AS a showcase for Newcastle's diverse range of live original acts, Sunday's West Best Bloc Fest will provide an embarrassment of riches.
One wristband will get you the ultimate musical pub crawl, with bands and soloists filling The Family Hotel, The Happy Wombat, Jams Karaoke, Rogue Scholar, The Star Hotel and Papa's Bagels. Here's 10 acts you should endeavour to see.
BAAM BAM
There might only be two of them, but Newcastle rockers Baam Bam make a stadium-sized sound. Guitarist-singer Dan Flegg and drummer Stu Moppett have had hips shaking with their groove-heavy rock songs that tip the hat to Josh Homme and Trent Reznor. Their debut single is imminent and you will hear it live on Sunday. Baam Bam: Rogue Scholar, 9.30pm
DUST
With a dynamic sound that shifts from thundering post-punk to fuzzy indie-rock, dust sprinkles plenty of light and shade into their Aussie-accented anthems. Recent single The Gutter is a no-holds-barred sucker punch of distorted guitar and garage gusto. Featuring Gabriel Stove on vocals and guitar, Justin Teale on lead guitar, drummer Kye Cherry, Adam Ridgway on guitar and saxophone and drummer Liam Smith, this outfit appeals to fans of Fontaines DC, Bad//Dreems and The Peep Tempel. dust: The Family Hotel, 8.30pm
DORIS
Five-piece garage rockers Doris formed in Maitland during COVID lockdowns then burst onto the scene in an explosion of distortion and furious energy. Tracks like Thurston's Alley and Sidelines announced the band as the city's answer to Sonic Youth but this year's single December (Went for Too Long) drifts into wistful dreamier territory without losing any of the band's dynamic energy. Doris: The Family Hotel, 4pm
NOT GOOD, NOT BAD
They're Not Good, Not Bad - they're excellent. The band's debut record Retired to the Ground, recorded in a Mayfield bedroom, is eight tracks of sublime dream-pop, conveyed with a shoegaze aesthetic. Made up of chief-songwriter and guitarist Tim Hinchey, his sister and synth player Teleah Hinchey, bassist and vocalist Jordan McKenzie, drummer Tom Fleming and guitarist and former Sleepeaser member Madeleine Jackman, the five-piece drenches their sunny melodies in plenty of reverb. Cambridge Street could be your new summer anthem. Not Good, Not Bad: Jams Karaoke, 6pm
SPOONHEAD
For those that like their metal extra sludgy, three-piece Spoonhead take cues from The Melvins, Helmet and Tool to craft a robust, full-blooded take on heavy music. This year vocalist and guitarist Oscar Anderson, drummer Kobe McClure and bassist Angus Guihot dropped a five-track EP called Fashion Show that will appeal to anyone into punk, metal or early hardcore. Spoonhead: The Family Hotel, 7.30pm
SITTING DOWN
Sitting Down is a Newcastle four-piece painting spacious, breezy indie-pop, full of reverb-laden echoes and summery instrumentation. The quartet of Josef Milan, Lewis Nickel, Elias Flamiatos and Cat Hoscher dropped their debut EP Pilot in April, with single Teasy an instantly catchy, stingingly sweet sonic confection. Sitting Down: The Star Hotel, 3.30pm
ATLAS FRANKLIN ALEXANDER
The brainchild of ex-Protectors frontman and Redhead native Peter Stals is a sensuous bedroom electronic project that becomes something darker and dramatic when interpreted by his live band. With songs written while Stals travelled as far abroad as Greece, Vietnam and India, Atlas Franklin Alexander's absorbing electronica will have the dancefloor gyrating as he weaves synth hooks, vocal manipulations and piston beats. Not one to miss. Atlas Franklin Alexander: Jams Karaoke, 9pm
LES POÈTES POP
Based on the cutting musings of Gary Seeger, Les Poètes Pop formed before lockdowns as a project to marry the writer's written words with musical accompaniment. Two years later the endeavour is a five-piece avant-garde rock group, bringing a cool, moody punk ethos reminiscent of The Velvet Underground or The Bad Seeds. Big on atmosphere, attitude and iconoclastic arrangements, this weird and wonderful band is not one to miss. Les Poètes Pop: The Family Hotel, 5.30pm
SOYBOY
Crushing a range of influences and pressing them into one potent happy pill, Newcastle five-piece Soyboy defies convention. Is it horror pop? Cosmic jazz? You'll hear smatterings of post-punk, proto-punk, disco, The Cure, M83 and Electric Six in their saxophone and synthesiser-laced jams. ETA could be the most euphoric anthem of 2022. Soyboy: The Family Hotel, 4.30pm
LOONS
Surf-rock quartet Loons write immediate pop anthems, void of window dressing or pretension. They want to make you sing and dance. Singles Psycho and TV in my Bedroom are radio-worthy hits that will live rent-free in your brain long after you've heard them. Loons: The Happy Wombat, 1.40pm
