ArcTanGent 2024 - The Review

ArcTanGent, possibly the most niche amongst niche festivals, has managed to expand notably since I was last here 5 years ago. Devoted to math-rock and post-rock, with the occasional dabble into a few acts from other genres, 2024 is its 10th edition, and its biggest yet.

There’s been a pretty major restructure of the site since the break for C19, with more distinct campsites fulfilling different roles and all having much more space, as well as the arena having grown to nearly double the size. It definitely helps, with arrival being quick and smooth, and the new layout creating far fewer choke points than before.

Soon after arriving in and doing the last little bits of sorting camp out, we’re straight into a clash, splitting up to watch Bo Ningen and Aiming for Enrike, with each of us happy with our own choice, praising both the musicianship and stage show of the act we watched before reconvening to check out Squid Pisser, who bring elaborate costumes and more quality angry dense music. Contrastingly, Cats & Cats & Cats are just as technically proficient, but much more pop-oriented in style, joyful and positive. Baroness are an excellent combination of doom and prog, while Kalandra bring an etheral folk bent to power metal.

Spiritualized were a late booking after Clown Core had dropped out due to sickness. They’re not as heavy as most of the acts on the line-up, but they still draw a sizable crowd to the main stage with their glorious space-rock. I don’t think they sounded quite as amazing as they did at Green Man this time last year, but I’m not sure whether that comes from their performance, the crowd’s energy, or my own excitement at finally seeing them last time.

Back to the heavy stuff, and AmenRa are as good as all the recommendations had made them out to be. Dense, thundering post-doom brings a huge crowd and overfills the Yohkai tent. There’s a familiar dash at the end, as the whole crowd steadily moves back to the main stage for Explosions in the Sky, and their performance is once again excellent, but with only one album released in the 7 years since they last headlined, I can’t help but wish for more new blood at the festival.

Late night entertainment at ATG, like at its sister festival 2000Trees, comes in the form of a Silent Disco, and they have an act performing through the headphones initially before notable bands in the scene DJing as well as their own DJs finishing the night. I’m a little tired though, and decided to skip it for an early night.

Waking up refreshed on Friday, there’s somehow a clash at 11.35 in the morning… With having caught Modern Technology at their own gig last year, I head to check out Italian band Asymmetric Universe, and they don’t disappoint. Brilliantly overblown math-rock, played on an 8-string guitar and 6-string bass in different time signatures, they’re the exact type of band I go to this festival for. They’re clearly delighted with the crowd they pull, thanking everyone effusively at the end of their set. This is one of the best things about ATG, they can provide the guarantee of income and a crowd so that smaller acts in niche genres can perform in the UK, and similarly, because of that niche, they draw fans from all over the world to the festival.

The day is a little too hot to overly stage hop, but we still see Zetra, The Omnific, and Shy Low before taking a break back at the tents before heading to watch ATG stalwarts Three Trapped Tigers, playing yet another “final” show at ATG. In fairness to them, they do explain that last time was going to be their final show before they wrote another album, but kids and a world event got in the way, and they weren’t going to turn down an invitation to join the 10th anniversary edition at the festival. I’m glad they came, as their performance is excellent as always, but I do hope that they stick to that commitment next time, as joyous as it was, this was another nostalgia set. Night Verses definitely aren’t doing that, touring festivals after supporting Tool in the early summer, their set is as vibrant as their music is dense, relishing in the chance to perform to a new crowd.

Friday evening, a little before the headliner, and my worst clash of the weekend. Animals as Leaders are legends in the prog/math scene, brilliant live, and they don’t come to the UK that often. Yet after producing one of the best performances I’ve seen earlier this summer, I go against the crowd and head over to PX3 to see Blood Command again, with their unique death-pop standing out once again. Plini is a much more typical ATG act, drifting between meandering math and atmospheric post, but are utterly captivating, the ethereal music delightfully punctuated by him telling the audience to relax, actively encouraging the audience to save their energy before headliners Meshuggah.

Somehow though, I get lost on the way there. Not due to the site or anything, it takes less than 5 minutes to get between any 2 of the 5 stages, but after a nip to the loo and the bar, I get enticed in by some delightfully dance-y sounds, and end up staying for the entire set of Komfortrauschen. After 45 minutes of brilliant techno, their first words “we’re from Berlin” feel excessively obvious, but it was joyous and refreshing. They do finish 20 minutes before the main stage headliners, and I manage to catch my 2 favourite Meshuggah songs (“Bleed” and “Demiurge”) from outside, but yet again I feel like I’ve made the right decision to try something different.

