Belfest 2002

From the insatiable electro pop of Burukara Okesutora’s opeing ‘Younen Toruana’ to the closing, alt. country instrumental of ‘Elmwood Avenue’ by Tracer AMC, Belfest 2002 – a compilation of 23 of Northern Ireland’s finest young things – displays a seriously broad range of styles.

There’s the old-fashioned punk of The Throes, the fuzzy lo-fi of Roque Jnr, and the fine meat ‘n two veg rock ‘n’ roll of recent Schism signings Edgeweather.

Panda Kopanda’s ‘Days In Your Diary’ is the kind of winsome, confessional that has made Damon Gough a very well-off man, while Guided’s ‘Pistols Drawn For The Heartbreak At Dawn’ is almost as gorgeous as the title suggests.

Quality control drops a little in the middle, admittedly. Clone Quartet sound heavily influenced by The Streets, which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but there is something about ‘Stungun’ that reeks of trying too hard. Then there’s the punked-up Billy Braggisms of The Evangelists’ ‘Community Love Song’ which is either insanely naïve and infantile or frustratingly ironic – either way it is really fucking annoying. Conversely, there is something infectious about Dirty Stevie’s AC/DC pastiche, ‘Do You Wanna Have Sex With Me?’, although it misses the Aussie quintet’s tongue-in-cheek sense of humour by a country mile.

The quality improves again with Indigo Fury, whose firm grasp of what makes a melody hummable could see them go far, while Go Commando’s ‘And Suddenly… She Smiled’ is like a well-needed slice of laid-back, shimmery summer.

Best song award is shared by two bands. First up, the subtle charms of Drat, who feature former members of Watercress in their line-up. Last year, they notched up a Hot Press Demo of the Fortnight and deservedly so: ‘Put It Down’ just gets better with each listen. The Amazing Pilot’s magical ‘I Don’t Know, Where Are You?’ runs the Drat boys pretty close, though, managing to be both soaringly stupendous and beautifully restrained at the same time. All in all, an impressive collection that showcases a local music scene in anything but decline.