Two Door Cinema Club, J Hus, Pale Waves and more kick off Benicassim 2018

If Reading and Leeds is the UK festival of choice for excitable teens let off the lead for the first time, then Benicassim is their overseas equivalent. Essentially transporting several Easyjets’ worth of glitter-clad youths a couple of countries to the right, it’s a kind of endearing version of Brits abroad, but with more giddy dancing and less stag dos.

Case in point: The Magic Gang. While most of mainland Europe is still learning about the honeyed harmonies of everyone’s favourite Beach Boy-loving Brightonians, here they go down an absolute storm. Because, y’know, half the crowd are actually probably from Brighton. Taking to the second stage in the baking mid-afternoon sun, the band are technically having a ‘mare – amps break, monitors stop and guitarist Kristian Smith is forced to sing two numbers without any ability to hear himself – but the audience couldn’t give two hoots.
This is music made for these climes; full of sun-drenched good vibes, the likes of ‘Getting Along’ and ‘Caroline’ are the perfect soundtrack for a hazy bop and the crowd clambers on each others shoulders and sings along as such.

Occupying the more left-field side of electronic pop, tune-yards is a risky booking for a relatively chart-friendly line up. But though her crowd isn’t massive, those that are here receive a real treat. Sampling and looping her strange, skittery bangers, Merrill Garbus is the Pied Piper of her own magical kingdom. What makes it extra special is that, despite the general oddness of most of the sounds on offer here, there’s little that isn’t an immediate earworm. Merrill makes the obtuse accessible, and wins over a significant portion of Madrid because of it.

Someone who’s already firmly done the ‘winning over’ part, however, is J Hus. As hordes of punters literally leg it across the field upon hearing the opening sounds of his set, there’s an absolutely massive demand for the Mercury-nominated hip hop star. He begins proceedings by dishing up a series of covers – from Stormzy’s ‘Big For Your Boots’, through Skepta’s ‘Shut Down’ and Dave’s ‘No Words’. Cardi B even gets a look in. Obviously the crowd loses their shit to each one, but J Hus’ own material is equally lapped up and when he unleashes ‘Common Sense’ the glow sticks are all firmly on parade.