Latitude 2009

MIDLAKE Having earned their place in many an end-of-year Top Ten poll (including Uncut’s) for their album ‘The Trials Of Van Occupanther’, Texan quintet Midlake show what they’re made of at Latitude 2007.

COLD WAR KIDS Christian rock may sound distinctly unpalatable, but Californian quartet Cold War Kids have achieved both critical credibility and a massive fan base while singing (obliquely) about such subjects as sexual abstinence, teetotalism and original sin.

THE HOLD STEADY Craig Finn’s righteously sweaty and road-hardened gang are a firm favourite of Uncut and it’s easy to see why.

BAT FOR LASHES Brighton belle Natasha Khan is “Bat” and any possible doubts about the fairy wings and floral hair decorations she and her three musicians often favour will be dispelled as soon as they begin their set in the Obelisk Arena at Latitude on Saturday.

ELVIS PERKINS This LA native – the son of the late actor, Anthony “Norman Bates” Perkins – may tap the same talent pools as many other contemporary troubadours (Dylan, Tom Waits, Loudon Wainwright III), but his voice rather suggests that of a 1930s blues crooner whose soul is scarred by terrible loss.

SOULSAVERS featuring MARK LANEGAN The Stoke production/remix duo of Rich Machin and Ian Glover will perform a rare but very welcome live set as Soulavers in the Uncut Arena at Latitude, aided and abetted by the marvellous Mark Lanegan.

THE MAGIC NUMBERS Whatever the weather at Latitude on Friday, the two hirsute sets of siblings that together are The Magic Numbers will be doing their cheerily exuberant bit to spread sunshine and smiles in the Obelisk Arena.

WILCO Uncut faves Wilco take the stage before Damien Rice on Friday at Latitude, with peerless guitarist Nels Cline now a full-time member, having first joined the band for their extraordinary ‘A Ghost Is Born’ LP.

The attractions just keep on coming for the Uncut-sponsored Latitude Fest, held at Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk between July 12 and July 15.

THE RAPTURE It would hardly be a festival without a dash of delirious dance music and NYC’s The Rapture fulfil that requirement brilliantly on Sunday in the Obelisk Arena. Initially they led the punk-funk vanguard with their mix of nervy guitar, rubbery bass, barked vocals and squawking sax, but latest album ‘Pieces Of The People We Love’ was a more adventurous, euphoric and abandoned affair.