By: Ana Larae Rios and Clarence Lim
The long, arduous wait for Laneway 2014 has finally left it’s bittersweet aftertaste on our tongues. Whether it’s from screaming your head off the tenacious lyrics from The Jezabels or getting lost in the aural interpretation of technicolour from Youth Lagoon, St. Jerome’s Laneway 2014 was definitely the place to be for music lovers on all ends of the spectrum from the amatuer to the die-hard fan.
Fans from all over the region flocked to Gardens by The Bay for the much-anticipated musical event in Southeast Asia. Hipsterism was a central theme, where the colorful and bohemian dressing from fans offered an intriguing sideshow. Since it’s debut in 2011, Laneway has only gotten bigger and better. This year’s feast for indie music lovers got a heavy dose of Singaporean spice with, Vandetta, Gema and The Observatory. On top of that, there were the debut performances of Savages, Kurt Vile, XXYYXX, Frightened Rabbit, Haim, Chvrches, and James Blake.
So how did our homegrown hits fair? Vandetta, who made history by being the first Singaporean artiste to perform at Laneway definitely had the crowds loving this electro-soul siren as she sang her originals as well as her twist on classic hits like Nirvana’s Come As You Are. Vandetta definitely wasn’t fazed by the star-studded set. Having just come back from a trip to Los Angeles this Lush99.5FM DJ, shrugs off the pressure and embraces the indie music hype.
As for The Observatory, eyebrows were raised when news got out that they’ll be performing at Laneway. Critics questioned their experimental sound stating that they would be too “heavy” for Laneway. But there were no regrets about the decision after the band played their set when the crowd banged heads along to their surrealistic medley of sound.
Amongst the foreign acts, Vance Joy was an excellent choice to kick things off with their easy breezy vibes. The upbeat sound was just the right amount of happy to get the crowd jumping. As late afternoon rolled in, Gardens By The Bay became a sardine can of music lovers. When night came, crowd favorites Daughter and Chvrches sent the crowd into delirium with their dreamy electronic offerings.
Whether you were 13 or 30, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival was a place for music enthusiasts to get fat from tacos and crispy prata while head banging to acts like Frightened Rabbit. Alas, the sweet aura of Laneway has finally past. But one thing’s for sure, the music can only get bigger and better next year.
