Laneway Festival Back For Third Consecutive Year

The indie music affair features 14 acts from the UK, US, Iceland and Australia in its latest line-up. Reviews Editor Charmaine Ng tells you which acts to look out for other than the big names like Gotye and Kings of Convenience.

IT ALL started out in a back alley.

Almost a decade later, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival is back in Singapore for a third successive year.

This year, the indie music event presents a classic Laneway line-up: an eclectic mix of the new, known and most exciting acts from around the world.

The line-up includes:

ALT-J

Described as “sharp” and “unpredictable”, the band’s debut, An Awesome Wave, was recently awarded the Mercury Prize (an annual music prize for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland).

Look out for: The band’s performance of Ripe & Ruin. Three enchanting things about their performance in the video above: the near-perfect harmony, the singing done in a cappella, and the chosen location for it all (a button shop) — demonstrating Alt-J’s musical ability and mischievous style.

BAT FOR LASHES

Plagued by writer’s block after the breakthrough success of Fur & Gold and acclaimed follow-up Two Suns, Natasha Khan recently released a starkly ambitious and direct record, The Haunted Man, an album as sharp as her new bob.

Look out for: Khan’s outfits. Strange or quirky, the singer definitely isn’t afraid to express herself. Her fearless style translates into her live performances — note how she rules the stage performing Pearls Dream at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in 2009.

OF MONSTERS AND MEN

The folky six-piece from Iceland are a smash in the UK and US, debuting at #3 and #6 on the Billboard Charts. Best described as Arcade Fire-meets-Mumford & Sons.

Look out for: Their debut single Little Talks. For those not yet initiated into the indie music scene, the single is bound to capture your attention with its hooky melody.

TAME IMPALA

With consistent A+ reviews from critics such as The Guardian and Pitchfork, it’s not surprising that Tame Impala’s Lonerism won the Rolling Stone award for 2012 Album of the Year for the second time. (The band also won the same award in 2011 for Innerspeaker, their debut album.)

Look out for: The Australian band’s psychedelic sounds. Just listening Apocalypse Dreams (Lonerism, 2012) feels like stepping into a time machine back to the 70’s, the period of David Bowie and Pink Floyd.

The rest of the line-up includes Cloud Nothings, Divine Fits, Gotye, Japandroids, Kimbra, Kings of Convenience, Nicolas Jaar, Polica, Real Estate and Yeasayer.

When: 26 Jan, Saturday

Where: The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay

Tickets: $145 (Standard), $160 (At the door), $493 (4-Ticket Bundle), VIP ($350)

[Excludes $3 booking fee for each ticket.]

For more information, visit www.lanewayfestival.asia.