MUSIC PREMIERES
Well, what fun we’ve had. As the sun set on Day Four of Mad Cool 2024, punters enjoyed performances from all across the musical spectrum: house, pop-punk, indie and more. A huge lineup, new names and cool vibes throughout made for a brilliant final day of this year’s festival.
The Killers gave us a headline show to remember, Bring Me The Horizon made sure to spread the love and Arlo Parks shared a sense of intimacy with her crowd. Over and out, these were our favourite moments…
Words: Liberty Dunworth, Hollie Geraghty, Laura Molloy, Sophie Williams
The bass vibrations from HoneyLuv’s pulsating set sent shockwaves beneath our feet before we were even inside Mad Cool’s transportive dance venue, The Loop. Beneath neon zigzagging lasers, the DJ and producer threw a party fitting for last day festivities with a sizzling mix of tropical dance tracks. A set highlight came in the shape of her remix of Cat Dealers and Lukas Vane’s ‘Hey Hey (Heard You Say)’, which she switched-up with an intoxicating trance twist. (HG)
As soon as she bounded onto the stage donning a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt, it was clear Arlo Parks was here to pay homage to 90s rock – a welcomed continuation from the more alternative soundscapes that defined her 2023 album ‘My Soft Machine’.
“This has been one of my favourite fucking gigs ever,” Katherine Parlour shouts into the microphone as Picture Parlour wrap up their set over at the Mahou Cinco Estrellas stage. There was a quiet confidence from the band throughout the performance as they effortlessly broke out renditions of tracks including ‘Norwegian Wood’, ‘Face In The Picture’ and even some unreleased material.
Start to end, they commanded the stage, and made sure to solidify themselves as one to watch out for next time around. (LD)
Avril Lavigne (8:15pm, Mad Cool)
“Here’s to never growing up,” toasted Avril Lavigne before spraying champagne all over the fans parked at the main stage’s barrier. Launching into her defiant track of the same name, there was a palpable feeling of elation from fans that we’re still getting to watch the punk-rock icon do her thing 22 years later.
Wrapping up the last European date of her ‘Greatest Hits’ tour under a perfect blue sky, she performed favourites like ‘Girlfriend’, ‘Complicated’ and ‘I’m With You’ for the sprawling Madrid crowd, before we were showered in a sea of red confetti while rocking out to ‘Sk8er Boy’. A truly joyful Mad Cool highlight. (HG)
“Sorry if we were late, it was not our fault. Well, it wasn’t the band’s fault,” said Oli Sykes by way of introduction to Bring Me The Horizon’s electrifying appearance on the Region Of Madrid stage. Arriving almost 30 minutes later than scheduled – with no real clarification as to why – the band still put on a blockbuster show, replete with confetti and flamethrowers galore.
But even with all the supersized production, the band remained self-aware, preventing proceedings from ever getting too cartoonish. A triumphant rendition of ‘Drown’ made for a real emotional highlight: wearing a fan’s fluffy Kuromi hat, Sykes exchanged hugs and selfies with the front row, making core memories by the second. (SW)
What better way to bring in the end of Mad Cool 2024 than with a huge set from Las Vegas rock icons The Killers. The band were on top form, with frontman Brandon Flowers delivering powerhouse performances of hits including ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Mr Brightside’ and more.
To top it off, the band even continued their longstanding tradition of inviting a fan onstage to perform ‘For Reasons Unknown’. After a finale like that, we’re already counting down the days to the 2025 edition. (LD)
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
