London Gigs Diary: 30 April - 6 May 2012

On first glance the prospect of Tinariwen and José González collaborating appears to be a confounding one, each act seemingly coming from different, almost irreconcilable musical places. Yet, on Thursday the Shepherd’s Bush Empire will be the setting for a show that will see both appear on stage together for what is promised to be the first and only time.

Tuareg outfit Tinariwen have built up a strong reputation as a live band since being picked up by western music world back in 2007. Last year’s Tassili album contained hints that the band was headed in different musical directions however, being more acoustic-focused than earlier offerings, something which maybe makes Thursday’s show with Swedish indie-folk singer González less of a surprise.

Trembling Bells & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy come across as a more natural pairing, indeed the Glasgow quartet have previously acted as Will Oldham’s backing band. It’s a harmonious relationship further evidenced by The Marble Downs, their excellent album released on Honest Jons earlier this year, the former’s frosted alt-trad-folk sitting comfortably alongside Oldham’s dark, introspective musings. They appear at Union Chapel on Sunday.

Elsewhere, talented Canadian songwriter Patrick Watson promotes excellent third album Adventures In Your Own Backyard at an intimate show at St. Stephen’s Church in Shepherd’s Bush on Monday (watch his video for single Into Giants here). New Order also return to the live circuit to play a pair of shows at Brixton Academy on Wednesday and Thursday (without a certain Peter Hook).

Other highlights can be found in live shows by more acts returning after periods away. Little Boots is due to release her second album later in the year and she warms up with a show at XOYO on Friday, whilst Hanne Hukkelberg promotes fourth album Featherbrain at a show at the Lexington on Monday. Meanwhile, The Rapture play Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Wednesday and Here We Go Magic play a small show at the Seabright Arms on Saturday.

Other gigs this week

Monday

Matthew Dear – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen

Russian Circles – Scala

Tuesday

The Hives – Borderline

The Staves – Tabernacle

White Rabbits – XOYO

Wednesday

Arboretum/Luke Roberts/Hush Arbors – Cargo

Dry The River – Electric Ballroom

James Blackshaw – Café Oto

Thursday

Blood Red Shoes – Heaven

Alabama Shakes – Brixton Electric

Dan Mangan – Bush Hall

Friday

Asian Dub Foundation - (playing live score to La Haine) - Troxy

Just announced:

Somerset House announced details of their Summer Series of gigs this week. Tindersticks, M83, Anna Calvi, Jill Scott, Katy B and Paloma Faith are just some of the names that will be appearing within the atmospheric surroundings of the courtyard during July. Read full details here.

Other gigs recently announced:

Lisa Hannigan - Queen Elizabeth Hall - 13th May

Beach Fossils – Water Rats – 28^th May

Kathryn Williams - Union Chapel - 29th May

Gary Numan - Forum - 1st June

Cypress Hill - Forum - 5th June

Maximo Park – Heaven – 8^th June

The Tallest Man On Earth - Hackney Empire - 3rd July

Gravenhurst – Cecil Sharp House – 26^th September

The Frank & Walters (Trains, Boats & Planes 20^th anniversary show) – Garage – 26^th October

The Polyphonic Spree performing the songs of The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Forum – 31^st October

Spiritualized - Roundhouse - 5th November

Lucinda Williams - Royal Festival Hall - 10th & 11th November

Ben Folds Five – Brixton Academy – 4^th December

 

London Gigs Diary: 23-29 April 2012

Last year Burst Apart by The Antlers graced many a publication’s end of year ‘best of’ album lists (not least our own, where it reached the lofty heights of number six). On Thursday they play a show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire and their emotionally resonant songs allied to a growing fanbase are sure to make for an affecting evening in west London.

It’s not the only high profile gig to be taking place in the capital this week. The Magnetic Fields also promote latest album Love At The Bottom Of The Sea at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday (read our recent interview with Stephin Merritt here).

Wednesday also sees shows by Of Montreal, who appear at KOKO, and Blur guitarist Graham Coxon who plays from 8^th(!) solo album A+E at the Forum (we were suitably impressed by his show in Edinburgh last week). And there's a rather special triple bill of Neil Halstead, Gravenhurst and Fairewell to set things in a decidedly Sonic Cathedral direction at St Pancras Old Church on the same evening.

Elsewhere, Ryan Adams plays the first of two shows at the Palladium on Monday (he’s also there next week) in support of last year's Ashes & Fire, while the IndigO2 hosts an intriguing show by Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird that will see the latter’s seminal 1995 album Maxinquaye performed in full.

Luke Haines performs his recent quirkfest of an album Nine And A Half Psychedelic Meditations On British Wrestling Of The 1970s And Early '80s (he chatted with us about it here) on Tuesday at the Lexington, while music of a different order comes to Heaven as Santigold launches her long-awaited second album Master Of My Make-Believe on Thursday.

