The eclectic mix of Latitude’s tents and stages provided a perfect setting for the theatricality of Brighton’s The Mummers, whose early Friday afternoon set lit up the Uncut Arena, but would have been equally at home almost anywhere on the site.
Their dreamy mix of chamber pop, carnival waltzes and noir fairy tales was beautifully realised by string quartet and 70s vintage synth sounds, topped off by singer and chief writer Raissa Khan-Panni‘s left-field lyrics and skewered vocal style. Comparisons with Bjork have been overplayed, as Raissa is more accurately reading from the same page as, say, Mary Margeret O’Hara, Judee Sill or Alison Goldfrapp.
It’s a sound rich in detail, conjuring up an intoxicating atmosphere all of its own. Fingers crossed, some day they’ll be famous enough to be offered a Bond theme.
TERRY STAUNTON