Hidden Gems at Long Division Festival

With Long Division less than two weeks away, we cast our eyes over the lineup and thrust suggestions at you. While the likes of Ash and Pulled Apart by Horses are topping the bill, there’s plenty to be found across the rest of the weekend.


The Spills
The Spills are a product of Wakefield itself and they walk a line not dissimilar to the more ramshackle leanings of, fellow hometown boys, The Cribs. Their debut album ‘Occam’s Razor’ hasn’t quite thrust them into the mainstream spotlight in the way we’d have hoped, but it’s established a solid fanbase and opened the door to the band hitting the road even more frequently in the coming year. For now though, the band are opening proceedings in their own backyard with their early afternoon Long Division slot.

Brawlers
There’s no doubting that Brawlers are one of the UK’s most exciting live prospects at the moment. Their tongue-in-cheek stab at melodic punk takes in songs like ‘Drink and Dial’ and, while they’re not likely to win any awards for their lyric writing in the immediate future, the results are anthemic slabs of vivacious melody. The live show itself bristles with the kind of energy which can only be found in a group of youths spilling out of their respective hometowns into the back of a too-small-van.

Hyde & Beast
Their sound may owe a lot to the influences which poured out of wireless radios at the end of the 60s and early 70s, but Hyde & Beast have managed to inject a fresh approach into the sounds which have informed their two full-length releases to date.  Their most perfect moments manage to saunter through a range of genres, while being underpinned by compulsive guitar lines and an impressive vocal delivery.

Withered Hand
The last time we caught Withered Hand live they were playing in a bicycle repair shop in Deansgate, Manchester. While the Theatre Royal is likely to be less oily than the aforementioned venue, the performance itself is sure to run as smoothly as all of Dan Wilson’s previous live ventures. Both ‘Good News’ and ‘New Gods’, released in 2009 and 2014 respectively, are glorious slices of intimate lyricism and Withered Hand will undoubtedly prove to be one of the highlight’s of this year’s outstanding Long Division Festival.

Tickets are onsale now from the Long Division website.