WILDBIRDS AND PEACEDRUMS (London Village Underground, 14/11/14)


It's been four years since Wildbirds last played the UK, and that just happened to be one of my favourite shows of all time. Tonight's doesn't quite hit those heavy heights (no gospel choir in tow for one thing), but their shift to a slightly darker, more R&B direction works commendably well. It's a slight shame their sound relies more on electronics rather than steel drums and zithers these days, but Andreas' drumming and Mariam's vocals remain as spellbinding as ever, that ferocious passion is still there in spades, and that new, haunting rendition of "My Heart", dropping the tempo a few notches and pushing everything into a minor key was a superb twist on one of the best songs of a generation.

TAMIKREST (London Scala, 09/11/14)
 
The vanguard of the new generation of Tuareg musicians may not yet have the name recognition of their comrades Tinariwen, but their fusion of traditional Malian rhythms and Western psychedelic rock pushes the groove quotient beyond even those achieved by their forebears. A band that deserves way more recognition.

THE KNIFE (London Brixton Academy, 06/11/14)

The Knife's overpriced prance-fest may not be as profound as they clearly think it is, but you know, they played "We Share Our Mother's Health" and thus I'm willing to give 'em a pass.

MELT YOURSELF DOWN (London Village Underground, 05/11/14)

Who ever said British bands can't be exciting? A ferociously dynamic mixture of jazz, no wave and central African rhythms, Melt Yourself Down sound fresh without being pretentious, groovy but also punky, a band that says to hell with subtlety and just aims to make you dance like a madman. And in that, they certainly succeed.

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND (London Village Underground, 28/10/14)

I've historically been more of a fan of Shara Worden when she collaborates with other people rather than doing her own thing, but this show went some way to changing that. True, her songwriting isn't always as striking as her voice, but she's one hell of a great performer (and gifted with a very charismatic band) and her new, rockier direction gives her more latitude for her natural charisma to shine. Plus, that closing cover of Peggy Lee's "Fever" in the middle of the audience was bloody brilliant.

ST VINCENT (London Roundhouse, 25/10/14)

There's little doubt in my mind that out of this decade's crop of musicians, Annie Clark is the one most likely to achieve long-term cult reverence. She has the style, the skills and most importantly the songs, and she's certainly not the sort to rest on her laurels. Although the Roundhouse show isn't too dissimilar to her performances earlier this year, she's tweaked some elements that didn't quite work, to the net benefit of all concerned. Although this tour she's affected a very mannered, almost robotic demeanour inspired by former touring partner David Byrne, she's loosened up a little this time round and the show is less stagey and easier to connect to as a result. Songs have been subtly reworked- "Cruel's" new synth part sounds far less watered down that it did in February, "Krokodil" is much punchier and visceral- and the setlist flows more naturally (and still includes that breathtaking, nigh-on-apocalyptic closer of "Your Lips Are Red".) In fact, if it wasn't for a fewer duller numbers from her latest album towards the end, it would have been pretty much flawless.

PETER BRODERICK (London Bush Hall, 22/10/14)

Review: HERE

KISHI BASHI (London Bush Hall, 17/10/14)

I've loved Kishi Bashi and his luscious, string-heavy indie-pop for several years now, so it's nice that he's finally getting the attention he deserves. Not sure if he really needs the full band (as with most artists of his ilk, part of what attracted me to his music in the first place was his prodigious use of loop pedals) and it's a shame he doesn't beatbox as much as he used to, but he's most definitely established himself in the indie-rock violinist pantheon right next to Owen Pallett and Andrew Bird. Inspired cover of "Live Or Let Die" too.

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE (London Cafe Oto, 16/10/14)

The last time I saw veteran Japanese psych-rockers Acid Mothers Temple at Cafe Oto, I noted that it was perhaps the most surreal performance I've ever seen. This may well have topped it. This wasn't AMT as such; rather a three-man offshoot who performed as eight separate acts over the course of the night. The night started with an extended avant garde jazz solo, then moved into hypnotic drones, a guy prancing around with two recorders, a proper 60's-style heavy blues band, a covers act which performed the likes of Dylan and Deep Purple in the style of Captain Beefheart, a band who utilised instruments as diverse as trouser zips, a pencil sharpener and a radish (don't ask), a rather rough-edged vocal harmony group and finally, a cut-down version of Acid Mothers Temple themselves. It was bizarre. It was bewildering. It was brilliant.

HAIKU SALUT (London St John on Bethnal Green, 11/10/14)

Is there another British band as thoroughly lovely as Haiku Salut? Their lush, glitchy instrumentals owe a lot to the likes of Múm, but they've got enough ideas of keep things fresh, and the whole set-up of watching a show in a Victorian church lit by two dozen vintage lamps located haphazardly round the stage was impossibly twee yet superbly atmospheric.

