AIRCOOLED + DACTYL TERRA + THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE + HOLY SPRINGS + SWALLOWTAIL – ‘LEWES PSYCHEDELIC FESTIVAL’, THE CON CLUB, LEWES 24.1.26
Things got up close and personal at this year’s annual Lewes Psychedelic Festival as the quality two-day event, which has been running since 2009, switched from the All Saints Centre up the hill to The Con Club. Historically, the festival’s tickets fly out the door and this year was certainly no exception and those psych fans present were all very much aware that they were in possession of the town’s hot ticket!
As in previous years, the Festival was staged by Melting Vinyl promoters and Innerstrings visual arts gurus. Once again the order of the day was to deliver an umbrella range of genre-defying psych wonders from across Sussex and beyond, and thus offloading a combined mixture of komische, psych-funk grooves, post-punk, quality motorik beats, heavy-psych, and experimental shoegaze, all brought together with swirling liquid light backing graphics courtesy of international visual artist Innerstrings, for that fully immersive experience.
We were fortunate to catch the handful of artists on offer on day two who were Aircooled, Dactyl Terra, The Sick Man Of Europe, Holy Springs and Swallowtail, with DJ sets from James Endeacott in between each act .So without further ado, let’s get down to business and check out the bands in the order they hit the stage….
SWALLOWTAIL (6:16pm – 6:44pm)
We are certainly no strangers to Swallowtail who originally formed in Nottingham but thankfully are now Brighton based. Our debut encounter with the quartet was at The Pipeline on 10th April last year, where I concluded my report by stating “My debut encounter with Swallowtail has to be honest totally blown away both myself and photographer Sara. Swallowtail are a must see band and I might have just discovered my new favourite local band!!!”. The lineup that evening comprised Katie Prescott (vocals, guitar), Caleb Ryde (guitar), Drew Vickerstaff (drums) and Fred Ford (bass), but for one reason or another Katie and Fred parted company with the band, and so now they comprise Caleb (Fender guitar), Drew (drums) along with Lucy Darke (vocals and Gretsch guitar with tremolo) and Bella Sofia (Squier Jazz bass). The consequence of this being that the sound of the band has slightly shifted away from the dual reverb-laden guitars onslaught in favour of a more melodic vocal delivery, which suits the new dynamic of the band that blends in favour of Lucy’s solo work. They certainly seem to be gaining momentum at present and winning over new fans (especially this evening), although to be honest, I personally preferred their sound from 9 months ago! Having said that, Swallowtail are still one of the premier Brighton based bands and they are a joy to watch!
The Innerstrings psychedelic live stream graphics, which are broadcast on the rear screens of the stage, certainly add to the band’s fuzzy shoegaze vibe and their intricate melodies of post-punk create an elegantly gritty soundscape. We are rewarded with a 28 minute half-dozen composition performance, which features a handful of still to be released tunes, despite the fact that they dropped their debut ‘The Seesaw’ EP last May. According to their setlist, they open with ‘Beathe’ which has a fast guitar strumming action from Caleb along with skippy drumming action from Drew (who is really rather good) along with considered bass action from Bella and a trademark slower floaty vocal delivery from Lucy. They have the punters’ attention!
They follow with ‘New’ which simply might indicate that it’s a new composition. Caleb brings out his battered violin bow and runs it across his Fender guitar, which cleverly adds a full-on depth as if his instrument is screaming at us. This is successfully utilized throughout the all-too-short performance. After this Lucy introduces ‘Haunts’ and they get down to business. This is followed by ‘Something Holy’ which is also introduced by Lucy, who seems to be gaining in confidence behind the mic. She then goes onto introduce a tune she refers to as ‘Cowboy’, but I sense that this song’s title hasn’t quite been locked in yet and it may therefore change. For this Lucy utilizes her Gretsch guitar with tremolo arm for the only time in the set. Whereas previously Katie would have played her guitar on every track, and this is where I feel their previous intensity has been lost.
Once again they sign off with ‘Time Sig’ which is the set highlight from the recent gigs of theirs that I have witnessed. It’s fair to say that Swallowtail continue to establish themselves as a distinctive force among rising alternative UK bands and are well worth checking out!
