CUBAFROBEAT (London Jazz Cafe, 16/12/21)

This wasn’t actually intended to be my last gig of 2021, but ‘twas a fine one to wrap the year on anyway- Cubafrobeat do exactly what they say on the tin, and they do it very enjoyably indeed.

DAMON ALBARN (London Union Chapel, 14/12/21)

A truly magical evening with the Britpop legend performing his latest album plus stripped-down versions of Tender, Beetlebum, The Universal, and Girls & Boys. (Plus he gave me a fist-bump!). Brief, but sublime.

ILIKETRAINS (London Village Underground, 12/12/21)

Last time I saw iLiKETRAiNS, I was still a hirsute, virile student full of dreams and ambition. Those days are clearly long gone, but I’m glad to report they at least are StiLLQUiTEFANTASTiC, even though the soaring post-rock of olden tymes has largely given way to dark, paranoia-laden synth-pop.

JENNY MOORE’S MYSTIC BUSINESS (London St John’s-On-Bethnal Green Church, 11/12/21)

Lovely to see so many familiar faces at the final Daylight Music of 2021, and the music wasn't half-bad either! DM is one of the joys of living in London, and we can but hope it returns as strong as ever next year.

YARD ACT (London House of Vans, 09/12/21)

Swaggeringly triumphant, but deservedly so. These may be Dark Days, but the future surely shines bright for one of my favourite new British acts in yonks.

LUBOMYR MELNYK (London Cafe Oto, 08/12/21)

Sheer bliss in piano form, and well worth the 21 month wait. I've seen quite a bit of live music in my time, but "Windmills" may well be one of the most transcendental pieces of them all.

HEN OGLEDD (London Corsica Studios, 07/12/21)

Can't deny I had some, ahem, quibbles about the choice of venue and the band were clearly getting a bit narked with the tech issues, but "The Old North" still prog-folked their hearts out and for that I salute them.

CHILLY GONZALES (London Royal Festival Hall, 03/12/21)

Jarvis Cocker singing "Last Christmas", a comparison between the proletarian folk of the Eastenders theme and the bourgeoise decadence of Succession's and a whole load of melancholically-minded carols. Who needs Santa when you have Chilly Gonzales?

PRINCESS GOES TO THE BUTTERFLY MUSEUM (London Bush Hall, 30/11/21)

A diverting if singularly paced set from the Popular American Actor that was at least a lot better than Michael Cera's weedy efforts a few years back. Reckon a significant percentage of the audience had penned erotic Dexter fanfic at some point in their life...

VOKA GENTLE (London Rough Trade West, 29/11/21)

An intimate, stripped-down, and fantastically socially distanced (i.e I was the only non-staff member there) Rough Trade instore from the psychedelic art-pop trio.

DRY CLEANING (London Moth Club, 28/11/21)

Dry Cleaning’s zeitgeist-y combo of post-punk instrumentals and sprechgesang vocals hadn’t quite clicked with me before this show, but this scintillating performance, raising funds for ovarian cancer in tribute to the bassist’s late mother, would have converted even the most cynical nay-sayer.

ODYSSEY (London Jazz Cafe, 27/11/21)

In Camden, it's always Disco o'clock. A bit too cheesy for my tastes overall, but “Native New Yorker” is still one of the all-time greatest tracks of the 1970s.

WET LEG (London Brixton Academy, 25/11/21)

Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin? Regardless of your thoughts on that particular question, "Chaise Longue" was undoubtedly the single most fun gig moment of 2021.

CHARLES LLOYD (London Barbican, 20/11/21)

83 years old, and he can still saxo-mo-phone it up with the very best of them. Simply top-tier musicianship all round.

TERJE ISUNGSET (London Kings Place, 19/11/21)

Instruments carved from glacier ice, Tuvan, Sami and Inuit folk singers...plus jazz? Not a combination you see every day, but this exhibition of "Ice Music" proved a remarkable, almost otherworldly experience.

HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO (London Cafe Oto, 18/11/21)

The popular Dalston arts venue was sadly decimated tonight by the righteous riffage of these rogue Norwegians. Only a crater filled with shattered free-jazz LPs remains.

ICHIKO AOBA (London Kings Place, 17/11/21)

A spellbinding set of delicate, Ghibli-esque dream-folk from Japan - you could have heard a pin drop when she played her last, unamplified song sitting on the edge of the stage. Simply beautiful.

DAMON LOCKS BLACK MONUMENT ENSEMBLE (London EartH, 15/11/21)

I originally had plans to be in Chicago this week, but instead Chicago came to me. A mesmerising, spiritually-charged show that reminded me of Idris Ackamoor with a 21st century twist, even if the venue was a bit too cavernous for my liking.

