Summer might feel a long way off but festival organisers are upping their games with line-up announcements coming thick and fast, so it's time to start making decisions. Or at least it's time to start thinking about starting to make decisions.
And if you'd rather go abroad to watch a heap of bands, Spanish weekenders Benicassim, Arenal Sound and Sonar and new Croatian festival Hideout are all getting their acts together.
Gigs Of The Week: 28 Feb – 6 March 2011
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (pictured) – Kings College, London – 3 March
New Yorkers The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart released their self-titled debut album in 2009, confirming their talent as a pop twist on the shoegaze revival. Tracks like Young Adult Friction and Contender stood out for their accessible songwriting in a genre often too indulgent in atmospherics. Having employed the services of superstar producer Flood and mixer Alan Moulder, their follow up's lead single and title track Belong hints towards a bigger, brasher sound. The King's College student union should be a good venue for their brand of upbeat darkness.
DFA signing, Shit Robot, released one of the best dance albums of 2010 with the heroically titled debut From The Cradle To The Rave. Disco so sleazy it would have Hercules And Love Affair clutching their pearls, and guest vocalists including Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor made it one of the best-kept secrets of last year. Despite DJ slots supporting LCD Soundsystem and a few other appearances, we've been waiting for the unveiling of their own live show. Finally the Shit Robot Show debuts at Fabric this Friday. We're promised an audio-visual treat as the tracks are re-worked, before it moves to SXSW and fills the opening slot before LCD Soundsystem's final gigs in New York.
With third album Zonoscope now out, Melbourne band Cut Copy have built on the success of 2008's In Ghost Colours, securing themselves a position at the top of the synthpop ladder. With confidence in abundance, and a pulsating new single in the shape of Need You Now, this week they'll be in Glasgow, Galway and Manchester before landing at The Forum. The DFA label's disco-fuelled invasion of London this week gathers pace with support coming from excellent New Yorkers Holy Ghost!
Holton’s Opulent Oog – Slaughtered Lamb, London – 2 March
Robyn – Roundhouse, London – 3 March
Josh Bray – Borderline, London – 3 March
Glasvegas – Heaven, London – 3 March
The Streets – Brixton Academy, London – 5 March
Johnny Flynn – Luminaire, London – 6 March
Marcus Foster – The George IV, Chiswick, London – 6 March
Just Announced:
J Mascis
Dinosaur Jr frontman, J Mascis, is gearing up to release his first ever solo album, Several Shades Of Why. Recorded with a whole heap of collaborators including Kurt Vile and members of A Silver Mount Zion and Broken Social Scene, he's announced a European tour. So far, there's just the one solitary UK date on 14 April at small Shoreditch venue Cargo.
Ohio noiseniks Times New Viking will be touring the country in May to celebrate the release of their fifth album (that's five albums since 2005) Dancer Equired. A band that doesn't stand still, we're assured new developments in their sound. They'll be playing a series of small venues ending at Hoxton's XOYO on 3 May.
Having blasted into the nation's consciousness with Mercury Prize nominated second album Two Dancers, the best thing to come out of the Lake District since Peter Rabbit are back to build on that success with new album Smother. Not a band to shy away from theatricality, they'll be playing at the wonderful Wilton's Music Hall in the East End on 11 and 12 May, coinciding with the week of the album's release.
The Roundhouse is playing host to all sorts of music business related shizzle this week. There’ll be music provided by a 12Tone vs Roundhouse Records night featuring United Vibrations and Tres B (23 Feb), an Eat Your Own Ears night featuring Prizes, Ghost Eyes and Teeth Of The Sea (24 Feb) and a gig by Ninja Tune-signed rapper DELS (pictured) (26 Feb). Plus on Saturday, Un-convention offers a whole day of debates, workshops and masterclasses.
We all knew something special was coming our way from P J Harvey after her incredible-for-all-sorts-of-reasons appearance on The Andrew Marr Show last year. Little did we know her eighth album, Let England Shake would land on us and receive the kind of rapturous acclaim it has done. Polly Jean will be in town for these two dates with a band that will include Mick Harvey, John Parish and Jean-Marc Butty.
Efterklang + Vincent Moon’s An Island– Scala, London – 27 Feb
Last year’s label change took Efterklang from The Leaf Label to 4ad, with the resulting Magic Chairs album shifting them towards a lush cinematic sound. Building on that, their support act for their current tour is a film. Titled An Island, it was made with Parisian indie music filmmaker Vincent Moon (he made the ATP documentary and The National’s A Skin, A Night), it’ll be played before the Danish band come on. Filmed on an island in the Danish countryside, it’ll be interesting to see how it affects the pre-gig atmosphere.
Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo – St Giles In The Fields, London – 24 Feb
We Are Scientists– The Bull And Gate, London – 24 Feb
Jamie Woon– Scala, London – 24 Feb
Mogwai – Brixton Academy – 25 Feb
Juan MacLean + Matias Aguayo + The Hundred In The Hands– Queen Elizabeth Hall Front Room, London – 25 Feb
Sea Of Bees– Westminster Reference Library – 26 Feb
Ne-Yo– O2, London – 26, 27 Feb
British Sea Power + Bo Ningen– Forum, London – 27 Feb
Just Announced:
tUnE-yArDs
Ignore all that upper/lower case silliness. Merrill Garbus, the genius behind Tune-Yards is on record as saying she doesn’t care how you write it. It’s a carefree attitude that touches on everything she does, which is all about providing as much fun as possible for her listeners. With her second album of experimental funk/soul/pop w h o k i l l scheduled for release in a couple of months, it’s actually in the live setting that Garbus comes into her own, her charm and talent winning over anyone who gets to see her. Her UK tour begins at Scala on 8 June.
It’s been five years since Sufjan Stevens last toured the UK, but he’s planned an extensive trip over to Europe following last year’s release of The Age Of Adz. You can still hear that album streamed in full over at his bandcamp page. Tickets for his two shows at the Royal Festival Hall (12, 13 May) go on sale on 2 March.
With the release of comeback single Euphoria, Take My Hand, the effect of having megapower producer Flood on board is obvious. Glasvegas have the stratosphere in their sights and getting U2 ’s engineer/producer on board may help them get there. With their mood-swinging second album Euphoria /// Heartbreak \\\ looming on the horizon, Glasvegas are going to be doing a lot of touring. They'll be at Heaven on 3 March and back in town again to end a lengthy UK tour with two nights at the Forum on 11 and 12 May.
You might by now have cottoned on to the fact that Radiohead are releasing a new studio album. It's called The King Of Limbs.
It was to be made available this Saturday as a download, for the princely (and fixed this time) sum of £6, with assorted physical versions following through XL Recordings on 28th March. Now the download has been brought forward to today. As in, it's out now. And of course we've not yet heard it (all). When we do, a review will doubtless appear, as is the way with these things.
In the meantime, they've put up a video for a track called Lotus Flower. Wayne McGregor did the choreography, you know. And here it is:
Some good news this week as the 100 Club, to be found at 100 Oxford Street, has been saved from the closure threatened a few months ago. Intriguingly, Converse, the American shoe manufacturers have quite literally stepped in to save the day.
Whether this will have any effect on the day to day running of the venue remains to be seen. They'll presumably have little interest in having the beer exclusivity that other brands impose, and are unlikely to turn down Doc Martens wearers at the door. It could be part of a wider campaign to get more deeply entwined with alternative culture.
Or they could just be jumping feet first into a sound business deal that has no wider meaning. Whatever the motives, the 100 Club is a place that stands out in the West End as somewhere that encourages underground bands trying to break through. And the more venues like that we have, the better for all of us.
Gigs Of The Week: 14 – 20 Feb 2011
Sleigh Bells (pictured) + MEN + T3ETH – Heaven, London – 14 Feb
Ah, what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with an assortment of the world's finest edgy noise-pop groups. What the bands on this brilliantly executed line-up have in common is that in Alexis Krauss, JD Samson and Veronica So, they have three of the best frontwomen in the business. Expect pop tunes relayed through decibel-enhanced performances packed with attitude and energy by the kind of girls you wouldn't want to bring back to meet your mum. Unless your mum's fucking cool.
Edwyn Collins– Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 16 Feb
It's hard to believe quite how brilliant it's been to have Edwyn Collins back in the music business. Having released a storming comeback album last year in Losing Sleep, he's followed it up by proving himself to still be a devastatingly good live act, hampered but not beaten by the effects associated with the serious illness he suffered in 2005. Having performed the undisputed highlight set of last December's Bowlie 2 Weekender, we know how much he invests into his live performance. At that gig, he was backed by Teenage Fanclub, and helped out by Alex Kapranos and Ryan Jarman. Hopefully he'll have a few surprises at this NME Awards show as well.
After a long trudge around the country, the NME Awards Tour finally pitches up in London for its final night. You can't really go wrong with the combination of Crystal Castles, Magnetic Man, Everything Everything and The Vaccines and you can play the "put the bands in order of preference" game, although you're unlikely to be able to change the running order to match your preference on the night.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan– Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 15 Feb
The Naked And Famous + Wolf Gang + Spark– Heaven, London – 15 Feb
Chapel Club– Heaven, London – 16 Feb
Dana Jade + Peoples Persons– Notting Hill Arts Club, London – 16 Feb
Teddy Thompson– Barbican Centre, London – 16 Feb
Or, The Whale– Upstairs at the Relentless Garage, London – 16 Feb
Florrie + Sparkadia + Mercedes– Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London – 16 Feb
Tu Fawning– Old Blue Last, London – 17 Feb
Miles Kane + Young Buffalo- Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London - 17 Feb
Yuck + Cults + Guards– Bush Hall, London – 18 Feb
T3ETH + Seams + DRUGG + Vialka– Macbeth, London – 19 Feb
Ben Folds– Hammersmith Apollo, London – 20 Feb
Just Announced:
The Dears
Montreal band The Dears are back with a fifth studio album, Degeneration Street. Still led by the male/female axis of Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak while other band members have come and gone, they'll be playing at the Borderline on 19 April before heading to Manchester and Glasgow.