Swallowtail:
Caleb Ryde – guitar
Drew Vickerstaff – drums
Lucy Darke – guitar, vocals
Bella Sofia – bass
Swallowtail setlist:
‘Beathe’ (unreleased)
‘New’ (unreleased)
‘Haunts’ (unreleased)
‘Something Holy’ (unreleased)
‘Cowboy’ (unreleased)
‘Time Sig’ (unreleased)
HOLY SPRINGS (6:59pm – 7:28pm)
Next up are a new act to me in the form of Holy Springs who are coming at us from Southampton. They comprise Neil Atkinson Jr (vocals, Fender guitar), Maria Belluci (Fender Mustang bass), Harry Atkinson (Fender guitar), and Susie Sims (drums with fixed tambourine, backing vocals). In 2022 the band released their debut LP titled ‘E.A.T’ and last August they followed it up with the release of ‘Outside’. For these they masterfully blended their love of shoegaze guitars and lo-fi psychedelia, whilst peeling back various layers in order to focus directly on their songwriting and primary instrumental parts whilst remaining true to their own sound. This evening the quartet give us seven tunes across a 29 minute set, with four from the recent record and the remaining trio culled from their 2022 release.
They commence with the title track of last year’s ‘Outside’ album which sees Neil stage right (our left) instead of centre stage, which is occupied by Harry on guitar. I somehow sense that Neil doesn’t seek the limelight throughout the performance, with even drummer Susie engaging with the punters when required. A feature of tonight’s set for me is to keep noting exactly how far Neil’s spectacles are moving down his nose without actually falling off. Somehow he masterfully balances them at the tip without actually dropping them, clearly he’s a pro at this. Musically his voice immediately reminds me of Ian Curtis of Joy Division on ‘Decades’ which is a big plus. Not only this, but with the use of his Vox wah-wah pedal, the music also falls nicely within Joy Division territory, with his trio of compatriots adding to this.
‘Is This What You Wanted’ from ‘Outside’ follows and I get a sense of the grittiness of The Stooges mixed with The Jesus And Mary Chain. More of the same follows with the performance of ‘I Can’t Wait’ from 2022’s ‘E.A.T’ album. They are basically letting the music do all the talking, but both myself and my friend note the muted crowd response on conclusion of the tunes thus far as compared with that of the Swallowtail set. Things chug along with ‘I Can’t Wait’ from the ‘E.A.T’ album, after which we get ‘Honestly’ from ‘Outside’ which has the feel of Bernard Sumner (of New Order) and guitarist Johnny Marr (of the Smiths) Electronic project. There’s some proto punk twanging guitar action across ‘Living Inside Your Head’ from ‘Outside’ which did take me slightly unawares. There was ‘Unknown Pleasures’ Joy Division era action across their final two numbers, these being ‘Surprise’ and ‘E.A.T’ which are both from 2002’s ‘E.A.T’ release.
It’s fair to say that the longer their set went on for, the more the punters came around to their way of thinking and by conclusion it was well worth the quartet’s trip up from Hampshire to entertain us.
Holy Springs:
Neil Atkinson Jr – vocals, guitar
Maria Belluci – bass
Harry Atkinson – guitar
Susie Sims – drums, tambourine, backing vocals
Holy Springs setlist:
‘Outside’ (from 2025 ‘Outside’ album)
‘Is This What You Wanted’ (from 2025 ‘Outside’ album)
‘I Can’t Wait’ (from 2022 ‘E.A.T’ album)
‘Honestly’ (from 2025 ‘Outside’ album)
‘Living Inside Your Head’ (from 2025 ‘Outside’ album)
‘Surprise’ (from 2022 ‘E.A.T’ album)
‘E.A.T’ (from 2022 ‘E.A.T’ album)
THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE (7:53pm – 8:36pm)
Things really hotted up this evening for the the third act on tonight’s bill, these being the mysterious London based post-punk quartet of The Sick Man Of Europe, who I have had the pleasure of witnessing live in action at Brighton’s Hope & Ruin on 7th November last year as part of the Mutations Festival. Back then I stated that “They too absolutely nailed it! A must see band who will be returning this way in January as part of Lewes Psych Fest”. They obviously being one of the main reasons I’m here this evening at The Con Club. Last June witnessed the quartet drop their debut 8-tune self-titled long player and four of the five tracks performed this evening hail from this top quality release. If you are a fan of the likes of YARD, VLURE, STIIILL, AK/DK, Moon Duo, DAF, Joy Division and CHALK then take note, The Sick Man Of Europe are for you!
