MOTHERS (London Lexington, 26/02/16)

There's a glut of new, exciting female-fronted acts hitting the scene at the moment, and one of the most promising has to be Mothers, hailing from Athens, Georgia. Initially the solo project of Kristine Leschper, they sound a little bit like Deerhunter fronted by Angel Olsen, but mostly like themselves. They're not yet as tight as they've got the potential to be, but when everything clicks into place they win over even the jaded London journos in attendance. One to keep an eye on.

THE JOY FORMIDABLE (London Oslo, 23/02/16)




Still formidably joyful, a full eight years after they first piqued my interest at Latitude. Their newer slowies might not pack the same punch as the big anthems of yore, but Ritzy, Rhydian and Matthew remain one of the few truly worthwhile British alt-rock bands of the last ten years.

LNZNDRF (London Oslo, 19/02/16)

LNZNDRF: the difficult-to-pronounce pairing of Beirut's Ben Lanz and the brothers Devendorf. As National side-projects go, it's a more ostentatious departure from their sound than EL VY or (to a lesser extent) Bryce Dessner's myriad collaborations, being more about the krautrock jams than arena-filling indie rock hits, and though it's a bit aimless at times, when it hits the mark it's not too far removed from the likes of Neu! An interesting diversion at the very least.

WHITE DENIM (London Islington Academy 16/02/16)

The danger with going to a gig on the basis of one great song is that the riot of psychedelic-tinged indie rock one might be expecting could turn out to be, say, a bunch of B-rate Black Keys offcuts. Eh, you win some, you lose some.

THE WHO (London Wembley Arena, 15/02/16)

An very unexpected trip to Wembley to see them guys who, for the most part, didn't die before they got old. Obviously Roger and Pete aren't as wild as their 70's heyday, and some of the set is pedestrian heritage rock, but you really can't knock that closing double whammy of "Teenage Wasteland" and "Won't Get Fooled Again".

ZA! (Lewisham DIY Space For London, 12/02/16)

So, their Arcade Fire-topping set at Primavera 2014 wasn't a fluke: Za! really are one of the best live bands in the world right now. A relentlessly exuberant performance that channeled Calexico, Deerhoof, Captain Beefheart, the Buena Vista Social Club and Acid Mothers Temple all in the space of 50 minutes, it's by some distance the best show I've seen this year.

FLOATING POINTS (London Electric Brixton, 09/02/16)

Although this would have been better suited to a concert hall than a dank Brixton nightclub full of braying accountants, Floating Points' beguiling. ambitious fusion of electronica, prog and jazz was a far more noteworthy experience than expected, utilising a 11-piece ensemble with piano, brass and strings to quite magnificent effect. If only all electronic gigs were this good...

HIGHASAKITE (London Hoxton Hall, 08/02/16)

Review: HERE

MICHAEL ROTHER (London Under The Bridge, 05/02/16)

It's not often you get to see former member of Kraftwerk in a corporate nightclub under Stamford Bridge football stadium, and I'm not sure I'd particularly want to again. But the Neu! and Harmonia visionary nonetheless delivered a sublime set of vividly-hued Krautrock that still sounds resolutely futuristic 40 years on.

MASSIVE ATTACK (London Brixton Academy, 04/02/16)

There's not many acts left on my bucket list - and, let's face it, the likelihood of ever crossing off Tom Waits is depressingly low - but the original trip-hop collective have for some reason always eluded me. But tonight, 14 years after I fell in love with "Blue Lines", I finally caught up with 3D, Daddy G and Horacy Andy at Brixton Academy, and it was most certainly worth the wait. The decades haven't blunted their political edge (the sparse retro visuals are almost entirely themed around the Syrian migration crisis), nor the otherworldly brilliance of Horace Andy's vocals on "Angel", and a rare airing of "Unfinished Sympathy" was the joyfully-received cherry on the cake.

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER (London Moth Club, 03/02/16)

The Fiery Furnaces songsmith is on slightly frazzled form at this be-glittered ex-workingman's club tonight, but her confessional but conversational songwriting and ever-distinctive vocal timbre ensures this is a much more compelling performance than most acoustic guitar wielders could muster.

AURORA (London Union Chapel, 02/02/16)

Yeah, that Oasis cover is a bit naff, but that shouldn't distract from the fact that Aurora Aksnes is one of the handful of acts I've seen over the last decade who I reckon has genuine star potential. Only 19 years of age, and she's already got the winning combination of talent and quirky charisma down perfectly, and her voice, although not the strongest I've ever heard, has a certain Nordic idiosyncracy that works in her favour (most notably on her cover of "Life on Mars", which, in a venue as acoustically sublime as Union Chapel, was a magnificently moving experience). Expect to see her play Hammersmith Apollo within the next couple of years.

EDWYN COLLINS (London Roundhouse, 29/01/16)

Review: HERE 

DANIEL KNOX (London The Islington, 26/01/16)

Over the Christmas break I, for reasons only known to myself, listened to all of the 400+ songs on NPR's "Top Tracks of 2015" playlist. Some tracks I already knew, some made me want to throw my speakers into the depths of Mt. Doom (i.e. anything in the "country and western" genre) and an odd couple went so far as to pique my interest. One of these was "Blue Car" by Illinois native Daniel Knox, which sounds like a lullaby sung by John Grant and remixed by DM Stith. It is a thing of bewitching wonder and I'm happy to report it's just as magical live, even if it's not particularly representative of Knox's general sound, which falls more into "Divine Comedy-meets-Tiger Lillies" territory (that is, honky-tonk melodies mixed with archly macabre lyrics.) A very impressive performance, and one that hopefully heralds a bright future.

SAVAGES (London 100 Club, 26/01/16)

A McDonalds Egg and Sausage McMuffin and an injection of pure caffeine is all well and good, but to my mind there's no better way to wake yourself up on a morning than to have Jehnny Beth scream "Husbands" directly into your face. No holds barred post-punk par excellence.

DAUGHTER (Oxford Academy, 16/01/16)

Being stuck at the back at an over-sold, overheated Oxford Academy didn't help, but sadly I still have the same overall opinion of Daughter as I did when I first reviewed them at the Brixton Windmill five years back- tremendous voice, shame about the songs.

DIET CIG (London Lexington, 14/01/16)

Exuberant, tongue-in-cheek lo-fi pop-punk from a New Paltz duo whose youthful vim and vigour makes me feel exceptionally old.