THE SUN RA ARKESTRA (London Cafe Oto, 25/10/15)

One of the great things about watching the Arkestra perform during daylight hours was watching people walk by Cafe Oto and gawp in bewilderment at the be-sequined free-jazz space wizardry contained within. Of course, there's a whole load of other great things about watching the Arkestra, not least Marshall Allen's forceful, eccentric presence, which remains undimmed at 91 years of age.

REVERE (London Lexington 23/10/15)

Nine years ago, I went to see a short-lived Hope of the States spinoff band at the London Water Rats (remember that place?), and to be perfectly frank they were dull as hell. Their support, however, was not. Revere trod an intriguing line between post-rock and orchestral indie-pop (my two favourite genres at the time), and although nearly a decade later I'm not so in love with that sound as I used to be, on the evidence tonight they're still a band that deserve to be much bigger.

EZRA FURMAN (London Shepherd's Bush Empire, 22/10/15)

I never thought when I saw Ezra Furman at the Sebright Arms last February he'd be selling out Shepherd's Bush Empire 18 months later, but it's a (rare) credit to Britain's music fans that he is. One could argue that the first half of the set was not quite up to his usual gleefully anarchic standards, but when he started throwing out the hits (and there's quite a few of these now) "My Zero", "Body Was Made", "Wobbly", "Lousy Connection"- it swiftly became the chaotic, gloriously celebratory experience that's become his hallmark. And of course, there was that set-closing cover of "Crown of Love", that was essentially the most perfect thing ever.

SON LUX (London Village Underground, 21/10/15)

"It's a show that flits between haunting, echoey balladry and full on barrages of Boredoms-esque noise rock, a show that's cerebral yet also dancey, a show that on paper is the epitome of Pitchfork hipsterism, yet also delivered substance to back up the style." That's how I described Son Lux's 2014 show at the Lexington, which remains one of the best introductions to a band I ever did see. Needless to say, they're ever better now.

METRIC (London Kentish Town Forum, 14/10/15)

Although the heyday of alternative Canadian music is sadly long past, it's good to see some of the leading lights from back then are still doing their thing. Metric are a tiny bit older, quite a bit more theatrical, and sound a lot more like Goldfrapp these days, but what hasn't changed is that Emily Haines is still one of the most magnetic frontwomen around.

KYARY PAMYU PAMYU (London Roundhouse, 11/10/15)

Given that the first thing one thinks of when considering "Harajuku-style" is a balding Polish-Algerian blogger of minimal renown, I naturally had a duty to put on my most fluorescent crop top and join the gothic lolitas and pervy otaku to experience one of J-Pop's most engaging and quirky stars in the flesh. I must admit £35 was somewhat steep for what was a glorified karaoke show, and Kyary isn't exactly blessed with the most varied compositional range, but hey, the choreography was impressive and it was certainly lively.

DAHKABRAKA (London Village Underground, 01/10/15)

I've not seen many self-described "ethno-chaos" bands in my time, but if they're all as good as this Ukrainian four-piece, then perhaps I've been missing out. Marko Halanevych's vocals, veering between a high-pitched falsetto and an guttural Eugene Hutz-ish growl is quite the experience in itself, but it's the stunning Slavic-style harmonies of Olen Tsybulska, Iryna Kovalenko and Nina Harenetska that really mark out DahkaBrakha as something special.

THE OCTOPUS PROJECT (London Shacklewell Arms, 29/09/15)

Anyone who has ever had to endure my awful views on music may know that I reckon Austin's The Octopus Project to be one of the most underrated live bands in the world. Tonight's show at the Shacklewell Arms did nothing to undermine this opinion. Like a psychedelic take on Holy Fuck with additional theremin, they deliver an electrifying fusion of propulsive percussion and kaleidoscopic progginess, and if there was any justice in the world they'd be headlining the Brixton Academy rather than the back of a pub in Dalston.

BEIRUT (London St-John-at-Hackney Church, 25/09/15)

Arch-practitioner of maudlin brass-tinged folk Zach Condon may have once indirectly referred to me as a "bum", but after watching this "Greatest Hits" set I'm very much willing to let that slide. I mean, seriously, opening with "Scenic World"->"Elephant Gun"? What more could one ask for?

