Hookworms: The Lost Weekend
30-31 May | Islington Mill, Salford
When Hookworms announced their strategy for The Lost Weekend at Islington Mill, a vision of DIY value surfaced for the much-loved independent venue. The event was multi-faceted and tightly curated; there were conscious touches such as a mini record fair and pop-up Vegan food stall lacing the hallways, assisted by a palpable atmosphere generated by the ethos.
Friday’s opening event seemed – in comparison to Saturday’s inundating turnout – a slightly more low key affair. Yet, with a powerful roster of acts awaiting to play, this failed to discourage. Novella, a shimmering focal point of the weekend, executed a set that was just the right side of scuzz to avoid being shoe-gaze, with vocalist Hollie Warren’s sugary-sweet melodies getting drenched in jammed-out riffs. Monumentally diving into a cover of The Chemical Brothers’ Let Forever Be, the classic track was twisted into something fiercer.
As Vision Fortune’s line-blurring, oddball electronica was laced with technical issues, their usual warped brilliance was clearly affected, and attendees began dwindling in and out of the venue’s main room, not reclaiming their places until Cold Pumas’ gargantuan set. Hurling through throttling riffs that bounced between walls and columns against a mind-bending projected backdrop, the Brighton four piece couldn’t have provided a performance with deeper impact as the penultimate session of the festivities drew to a close.
By choosing to emerge now for their first headline set in five months, Yorkshire’s Hookworms certified that despite their recent absence, their unique style of psychedlic punk hasn’t lost an ounce of intensity in the lead up to their sophomore release, and their most exhilarating peaks were reached when they road-tested new material, dousing us in channels of reverberating riffs and swamped vocals. After the last chords bled out, the crowd were clearly hungry for more, and the band to returned to stage for a wildly lurching recital of Away/Towards. It was a moment that highlights the importance of understanding what your crowd want. And maintaining this strong bond seems to be what The Lost Weekend was always supposed to be about.
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Words: Leah Connolly
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