ALL POINTS EAST: BJORK (London Victoria Park, 27/05/18)

Still not that much of a fan of Elton John Misty, but the Eldritch Queen of Icelandic was bewitching, even if her setlist veered distinctly towards "Cafe Oto" rather than "festival bangers". Plus, she managed to steer away a literal thunderstorm, which is pretty cool by anyone's book.

ALL POINTS EAST: LCD SOUNDSYSTEM (London Victoria Park, 25/05/18)

Tunelessly bellowed "All My Friends" during a rather downbeat LCDSS set, got Karen O'd right in the face, was sugar-rushed by the ever-peppy Superorganism and threw inappropriate shapes to the formidable Confidence Man. An impressive statement of intent from the latest addition to London's festival calendar.

SPARKS (London Kentish Town Forum, 24/05/18)

Enter the Maelstrom! It's pretty astonishing Ron and Russell have successfully committed to their idiosyncratic brand of pop music for 50 straight years now without sacrificing a jot of their integrity, but not nearly as astounding as the fact that half a century into their career, they might well be at the top of their game. An absolute joy from start to finish.

CAR SEAT HEADREST (London Roundhouse, 23/05/18)

Will Toledo will never be the world's most confident frontman, but at least he's shifted his persona from "deer in the headlights" to "reluctant dad asked to do some DIY". It's amazing to watch the extremely youthful audience shout every word back at him, especially during the dynamic, thoroughly engaging first half, but I couldn't help feel things tapered off a bit towards the end.

OLAFUR ARNALDS (London Royal Albert Hall, 14/05/18)

Review: HERE

EX-EYE (London Milton Court, 13/05/18)

Sax-o-mo to the max-i-mo from Colin Stetson and his ferociously cacophonous metal cohorts. A true force of nature.

ANNA BURCH (London Old Blue Last, 09/05/18)

A competent if unspectacular set from the up-and-coming Detroit songwriter. "Tea-Soaked Letter" is quite the tune though.

JIMMY WEBB (London Roundhouse, 04/05/18)

In truth, Jimmy Webb is a far better raconteur than singer, but dude wrote "Wichita Lineman" so gets a pass for pretty much anything.

KAMASI WASHINGTON (London Roundhouse, 02/05/18)

It's hard to quantify what my "favourite gig" ever would be given I've seen so damn many, but Kamasi Washington at the Roundhouse would be a solid contender. No gimmicks, no fancy light-shows, just 100 minutes of absolutely transcendent, funk-infused jazz courtesy of some of the tightest musicians in the world (including the mighty Shabaka Hutchings making a cameo appearance on "Truth"). The kind of show that knocks the wind out of you and leaves you speechless, because what could you possibly say in the face of such brilliance?

ANNA MEREDITH (London Royal Festival Hall, 28/04/18)

The irrepressible Scottish musical alchemist once again struck gold with an orchestrally-backed rendition of her album "Varmints" so acoustically dense, it pushed the structural integrity of the Southbank to breaking point. Brilliantly bonkers.

A HAWK AND A HACKSAW (London Cafe Oto, 25/04/18)

Balkan folk, Persian santurs and a big fuck-off drum. What else could a man want?

NATALIE PRASS (London Bush Hall, 23/04/18)

The alt-country superstar-in-waiting has shifted from her comfort zone to embrace the funk, and I am totally on board with that.

OTOBOKE BEAVER (London Scala, 19/04/18)

OTOBOKE BEAVER WE LOVE YOU. And perhaps there's a contingent of balding 50-year old punks who love you a bit *too* much, but nonetheless neither they, or the over-zealous security, could detract from the frenzied whirlwind of garage-rock energy that the Kyoto quartet effortlessly whip up. Stunning.

HOLLY MIRANDA (London The Islington, 18/04/18)

After eight years of waiting, I finally got to catch the highly underrated musician in London, and though on a personal level it was a bit disappointing that she's consigned most of her older work to the setlist graveyard, her latest material is more than strong enough to carry the show.

MIDORI TAKADA (London Union Chapel, 17/04/18)

Part minimalist percussion set, part avant-garde theatre, part Buddhist ritual- Midori Takada's mesmerising performances draw heavily on traditional Japanese aesthetics, yet incorporate African and American modernist elements to create something compelling and unique. A true one-off.

ARCADE FIRE (London Wembley Arena, 11/04/18 - 13/04/18)

It may have seemed like Arcade Fire were down for the count after the much-maligned "Everything Now", but the critical mauling seems to have given the Canadians a most astonishing second wind. The boxing ring staging, the phenomenal lighting, and litany of guest starts (Chrissie Hynde! Jarvis Cocker! Florence! Boy George) proved they can pull off an arena show as well as any band in the world, but it was their unfailing energy and passion that once again reminded me why they were the band that triggered my addiction to live music in the first place. Utterly sublime.

PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND (London Islington Assembly Hall, 10/04/18)

A sincere pleasure to experience a genuine slice of New Orleans in Islington, not least because they brought over living legend Charlie Gabriel (now 85 years old) to lend a little more saxo-mo-phone to their effervescently groovy proceedings. Nice!

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG (London Village Underground, 29/03/18)

Review: HERE

DAPHNE & CELESTE (London Boston Music Room, 27/03/18)

I ain't got no alibi: I bought tickets to see Daphne and Celeste with actual, real money and it was quite a lot of fun - in an endearing naff sort of way. New material with wonk-pop maestro Max Tundra is inexplicably decent (even if they struggle to replicate it live) and of course, you can't deny the intellectual and compositional genius of "Ooh, Stick You".

WILL SHEFF (London Slaughtered Lamb, 26/03/18)

Neither flu nor lost luggage nor a lack of guitar pedals could stay Will Sheff from his duty to energetically if imprecisely croon Okkervil River songs in a Satanically-themed pub in Islington, and thank Baal for that as it was pretty delightful.