THE REFLEKTOR TAPES- The Arcade Fire Documentary

Review: HERE

AURORA (London Hoxton Bar and Kitchen, 18/09/15)

Review: HERE

BO NINGEN (London Cafe Oto, 17/09/15)

OK, "The Night of The Stickmen" wasn't actually a Bo Ningen show per-se, but it did involve the long-haired Japanese psych-wizards in various improvisational guises, combining forces with various guest musicians to provide an experience more avant-garde than their normal gigs, although just as loud and uncompromising. Shame about the lack of air-con at Cafe Oto though *faints*

JAMBINAI (London Rich Mix, 16/09/15)

Whilst Japan has long produced bands that have received critical, if not quite commercial acclaim over in the UK, the Korean music scene has remained decidedly low-profile in comparison. Jambinai may be the act to change all that. Whilst the structure of their music owes a lot to Mono, Sigur Ros and to a lesser extent Sonic Youth and Boredoms, Jambinai introduce traditional Korean folk instrumentation to the mix, adding a hauntingly beautiful, richly atmospheric edge to what could have been just A.N.Other post-rock band. An act that has the potential to become something very, very special.

TONY ALLEN (London Royal Festival Hall, 13/09/15)

Although the Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer is the main-billed artist tonight, this turned out to be more of a full-on collaboration between some of Africa's greatest musical luminaries, including kora masters Toumani and Sidike Diabate, Francophone rapper Oxmo and Senegalese baritone Baaba Maal. Inevitably Damon Albarn also makes an appearance, but he thankfully he didn't bugger things up too much. Perhaps it wasn't as much of a dance party as I was hoping for (at least until the last quarter, where the audience are finally coerced into standing up) but damn, watching Toumani and Sidike in full flow whilst Tony Allen and his band provided the afro-funk was a very special experience for all concerned.

FINAL SYMPHONY II (London Barbican, 12/09/15)

Maybe it's a sign of me being fundamentally wrong as a human being, but I got considerably more emotional at this glorious celebration of Nobuo Uematsu's music than at Sufjan Stevens the previous week. The first Final Symphony was an excellent, if at times uneven night of music, but this was an absolute triumph from start to finish. The highlights in bullet point form:

 - Virtuoso Ukrainian pianist Slava Sidorenko's utterly magnificent performance during the FFIX Piano Concerto. From the off-kilter plinky-plonkiness of "Vivi's Theme" to the manic, key-hammering finale of "The Final Battle", he perfectly captured the magic of one of Uematsu's most underrated soundtracks.

- When the London Symphony Orchestra's string section broke into FFVIII's "Ami" with the richest vibrato imaginable and I was almost paralysed with goosebumps.

-  The FFV Symphony. Little did I know when I was downloading shoddily-translated ROMs on a dial-up connection in1999 that I would I one day hear the FFV Battle Theme performed by one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Like many, I thought the reliance on Lenna's Theme (not Uematsu's strongest leitmotif) was a very rare misstep by the arrangers, but the constant teases of "Ahead On Our Way" ultimately culminating in a full run-through made me so happy.

- Clash de Chocobo. A truly inspired mash-up of two of the series' most beloved melodies, performed with gusto and humour by the LSO.

In summary: a magnificent night of music by any measure, and one that proves once and for all, that the much-derided medium of video game music can stand its own against the very best of them.

THE DELINES (London St Pancras Old Church, 11/09/15)

St Pancras Old Church was a truly lovely setting for the Portlanders' downtempo country-soul, even if it turns out their music really isn't my bag.

a.P.a.t.T (London Brixton Windmill, 09/09/15)

In the dark and distant mists of time (2008), I went to a Casiotone For The Painfully Alone show at the dearly departed Luminaire in Kilburn (yes, an gig in West London! The Noughties were truly a more decadent age.) The headliners themselves were every bit as delightful as you'd expect from a indietronic tweecore act, but what's stuck in my mind over the years is the weirdness of the support acts. The first was Harry Merry, with his uniquely Dutch "Circus Of the Damned-meets-Yewtree" vibe, whilst the second were a Livepudlian collective all clad in white, who veered madcap through every musical genre under the sun. That band was a.P.a.t.T, and I'm glad to report that seven years on, they're still as endearingly batshit as ever.

FFS (London Forum, 08/09/15)

Once again, Franz Ferdinand and Sparks prove that collaborations certainly DO work. They even brought joy to the Kentish Town Forum, which is a miracle far greater than anything Jesus accomplished.

SUFJAN STEVENS (Brighton Dome, 04/09/15)

Sufjan Sad Jams: Part 2. Much the same as the London show, minus pipe organ but plus "Casimir Pulaski Day".

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE (London Electric Ballroom, 03/09/15)

Texas' foremost pseudo-cultish music ensemble may be diminished from their mid-Noughties heyday (only fifteen members rather than thirty), but their rushed demo-turned-unexpected indie hit "The Beginning Stages Of..." remains one of the most uplifting collections of songs released in my lifetime, and it was an absolute joy to see it performed in its entirety. The second half, drawing on newer material, suffered from moments of self-indulgence (Tim DeLaughter sometimes doesn't know where to end a song) but nonetheless, for sheer happiness induced, this may well have been my show of the year.