Pitchfork: All Tomorrow's Parties UK Lineup Nearly Finalized

All Tomorrow's Parties UK Lineup Nearly Finalized
Pitchfork's tradition of incremental, obsessive reportage still going strong

Ladies and gentlemen of the limey persuasion, your ship has arrived: Two weekends, six days in total, of some of the finest underground music our planet has to offer. This year's UK edition of the honourable ATP deviates somewhat from the formula: Rather than having one artist/group responsible for curation duties, the festival will feature six separate entities, each responsible for the lineup of an individual date. These curators are, in ascending chronological order: Mogwai, Tortoise, Shellac, Stephen Malkmus, Sonic Youth, and Foundation (aka ATP founders Barry Hogan and Helen Cottage, the only curators who will not be performing at the festival).

The line-up, though yet to be finalized, is predictably stellar. Non-curator attractions spread across weekend one of the aural bonanza include reigning glitch-hop guardian Prefuse 73, the equal parts inviting and experimental electronic compositions of Nobukazu Takemura (accompanied by longtime vocal collaborator Aki Tsuyuko), the increasingly predictable but generally entertaining Kid606, the impermeable and indie-approved sludge metal of Isis, the prolific but dependable experimentation of Sun City Girls and the Acid Mothers Temple, the burning wastelands painted by Envy, the kerosene vitriol of McLusky, two two TWO bands fronted by ex-Minuteman Mike Watt, many more artists equally deserving of carefully considered off-the-cuff adjectives, and more than a few that really need no introduction. Cat Power, for example. And Boredoms.

Weekend #2 sports an ensemble every bit as exciting, featuring: Modest Mouse, the recently reunited Mission of Burma, the ubiquitous Shins, the two-man fury of Lightning Bolt, the, uh, well, Tindersticks, the art-punk anarchy of Erase Errata, the wispy and haunting experimental folk of Charalambides, the heartfelt noir of Nina Nastasia, the electronic pop benchmark known as The Notwist, the increasingly melodic madness of Deerhoof; the indie-pop mastery of Enon; British hip-hop sensation Dizzee Rascal; post-rock paragons Explosions in the Sky; the oddly empathic honkytonk shuffle of The Fiery Furnaces; the terran and twilight drones of Vibracathedral Orchestra; the inescapable douchebagery of "Brown Bunny" filmmaker Vincent Gallo; the disco-noise destruction of DFA affiliates Black Dice; the self-explanatory LCD Soundsystem; the gimmicky embarrassment of Har Mar Superstar; the animated household appliances that appear to comprise the abrasive but ultimately rewarding Wolf Eyes; and once again, far too many artists for this already ill-kempt column to acknowledge.

But special notation goes out to ESG: four sisters from Brooklyn who, in the sunset of the 70s and the twilight of the 80s, unknowingly aided in the evolution of a veritable menagerie of different sounds, not the least of which being the widely touted dancepunk revival currently enrapturing (ho ho!) the youth of today. There could not, conceivably, be a more appropriate time to get into this band, so if you're unfamiliar with their work (and if you enjoy dancing at all, there's no reason not to hear them), pick up a copy of their double-aught retrospective, A South Bronx Story. And if you've scored yourself tickets to the sold-out ATP festival, you'd have to be Hitler not to see them live. ATP dates:

03-26 East Sussex, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (curated by Mogwai)
03-27 East Sussex, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (curated by Tortoise)
03-28 East Sussex, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (curated by Shellac)
04-02 East Sussex, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (curated by S. Malkmus)
04-03 East Sussex, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (curated by Sonic Youth)
04-04 East Sussex, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (curated by Foundation)