We are beautiful, we are doomed: Los Campesinos!, Mirrors Festival, London, 28/10/17

For a few years Mirrors Festival has been a day event showcasing the best of indie music which takes place in Hackney, East London. Previous acts to grace the stage have included Bats For Lashes and Rhye, and this year Los Campesinos! and Pinegrove were headlining. 

The first thing to note about Mirrors is the venue locations. There were four in total: one 'stage' was above a vintage clothes shop, another at the excellent Moth Club, the third in Oslo Hackney and finally at St John at Hackney (which is an actual church, fyi). 

I spent the majority of the festival in St John at Hackney, eagerly anticipating my third LC! gig of the past year. 

With the exception of compulsory carol services during my school years, this was the first time I've seen live music in a church. And it was really, really good.

Ultimate Painting took to the stage at 6:45. Their set effortlessly mixed genres; what started as gentle guitars transcended into an awesome amount of sound. 

Ultimate Painting take on the church

Certain songs gave off an early Oasis vibe, which was perhaps helped by the fact the band is made up of two guys - Jack Cooper and James Hoare. (However during their live shows they are joined by Will Young and Juan Jacinto, so maybe my analogy doesn't help...)

A personal highlight was Central Park Blues, which really reminded me of Courtney Barnett - a big plus. 

Ultimately, Ultimate Painting were a lot of fun, and whet the crowd's appetite for the imminent arrival of Los Campesinos!

Throughout the evening, I got the chance to chat to both Kim (vocals, keyboard) and Gareth at the merch stand. It is so lovely for a band to have such a close relationship with its fans. While proudly clutching my fifth LC! t-shirt, I asked a few questions about the show, and also a few literary questions...

Gareth admitted that the acoustics hadn't been great during sound check - an empty church doesn't lend itself to indie rock - but by kicking off with the loudest rendition of For Flotsam that I've ever experienced, it was clear that Los Campesinos! were going to perform a show to remember.

Incredibly intense guitar solos, light displays that would rival Aphex Twin himself, and mosh pits ensued over the course of the next hour. I loved every minute.  

It's quite hard for a band boasting six albums - and a huge amount of unreleased crowd favourites - to please everyone in one hour, but LC! tactfully played a selection of songs from each era. 

Los Campesinos! + pretty cool lighting = great evening

Here's To The Fourth Time was a particular highlight. Gareth unleashed a guttural scream which then reverberated around the entire church. (Not your usual Sunday service). 

A whirlwind set culminated with an epic performance of The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future. The lyrics 'But you could never kiss a Tory boy without wanting to cut off your tongue again' were screamed by the entire crowd, what a beautiful moment.

I do wish they'd played Who Fell Asleep In, 'She turned her back on the church and put all her faith in me' would have been particularly poignant given the location.  

When the set was over, Gareth said they'd temporarily head back to the merch stand until Pinegrove started. I only recently found out the bands are friends (or at least mutually respect each other a lot), which is nice. You can read an interview with both bands here.

I can't finish this post without saying a big congratulations to Kim, who is pregnant! I didn't think she'd be performing last night, but she was just as passionate as ever. Looking forward to seeing Los Campesinos! return in the new year, but until then I'll make do with my funky new t-shirt. #lc4lyf