with chug on?) indietracks09! choo choo!