Editor's note: My good friend Josh Burke travels to far more festivals than I do, and he contributed his review of Post Festival in Indianapolis in early August. More recently, he traveled to the UK to attend the ArcTanGent festival, and he was once again kind enough to share his thoughts on his experience. This is actually Josh's second trip to ATG and his second time sharing his thoughts on the festival. You can read his recap of last year's festival here. 

Read his take on it below on this year's ATG below!

By Josh Burke

This was my second trip to ArcTanGent and I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room. Or in this case, the Wolfe. Yes, I skipped Chelsea Wolfe in order to see Zu. I also skipped Chat Pile to see Town Portal and skipped Napalm Death to see Bruit. I am sure there are other instances where I skipped “the best set of the fest.” This usually involved a band I’ve seen before or am likely to have opportunities to see again in favor of checking out a band that is unlikely to make it to the States any time soon or maybe even ever. Getting to the States is a huge expense under the best of circumstances, and our political realities at the moment make it even more costly and less certain. Many bands are not in the position of spending what it costs to apply for a work visa, especially when there is a very real chance that it will not be granted or even worse, that it will be granted but they will then be turned away when they arrive. This is not an abstract concern. As I’ve written before, even beyond the expense, many bands are not interested in coming here right now. So seeing a band from outside North America at ATG may literally be my only chance to see them. I’ll also give a nod to the compulsion that pushes me to “collect” as many bands as I can. 

So yes, if I have to choose, 9 out of 10 times I will take the niche band over the headliner. And at ATG, that’s not really a gamble. This festival is so well curated that you can be very confident that whichever stage you choose, you are going to see a band that is in top form who will probably challenge you even if you aren’t particularly moved by their music. Oftentimes, that band may just become your new favorite band. That happened to me time and time again, with bands like the ones I mentioned above giving jaw-dropping performances of skill, artistry, intensity, and insanity. Arctangent is a "choose your own adventure" book with no wrong turns. Indeed, while the best part of the festival is making discoveries of all the small print bands, the worst part of the festival is the agony of then having to sort out the clashes.

The holy grail for me this year was Psychonaut. I’ve loved this Belgian post-metal band since the release of their brilliant album Unfold The God Man in 2020. Subsequent albums have cemented their standing in the genre and seeing their name added to the lineup for this year was a “hell yeah” moment. They did not disappoint, delivering an energetic set that drew from across their catalog, including several songs from the most recent album Worldmaker. Guitarist Stefan de Graef introduced the last two songs in their set as a tribute to the late father of bassist Thomas Michiels, who passed away while the band was on their way home from ATG in 2024. It is not unusual to see someone overcome with emotion at the festival and having lost my own mother while at a festival in 2023, I was a mess after that.

Equally compelling for me was the chance to see singer AA Williams. I’ve seen her described as singer-songwriter, post-rock, indie and doomgaze. I don’t really know how to describe her except to say that I think many of her songs with their dynamics, big guitars and pianos, and powerful vocals would fit well as the theme to a James Bond film. Although I had heard a song here and there, she did not click with me until I heard the first couple of singles from her new album Solstice, earlier this year. "Wolves," and especially "Just A Shadow," drew me in and I’ve been somewhat obsessed ever since. I am generally unwilling to give up a slot at the festival just to get a good spot for a band, but I missed Eivor (another “best set of the fest”) to get on the barrier for AA. Her performance was fantastic. It was a little surprising that the trio (guitar/keys and drums) chose not to perform "Just A Shadow" or "Hold It Together," one of the other singles from Solstice, but I’m not going to say I was disappointed. I can’t wait to see her again soon. 

Perhaps the biggest draw for many was Julie Christmas joining Cult of Luna to close out the festival by performing their collaborative album Mariner for its tenth anniversary. As much as I love Julie Christmas, this concept album about the terrors of space exploration is even more than the sum of its considerable parts and rightfully deemed a pinnacle for the post-metal genre. There were widespread predictions before it was announced that this would happen, and “I’m listening to Mariner” was a running joke with many of my festival friends. This was a repeat performance for me, having seen them at Psycho Las Vegas in 2017. Indeed, that was the reason I decided to attend. PLV 2017 was the first time I traveled for a multi-day festival and that context (as well as the fact that I knew so many of my friends were in ecstasy ) just added to the experience. The set lived up to the hype. Christmas is a captivating performer, pivoting from a baby-girl coo to a shriek and back. She first appeared on stage in a strange lit mask that I found reminiscent of the helmets worn by doomed astronauts in countless sci-fi films. The heavy fog and strobe lights enhanced the mood. It was a flawless set that was worthy of closing out the 12th installment of the festival and the last at Fernhill Farm, ATG’s home since its start. Everywhere one looked there were people with tear-stained faces, hugging friends and strangers, and people lingered after the house lights came up.

This year I managed to see 57 bands, including 34 full sets (or 35 if you count hearing Senor Pink in their entirety while waiting for a grilled cheese sandwich). It’s impossible to mention all the stellar performances without turning this review into an endurance test, but in addition to Bruit and Zu, mentioned above, my favorite sets were from Barrens, Cardiacs, Civil Service, Din of Celestial Birds, IAN, Kathryn Joseph, Lost In Kyiv, Jo Quail with The Crossbones Ensemble (trombones and percussion), Shearling, Town Portal, and Zahn [Editors note: having recently discovered Cardiacs, I'm especially jealous of this one]. Special mention has to go to the chaotic final performance by punk band Heck - the guitarists and the bass drum surfed the crowd, lighting rigs were climbed, and the pit was frenetic - and Aussie snake battlers Battlesnake, who masterfully showed how a silent disco set (all sound piped directly to headphones, no PA, no amps and no acoustic drums) is done. Haal, Kulk, Leeched, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, Matador, Michael Cera Palin and Sans Froid were also sets I really enjoyed, and while I only caught a couple of songs by Gosta Berling’s Saga (weirdo prog music similar in vibe if not in sound to Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), they are a band I hope to see again.

After another year with a god-tier lineup and an unmatched, welcoming atmosphere, the festival will start announcing bands for 2027 in the next couple of weeks and I didn’t wait to grab a ticket for 2027. And rest assured, dear readers, that I’ll be seeing Chelsea, Chat Pile, and several other ATG ‘26 alums at home in the next month or two.