Unlike the previous night, I’m energised and ready for the silent disco, but I get to find a Sold Out sign at the headphone stand. I politely ask if I’d be able to pick one up as some get returned, but they inform me that any that get returned are going to be put on charge and there won’t be any available until the following night. With acts like AK/DK, MaybeSheWill, God Alone, Karin Park, ASIWYFA billed as giving Silent Disco performances, and this the only entertainment available, it feels like a chain of misjudgements have been made here. Did they supply enough headphones? Should there be something else booked? Is it reasonable to hold hundreds behind the stand in case those who’ve already claimed some need a recharge? I don’t know the answers here, but it is frustrating, even if I nevertheless hang at the bar with friends until sometime after 1am.

One of my favourite things about ATG is something they share with their sister festival 2000Trees: the stage/clash timetabling and lack of sound bleed. Both festivals put the 1st and 4th stages on simultaneously, and then the 2nd and 3rd, with just enough distance to ensure barely any sound bleed, and a 5 minute gap between performances to enable punters to catch full sets even of consecutive acts on different stages. Since I was last here, the 5th stage, Elephant (in the bar room) has actually moved out of the bar room, and is a full tent in its own right, and also hosting a couple of podcasts between 9-11am. I tend not to rise that early at festivals, preferring to doze in and save my effort for catching bands, but it’s enjoyable to hear the sounds of Mogwai soaring out of it on the way into the arena as part of Stuart Braithwaite’s podcast about his book Spaceships over Glasgow. After an excellently sludgy set by Torpor I’m delighted to catch local act Maebe who bring one of the most energetic stage performances I’ve seen from a post-rock band.

Slightly oddly, ATG has Saturday as its final day, which made a little more sense when it ran Friday/Saturday only, but now it’s expanded to Thursday and Wednesday, it feels a little more jarring, but having a Sunday relaxing is actually nice, and with ATG close to home for me, we pack up early afternoon before a final run of 10 consecutive bands to finish the festival. All of Wuw, Bossk, Peach, and Scaler are excellent, whether it's their first or third show here. Pijn return as fully themselves this time, with their previous two sets being their collaboration with Conjurer, and I do prefer each band when they’re playing separately, as they feel like they have a more distinct identity. And So I Watch You From Afar are here once again, and they play their new album in full. I absolutely appreciate this, as I’ve seen them plenty of times before, and while I got bored of their big early hit “Set Guitars to Kill” about 4 shows ago, the new songs feel fresh. There’s a couple of slightly duller album tracks in the middle of the set, but it’s an impressive performance, with engaging visuals, and most of the new songs are excellent.

Earthtone 9 are the next act, but a break for food is desperately needed, and with a seat available, we take the chance and just enjoy their alt-doom from outside the tent. I last saw Gallops at ATG 2017 just after they’d reunited and released a second album, but 7 years on, they haven’t written anything more, and their electronic noise sound is less relentless than it had been before. Caspian by contrast, released the stunning “On Circles” in 2020, and their live performances have become yet more impressive, with synchronised guitar dips, and an intense layering of sounds and feedback while every band member and 5 guest performers come to produce a simultaneous 9-drum show for the penultimate song.

The final act is Mogwai, legends of post-rock, joining to headline for the 10th edition. While I’ve seen them before, at both their own shows and at festivals, they step it up here. This being an enclosed tent instead of an outdoor stage creates a closer, more atmospheric feel. The best of 5 times I’ve seen them, ATG know how to get the sound right to emphasise the style of the acts they book.

It’s an easy departure, and in some ways one bringing relief. I watched full sets of 28 bands, and caught part of plenty more. If you like math/post-rock ArcTanGent is a pretty relentless festival of band watching, and is so heavily devoted to them that there’s little chance you won’t find some incredibly talented act at any particular time. Back in its first edition, it brought precisely what I wanted from a festival, a nearly unceasing chain of excellent music, some familiar and some to discover. However, the lack of chance to bimble, the minimal surrounding entertainment, and even the musical selection is somewhat limiting. Lacking diversity here is a feature, not a failure, the line-up was excellent, and there’s no attempt to sell any experience beyond the chance to catch a huge number of incredible musicians. ATG knows what it is, and has really perfected this niche. In many ways, it’s more unique than any other festival in the world, and yet also, it’s the most like a gig in a field of any camping festival around.

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