Despite only offloading a handful of tunes tonight, we are in their company for 43 minutes, which as far as I’m concerned is still not enough time! This four man outfit utilize, vocals, guitar, bass, and drums with presets. From these we are wonderfully propelled into their absorbing world, even from the very off, when their singer vacates the stage and delivers his vocals from within the crowd. He rarely leaves us throughout the performance and his up-close-and-personal efforts adds to the intensity and they are dutifully rewarded as many punters get their dancing boots on.
Their choice for opener being the almost ten minutes epic that is ‘Sanguine’ which commences with an intro preset which flowed into a lengthy warm-up before offloading beats akin to Joy Division, along with Ian Curtis style vocals. There are echoes of the post-punk and European art rock pioneers at the cusp of the 80s, but these are expertly re-tooled for the present. There’s no lighting on the band throughout the set and thus relying on the psychedelic live stream images being projected to the rear. This adds to their mysticism.
The Sick Man Of Europe have a distinctly monochrome outlook, none more so with the repetitive Krautrock motorik beats of ‘Obsolete’ with its repeated “Retire me, make me obsolete” lyrics. The likes of AK/DK and Sigue Sigue Sputnik spring to mind here. The unreleased ‘Apathy’ is selection three and the earworm lyrics for me from this (as far as I could tell) were “Don’t wanna leave ya anything”. Again the Joy Division sound is evident here. Each note counts and is played with absolute precision and conviction. Their penultimate selection is ‘Profane Not Profound’ with its atmospheric intro and often repeated “The modern world makes me sick; Let’s destroy it” lyrics. They sign off with ‘Transactional’ with its repeated “I’m fear, I’m here; I’m alive, it’s time” lines. The track reminds me of The Knack’s ‘My Shaona’ meets early The Cure and some Joy Division. Suffice to say, once again they absolutely nailed it! The best received band on the night thus far, and they no doubt have found many new friends this evening…whoever they are!
The Sick Man Of Europe:
Unknown – vocals
Unknown – guitar
Unknown – bass
Unknown – drums, presets
(The band members’ names are a closely guarded secret!)
The Sick Man Of Europe setlist:
‘Sanguine’ (from 2025 ‘The Sick Man Of Europe’ album)
‘Obsolete’ (from 2025 ‘The Sick Man Of Europe’ album)
‘Apathy’ (unreleased)
‘Profane Not Profound’ (from 2025 ‘The Sick Man Of Europe’ album)
‘Transactional’ (from 2025 ‘The Sick Man Of Europe’ album)
DACTYL TERRA (8:55pm – 9:32pm)
The penultimate act for this evening are another new band to me, these being Dactyl Terra who hail from Cardiff in South Wales. They are exponents of experimental heavy psych-rock, which is mixed with Krautrock instrumentation, proto-metal riffs and psychedelic melodies into a groovy fuzzy sauce. There’s five of them in the band this evening, with long hair being the order of the day. They comprise George Williams (Microbrute keys, Squier Telecaster guitar, lead vocals), Erin Julian (Fender bass, vocals), Joe Tobin (Korg synth, Squier Stratocaster guitar, tambourine) and two drummers in the form of Simon and Sam, who expertly play in unison.
Their self-titled 6-track release came out back in 2022 and was followed in June 2024 by the 10-track ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ album. Tonight we are in their company for 37 minutes and during that period they reward us with 8 compositions, with two which are from 2024’s ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ album, and the remaining 6 are as far as I can tell currently unreleased, and so I’m anticipating a new album to quite possibly be on the horizon some time this year.
They kick off as they mean to carry on with ‘Oscillator’ which immediately transports me back to the heavy psych/space rock era of 1971-72, which witnessed Hawkwind’s ‘Silver Machine’ and the like. I immediately become aware that one of our writers (Mark Kelly) would be very interested in this lot and so I messaged him. Judging by the crowd response after the track, he’s clearly not alone! Sadly, George’s vocals are down in the mix and are being drowned out by the instruments, this also carries on all the way through ‘Pressure’, which is another slab of heavy psychedelic space rock. Selection three is ‘Mountain Shaking’ from their ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ album and this reminds me of 1973’s ‘Radar Love’ by Dutch rockers Golden Earring.
Thankfully, Erin signals to the sound desk guy at the rear of the room with two points of her finger. The first pointing sideways towards George and the second pointing skywards. The echoey vocals are now at the desired level for the unreleased ‘Static’. This is followed by the speedier rockin’ ‘Cheeseburger’ from ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ which witnesses drummers Simon and Sam very much in unison. Funnily enough, the next tune, ‘Blackbird’, also at the beginning reminded me of ‘Radar Love’ before becoming more metronomic. Their penultimate offering was the yet to be recorded ‘Closer’, which to be honest, isn’t their strongest number, but they then did rock on out with ‘Lava Lurking’. To be honest, Dactyl Terra weren’t really my bag, however there’s always something deeply satisfying when watching two drummers bashing the crap out of their kits! I’m clearly in the minority as the punters loved them!
