Beta Band offshoot The Aliens attempted a recreation of 60s psychedelia with no less energy but far less panache. After ten or so minutes, watching a madman wailing monotonously while rolling around on the floor in a native American headdress wore very thin.

But not as thin as the willowy Beth Orton. Boom. Tish. The self-declared 'ginger goddess' has been away for what seems like an age with terrible illnesses and less terrible child bearing, and it was a nervously triumphant return. A spindly, beautiful version of Katy Cruel was an early highlight.

Stepping through the conga line of people that Ross Noble had Bohemian Rhapsodied out of the comedy tent led us to see Black Kids. And we weren't alone. Seems like every man and his child in a wheelbarrow was clambering to catch a glimpse of the Florida hype-gathers.

They faired reasonably, with Partie Traumatic's choice cuts stirring life amongst the masses. Problem is, it's a very patchy album and this was a very patchy set. You can't really hold it against a young band who are going to tour (and learn) relentlessly for the rest of this year, but there isn't anything remotely as special about this troupe as others would have you believe.

After a brief flush of lust, the music scene seems to have stopped calling young Emmy the Great. With a debut record pushed back till 2009, a full three years after her debut EP Secret Circus, she could be forgiven for giving up and going home, but with a relentless touring schedule and a growing maturity, she's beginning to turn heads again. The tiny woodland stage of the Sunrise Arena is the perfect setting for her songs - pretty, lustrous and invitingly dark and on this form Emmy should soon live up to her moniker. Not great, not yet, but almost.

Not so long ago Howling Bells were the darlings of the indie and critical world. Now, they seem at a crossroads: getting the chop from Bella Union is not the most encouraging sign to a band preparing their second album, nor is playing the same side stage sets at festivals as they were a year ago.

So they won't shift a gazillion units, or pack out lifeless air hangers (though their sound easily could). There's certainly is a place for them in our hearts, as Broken Bones and Low Happening swaggeringly remind us. There's plenty of new material aired too, and it bodes well, adding a certain synthy splash to their woozily dark rock. Although they do need to work on their lyrical allegories: "This is a song about wanting to be a kid again", Juanita Stein tells us. "It's called, Let's Be Kids Again..."

Continues...

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Latitude 2008: Day 2 | Day 3