The next act left me dazed and very confused.

“Golden Fable Golden Fable are Tim McIver and Rebecca Palin. The couple met in Manchester and were the driving force behind cult group Tim & Sam’s Tim & The Sam Band. After a heavy touring schedule, a highly acclaimed album and many radio sessions, the duo decided that it was time for a new challenge - Golden Fable was born. Set up at their home studio in North Wales, dozens of songs were whittled down to a self-produced eleven track LP that is ready for release early in 2012.”

In truth I only caught a single song from the duo and that very high-pitched, unusual vocal from Rebecca so who am I to judge. I did, however, undertake to secure recordings to try and understand…

“Named after a random row of letters in the alphabet, JKLMNO was formed by best friends Carl Harrison (Vocals/Guitars/Keys), Daniel Pierce (Synths/Percussion), Daniel Kehlenbeck (Guitars/Vocals), Elliot Knox (Bass/Vocals) and Nick Roberts (Drums/Programming) in Wrexham, Wales. Winning a national competition with Supajam.com led the way to the final 6 months of 2008 being a period in which the band released a single, had a music video created and played alongside the likes of Morrissey and Sigur Ros at the FIB Festival Benicassim 2008.”

Wrexham seems to be a well-fertilised breeding ground for young bands including this one. While the band has been around for a few years this is the first time I’ve seen and heard them. Unlike Bring The Soul, the band didn’t put their distinctive and passionate stamp on the gig and I was left wondering what really the band is all about musically. Competent but uninspiring.

Finally, Masters In France.

“Coming from Caernarfon, Bangor,Wales, UK  Masters in France write and perform in both English and Welsh, so if you haven’t quite grasped the beautiful Welsh language, be prepared to get your head around titles like Yn y Ddinas. With “lap dance from an O.A.P” listed as one of their achievements, maybe they’ve peaked too early. They do however have some seriously heavy rock ‘n’ roll riffs behind them.”

Unlike the previous band I felt that this 5-piece took their music very seriously and performed out out of their skins for the duration of their set. The songs also seemed to be better and my shade of dark. The band concluded my Focus Wales 2012 on a reasonable high and typified a ‘festival’ that covered a lot of musical bases at a more-than-acceptable quality level, and showcased many new Welsh acts. The organisers should be proud of what they have achieved here and I look forward to a pain-free Focus Wales 2013.