Dactyl Terra:
George Williams – guitar, lead vocals
Erin Julian – bass, vocals
Joe Tobin – synth, guitar
Simon – drums
Sam – drums
Dactyl Terra setlist:
‘Oscillator’ (unreleased)
‘Pressure’ (unreleased)
‘Mountain Shaking’ (from 2024 ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ album)
‘Static’ (unreleased)
‘Cheeseburger’ (from 2024 ‘Fee Fi Fo Fum’ album)
‘Blackbird’ (unreleased)
‘Closer’ (unreleased)
‘Lava Lurking’ (unreleased)
AIRCOOLED (9:59pm – 11:01pm)
Headliners for the 2026 Lewes Psych Fest are none other than St Leonards-on-Sea based machine rock supergroup outfit Aircooled, who are a five piece disco rock band made up of a handful of disparate and eclectic musicians. These being Justin Welch (Piroshka, Elastica, Suede, The Jesus And Mary Chain) on drums and electronic presets; Oliver Cherer (Gilroy Mere, Dollboy, Miki Berenyi Trio) on vocals, Reverend guitar, and Korg MS2000 synth; Katharine Wallinger (Wedding Present, Viv Albertine) on Fender Mustang bass; Riz Maslen (Neotropic, FSOL) on vocals, synth, Boss & other electronics, flute, and tambourine; and local artist Mew on Korg synth, Roland drumpads, and tambourine. This evening they are also joined by their friend Helen Edwards on clarinet, Roland drumpads, cowbell, and very briefly on backing vocals.
Thus far this talented group have released two LP’s, 2022’s ‘St Leopards’ and 2024’s ‘Eat The Gold’. However during this evening’s 62 minute 8 track set we were informed that they have been working on their next album and that it’s titled ‘My God, It’s Full Of Stars!’, which I spotted was a nod to the last heard words of astronaut Dave Bowman as he looked down onto the black monolith in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. I’m very much looking forward to purchasing this new LP as I already own the previous two.
Aircooled material successfully spans a number of genres and no two tunes sound the same, the Ramones of their world, they are not! What they do give us is a crazed concoction of extended motorik beats, disco grooves, mirror ball disco-funk-rock. They are a band that’s clearly and unashamedly having a very good time. By the time they were on their eighth show they were on the road with Suede and they have also opened for The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Wonderstuff and more. They have celebrated sold out shows at The Lexington, The Trades, The Windmill and others in their own right.
The sound of Aircooled runs from the super solid, relentless grind of Katharine and Justin’s stainless steel rhythm section to the twin-voices-as-one vocals from Riz and Ollie and the psyched-out riffing, wig-out guitars and synthesizers. This is disco-fuelled locked grooves with rock swagger and glittered poise, but with an expanded palette that brings vocals and songsmithing to the fore in equal measure.
This evening they certainly take the bull by the horns so to speak and commence their set with their iconic ‘Supamotodisco’ from the ‘St Leopards’ album, which on my previous encounters usually turns up as the go-to encore track! It’s a brave move and it really sets the tone. The crowd are up for this superb electro chugger with its solid drums and top string bass guitar noted laden corker! Selection two is a newbie which will be appearing on the forthcoming LP, this being ‘Azmar’, which Oliver informs us will be dropping in a couple of months. He offers up some serious post punk guitar action on the intro to this, prior to Riz rewarding us with her hypnotic Arabian style wailing vocal delivery, along with Justin’s solid drumming. Trans-Global Underground springs to mind.
The first of 4 cuts culled 2024’s ‘Eat The Gold’ album is up next in the form of ‘No Reason To Lie’ which sees Helen Edwards vacate the stage for this and the following two numbers whilst the quintet get to it. I must say that I’m really impressed with the dual vocal deliveries of Riz and Oliver, they compliment each other very well. This is a rockier number and reminds me of Moby circa 1997 when he rocked out on his ‘Re-Version’ for the Bond film ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’. I also get the feel of Talking Heads as well.
