We’re into the thick of it now at Madrid’s sun-kissed Mad Cool Festival – and day two of Spain’s premier music extravaganza served up some suitably scorching sets.
Away from Nine Inch Nails‘ late-night industrial rock disco, which you can read more about here, NME managed to pack in an impressive number of performances across multiple stages. Here are our picks of the bunch…
Words: Rhian Daly, Liberty Dunworth, Alex Flood, Andrew Trendell
Natalia Lacunza (6.05pm, Orange)
Performing first at a festival is always a tricky job, contending with a crowd that’s slowly trickling in and not fully warmed up and ready to go. Spanish singer-songwriter Natalia Lacunza took up that challenge with aplomb on the Orange Stage yesterday at Mad Cool.
The Pamplona singer mixed electro, reggaeton, synth-pop and more into her set, which captured the imaginations of the early birds for day two. There were surprises packed into the performance, as well, with a ripped, muscular bodybuilder joining Lacunza on stage at one point and Madrid pop star María Escarmiento making an appearance during the penultimate chart-ready gem ‘Prefiero’. Lacunza, though, didn’t need special guests to make her performance a captivating affair. The 26-year-old’s magnetic stage presence and hook-filled songs like ‘SIMELLAMA’ were more than bold enough to keep even the uninitiated completely compelled. RD
Future Islands (7.10pm, Ouigo)
“We’re gonna beat this,” vowed Future Islands frontman Samuel T. Herring, staring into the glare of his greatest enemy during yesterday’s set on the Ouigo Stage: “the sun”. With just 50 minutes to play, he promised to get right to it. Cue that ominous twinkling intro to ‘King Of Sweden’ and happy cheers from the crowd at his inimitable, crablike style of dancing.
Herring’s once viral, fame-making stage prowess can’t be understated. From his effortless squat-kicks to looking like a mime artist fighting bees in a tornado, the showmanship on display had us asking: is there an exorcist in residence at Mad Cool that can help with the battle between Morrissey, Henry Rollins and Jim Carrey seemingly taking place inside him?
He acts and lives every line, because he means it. ‘A Dream Of You And Me’ was dedicated to the crowd. “We’ve been going for over 19 years,” said the elastic-limbed frontman, “I didn’t think we’d still be doing it”. This marked Future Islands’ penultimate European show before the tour for latest album ‘People Who Aren’t There Anymore’ wraps. “We’re so glad you all are here, we’re probably gonna be gone for a while,” Herring warned. Hopefully not too long, though. AT
Alanis Morissette (8.20pm, Orange)
Iconic singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette may have built her reputation during the 1990s as a poster child for the camera-ready MTV generation of artists, but her legacy was made on stage – and thanks to her musical ability.
The accomplished conductor of mass singalongs was back to her old tricks at Mad Cool yesterday afternoon, directing one of the festival’s biggest crowds so far through euphoric renditions of classic bangers ‘Hand in My Pocket’, ‘Ironic’ and, of course, her defining anthem ‘You Oughta Know’.
There was a serious side to her set too, with shocking statistics about sexual violence against young girls flashed up on the screens behind her. The ‘Queen of Alt Rock Angst’ has always been ready to put her politics into her music, and when 30,000 people are prepared to bellow the lyrics to ‘Hands Clean’ – a furious critique of gender inequality in America – back at her, it’s impossible not to feel hopeful about the future. AF
TSHA (9.10pm, The Loop Iberdrola)
While Alanis Morissette was over at the Orange Stage looking back through her discography, former NME 100 star TSHA was heating up The Loop Iberdrola, bringing modern feel-good club vibes to Mad Cool 2025.
With a blend of pumping electronica, hard-hitting bass lines and hypnotic visuals, the British artist rattled through an unforgettable set as the sun set on day two over the Villaverde site. Surrounded by a psychedelic stage design, bouncing speakers and an unmissable laser display, it was easy to forget you were at a festival, as the DJ and producer transported us to the London rave scene for her own headline show. If you were looking to douse yourself in some unfiltered techno for the Mad Cool weekend, you had come to the right place. LD
NME is the official media partner of Mad Cool