Bristol Evening Post (6.17.99)

Delights on the festival's Other Stage

This year, the Other Stage brings together some of the best bands from both sides of the Atlantic ... and Scandinavia.

The Cardigans will be flying the flag for Sweden, and they are joined by fellow Scandinavians Fungus.

Fungus have had a busy year. After successful tours with Terrorvision, Symposium and Idlewild, they have just finished a headline tour of their own.

The Cardigans are fast-becoming one of the most popular live bands around, and their fourth album, Gran Turismo, saw them really move into the mainstream.

Mercury Rev are one of the great American groups of the 90s. Last year's album Deserter's Songs was hailed as a modern classic, and they are renowned for their memorable live appearances. Fellow Americans Wilco have released one of the best albums of 1999. Summerteeth was described as a "melange of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Neil Young and Big Star" and the band have just supported REM.

Another highly recommended American is singer songwriter Elliott Smith. Described by The Sunday Times as "the missing link between Paul Simon and Kurt Cobain", Smith released his XO album to huge acclaim earlier this year.

The Super Furry Animals aren't the only Welsh band to play the Other Stage - Feeder will be providing some very able support. The South Wales trio have recently released their second single of 1999, Insomnia, and their new album, Yesterday Went Too Soon, will be out shortly.

Siouxsie Sioux and fellow Banshee, Budgie, have finally made The Creatures a full-time occupation and their impressive album, Anima Animus, picked up some very positive reviews recently.

Other bands to look out for on the Other Stage include Gomez, Cast, Pavement, Tindersticks, dEUS, Kula Shaker, Travis, Delgados, Electrasy, Hurricane Number 1 and Toploader

Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar, Straw, Snowpony, Witness and Mogwai also appear during the weekend

Contributed by Jerry Burch.