THE BURNING HELL (London Lexington, 14/11/21)

There are few bands that make me as uncomplicatedly happy as the Burning Hell, and this show was most delightful possible end to an amazing weekend of live music. Particularly enjoyed how they incorporated the unsettling stickiness of the Lexington floor into their set...

BALIMAYA PROJECT (London Southbank Centre, 14/11/21)

A killer (and free) 70 minute set in the Clore Ballroom, fusing jazz and a varied selection of traditional West African styles.

TONY ALLEN: A RETROSPECTIVE (London Royal Festival Hall, 13/11/21)

My utmost respect to everyone involved in putting together this brilliantly curated, heartfelt tribute to the legendary afrobeat drummer. Fela Kuti's "Gentleman" with 30 performers, Damon Albarn collaboration "Go Back" and Nitin Sawhney and ESKA's beautiful take on "La Ritournelle" were the absolute highlights, but the whole three hour odyssey was the kind of send off any musician would dream of.

THE NEAR JAZZ EXPERIENCE (London St John on Bethnal Green Church, 13/11/21)

My first Saturday lunchtime jaunt to Daylight Music since The Before Times, and it was a good 'un. Highlights: Terry Edwards absolutely killing it on the saxo-mo-phone(s), and the inspired soprano "plainchant" takes on Smiths songs.

PENELOPE TRAPPES (London St. Pancras Old Church, 12/11/21)

It's difficult to pin down the Australian composer's fascinatingly ethereal soundscapes in words, but I can confirm they sounded pretty beautiful reverberating around the intimate environs of the Old Church..Impressively dramatic lighting too.

PYNCH (London George Tavern, 05/11/21)

Strong melodic indie-rock with top-notch arpeggiator usage – not the most epoch-defining show I’ve seen recently, but a fine addition to the capital’s music scene nonetheless.

MARIE DAVIDSON & L’OEIL NU (London Village Underground, 03/11/21)

Synth-funk, shoegaze and chanson from the eclectic, electric French-Canadian trio. "Renegade Breakdown" is a grade-A certified banger.

TOO MANY ZOOZ (London XOYO, 29/10/21)

The New York trio sure brought the brasshouse party to Shoreditch, though there were a few too many city boys braying "DUTTY" for my liking. Fun, but they’re no Sons of Kemet...

BLACK STRING & NGUYEN LE (London Grand Junction, 28/10/21)

Epic instrumentals, virtuoso twists on shamanic folk songs, Radiohead covers and an awesome semi-improvised encore that brought the house down. Needless to say, it was 훌륭한

MOON PANDA (St Albans The Horn, 27/10/21)

"Luscious blissed-out grooves" and "faintly obscure Hertfordshire towns" aren't normally things you'd associate with each other, but this Danish/Californian outfit challenged these expectations beautifully despite the rather, ahem, "limited" audience numbers...

FUZZY LIGHTS (London Folklore, 26/10/21)

A very pleasant evening of folk-prog-post-rock jams at a lovely little gig space in Hoxton

SINNOI & DONGYANG GOZUPA (London Coronet Theatre, 22/10/21)

The London K-Music Festival is my favourite low-key highlight of the annual gig calendar, and Sinnoi’s innovative and distinctive blend of Western rhythm (double bass and electronics) and Korean melodics (Pansori-style vocals and geomungo), and Dongyang Gozupa’s dark, yanggeum-centered rock instrumentals both proved magnificent.

SPRINTS (London Waiting Room, 21/10/21)

“I'VE GOT A POLICY OF UNDERSTANDING / AN ECONOMY THAT'S UNDERWHELMING / AND I CAN'T SHAKE THE SENSE/ I'M STUCK IN PRETENCE / AND JUST WISHING MY LIFE AWAY.” A short but blisteringly sweet London debut from my favourite new Irish pop-punk band. Fun Wet Leg cover at the end too!

CLIMATE CHANGE JAM (London EartH, 17/10/21)

Porridge Radio covering Wolf Parade. Steam Down's magnetic hip-hop vitality. Black Country New Road and pals "Cafe-Oto-ing" the audience with an improv set which culminated with an enthusiastic if discordant whole-venue singalong of 'Hey Jude'. Even if we’re in the midst of environmental collapse, at least the soundtrack’s decent.

GABRIELS (London Social, 12/10/21)

One of those incredibly rare gigs where I felt like I was in the presence of a future legend. Soul of the highest calibre from an artist who won't be playing 150-capacity venues for much longer...

