End Of The Road Festival
Larmer Tree Gardens
10/09/2010 – 12/09/2010

While performing our ablutions at EoTR 2009, a conversation we overheard succinctly summed up this most essential of festivals, with one fellow saying to another, “You just don’t get any twats here”. That, to our mind, makes End of The Road unique. Admittedly it says nothing about the music, other than there’s no music for twats here.

This, the fifth year of ‘the festival the bands want to play’ as the press release boasts (and we believe it), continues the upwards trajectory in terms of high-profile names within the indie-folk niche it caters for, while steadfastly refusing to dilute the ethos with increased capacity or massive yet ill-fitting bookings. After notable Friday performances from Wolf Parade, New Pornographers and Modest Mouse, it’s the Saturday when it really gets into the swing – Phosphorescent thrilling the main stage crowd with a stunning set that will live long in the memory.

Voice Of The Seven Thunders inject some frankly welcome oomph with a set that slow-builds and explodes as it nears conclusion, before we make our way to what turns out to be the show of the weekend, and one of the defining performances in the five years of EoTR – a flawless, spine-tingling performance from Iron & Wine. In Sam Beam we’ve an immaculate songwriter with delivery as emotive as any, and his 50-minute slot seems to pass in a flash. He’s also clearly a real good dude, and his dry wit when thanking The Low Anthem for the loan of a piece of equipment – “and now we’re gonna show them how to use it” – runs close to the most mirthsome between-song banter we’ve heard. The inevitable schedule clash means flitting between Yo La Tengo’s headline set, which, while fantastic, just fails to hit the peaks of their last appearance here, and Wintersleep closing the Tipi Tent for the day. And hell, are we glad we shot our chuff over to the latter for the last five songs, for they’re on blistering form, somehow even improving on album of the year contender ‘New Inheritors’ and whipping up a storm. Caribou book-ends the day, with the thrilling, euphoric electronic pop that they’ve become synonymous with.

Sunday begins earnestly – very earnestly, in fact – through Dylan LeBlanc, whilst later noteworthy performance comes from Les Shelleys, whereby Angela Correa complements the extraordinary Tom Brosseau through a gorgeous sequence of acoustic and even accapella duets, resulting in one of the finds of the weekend. Ably deputising in the Big Top are Yuck, with their scorching dynamic, angular indie rock, and next up it’s Mogwai proteges Errors, whose electronic post-rock makes an impact on the sizeable gathering. Horse Feathers headline the Tipi Tent, and it’s all pleasant enough without really capturing the attention; the same however cannot be said on either count for Pulled Apart By Horses, with startling, high-octane metal and stadium posturing in what’s a frankly puzzling selection for this festival.

But where End of The Road really excels is managing to pull together a three-day bill that’s never predictable and tiresome, yet still operates within a relatively narrow musical domain – thus retaining the following and identity that truly sets it apart.

Andy Slocombe