Simple Things 2026 Review: Cobrah, Bathing Suits And The Avalanches Take Over Bristol

Since the earliest halcyon days of 2010 and with a tiny four year hiatus owing to the covid pandemic plus the lengthy renovation of what can only be described as the crown jewel of Bristolian music venues, the Bristol Beacon. The city's multi-venue spectacle, Simple Things, has been a glorious celebration of independent music that can toss up a stacked history of headliners such as Autechre, Fever Ray, Fontaines DC, Skepta and Death Grips, needless to say the list is as long as your arm.

Whilst respecting the legendary musicians who have played across its many stages before, the organisers of the festival decided that there is no time like the present to throw a curveball into the mix, letting the occasion this time around be crafted by four guest-curated stages. Think of occasions such as Belle and Sebastian’s much beloved Bowlie Weekender or the legendary All Tomorrow’s Parties festivals.

Waving their guiding hand across proceedings this year were a suitably diverse quartet ranging from the club-ready sound of electronic pioneer Cobrah who drafted in Charlie Le Mindu’s MUCHAS PROBLEMAS, DJ Latex’s mutant basslines, plus the deliciously good additions of Only Fire and French Producer COUCOU CHLOE.

Shabaka’s curation, in keeping with the spirit of the festival, pulled in completely the other direction promoting a love of the avant-garde side of Jazz. Crowning highlights of the weekend included appearances by Ugandan collective Arsenal Mikebe, plus Sarathy Korwar rounded up a selection including Joy Guidry. With no end to the genre-hopping in sight, Jeremy Deller’s own tastemaking included a return to his Acid Brass project including appearances from off-the-wall luminaries such as Circle Dance, Mermaid Chunky and Grubby Mitts.

Squid, being the post-punk royalty they can claim to be these days, provided a fitting array that included a solo performance from bandmate Anton Pearson, Minor Conflict, 13 Year Cicada and Comfort.

Rounding off this new-look approach to curation was Bristol’s local hero MONOSUM, Belfast's Esmeralda Road and club act PIXY, while Bristol promoters Temple Cloud take over the Cellars for a high-energy showcase headlined by Hannah Diamond, joined by a run of underground names including Princess Elf Bar, e-kitty and Leeds Ambient Trance Community.

Influences aside, you’ll be pleased to hear the end result is a decidedly local affair, bearing the influence of all that call Bristol home plus maintaining entirely welcome to punters, press and musicians that have come from far out places.

DMY’s first experience at Simple Things dragged us across town in every which direction for a mindbending feast of musical delight, with so much joy experienced across the week we would like to highlight a handful of particular live sets that have us marking our prospective 2027 diaries with; “Simple Things 2027, shall we do it all over again?”.

Charlie Osborne.

How convenient that the first live performance we enjoyed across the weekend would turn into such a memorable experience. Charlie Osborne is a London-based performer who operates on a wide spectrum including video, performance, music, writing and painting, with such talent in mind, there’s no shock that the pure thrill of this mutant disco located at the Strange Brew lingered long after the set concluded. Osborne on stage is sharp and maniacal, providing an unavoidable spectacle that is a major shock to the system. Across a frantic performance they drew a comparison to a computer program or a line of code breaking free from the will of its programmer, corrupting itself at will, contorting itself into an unimaginable appearance. The shapes that Osborne created on stage with their figure were equally brilliant and terrifying. The music to accompany this display traversed screamo, synth-punk and hypnagogic pop resulting in a welcome sense of complete bewilderment.

My New Band Believe

My New Band Believe is the project of ex-Black Midi alumni Cameron Picton believing in the music he has always wanted to produce, pushing himself into a bold new direction and enjoying the rewards of a grand new vision, departing from the prog and math rock tendencies of his previous project. His set at the wonderfully named venue ‘Shreddenhams’, was one way to make everybody fall in love with the acoustic guitar again as the group glided through a set of experimental folk numbers that bloomed into a tangle of baroque melodies, chamber-punk arrangements, that included many highlights from their self-titled debut album. However, it was the lengthy finale of ‘Heart of Darkness’ that delivered one of the most rapturous experiences of the weekend.

Bathing Suits

It’s well established now that Leeds’ group Bathing Suits are well on track to become one of the greatest bands in the world, so awfully lucky that our visit to Bristol coincided with them paying a visit with a thunderous set that encapsulated the sheer audacity and confidence of this group to conquer and devour their audiences. Frontwoman Freyja Blevins treats every single gig like it is the last opportunity for the group to succeed with their confidence and arrogance blowing through their shining blonde hair. The group blew through a set best described as ballistic noise-punk flanked by crunching and jagged Gang of Four inspired chords giving Blevins a platform to storm through highlights including ‘Lousy Havoc’ and ‘I Can Be a Freak’.

One thing to note though, due to the scheduling of the Bristol Beacon which itself included the Lantern Hall (which is where Bathing Suits were causing havoc) all the headliners would be situated in the Beacon tonight, you ended up with a crowd caught between at least three different rooms not knowing whether to stick or twist, fearing having to wait 20 minutes to get into the next headliners set or more classically struggle to get their pint in time before the next set.

This might go some way to explaining how Blevins attempted crowd-surf was a short lived attempt as a crowd caught up in a logistical conundrum knuckled under.

Cobrah

Swedish performer Cobrah is utterly addictive, best understanding that keeping things minimalist is a sure fire way to give any crowd over to you. Her mysterious and masked DJ provided the perfect platform for the star with a consistent supply of techno-pop beats and then it was all over to Cobrah to tease, torment and tantalise through a set that gave her the stage presence of the 50 foot woman. Attack, attack, attack was the order of the day as she blitzed through a setlist including ‘Good Puss’, ‘BRAND NEW BITCH’, and ‘Platinum’, every single one of her twisting, tempting, contorting movements on stage moved the packed hall out of their heads and totally in submission to Cobrah.

The Avalanches

A date with Australian plunderphonic The Avalanches is something you dream about since the first time ‘Because I’m Me’, ‘Frankie Sinatra’ or ‘Since I Left You’ first beam into your ears from a young age, burrowing so deep in the brain your fun-receptors are driven into total overdrive. Seeing a festival lineup announce the duo months before the occasion leaves you in a sense of total anticipation counting down the days before you take to the venue, ensuring you are hugging the barrier for the occasion that is about to explode into life, explode it most certainly did. It may be thirty years or so since the Aussies first took flight but the way the duo so evidently live and breathe for every track they play, both new and old is a total breath of fresh air. The Avalanches will always be the sound of the future, but they respect the legacy they have created giving time to older tracks such as ‘Zap’, ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’ and ‘Electricity’ while giving their stellar new material such as ‘I Give Everything I Have 2 U’ and ‘Together’ the chance to shine bright for the first time in total disco-dancing radiance.

Let Simple Things be a guide to all those who bring day festivals to life for a perfect lesson in how to raise a festival over the years in perfect conjecture with the very city it inhabits, ensuring that at no point the city of Bristol is detached from the occasion as the very best of experimental and explorative music finds the most perfect place to come alive across the many venues of this fabulous city.

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