Song of the whole night for me was up next with the arrival of the truly hypnotic motorik psych rockin’ ‘Offenhauser 360’, for which bassist Katharine shuts her eyes as she plays and floats away with the rhythm. She’s not alone and this gives me goosebumps and is a very special moment indeed! It might be quite some time until my body gets the same live music reaction again!
Oliver then introduces another newbie titled ‘Kepler’ which will appear on the forthcoming ‘My God, It’s Full Of Stars!’ album. A tune no doubt named after the famed telescope. This is a slower paced track from the previous wonderful offering, and this benefits from the joint vocals of Riz and Oliver and contains the album title within the track. Helen Edwards returns to the stage for ‘Star Rider’ from ‘Eat The Gold’ and plays her clarinet, whilst Oliver gets going with his impressive early Kraftwerk style keys action. Riz is on flute and the tune is stitched together with some notable drumming from Justin.
Aircooled’s penultimate selection is ‘Transmission Transmission’ which can also be found on their ‘Eat The Gold’ album. It’s an immense rocking track with the drums and guitar interplay leading the other instruments along. There’s also further solid dual vocal deliveries going on here. Lewes Psych Fest is brought to a close with the arrival of ‘Sing Pilgrim, Sing!’ also from ‘Eat The Gold’. There’s some funky bass guitar and drum pads action going on here as well as a final dose of hypnotic motorik beats accompanied with dual vocals. The intro of this strangely reminded me of Tubeway Army’s ‘We Are So Fragile’. I honestly can’t wait to catch the band live in action in celebration of their third long-player.
Yet again the Lewes Psych Fest has been a roaring success. I wonder who they will be snapping up to play for next year’s event? Only time will tell I guess.
Aircooled:
Oliver Cherer – vocals, guitar, synth
Riz Maslen – vocals, synth, electronics, flute, tambourine
Katharine Wallinger – bass
Justin Welch – drums, electronic presets
Mew – synth, drum pads, tambourine
Helen Edwards – clarinet, drumpads, cowbell, backing vocals
Aircooled setlist:
‘Supamotodisco’ (from 2022 ‘St Leopards’ album)
‘Azmar’ (from forthcoming 2026 ‘My God, It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘No Reason To Lie’ (from 2024 ‘Eat The Gold’ album)
‘Offenhauser 360’ (from 2022 ‘St Leopards’ album)
‘Kepler’ (from forthcoming 2026 ‘My God, It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Star Rider’ (from 2024 ‘Eat The Gold’ album)
‘Transmission Transmission’ (from 2024 ‘Eat The Gold’ album)
‘Sing Pilgrim, Sing!’ (from 2024 ‘Eat The Gold’ album)
For those that were wondering, Day One of Lewes Psych Fest (Friday 23rd January) featured the following:
Black Market Karma
These offer a technicolour liquid audio machine with a thick and colourful sound rooted in 60’s guitar and pop music, with layers of 90’s psychedelia, fuzzed out tones and drunken grooves. They’ve incorporated touches of folk, blues, lo-fi electronica, hip hop influenced beats and traditional Indian music. Hailing from London and now residing on the South Coast of England, the band have 11 albums in their catalogue, all written and self produced in their entirety by band leader and multi-instrumentalist Stan Belton. They are recognised and respected by their peers within contemporary psych-rock, having toured with The Black Angels and The Warlocks, and collaborated with Sonic Boom (Ex Spacemen 3) and The Telescopes, Tess Parks and The Underground Youth.
Project Gemini
These have firmly established themselves as leading exponents of cinematic psych-rock. Following well-received headline shows and a successful UK tour supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Project Gemini live band, featuring Jack Sharp (Large Plants/Wolf People/The Thorn) on guitar, Tony Coote (Little Barrie/PP Arnold/Greg Foat/Steve Craddock) on drums and Bert Page (The Cromagnon Band) on keys have become a formidable unit, taking the sound of the recorded music into expansive new territories. A live show truly not to be missed, for lovers of guitar-heavy funk, acid-folk, Anatolian rock, ’60s psych and dusty breaks.
Minor Dents
These hail from Brighton and are a propulsive kosmische trio with Holly Finch on vocals and bass, Ryan Bollard on drums and Al Strachan on keys, cornet and electronics (a veteran of three previous LPFs, Al also plays in Crayola Lectern, ChopChop, Zofff and more). They draw comparisons to Broadcast, Stereolab and Nico, and a recent live show inspired music writer Everett True to describe them as, “Mesmerising… Hypnotic goodness. Goodly hypnosis…. Goody goody gumdrops.”
