Welcome back, Red Bull Bedroom Jam alumni!
For the second year in a row, Midlands-based band You and What Army took to the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage to deliver their set in front of a crammed tent. As was the case in 2010, the group had gained a sizeable crowd due to the appalling rain hammering down outside of the sheltered yellow-tipped tent. But the main question posed was: could they win over a crowd of sceptical metalheads?
With the youthful four-piece having released their new EP 'End of the Beginning' in September 2010, songs from this record helped to form the vast majority of their set, removing all traces of tracks from their previous EP 'Soundtrack to the Apocalypse'. Their new material still fascinatingly fuses electronic elements with colossal metal riffs, but further emphasises the melodiousness of their choruses. 'Hypervelocity' and 'Skyline' are both prime examples of this fresh approach, superbly combining guitarist Kieran Smith's soaring vocal melodies with singer Dave Brown's lyrical outbursts.
The crowd's spirits had however clearly been dampened by the perpetual rain, with Brown unable to rouse a decent response when asking them to cheer for which of the metal or electronica genres they favoured the most. As an illustration of how uninspired the audience were to participate, it was the electronica fans that initially emerged victorious.
Their appearance at Download 2010 seemed very much of a surreal moment to the group, full of "I've always wanted to say that!" moments. However, their follow-up performance was definitely a display of maturity, showing how much they have developed over the course of twelve months. Although the foursome must be praised for their excellent effort this year, and easily their most professional to date, the understandable lack of cooperation from the drenched Download fans meant that the show struggled to flow smoothly and ultimately lacked any sparks of true excitement. Being predominantly a rock and metal festival, it was unsurprising to see You and What Army's eclectic sound met with the occasional raised eyebrow, but the exposure to a packed-out tent can surely be nothing but good publicity.