Nail The Cross - New Cross, London (10/10/09)
Posted Fri 16 Oct 2009 4:44PM BST by Reviews Editor in Down The Front
New Cross is a strange place. A tubeless outpost a six-minute train south of London Bridge and home to Goldsmiths University - which has produced the rock of Blur, John Cale and Malcolm McClaren - it nonetheless lacks any real focal point. It's a place most drive through on the way into London or out towards Kent rather than a destination in itself; a procession of chicken shops and dank bars caught between the suburbs and the city. Kudos to No Pain In Pop, then, who bring their Nail The Cross all-dayer back to New Cross for a second time after last year's successful, if slightly chaotic, debut run. Things are smoother this time around - the number of host venues has been slashed from several to two (Amersham Arms and the Student Union), reflected in a bill less tolerant of filler. It's a noticeably more danceable line-up than last year's, too, headlined by a set of producers and DJs from Hyperdub, the label home to Burial, The Bug, Kode9, Zomby, Cooly G and Joker that resides in the vanguard of electronic bass music not just in this country, but across the world.
Burial, obviously, is not here - the man recently outed as William Bevan remains a recluse - but label boss Kode9 is, and it's with his set that the festival closes. Joined by regular sidekick and vocal hype man Spaceape, Kode9 settles quickly into a gut-pulping hour and a half of colossal bass-weight and terrifying dubstep lurch, but one giddy moment among the many here serves to undermine him. Since emerging early this summer, Joy Orbison's "Hyph Mngo" has romped gleefully over most in its path.
A totemic workout of synth blare, diva cry and 2-step skip overseen by the cool lacquer of Detroit techno, Kode9's inclusion of "Hyph..." in his set only goes to show-up the rest of it as slightly sluggish, the track's percussive thrust at odds with the bass-lead womping elsewhere. It's the second time the song appears this evening, Joy Orbison himself having played beforehand to a room rammed with students and delirious, gurning dance heads. Preceded by the considered euphoria of Londoner Sbtrkt (a remix of Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place" sticks in the memory) and followed by the eclectic party bass of Alex Bok Bok, it's this triumvirate of clubland futures that most impresses this evening.
Over in the other venue, it's guitars that take the lead; Dignan Porch's "On A Ride" standing out amid their louche Pavement-isms, while the brief, narky cacophony Deep Sht wring out over everyone delights. Ultimately, the evening's spoils - and ownership of New Cross - go to bassland's exhilarating new crop.
by Sully Kinker
