Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 Sunday Listings

Cities Aviv

12:10pm, Blue stage
Cities Aviv is the patron saint of weirdo rappers. A Memphis lifer committed to the underground circuit either by his own prerogative or the general lack of mainstream interest in echoing, broken-keyboard beats and molasses flow, he's certainly the only rapper who'd spend an entire track shouting "We turn into dust, dissolve into dust, wake up and the world is yours."
– Luke Winkie

The Internet

1pm, Blue stage
Performing neo-soul with tinges of trip-hop and acid jazz, L.A.'s the Internet operates autonomously from the rest of Odd Future's rap-punk aesthetic – at least in performance. Vocalist Syd the Kyd projects a fresh-faced appeal, while her improving lyrics suggest a young woman with mature experiences.
– Kahron Spearman

Thundercat

2pm, Blue stage
A supernatural bassist for almost any occasion, Thundercat earned his stripes in the metal band Suicidal Tendencies. He's found a tenable middle ground that enables him to shift his pitch from crossover thrash to the neo-soul of Erykah Badu, and hyperkinetic Flying Lotus. He garnered critical acclaim with his second LP Apocalypse, tribute to pianist and friend Austin Peralta.
– Kahron Spearman

Foxygen

3:35pm, Orange stage
Foxygen tanked at ACL Fest's first weekend last year with a short, shambolic daytime set full of between-song non sequiturs that left the audience wondering if someone was giving away free Xanax backstage. That train-wreck notwithstanding, Sam France and Jonathan Rado remain impressive psychedelic rock song sculptors, a trick repeated on recent LP ...And Star Power.
– Kevin Curtin

Deafheaven

3:50pm, Black stage
In 2013, Deafheaven released Sunbather, one of the most polarizing LPs in metal underground history. While the San Fran band's blend of melancholy shoegaze and savage black metal earned a lot of praise, it garnered the quintet an equal amount of scorn. New Adult Swim single "From the Kettle Onto the Coil" leans less epic and more brutish.
– Michael Toland

Dum Dum Girls

4:40pm, Orange stage
On Dum Dum Girls' current Sub Pop album Too True, leader Dee Dee Penny abandons her band's former mix of infectious pop and garage primitivism in favor of chilly production that often blunts the effectiveness of her gloriously crafted tunes, emotionally resonant lyrics, and authoritative voice. The material packs considerably more punch onstage, where Penny's live crew delivers it with less precision and more soul.
– Scott Schinder

Yo La Tengo

5:55pm, Orange stage
Founding YLT couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley recently celebrated the band's impending 30th anniversary by fleeing their rapidly gentrifying home base of Hoboken, N.J. Still present is the lyrical, experimental, dream-pop trio's pivotal 1993 LP Painful, which gets expanded reissue treatment next month. Don't be surprised if their FFF set includes Painful-era classics "Big Day Coming" and "Sudden Organ."
– Scott Schinder

Sky Ferreira

6pm, Blue stage
Venice Beach phenom hit the mainstream with 2013 debut Night Time, My Time, clawing her way up from posting demos to MySpace to sharing bills with the titans of her generation. Sidelined with a vocal cord hemorrhage late last year, she fought her way back to join Miley Cyrus' Bangerz tour in February, finally delivering the translucent vocals dusted in drowsy synth-pop she's cultivated since she was a teen.
– Nina Hernandez

Chelsea Wolfe

6:15pm, yellow stage
From a foundation of gothic bleakness, this northern California native weaves a stylistic web incorporating elements of ambient, dark metal, no wave, and broke-down folk. Wolfe's fourth LP, Pain Is Beauty, reveals eclectic contemplation punctuated by theatrical, echo-sodden vocals. "Destruction Makes the World Burn Brighter" offsets the album's downcast tenor by welding Nietzsche to a slurred surf beat.
– Greg Beets

Failure

7:10pm, Orange stage
Failure took the grunge melodies of its Nineties contemporaries and gave them a psychedelic sheen on Fantastic Planet. The L.A. trio never quite took off during its original lifespan, despite frequent tours and collaborations with Tool. The reunited band sounds rejuvenated on new tunes "The Focus" and "Come Crashing," indicating its first LP in 18 years will be a doozy.
– Michael Toland

Neutral Milk Hotel

8:30pm, Orange stage
Though its cult following and indie influence only continued to expand after disbanding in 1999, Neutral Milk Hotel remained an unlikely reunion given Jeff Mangum's notorious reclusiveness. Yet as last year's tour proved, the seminal Athens, Ga., outfit still resonates beyond the nostalgia with an unexpected joy and playfulness that's echoed by the reconvened Elephant 6 all-star backing.
– Doug Freeman

Wiz Khalifa

8:45pm, Blue stage
Hip-hop's cheeriest stoner delivers the same calculated flow on fifth LP Blacc Hollywood, peppered with select guest spots from veteran Memphis MC Juicy J and BET's pick for female hip-hop artist of the year, Nicki Minaj. The rapper's very public split from wife Amber Rose (and subsequently dying his dreads purple) momentarily overshadowed, but Khalifa still has "Hope." And Ty Dolla $ign.
– Nina Hernandez