The Indie Tracks Festival takes place at the Midlands Steam Railway in Butterly in England's glorious Peak District which is complete with rides on trains from a long lost era.

Firstly we have to get the one big negative out the way which was the actual numbers of paying punters. There wasn't many and estimates ranged to as high as 150 and it seemed that band members out numbered paying punters at every turn. However those who stayed away missed a treat.

It all kicked off on in the re-erected Church by The Felt Tips who were missing their drummer through injury. This was the only band I saw who I hadn't seen before and their jangle pop warrants further investigation especially the new single on Cloudberry (yep that label - again!). We then headed off to the main stage which was situated in an old engine shed complete with concrete dust to catch The Loves. Even at this early stage the bands were running late and The Loves seemed subdued, banter free and I missed their usual swagger. Playing in front of less than 20 people didn't help matters.

The crowds swelled slightly for The Hermit Crabs who were fine and their blend of folky inspired indie pop was just what was needed as the sun was breaking through the sheds skylights. The band played a tight set but they still don't have a better song than the recent single Feel Good Factor. I personally think they needed to step up a gear even if it is to just shrug off the Camera Obscura clone descriptions.

Due to the late running on the main stage we only caught the last two and a bit songs by The San Marinos and their politically tinged indie pop. The best of the two songs was about a strike in Poland. Solidarnosc!


Santa Dog were next up on the main stage and I think their rockier sound was a bit too much for same of the tweest members of the audience who soon fled. Not that it bothered the band who seemed to enjoy themselves and Rowena was letting more yelps loose than you could hear in a puppy farm. At their recent Luminaire gig the rockier aspects of the songs drowned out their more delicate moments but in the vast engine shed the balance was just right especially on Chemical which sounded oh, so good!

Strange Idols were on next and they sauntered onto the stage like they owned the place. Singer Launette is certainly the Princess of indie pop resplendent with cape et al. If rumours are to be believed the band apparently moaned about their placing on the bill but justified their higher inclusion by not only assembling the largest crowd to date at the main stage but also by having a number of songs to match especially the singles It's No Fun and She's Gonna Let You Down Again. I think they may have won over the doubters as well. EDIT: See comments!


After the Strange Idols laid down the performance gauntlet Cats On Fire duly took up the challenge. Apparently devastating Nottingham's crowds the previous night the lads from the land of the midnight sun put in another excellent performance making them one of the best bands I have seen this year. Yes the band do have more than a hint of The Smiths about them but so what? They were shockingly effective and in singer Mattias Björkas they have a true star.

Bearsuit were far to noisy for their own good so it was back to the Church to see Rose McDowall who was one half of Strawberry Switchblade who, despite being far removed from indie pop, are now revered as goddesses of that genre for some reason. Despite covering Trees and Flowers I found McDowall's voice and West Coast alt-Americana a bit too much. By fleeing I missed her renditions of Since Yesterday and a cover of the Mary Chain's April Skies but somehow I didn't really care.

Now this may be controversial especially amongst their devout followers but Saturday's headline act The Orchids were simply awful and I would be doing an injustice to the review if I didn't say so. The band were signed to Sarah back in the day and were releasing music at the time I was beginning to lose interest in indie pop but nothing had prepared me for this, not even the recent lacklustre comeback album Good To Be A Stranger. They were oh so bland and were really one bar away from being Coldplay which is kind of ironic considering the media think they are the definition of indie music today. Yes there were people who appreciated the bands music in the crowd but I found it to be a very disappointing end to the bands for the day and judging by the dissent as we made our way to the bar I wasn't the only one to feel that way.

Thankfully the day finished with a few more beers from the local brewery based down the road in Ripley and a crowd pleasing indie pop by numbers set from Ian Watson of How Does It Feel To Be Loved before we wearily made our way back to the travel lodge to prepare for the next day. Tent? Moi?

Photo's courtesy of Trev (Lost Music). More here.