MATT AND KIM (London Heaven, 28/05/15)


I suspect I'm a little too old to be attending Matt & Kim gigs now I'm approaching the big three-o, but their frantic synth-pop parties nonetheless provided a much-needed injection of unflagging energy into my ageing bones. Thought better than trying to crowdsurf though...

BATTLES (London Tufnell Park Dome, 27/05/15)

The avant-garde Brooklynites are a bit out of practice after a couple of years off the road, but there's nothing like watching John Stanier pummel the literal fuck out of a drum (not to mention his absurdly lofty hi-hat) to reinvigorate one's love of live music. As my Swedish friend once succinctly summed them up, "FUCKING BATTLES! BOOM BOOM BOOM!"

THE JULIE RUIN (London Electric Ballroom, 26/05/15)

Not everyone can carry off the "sparkly leotard" look, but then again not everyone is as much of a boss as Kathleen Hanna. Yeah, the rest of the Julie Ruin are pretty cool with their frenzied synth-heavy feminist punk-rock, but it's the ever-effervescent presence of one of the original Riot Grrrls that makes this show so damn fun.

EZRA FURMAN (London Lexingon, 21/05/15)


If Jonathan Richman and Bruce Springsteen were somehow genetically spliced during a catastrophic teleportation accident, Ezra Furman may be the happy result. His voice is nasal, his persona nebbish, but what stage presence! What energy! What songs! And that closing cover of Jackie Wilson's "Higher" was one of those sublime communal experiences that I've perhaps experienced only a dozen times over 1000 gigs. Simply brilliant.

LUBOMYR MELNYK (London Cafe Oto, 17/05/15)

Lubomyr Melnyk is a pretty odd guy, perhaps a little too in love with his self-professed genius to truly connect with, but there's no denying an master on the ivories. There's moments where his performance threatens to descends into self-indulgence, but the closing 45-minute piece "Windmills", making the utmost of his shimmering "continuous playing" style is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in concert.

IBEYI (London Islington Assembly Hall, 12/05/15)

Immensely soulful Yoruba-tinged R&B from the massively charismatic Cuban-French Diaz twins. They're only 20 years of age yet they've already got audiences eating of their hands- one can only wonder what heights they'll ascend to in the future.

HAIKU SALUT (London St Pancras Old Church, 07/05/15)

The seats in the Old Church may have been almost as painful as the political news that awaited us on our departure, but for just under an hour we were able to forget the woes of the outside world with a typically delightful set of glitchy, twinkly multi-instrumental loveliness from the Derbyshire three-piece.

BRAIDS (London ATP Pop Up Venue, 01/05/15)

Review: HERE

CALEXICO (London Shepherd's Bush Empire, 28/04/15)

Review: HERE

WILL BUTLER (London Scala, 23/04/15)

Will has always been the "fun" member of the ol' Arcade Fire, and this aspect certainly comes across in his solo shows. In truth, his songwriting and vocal skills are a little hit-and-miss, but his energy and enthusiasm made up for the odd duff track.

SCREAMING FEMALES (Brighton Hope & Ruin, 19/04/15)

Few bands are good enough for me to bother to travel to the south coast for, but Marissa Paternoster and the two other guys no-one really cares about are one of that rare breed. They only played for 50 minutes all said and done, but they packed it with enough guitar riffage to last a lifetime.

COLIN STETSON AND SARAH NEUFELD (London Islington Assembly Hall, 17/04/15)


As previously recounted , it is my sincere belief that Colin Stetson is some kind of wizard and we should probably burn him on the stake before it's too late. What he does with just three saxophones and some strategically-placed microphones falls somewhere beyond the laws of nature, coaxing out sounds and timbres that shouldn't be possible. And with the addition of the moderating influence of Sarah Neufeld's warm, complex string arrangements, his compositions are lent an emotional heft to match their technical prowess. Incredible.

TRUST FUND (London Sebright Arms, 13/04/15)

Ellis Jones' scrappy lo-fi indie pop is great fun on record, but doesn't quite click with me in the overheated environs of the Sebright Arms.