THE HOLD STEADY (London Bush Hall, 08/03/20)

Another year, another Hold Steady weekender, another vocally-ruined, sweat-drenched audience of elated Londoners. THERE IS. SO. MUCH. JOY.

LADY LAMB (London Chats Palace, 05/03/20)

I don't often rave about solo guitar-wielding types, but Aly Spaltro is the Real Deal- commanding stage presence, a distinctive songwriting style, and a voice even a bad cough couldn't hinder. Lovely stuff.

LADYTRON (London Heaven, 02/03/20)

A veritable synth-bangerama from the veteran Liverpudlians. Amazing visuals, great sound, underwhelming venue.

EFTERKLANG (London Barbican, 29/02/20)

Absolute magic from my beloved Danes, whose shows I'd call the embodiment of hygge if that didn't underplay how interesting and sublime their music is. A potential gig of the year contender, without a doubt.

GRIMM GRIMM (London Cafe Oto, 27/02/20)

Probably the most pleasantly melodic show I've ever seen at Cafe Oto, thanks to Koichi Yamanoha's baroque, Hideo-Kojima-endorsed, pop sensibilities. Not everyone gets half of Bo Ningen as their backing band, that's for sure.

SLEATER-KINNEY (London Brixton Academy, 26/02/20)

The mix was poor and the venue colder than Priti Patel's heart, but Carrie Brownstein is a weapons-grade badass, her synergy with Corin Tucker remains next-level, and 26 songs whizzed by in a blink of an eye. Been waiting to see these riot grrrls for years, and I was not disappointed.

OTOBOKE BEAVER (London Scala, 23/02/20)

Experienced the all-female Japanese garage-rock dervishes 7 times since 2016, and that may well have been their most raucous show yet. An extremely high-octane, but seriously thrilling, way to wrap up the week.

HMLTD (London Garage, 20/02/20)

 
Wasn't sure if these flamboyant glam-rock types would be my cup of tea, but even this cold-hearted old bastard was ultimately won over. It's been a long while since I've experienced a show with such "cusp of something big" energy.

NERIJA (London Village Underground, 18/02/20)

Had to ditch early for Reasons, but the half-hour I did catch featured more jazz than you can shake a baritone sax at.

YACHT (London Colours, 13/02/20)

The theatrical dance-pop collective brought their animated LA vibes to Hoxton for the first time in too long. Good fun all round.

AIMING FOR ENRIKE (London Dalston Victoria, 08/02/20)

Blistering set from the Norwegian math-rock duo - it's amazing what a noise you can generate with a guitar, a drum kit and 100,000 effects pedals. Think early Battles meets Ratatat.

DAN DEACON (London Scala, 06/02/20)

Seen the Bard of Baltimore 14 times now, and I can think of few other experiences that unfailingly bring me so much joy. A giant technicolour endorphin rush of a show.

ANNA MEREDITH (London EartH, 05/02/20)

 
Another evening of madcap maximalist genius from Scottish composition's mad scientist, which (naturally) wrapped up with a Daniel Bedingfield/ABBA/Carly Rae Jepsen/O-Zone/Crystal Maze medley because why not?

GALAXIANS (Leeds Brudenell Social Club, 01/02/20)

Maximal 80's disco vibes from the hometown heroes, closing the 5th CHUNK Fundraiser in rave-tacular style.

PARK JIHA (London LSO St Luke's, 31/01/20)

An often stunning fusion of traditional Korean instrumentation and minimalist modernism. Wasn't so much of a fan of the scraping strings piece as that sets my nerves on edge, but otherwise, a definite winner.

DRUG STORE ROMEOS (London Old Blue Last, 28/01/20)

Bit rough around the edges (as might be expected for such a new band), but Sarah sure has the ideal dream-pop voice. If you're a fan of Broadcast/Melody's Echo Chamber etc., you'll absolutely want to keep an eye out for these guys.

BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD (London Brixton Windmill, 27/01/20)

The only band I'll happily permit to start a headline set at 10.05pm on a Monday worknight. What a magnificent racket they make. Astrel K's first UK show was also fantastic- big fan of their Grandaddy/Sparklehorse vibes.

KATE DAVIS (London The Islington, 25/01/20)

An impressive performance from the jazz chantreuse-turned-indie balladeer. Sure she'll be playing far bigger venues than the backroom of a North London pub soon enough...

NORMAN CONNORS (London IndigO2, 24/01/20)

Top tip: if you ever want to feel young, go to a jazz-funk revue. Shame Ronnie Laws cancelled at the last minute and in all honesty some acts were better than others, but Lonnie Liston Smith and the tight-as-hell Starship Orchestra redeemed what could have been a disappointing night.

GIANT DRAG (London Oslo, 22/01/20)

A monumental-sounding show from the fuzz-drenched indie-rockers, though the highlight may have been the ever-volatile Annie Hardy launching the most deliciously withering takedown of the twats at the front who chatted through her first song. "Kevin Is Gay" remains a top-tier Tune.

ANTHONY BRAXTON (London Cafe Oto, 21/01/20)

Two hours of deconstructed jazz standards from the avant-garde legend (and Tyondai's dad). Second set was particularly breathtaking, not least Alexander Hawkins' electrifying piano work on 'Freedom Jazz Dance'.

THE BOY LEAST LIKELY TO (London Social, 20/01/20)

A pretty uplifting way to spend the most depressing day of the year, thanks to the Crown Princes of Twee.

OKI AND MAREWREW (London Japan House, 16/01/20)

A fascinating introduction into the world of Ainu music, with hilariously sharp commentary from tonkori master Oki.

JEFFREY LEWIS (London Rough Trade East 14/01/20)

A non-standard J-Lew set featuring a 30 minute tribute to an obscure Mike Rechner mixtape, previews of his comics work and a few audience requests for good measure. Odd, but not in a bad way.

THE SYMPHONIC SOUNDS OF STUDIO GHIBLI (London Jazz Cafe, 12/01/20)

Tend to set my expectations low for tribute concerts as they often prove a pale imitation of the real thing, but Stompy's Playground string-based effort was a genuine triumph. The Laputa, Spirited Away and Totoro selections were delightful, I was obviously chuffed to see the ever-underrated Porco Rosso get its due, and Whisper of The Heart was an unexpected highlight with its spontaneous audience sing-along.

THE JUST JOANS (London Lexington, 10/01/20)

Winsome, witty Scottish indie-pop to kick off another year of my bullshit.