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR (London Queen Elizabeth Hall, 10/10/21)

An epic 50-minute post-rock symphony from the Northern Irish quartet, brought to life with strings and visuals that veered between "eye-popping" and "a bit...Cool3DWorld"

MERMAID CHUNKY (London Paper Dress Vintage, 08/10/21)

Not sure quite what I witnessed here, but I definitely enjoyed the hell out of it. Also: this was truly a banner week for headwear at gigs.

AK DAN GWANG CHIL (London Kings Place, 06/10/21)

Humour, exuberance and (in their memorable words) "banging" modern twists on traditional Korean folk- ADG7 were a joyous choice to open this year's London K-Music Festival.

PETER BRODERICK (London Jazz Cafe, 27/09/21)

Two engagingly quirky sets tonight, one from a multi-instrumentalist organic farmer formerl of Efterklang, the other from a Welsh clarinet/piano duo primarily performing Krautrock covers. Good times were had.

KINGS OF CONVENIENCE (London Royal Festival Hall, 26/09/21)

Up in the cheap seats for the whimsical Norwegian folk duo, but this idyllic Sunday matinee set charmed the proverbial off me.

SQUID (London Printworks, 23/09/21)

This didn't really do it for me sadly, and not just because of the residual evil you naturally experience whilst standing in a former Daily Mail printing press. They’re talented lads for sure, but given that there’s so many bands that sound like them these days, you kinda wish their live show wasn’t so..beige.

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT (London Union Chapel, 20/09/21)

Bloody motherf***in' awesome.

POM POKO (Brighton Chalk, 16/09/21)

A pure sugar-rush of a show from the hyper-kinetic Norwegians. Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit alone probably produces more energy than Sellafield.

BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD (London Electric Ballroom, 14/09/21)

Yes, this was the 3rd time I saw them in 12 days. Yes, they played "Snowglobes". Yes, I did end up in the venue-spanning moshpit for "Opus" despite buggering up my back the last time I did so. No, I regret nothing.

PORTALS FESTIVAL (London Dome, 11/09/21-12/09/21)

Day 1: Big Lad being loud and awesome and AK/DK being even louder and awesomer. Day 2: Human Pyramids (think the Penguin Cafe Orchestra indoctrinated into a math-rock cult), AXES (whose sheer joy at playing gigs again could power the National Grid) and the fierce punk of CLT DRP. Even though I can’t quite handle a whole weekend of math- and post-rock, just a few select acts make Portals worth the asking price.

BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD (London Lexington, 07/09/21)

My favourite band of recent years played my favourite venue and it was just as spectacular as I could have hoped (even with the random MGMT cover). My gig of 2021 so far, without a doubt.

MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST (Manchester Gorilla/YES, 04/09/21)

Was almost tempted to sack Manchester Psych Fest off as half the bands I wanted to see had dropped out, but you know what- it was bloody brilliant. The Los Bitchos/Crack Cloud double-whammy at YES was a big sweaty mess of awesomeness, Bo Ningen were at their face-melting best, Kikagaku Moyo were superb if a bit rowdy for my delicate self, Mandrake Handshake and The Lounge Society both impressed as acts new to me, and Peaness and Loose Articles added welcome shots of indie-pop and feminist punk to balance out the day. Manc-nificent!

WIDE AWAKE FESTIVAL (London Brockwell Park, 03/09/21)

A fine new addition to the capital's festival scene, featuring almost too many great acts for a single-day event. Highlights: Regressive Left providing some justification for the existence of Luton, Los Bitchos' electrifying fusion of psych and Cumbia, A Certain Ratio delivering the grooves, the silly yet totally banging joyousness of Lynks, and Black Country New Road causing anarchy with a spirited “Opus”.

STEREOLAB (Bedford Esquires, 01/09/21)

Ooh la la! Voici Laetitia et la bande, apportant un peu de French Disko dans le Bedford très peu gaulois. Mon dieu!

RAW POWER FESTIVAL (London Tufnell Park Dome, 28/08/21-29/08/21)

Featuring intergalactic chamber-prog cults, laser-augmented electronica, skronky noise-rock reprobates, experimental noise with the odd lightsabre battle, avant-garde bass/percussion collabs, post-punk duos, low-fi Japanese psych-folk, dystopian 80's soundscapes, anarchist black metal and an improv dub trio featuring members of Vanishing Twin. Another normal year of Raw Power, I guess.

ROSEHIP TEAHOUSE (London Paper Dress Vintage, 25/08/21)

The charming Welsh five-piece have been described in the music press as "bedroom pop" but I'm too old to Google what that means. Nice tunes though!

THE UMLAUTS (London Old Blue Last, 25/08/21)

Achtung! Achtung! The Ümlauts sind eine sehr gute band! Das ist alles!