Ahhh The Great Escape, the annual fish 'n' chips 'n' bands funfest beside the seaside. DiS has compiled a fifty-five track companion playlist of acts performing at the event.

Less than a week from now, DiS will decamp to Brighton and sling our banner on the wall of The Honeyclub (map) to host three nights of some of our favourite bands, including Metric, Idlewild, Maps, and My Latest Novel. And we won't be alone in this endeavour, as 300+ bands play at 34+ venues across the British seaside town from Thursday until the wee hours of Sunday 17th May 2009.

In fact, DiS' editor will be pretty much kicking off the festival at 11am on Thursday when he interviews Blur's/Jesus & Mary Chain's/Thin Lizzy's manager Chris Morrisson at the conference bit of the music festival.

In previous years the Drowned in Sound stage has hosted the likes of Gallows, Laura Marling, and Crystal Castles as they were on the cusp of breaking through. This year we've compiled a Mercury Prize-friendly bill, featuring potential album of the year contenders and a smattering of magazine cover stars of the not-too-distant future.

Thursday 14th May

7:15pm My Latest Novel
8:00pm Fanfarlo
8:45pm Grammatics 9:45pm Maps

Friday 15th May

7:15pm We Were Promised Jetpacks
8:00pm The Temper Trap
8:45pm Marnie Stern
9:45pm Metric

Saturday 16th May

7:15pm You Animals
8:00pm Sky Larkin
8:45pm Johnny Foreigner
9:45pm Idlewild

Oh, and DiS will additionally be DJing at the Norway Embassy party alongside Casiokids but we'll tell you more about that in some of our special festival preview content next week. For now, here's our 55-track playlist to get you in the mood for the festival and hopefully help you find a few new acts to check out.

Drowned in... The Great Escape

1. School Of Seven Bells ‘Trance Figure (Nobody Remix)’
2. Holy Fuck ‘Lovely Allen’
3. The Charlatans ‘Forever’
4. Maps ‘To the Sky’
5. The Twilight Sad ‘That Summer, at Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy’
6. The Handsome Family ‘Weightless Again’
7. Woodpigeon ‘A Sad Country Ballad for a Tired Superhero’
8. Mechanical Bride ‘Umbrella’
9. Chairlift ‘Garbage - Explicit Album Version’
10. Metric ‘Gimme Sympathy’
11. Idlewild ‘Live In A Hiding Place’
12. Patrick Wolf ‘Bluebells’
13. The Veils (featuring Catherine A.D.) ‘Sit Down By The Fire’
14. Gang Of Four ‘Damaged Goods’
15. Chew Lips ‘Solo’
16. Metronomy ‘Holiday’
17. Mystery Jets ‘Half in Love With Elizabeth’
18. Temper trap ‘Science Of Fear - Mistabishi Remix’
19. Casiokids ‘Gr??nt lys i alle ledd’
20. Banjo Or Freakout ‘Mr No’
21. Liam Finn ‘Second Chance’
22. Lightspeed Champion ‘Tell Me What It's Worth’
23. Ben Kweller ‘Things I Like To Do’
24. Evan Dando ‘All My Life’
25. Johnny Flynn ‘Tickle Me Pink’
26. Jesca Hoop ‘Seed Of Wonder - Acoustic’
27. Soap&Skin ‘Spiracle’
28. Emmy The Great ‘The Hypnotist's Son’
29. Cursive ‘The Recluse’
30. Grammatics ‘Broken Wing’
31. Wintersleep ‘Archaeologists’
32. The Phantom Band ‘Folk Song Oblivion’
33. Telepathe ‘Chrome's On It’
34. Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man ‘The Drowned & The Saved’
35. Future Of The Left ‘The Hope That House Built’
36. Johnny Foreigner ‘Yes! You Talk Too Fast’
37. The Week That Was ‘The Airport Line’
38. British Sea Power ‘Waving Flags’
39. The Soft Pack ‘Nightlife’
40. Mike Bones ‘What I Have Left’
41. Times New Viking ‘DROP - OUT’
42. Vivian Girls ‘Where Do You Run To’
43. Abe Vigoda ‘Animal Ghosts’
44. Kap Bambino ‘Red Sign’
45. Baddies ‘Battleships’
46. Sky Larkin ‘Antibodies’
47. Fanfarlo ‘You Are One Of The Few Outsiders Who Really Understands Us’
48. Skint & Demoralised ‘This Song Is Definitely Not About You’
49. Hanne Hukkelberg ‘Blood From A Stone’
50. Polly Scattergood ‘Breathe In Breathe Out’
51. Blue Roses 'I am Leaving'
52. Bombay Bicycle Club 'Always Like This'
53. Dananananaykroyd 'Black Wax'
54. Black Lips 'Veni Vidi Vici'
55. Fan Death 'Veronica's Wall'

Click here to listen to Drowned in... The Great Escape