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH! (London Camden Roundhouse, 10/10/14)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! were the third band I ever reviewed for a proper publication way back in '05, and if I recall correctly (this was in the middle of my student days, so one can't take that for granted) they were bloody awful. Squawkmeister-in-chief Alec Ounsworth stood there, transfixed like a deer in the headlights, confining his interaction with the audience to a muted "thanks". His fellow musicians rattled through the songs competently enough, but it was impossible not to get the distinct impression they'd rather be anywhere else in the world but a student bar in Leeds (a position I can certainly sympathise with.) It almost put me off CYSHY! for life. But after being exposed to their most recent album I decided to give them another shot- and it was like watching a completely different band. Literally, in that the only original member left is Ounsworth himself, but also in that they were very, very good indeed. Alec's transformed into an impressive frontman- he'll never be Springsteen, but he now knows how to convey his off-beat intensity to a live audience; and his new band's frantic energy hugely enhances the likes of "The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth" (which remains one of the best indie-rock songs of the last ten years). A most pleasant surprise.

BESNARD LAKES (London Lexington, 02/10/14)

Besnard Lakes are a band who deserved to get way bigger than they actually did. Yes, they're basically a 21st century reboot of Fleetwood Mac but man, when they hit the mark they hit it good (seriously, listen to the shoegaze-y majesty of "Albatross." One of the most underrated tracks in recent history). This rather excellent performance didn't little to disabuse me of that notion, even if their lead singer does look disconcertingly like Jimmy Savile.

FIRE! ORCHESTRA (London The Laundry, 26/09/14)

If it wasn't for a mid-section of noodly free-form wank, this show by a 28-piece Swedish jazz orchestra may have threatened Arcade Fire as my show of 2014. Mariam Wallentin's vocal talents never fail to send a shiver down my spine, but it was Sofia Jernberg, an Ethiopian-born jazz singer that truly blew me away. What she does with her voice reminds me of Colin Stetson's saxophone work, pushing the boundaries of what you think their instrument is capable of; one moment hauntingly beautiful, the next producing punctuating the Orchestra's funk-laden grooves with guttural fury. Amazing.

HAUSCHKA (London Union Chapel, 25/09/14)
 

Loveable German composer Volker Bertelmann is always a pleasure to watch live, and although I was a little too tired to properly connect with his more sober compositions this time round, his prepared piano tricks (including several hundred ping balls) remain a delight.

FANG ISLAND (London Birthdays, 18/09/14)

The most important lesson I learnt at this gig is that Birthdays (capacity: 250) cannot really handle three crowdsurfers at once. The second most important lesson I learnt was that Fang Island and their mighty, mighty riffage provide an adrenalin rush akin to deep-throating a maxi-size tub of Haribo.

RIOTFEST FESTIVAL (Chicago Humboldt Park, 12/09/14-14/09/14)

Not sure if RiotFest really was the festival for me in retrospect, but fun was had regardless. A Biblical storm on the first day turned Humboldt Park into an absolute mudbath (which made its frankly bizarre layout even more of an effort to traverse) and I swiftly realised that I was probably right to give pop-punk a wide berth in my teenage years, but the likes of Patti Smith, The Flaming Lips, Gogol Bordello, The Hold Steady, Television, Die Antwoord, Paul Weller, Metric, Wu-Tang Clan, Tegan and Sara and The Cure made up for the inescapable fug of weed and Offspring fans.

COCOROSIE (New York Webster Hall, 07/09/14)

For a show dedicated to future feminism and various worthy left-wing causes, there was certainly a lot of aggressive, entitled morons in the room. But twatty Manhattanite audience aside, it was a solid performance from the immensely talented sisters Casady, even though I can't help but feel many of their more recent songs kinda sound the same. Girls of Karen Black were great fun too, as well as being the most...naked band I've ever seen on stage.

KATE BUSH (London Hammersmith Apollo, 05/09/14) 

So many words have been expended on Kate Bush's comeback shows that I feel that I'm somewhat shouting into the the ether at this point, but I will say it was a spectacle of a type you sadly rarely see these days (albeit a slightly overlong one that was a bit too reliant on the questionable vocal talents of her son) and a fittingly batshit, yet gloriously imaginative summary of one of Britain's most brilliant and eccentric talents. Only she could have carried it off, and although it was far from "the best show ever" for me, I definitely feel I got my money's worth.

RAW POWER FESTIVAL (London Tufnell Park Dome, 30/08/14-31/08/14) 



All credit to prolific London gig promoter Anthony Chalmers, this was the best London music festival I've ever attended. Sensibly priced? Check. Catastrophically loud sound levels? Oh yeah. A superb roster of bands, including Acid Mothers Temple (playing the most awesome version of Pink Lady Lemonade you ever will hear), Bo Ningen (instigating a mosh pit which resulted in at least one bleeding nose), AXES, AK/DK, Evil Blizzard, Teeth of the Sea and Flamingods? Damn right. Fingers crossed it returns next year, although it may be wise for me to invest in some earplugs in the meantime...