Strange Collective @ Invisible Wind Factory, 2 July

Liverpool's Strange Collective celebrate the release of their Super Touchy EP with an all-dayer comprising some of the best new bands in the city. We roll up our sleeves and delve into the latter stages of a packed line-up

Freaks and geeks gather on the Dock Road at Invisible Wind Factory, the new HQ of the Kazimier collective and the happening place to be for local psych-stained garage rockers Strange Collective’s EP launch and all-day 'Strangefest’ celebration. 

Prog purveyors FUSS and psychedelic shoegazers Psycho Comedy both suit the space-age stylings of the Factory, with its suspended spaceships and Metropolis art deco dystopia. Both groups play to the experimental, toying with different sounds and ideas – Psycho Comedy invite poet Matthew Thomas Smith to the stage, marrying some clever spoken word with their Brian Jonestown Massacre-tinged guitar sounds.

Over in the bar area, Beach Skulls bring B-movie surf rock and shoegaze to a crowd bathed in slices of evening sun as it slips through the thin factory windows. The slivers of sunshine further bring the illusion of the West Coast our way, as if the sounds weren’t already enough: Dreamin’ Blue is all lo-fi summer haze while Santa Fe is full-on drawn-out Cali cool. Channelling some likeness to Link Wray, their uptempo numbers wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tarantino soundtrack either. All-round sonic bliss.

Back in the theatre-like main room, Ohmns offer something more akin to sonic chaos. Having picked up a reputation as one of Liverpool’s most raucous live acts, their heavy-as-lead punk rock is punctuated by mammoth jams, semi-naked freakouts and a couple of onstage revellers, who bounce around the unfazed four-piece. A whiff of Parquet Courts can be plucked out amidst the chaos of the live spectacle, and between the stripping and destructive decibels, Ohmns live up to their reputation. Fat Whites better watch their backs.

Crammed onto the stage in the bar area, Lying Bastards add some pop to proceedings, a breath of funky fresh air in a swampy, grungy, garage-psych affair. The fun-lovin’ five-piece tear through their set of strong, yearning vocals and catchy, head-swaying, hard-hitting melodies. Standout single Head to Tokyo is delicious dance-rock with an infectious groove – reminiscent of early art-rock era Franz Ferdinand – that belies its dark lyrics and gets a moody crowd properly moving along.

Having brought a snapshot of an eclectic and effervescent local scene to the masses at a scandalously good price (turns out the chance to see 13 of the city's finest will set you back no more than a fiver), Strange Collective are the heroes of the hour and rightfully draw the largest crowd of the night.

Recent single Heavy comes out early, a powerful slow burner that ascends into a supersonic galactic garage rock freak-out; a track that lifts you off the ground. Swaying gives way to moshing with the audience hanging on every note in a storming set.

The souped-up, wacky brilliance of Super Touchy, their EP title track, rounds things off with a supergroup stage invasion; half the crowd seems to join the quartet who nobly play on as revellers take turns filling in the ‘Super Touchy’ on the mic. The boundless energy and openness are testament to the band who put on the all-dayer, as they deliver the goods with aplomb.