Marauders' Most Anticipated: Primavera Sound LA 2022

Photo courtesy of Primavera Sound

MARAUDERS’ MOST ANTICIPATED: PRIMAVERA SOUND LA 2022

IF YOU’RE ATTENDING, YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THESE SETS!

Primavera Sound is known as one of Europe’s most popular music festivals, boasting headliners like The Cure, Pixies, Tame Impala, Wu-Tang Clan, Mazzy Star, and Radiohead (to name a few) in past lineups. The crowd turnout has nearly doubled in its 21 years of operation as the artists continue to align with current popularity in genres all across the board.

After postponement due to Covid-19, the festival will finally be making it’s highly anticipated Los Angeles debut at LA Historic Park September 16-18 (one of MMC*’s favorite parks). We have a special connection to the site, and we’re excited to return. Just three years ago, we covered our very first festival, Yola Día at the same venue! The weekend is packed with some Marauder favorites; artists we’ve followed since day one, eager to catch another set, and those that are long-awaited first views. You can purchase tickets and get more info here!

Photo courtesy of Primavera Sound

Here’s MMC*’s 5 most anticipated sets from each day:

SEPTEMBER 16

Mitski by Jacob Alvarez

• Lorde - Singer-songwriter Lorde rose to popularity in her teen years for her two time Grammy winning “Royals,” on hit album Pure Heroine, which dominated every indie radio station (and still does). Now with two more studio albums under her belt, you can feel the growth in her tracks. Her latest album Solar Power features a more laid back, acoustic feel. The set is bound to be a mixture of classics like “Ribs” and new tracks such as “Mood Ring.” Marauders have yet to cover Lorde, but is expecting great things from her set!

• Mitski - Mitski has a commanding, powerful presence on stage; whether you know every word to her tracks (Nobody…Nobody..No-) or are curious about seeing her live, you won’t be disappointed. Her versatile discography ranges from indie folk to punk rock, sure to wretch hearts and kick up some energy. Glad to be catching her again!

• Clairo - MMC* is ready for our third helping of covering Clairo. Once a bedroom-pop star, Clairo has established her own musical aesthetic with the combination of a lo-fi and soft rock sound. Whether you respect her musical path (opting to Sling as opposed to poppy sounds), her set is expected to be of a cozy, down-to-earth vibe, ushering out the night of day two.

• PinkPantheress - PinkPantheress quickly developed a following after her tracks “Pain,” “Just For Me,” and “Break it Off” each went viral on TikTok, seemingly overnight. Her songs are especially bingeworthy due to their replayability. Even after hearing snippets of these tracks on every other video on your For You Page, you’re left wanting to add them to your playlists. Her ethereal vocals on top of entrancing electronic Y2K-esque beats make for blissful, danceable tracks. Her first show in Los Angeles sold out immediately, so MMC* is glad to catch her on the big stage.

• Stereolab - (legendary) We hope to hear some material from their latest album Pulse of the Early Brain, released this year, but Stereolab is simply Stereolab. Need we say more?

Clairo by Jacob Alvarez

SEPTEMBER 17

Khruangbin by Jacob Alvarez for Alt Press

• Kim Gordon - Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth have been pivotal to the drive, energy, and aesthetics of MMC*. The raw material performed with so much passion is something we strive to capture in a bottle, and having seen Kim Gordon perform at Zebulon in LA, it’s an honor to catch her again on a bigger stage. She does what she wants how she wants and doesn’t give a shit about what you think. A total badass and personal hero of ours.

• Tierra Whack - Ms. Whack’s music is beautifully blended with crazy sounds and saturated colors, making her performances mimic that tone. We haven’t covered her before, so we look forward to her latest singles as well as Whack World anthems.

• Fontaines DC - Post-punk Irish band Fontaines DC are kicking off the tour of their newest album, Skinty Fia, here in California: second stop Primavera. In accompaniment with their new material, we hope to hear some classics from A Hero’s Death released in 2020. We are suckers for punk music; always a great listen and time.

• Khruangbin - MMC* got to cover the Texas trio at Outside lands 2021 where they performed Mordechai tracks “Pelota” and “Time (You and I) but they also did an instrumental medley of hiphop tracks which was very groovy. Similar to LCD Soundsystem, the band puts on great live shows that put everyone in the audience, fan or not, in the mood for music.

• NIN - Before MMC* was started, Jacob caught Nine Inch Nails’ set at the now dead FYF in 2017. It was a rough time for him with school and life goals, however, the set stayed in his mind to the point he can clearly recall the songs performed as well as lightning choices. The band would have sold out the park themselves if their tour wasn't halted due to the pandemic, but having them close out night two is a nostalgic punctuation that will 100% be filled with moshing and more than enough sweat to go around.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Surf Curse - This name has been in LA’s memory for years as local indie heroes Surf Curse begin to take on bigger and bigger shows with a stronger musical presence. Due to their intimate, chaotic shows that we first attended back in our high school days, it’s truly amazing to see a band come out of respected downtown LA venue, The Smell, to almost closing the second stage at LA’s first ever Primavera Sound festival.

SEPTEMBER 18

Dry Cleaning by Jacob Alvarez

• Dry Cleaning - MMC* is happy to catch 4AD darlings Dry Cleaning once more, as their career has grown substantially since the last time we saw them. We are eager to hear new cuts off their upcoming LP STUMPWORK and one of our favorite songs of the year, “Don’t Press Me” will blow the audience away. We are certain of this.

• King Krule - The last time we were about to cover alternative icon King Krule, Covid-19 came in and shut down his entire tour. Since then, MMC* has been lucky enough to showcase our love for Archy Marshall with a few figures and fan made posters for imaginary concerts. The time has finally come to capture Man Alive! and The Ooz tracks, but anyone that knows Jacob knows how much “Cellular” means to him.

• Girl in Red - Similar to a few artists previously mentioned, Marie aka Girl in Red is an artist we have been trying to cover endlessly and came so close this year before her Glasshouse show was postponed. MMC* is happy to have Girl in Red as a late addition to the party that is Primavera LA, so we look forward to the “midnight love” songstress.

• Boy Harsher - Dark synth wave duo Boy Harsher are always a treat with their danceable tracks that share similar tones to Nine Inch Nails. They are a fan favorite of MMC* so it’s once again great to cross paths with them and hopefully, due to their bigger stage platform, we get to see some footage of their short film The Runner utilized during their set.

• Arctic Monkeys - Okay, we don’t need to say much here. Jacob’s experience with seeing the band back at their infamous Hollywood Forever Cemetery show (before Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was released), was nothing short of inspiring. We are excited to cover one of the biggest rock bands on this planet, and with their latest single “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” being our favorite song of the year so far, we cannot wait for Alex Turner and co. to close out LA’s first ever Primavera Sound.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Everyone - Honestly Sunday is stacked to the roof so check out anyone you can and good luck choosing between Dry Cleaning and Amyl and the Sniffers!

Boy Harsher by Jacob Alvarez