FIRE! (London Cafe Oto, 26/03/16)

It's been a while since the Swedish improv trio have been to these here parts (at least without their 25-piece accompanying orchestra) so it's great to have the opportunity to witness their motorik grooves and saxophone squalls in such an intimate setting. Quite impressed too by the guy who tried to start a one-man moshpit during a particularly avant-garde interlude. Truly the epitome of #yolo.

WET (London Scala, 23/03/16) 

A damp squib.

ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF (London St John's at Bethnal Green, 18/03/16)

Anna Von Hausswolff might well be the literal harbinger of the Apocalypse. Indeed, this show was so loud, the vibrations knocked my phone off the pew in front of me and (allegedly) caused small chunks of masonry to fall from the church roof - which is something even My Bloody Valentine can't boast. From gothic organ drones to heavy-metal freakouts (and an excellently-judged cover of Bowie's "Warszawa"), this was the most intense performance I've seen since Pharmakon- and one as beautiful as it was visceral.

DAN DEACON (London Village Underground, 17/03/16)

Not the best audience I've ever experienced at a DD show (too many media types checking their smartphones throughout), but for the most part, my assertions from last time still hold. Euphoric.

OMAR SOULEYMAN (London Koko, 16/03/16)

This generation- "Generation Y", "Millenials" or whatever- gets a lot of flack, much of which is entirely deserved. But it is to their credit that this gig, wherein a middle-aged Syrian man in a didashah played Dabke-inspired techno, is primarily populated by those younger than myself. (Back in my day, they'd almost doubtlessly all be watching landfill indie, and that's just unforgivable.) An infectiously groovy performance.

DEAFHEAVEN (London Heaven, 14/03/16)

I went to Heaven and now I am deaf. Turns out these black-metal-meets-shoegaze racketeers are aptly named.

DREAM WIFE & REYKJAVIKURDAETUR (London Birthdays, 11/03/16)

Review: HERE

TRICOT (London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, 04/03/16)

Tricot are a math-rock band from Kyoto, Japan and they do math-rock better than anyone else. Things may start off a little reserved, but by the final ten minutes, guitars are being whirled, the bassist is inexplicably river-dancing, the singer is draped over the sounddesk and the room is filled with sweat, flailing arms and an exceptional amount of joy.

EMILIE AND OGDEN (London Waiting Room, 03/03/16)

Some New Joanna? Well, there's no denying there's some crossover between Emilie Kahn and a certain other quirky harpist with a distinctive voice, but her work ultimately bears more resemblance to the likes of Daughter than the obtuse, sprawling epics of "Ys". And that's not a criticism- she may not have not crafted anything as elegant as "Emily" so far, but it's also easier to distinguish her voice from nails down a blackboard. (*safety wink*)

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.