SSING SSING (London Purcell Room, 02/10/18)

Checked out these cross-dressing Korean glam-rockers purely because their write-up in the K-Music Festival program intrigued me, and they ended up putting on one of the most delightfully effervescent sets I've seen this year. Not sure the Purcell Room has ever been witness to so much pogoing...

LET'S EAT GRANDMA (London Heaven, 27/09/18)

There's no denying the remarkable talent of the teenage duo ("Donnie Darko" is one of the musical highlights of 2018), and they seem more confident on stage than ever, but muffled sound and an audience of chatterers and pervs meant this performance never quite clicked.

YNDI HALDA (London Omeara, 22/09/18)

90 minutes, 5 songs - why yes, this was an Yndi Halda gig. Due to various technical and logistical mishaps, their "acoustic" set ended up being almost entirely electric, but when you've got post-rock this majestic, who really cares?

BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD (London Social, 19/09/18)

It was entirely right that Nervous Conditions, the most thrilling new British band of our era, decided to call it a day after their lead singer was accused of sexual impropriety. But I'm also glad the non-tainted members were granted another chance to unleash their uncompromising genre-warping cacophony upon the world. With Connor's departure, the snarling Mark E Smith-ian menace of their original incarnation has given way to a more instrumental approach, but their surreal, brutal brilliance remains intact.

DIONNE WARWICK (London Royal Albert Hall, 18/09/18)

Whilst it was undoubtedly an honour to witness a genuine soul legend perform some of the greatest songs ever written, muffled sound, the most obnoxious audience members in Christendom and a medley structure that traded depth for eclecticism resulted in an ultimately underwhelming experience. "Walk On By" was dispatched with almost unseemly haste, and only "A House Is Not A Home" was afforded enough breathing space to hit on the emotional level.

BELAKO (London Lexington, 17/09/18)

Didn't know much about this Power-Pop-Post-Punk outfit from the Basque Country beforehand, but with a verve and vitality that's half Savages, half Slotface, the Bilbao four-piece deserve to be a hell of a lot bigger.

MITSKI (London Rough Trade East, 17/09/18)

Mitski Miyawaki has long been on my "to-see" list, and this passionate solo acoustic set at Rough Trade, both raw and bewitching beautiful, showcased exactly why she's our Best American Girl.

WHY? (London Electric Ballroom, 15/09/18)

"Alopecia" is one of my all-time favourite albums, so to hear it performed live in full was a rather emotional experience. Even the often taciturn Yoni Wolf seemed taken aback by the force of several hundred people singing "yours is a funeral I'd fly to from anywhere" in harmonically uneven unison, and the reworked arrangement of "By Torpedo Or Crohn's" almost brought a tear to these cynical, embittered eyes. Sublime.

MASS GOTHIC (London Sebright Arms, 12/09/18)

It's a shame Mass Gothic didn't emerge thirteen or so years ago as they would have been huge, but their vibrant, well-crafted indie-rock still gets these old heartstrings a-stir.

JANELLE MONAE (London Roundhouse, 11/09/18)

The obvious heir to Michael Jackson and Prince, Janelle Monae may as yet lack the 5-star catalogue that'd propel her to superstar status, but her all-singing, all-dancing, and commendably #woke show is one of the most impressive all-round performances London has seen in a very long time. Truly the Electric Lady.

QUJAKU (London Lexington, 09/09/18)

Few things make me happier than Japanese bands that sound like the Apocalypse and Qujaku could have annihilated galaxies. Definitely the loudest gig I've been to at The Lexington and without a doubt one of the best.

TITUS ANDRONICUS (London St Pancras Old Church, 06/09/18)

Review: HERE

ST VINCENT (London Cadogan Hall, 04/09/18)

After feeling slightly detached from the stylistic and conceptual bells and whistles of the last two tours, it was such a delight to see Annie Clark play this stripped-down, piano-and-vox show with no 'quirky' monologues, no slow falls down stairs, and no pre-recorded backing tracks. A tremendous evening.

END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL (Larmer Tree Gardens, 30/08/18-02/09/18)

My fifth weekend at Larmer Tree, and one of the best yet. My top ten highlights:

- Feist's gimmick-free, effortlessly charismatic tour de force on Sunday night
- Vampire Weekend's surprisingly accomplished feel-good headline set
- The ferocious guitar shreddage of the ever-underrated Screaming Females
- Mulatu Astatke's sublime early-evening Ethio-jazz
- The eardrum-annihilating closing collaboration between Snapped Ankles and AK/DK
- Patrick Stickles' raw, but passion-fuelled Velvet Underground medley
- Ezra Furman being Ezra Furman
- Lucy Dacus' late-night cover of "Dancing In The Dark"
- The elatory Sudanese grooves of The Scorpios
- Haley Heynderickx's low-key, mesmerising charm

KING AYISOBA (London Cafe Oto, 28/08/18)

A heady dose of spell-binding Ghanaian rhythms from the critically-acclaimed kologo master.

LIGHTNING BOLT (London Black Heart, 26/08/18)

Is there a band more aptly named than Lightning Bolt? The noise-rock duo may have hit their mid-Forties, but their relentless racket still feels like a full-body shock to the system.

LIZZO (London Islington Academy, 24/08/18)

Move over Lizzie, Lizzo's our true Queen now.

THE SUN RA ARKESTRA (London Union Chapel, 16/08/18)

Marshall Allen is now 94 years of age, and yet seems more sprightly than ever. How the hell does that work? Needless to say, this was the best display of Afro-futuristic free-jazz space wizardry I've seen yet, as hypnotically groovy as the eighth ring of Saturn.

THE LEMON TWIGS (London Lexington, 15/08/18)

Review: HERE

JENNY LEWIS (London Koko, 14/08/18)

Review: HERE