Ella Nicholls
Can be found dashing around Bristol photographing gigs, or listening to LCD Soundsystem. There’s no in between.
Ritual Union returned to Bristol for another year, showcasing an expansive range of genres and the best up-and-coming bands from the UK
Starting off my day at Ritual Union, I headed to Electric’s main room to see SLAG. Having only heard one of their songs on the radio, I was intrigued by what they had to offer, and they did not disappoint. Delivering their set to a packed out room, they paired grungy guitars and raw soaring vocals.
Staying within Electric, I headed upstairs to see Opal Mag play to an incredibly full room. Their dreamy vocals accompanied by shoegaze guitars created a beautifully nostalgic feeling.
I then headed over to Strange Brew to check out Tatiana. Only being familiar with PVA’s remix of Tatyana’s song ‘It’s Over,’ I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the electro-pop and its infectious energy, intertwined with harp playing to accompany the layered beats and synths, which, by the end, had everyone dancing. This unique combination made Tatiana one of the standouts of my day.
Lemonsuckr They brought their electro post-punk in full force to the upstairs of Electric, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Their restless guitars, pulsing synths and raucous energy made it irresistible not to want to jump around. Their showmanship makes them completely captivating and definitely one to watch for the future.
I headed back to Electric’s main room to catch my most anticipated band of the day: Working Men’s Club. Having been gutted that I missed them supporting LCD Soundsystem last June, I was very excited to finally catch them. Entering the stage to a hum of synths and dim backlit lighting, they instantly launched into their sophomore album’s opening track ’19’. Their set flowed seamlessly and was so completely mesmerizing that you lost track of time and didn’t want it to end.
Having only played at the much smaller Louisiana last year, and despite only having one EP, Keo you have made quite the jump to being the headliner closing out the day. On a rapid trajectory, it wasn’t surprising to see how packed Electric was for them. Greeted as they walked onto stage by the crowd chanting their name, they instantly plunged into their song ‘Hands’.
The whole set was filled with raw vocals cutting right through the crashing drums and grungy guitars. They really brought the festival feeling with audience members getting on each other’s shoulders to sing their hearts out. An incredibly euphoric set to end such a brilliant day.
Having been previously unfamiliar with a lot of these artists, I left Ritual Union having discovered a lot of new favorites and already felt eager to delve into their recorded releases to relive it all again.
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