REPTAR (London Birthdays, 07/06/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Roseanne Liu)

MOONFACE (London Cargo, 29/05/12)

As a paid up member of the Spencer Krug fan club, the last couple of years have been tough. Wolf Parade disbanded just as they were hitting their peak as a live band, and Sunset Rubdown (one of my most beloved bands in the world) announced their indefinite hiatus shortly afterwards. Bereft of further opportunities to sing atonally over “Dear Sons And Daughters of Hungry Ghosts”, the immortal maxim “God doesn’t always have the best goddamn plans” rung truer than ever. And thus, I’ve awaited this Moonface gig with the same fervour Spencer has against ghosts, snakes and possibly ghost snakes. I was not to be disappointed. True, tonight didn’t reach the manic kaleidoscopic peaks of the best WP/SR shows (and the set admittedly did flag towards the end), but the reverb-drenched majesty of “Lay Your Cheek on Down”, the yelping intensity of “I’m Not The Phoenix Yet” and the krautrock odyssey that is “Shitty City” are all fantastic additions to the Krugian oeuvre, and damn, that guy can still hammer those synths like nobody else.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

BEACH HOUSE (London Village Underground, 24/05/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Minh Le (via The Line Of Best Fit)