Hainault Forest Country Park blossomed with knitwear in all its manifestations as East Londoners moved 12 stops further east down the Central Line and set up their floral tents in the pretty Essex park. It was the second year of the tiny and reasonably priced festival that mixes new bands with the cult acts that influenced them. This year's imaginative line-up drew an audience ranging from bowl-cut trendies to hardcore fans.

Jumpy sound systems were an unfortunate side-effect of the DIY ethos though. The Horrors were the most significant victims and their headline slot on Sunday night didn't quite take off. However, Saturday's headliners, 70s reggae punkers the Slits, had the crowd in paroxysms after lead singer, dreadlocked diva Ari Up, incited two stage invasions, repeated a song because her "pum-pum" wasn't "feeling it" and finally handed the mike over to the keyboardist because she just wanted to strip and dance.

In the Hardcore tent, Rolo Tomassi unleashed waves of noise that stopped and switched with breathtaking control, provoking an exuberant mosh pit. The XX's breathy electro was a high of a different sort. The black-clad 20-year-olds prodded their guitars in a melancholy fug, but set the crowd and the tent canvas rippling with the gentle melodies.

The New Bands stage was the beating heart of the festival. Acts ricocheted from tight-rock boy band London Blackmarket to kooky xylophone-hitters the Duloks to one of the storming triumphs of the festival - Japanese noise-rockers Bo Ningen. With curtains of hair swinging, they bit their guitars, climbed the tent mast and produced a sound somewhere between wolves and Nintendos. Other top new act were Wetdog, who married punishingly hard chords with bare, twangy vocals to produce melodic tribal-punk.

Best performance: the Slits.

Overheard: Girl trio the Duloks dished out this aperçu: "Don't rely on men, drink or drugs. But keep wearing that skirt - you'll do well, especially in Shoreditch."

Best discovery: A tie between Bo Ningen and Wetdog.