Leeds band Bathing Suits closed Rising on Saturday night with their club-ready noise-rock. Hear them sat under the shade of a Green Man tree, with South Korean riot grrl trio Sailor Honeymoon, who had opened Far Out that same morning. Plus, Jennifer Walton chats to thredd, who lit up Round The Twist on Friday. Seoul’s antidote to K-Pop, Sailor Honeymoon are a Korean all-female punk band who’ve been going against the grain since 2022. Formed by photographer Abi Raymaker and techno DJ Zaeuun Shin, the band keep the riot grrl spirit alive and well on stage, where you might encounter improvisational jams, instrument-swapping, and all-female fan stage invasions. “Always dancey. Always loud. Always sexy.” What else needs to be said about Leeds band Bathing Suits? What else, indeed, except that they make chaotic club-ready noise rock, have been described as “if Gilla Band made Brat”, sample Estelle, and boast a lead singer who — yes — performs in a bathing suit. With its cover showing a plaited lock of hair upon a pink silk cushion, and its songs furnished with “rattling barns, clapboard houses, dead animals, glowing motels, gas station perfume, infinite skies”, you can understand why Jennifer Walton calls her music “Northern England Americana”. Last autumn the Sunderland-born, London-based electronic musician and DJ released her debut solo album Daughters after a decade and a half of working with others and touring as a session drummer. These are songs inspired by Edward Hopper, Hakushi Hasegawa, Shintaro Kago, Vietnam War radio broadcasts, and Julia Holter, as well as the wooziness of Grouper, Lana Del Rey, and Ethel Cain. London trio thredd boast the title for the most inviting debut album name — It’s Lovely, Come On In, also out last year. Their music is equally inviting and immediate, although perhaps not as warm as that title might suggest. The group, featuring Immy Williams of Imogen and the Knife, make what Big Jeff once coined “cold pop”: dancey, dark, synth-imbued, influenced by Portishead, Massive Attack, Lana Dey Rey, and Britney Spears — as thredd say, “icy, succinct pop music for those who are up for a party, down for a cry”.
