Polyphia, Download Festival 2024 This is where Polyphia belong. Bookended on the Apex stage by two more classic rock-style bands, their technically flourishing brand of instrumental loveliness may stand out a bit to those less acquainted. Yet when such songs are delivered with this much precision, presence and potency, it is impossible to deny their place on this platform and even more impossible to keep your body still whilst watching. The trap-tinged sounds of ‘Loud’ and ‘G.O.A.T’ sound like liquid gold on a stage of this size, whilst hearing Lil West’s woozy bars and Sophia Black’s cutesy refrains tear out the speakers as the band deliver ‘Chimera’ and ‘ABC’ respectively feel like giant middle fingers to convention. The sheer joy the quartet clearly get from playing their instruments to such a high calibre in this environment is sublime to behold, and their smiles are all the more evident with the amount of pyro and CO2 bursting around them. Standing tall, loving life and gaining t...