T in the Park 2012: The Magnificent Seven

For those making the pilgrimage to T in the Park this month, our Music team humbly presents seven bands you'd be a dipshit to miss

Feature | 04 Jul 2012

1. Stone Roses (Main Stage headliner, Saturday)
For many music fans, T In The Park 2012 is all about the Stone Roses. The second coming of the legendary Mancunians will include a Saturday night headline slot at T, the first performance of the classic line-up in Scotland for twenty-two years. Here’s a tip: don’t be in, or friends with, any band that clashes. And another: get there early if you don’t want the curvature of the earth to obscure your view of the stage. It’s going to be big. [Bob Morton]

2. New Order (King Tut's headliner, Friday)
Don't let the still-surprising reunion of Saturday night's headliners trick you into complacency. Most bands get sick of each other, have families, and drift towards reliable mortgage-paying jobs as they decelerate through their 30s and brake sharply after 40. New Order have had long splits before, and won’t always find a way back. They’d be an essential festival visit just for Temptation, but add others like Ceremony, Regret, True Faith, a few Joy Division plays, and a song you might know called Blue Monday, and it becomes a no-brainer. [John Wylie]

3. We Were Promised Jetpacks (Transmissions Stage, Saturday)
Edinburgh’s We Were Promised Jetpacks have released two excellent albums on FatCat, but they’re a band that’s really made for the stage. Every song they write is imbued with energy and purpose, so when they start off with quiet tension you know it’s going to build towards a frantic, furious finale. When the Jetpacks hit their stride, they’re one of Scotland’s most thrilling live bands. [Ally Brown]

4. The Brian Jonestown Massacre (Transmissions Stage, Friday)
Back in 2008, hardly a soul knew that Anton Newcombe's typically formidable psych rock outfit had been promoted to the last ever headlining slot at the much-missed Pet Sounds Arena in the eleventh hour; many of those who made it were there for a rumoured guest appearance from The View. Cue frustrated piss-jug lobbers, Newcombe in antagonist mode and a gig nobody wanted to be at. Fortunately, with 2012's compact Friday night roster, there's only room for redemption. [Johnny Langlands]

5. Teengirl Fantasy (Slam Tent, Saturday)
Should T’s trademark hullabaloo threaten to overwhelm, seek respite in Teengirl Fantasy’s gentle yet exhilarating embrace. Taking 2010 debut album 7am as the yardstick, the duo’s hazy dream-pop is primed to offer a warm, fuzzy envelope for the weary festival-goer to curl up and lose themselves in, as drowsy beats and entrancing, nostalgia-infused melodies borrow from vintage RnB, trance and chart botherers of yesteryear. Their set’s transportive potential is strong, but if that doesn’t appeal, there are plenty other teengirl fantasies onsite to select from: we hear The Wanted are just soooooooo gorge… [Chris Buckle]

6. We Are Augustines (Transmission Stage, Saturday)
Brooklyn-based trio We Are Augustines were in their element when we caught them in a packed, sweaty bar late last year and indeed, their evocative, raucous sound has earned them comparisons to a host of bar-room bards, including the Boss himself. But there was enough fist-pumping on show that evening to suggest that the ‘Augustines could hold their own in a much larger venue. Their debut album, Rise Ye Sunken Ships – despite being based on heartbreaking real-life experiences – is loaded with anthems and frontman Billy McCarthy has lungs big enough for any arena. [Finbarr Bermingham]

7. Alt+J (∆) (King Tut's, Saturday)
This Cambridge quartet, whose name is literally the computer shortcut for a geometrical symbol, has attracted an enviable following almost overnight. Like the candy viscera from a genre piñata, they sport intricate bonbons from plucky jazz, sombre guitar, and dubby rhythms. Let’s see how the T crowd takes Joe Newman’s quivering silken vocals as they play tracks from praised debut, An Awesome Wave. [George Sully]

T in the Park takes place in Balado from 6-8 Jul. Tickets of all sorts are still available http://www.tinthepark.com