The Arctic Monkeys will be unleashed once again on the British public with their fourth album due for release later in the year. The Sheffield lads have announced two dates in their hometown at the Don Valley Bowl on 10 and 11 June. Hopefully they'll follow these up with some big London dates soon enough, but for now these are your opportunities to hear the new material. Support over the two days will be provided by close ally Miles Kane as well as The Vaccines and Anna Calvi and local bands Dead Sons and Mabel Love.
A legend in American southern rock music, Gregg Allman's been releasing stuff in various guises since the 1960s. When Duane, the other Allman brother in The Allman Brothers Band died in 1971, Gregg started releasing solo material and has kept going ever since. His latest project, Low Country Blues, finds him reinterpreting blues classics from the likes of Muddy Waters and BB King. He'll be playing the Barbican on 1 July, before heading to Birmingham's Symphony Hall and Edinburgh's Usher Hall.
After a week in which Alexander Trenchard, the man behind the Standon Calling festival, was sentenced to 30 months in jail after his obsession with running the event led to him defrauding Tesco out of hundreds of thousands of pounds, it seems like a good time to run through a few of this week’s big festival announcements.
Barcelona's Primavera Sound seems particularly keen on taunting those of us who also cave in to temporary flashes of insanity caused by festival madness, revealing 67 new acts, including PJ Harvey, Sufjan Stevens and Big Boi.
Then Glastonbury unveiled Coldplay as this year’s Saturday night headliners and Hyde Park’s Wireless confirmed Black Eyed Peas and The Chemical Brothers to join Pulp at the top of its bill. Meanwhile, the show will go on and Standon Calling 2011 plans to carry on despite Trenchard's absence.
Gigs Of The Week: 7 – 13 Feb 2011
Commonplace Festival– Kings Place, London – 9-12 Feb
Curated by The Times’ literary editor, Erica Wagner, an intriguing series of events has been assembled themed around folk music and storytelling. There will be contributions from Martin Carthy and Bellowhead‘s lead singer Joe Boden. There will be conversations about the role of “Anon” (claimed to be the greatest writer and composer of all) and there will be an evening of communal mass-harmony singing led by Karine Polwart.
The Go! Team (pictured) + Banjo Or Freakout– Heaven, London – 8 Feb
Brighton’s most manic collective, The Go! Team are in town on the back of the release of third album Rolling Blackouts. We caught them play at December’s Bowlie 2 Weekender and can confirm they’re still awesome live, so this gig, supported by the decidedly not-so-manic Banjo Or Freakout should be a huge amount of fun.
Yeah, umm, good luck getting into this one, but if you are in possession of a ticket, then enjoy welcoming Glaswegian post-rock band Mogwai back ahead of the release of their seventh album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. If you fail to get in, don’t worry, they’ll be back for a gig at the larger Brixton Academy later in the month.
The Pierces + Jonathan Jeremiah + Liam Bailey – Jazz Cafe, London – 8 Feb
MEN – Lexington, London – 8 Feb
Sad Day For Puppets + Harry’s Gym + Holton’s Opulent Dog – The Social, London – 8 Feb
Lucky Dragons + Halo Halo - Cafe Oto, London – 9 Feb
Katzenjammer – Barfly, London – 9 Feb
Mystery Jets – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 9 Feb
Penguin Café + Portico Quartet – Barbican Centre, London – 9 Feb
Clare Maguire + SaintSaviour – Borderline, London – 11 Feb
White Lies + Crocodiles - O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 10/11 Feb
Wu Lyf – Corsica Studios, London – 11 Feb
Just Announced:
Tim Wheeler and others paying tribute to Pixies– XOYO, London – 24 March
The JD Set’s current concept is to set up a supergroup for a night to pay tribute to one particular artist. Next month's act to be honoured will be Boston legends, Pixies. And the collective of musicians will be headed by Ash’s Tim Wheeler, who’ll join up forces with Emmy The Great (who will presumably become a Deal twin for the night), And So I Watch You From Afar, Ma Mentor and The Crookes. Frankly, if you’re going to see a tribute act, then it may as well be a Pixies tribute act.
Seattle duo Thousands have announced a series of dates in March and April. Signed to Bella Union, they have a typically gentle sound and will be releasing their debut album The Sound Of Everything in March. They’ll be at The Slaughtered Lamb on 31 March before touring a few of the country's more intimate venues.
The South Bank Centre’s contemporary music festival that isn’t Meltdown has announced its 2011 line-up. It’s now been around for ten years and touching on the margins of modern music, this year’s roll call includes Will Gregory‘s debut opera, and Royal Festival Hall performances from Killing Joke, a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey with live accompaniment from the Philarmonia Orchestra and Philarmonia Voices, and a 21st century realisation of Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring. Other artists appearing include Pantha Du Prince, Tim Exile and Micachu And The Shapes. Ether Festival will be held between 24 March-28 April.