A handful of smaller acts to have released albums earlier this year are also in town this week. THEESatisfaction promote awE naturalE at Madame Jojo’s on Wednesday while two bands to have had their latest albums exclusively streamed on musicOMH also hit London this week. AU play from Both Lights at the Shacklewell Arms on Wednesday while on the same evening Nedry will give tracks from In A Dim Light a live airing at the Lexington.

Elsewhere, the Barbican host the first show in seven years by the Afro Cuban Allstars on Wednesday, whilst the Southbank Centre have a pair of intriguing free shows towards the end of the week; on Thursday Wildbirds & Peacedrums play the Front Room, while on Saturday Micachu & The Shapes and Kwes play individual sets before coming together to perform under the Kwesachu name.

Meanwhile up in Dalston, Café Oto has a reliably eclectic offering of gigs - Kevin Drumm plays his uncompromising noisescapes on Tuesday whilst Thursday has an appealing psych-guitar double bill in the shape of Sir Richard Bishop and Alexander Tucker.

Also taking place this week:

Jack White - Forum - 23rd April

Clock Opera - Scala - 23rd April

Gaz Coombes - Barfly - 24th April

Scritti Politti - Bush Hall - 25th/26th April

Bleeding Heart Narrative - Camp Basement - 25th April

Chairlift - Scala - 25th April

Esser - Shacklewell Arms - 26th April

Ané Brun - Shepherd's Bush Empire - 28th April

Just announced:

This week the Southbank Centre announced details of Africa Utopia, their month long festival that will include performances by the likes of Baaba Maal,  Angelique Kidjo, Oumou Sangaré, Bela Fleck and Taj Mahal. It all takes place from 3rd - 28th July and you can read more here.

Other gigs recently announced include:

Milagres - Barfly - 9th May

Savages - Shacklewell Arms - 29th May

Milk Maid - Shacklewell Arms - 28th June

Faith No More - Hammersmith Apollo - 8th July

Grandaddy - Shepherds Bush Empire - 4th September

Patti Smith - Troxy - 13th September

London Gigs Diary: 16 - 22 April 2012

It’s a week of gigs in London that may be missing some of the bigger names you’d expect to see but this allows us to happily highlight some promising shows that otherwise may have got lost in the crowd.

Sweet Billy Pilgrim release their third album Crown And Treaty today, and it is a wonderfully consistent, listenable offering. Containing hints of the emotional resonance found within Elbow's finest moments it revels in the beauty and joy of simple, honest songcraft, and delivers results far greater than the sum of its constituent parts. They play a show at Hoxton Square Bar + Kitchen on Tuesday, with support from Revere. Next time it’s likely they’ll be playing bigger venues.

Another pick is the show by Sea Of Bees (aka Julie Ann Baenziger) at the same venue on Thursday in support of second album Orangefarben.

Francois & The Atlas Mountains have already enjoyed a degree of success in 2012, supporting the likes of King Creosote & Jon Hopkins and receiving warm praise for their debut album E Volo Love. In our review we remarked how it was “a floating collection of pretty, charming tracks that wholly evoke France” and you can hear them when the band play their biggest headline show to date at Cargo on Wednesday. Emeli Sandé is another artist who’s enjoyed a good year to date. The Scottish soulstress released debut album Our Version Of Events earlier in the year and she plays the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Monday.

There are also plenty of excellent experimental/leftfield shows that should not be overlooked. Initial impressions of Gallon Drunk’s new album The Road Gets Darker From Here have been very positive indeed, their sprawling, dirty guitar-post-punky-blues sounding fresh and invigorated. You can catch them play a small show at the Lexington on Wednesday. Elsewhere, pianist Matthew Bourne appears at the Vortex on Monday alongside Sean Noonan, (read about the former's excellent album Montauk Variations album here), Barn Owl bring their burned-out guitar landscapes to Café Oto on Thursday whilst veteran German avant-electronicists Mouse On Mars showcase the dizzying sonic excess of latest release Parastrophics at Village Underground on Friday.

The Southbank Centre Alchemy Festival also continues this week, featuring numerous shows that celebrate the music of South Asia & the UK. More details can be found here.

Also taking place this week:

Maps & Atlases – Garage – Tuesday 17^th April

The Miserable Rich – Lexington – Tuesday 17^th April

Dreadzone – Garage – Thursday 19^th April

Odonis Odonis – Old Blue Last – Thursday 19^th April

Herman Dune & Allo Darlin’ – Heaven – Thursday 19^th April

Bo Ningen – Café Oto – Saturday 21^st April

Just announced:

 The Hives – Borderline – 1^st May

Anna Ternheim – Bush Hall – 22^nd May

Tu Fawning – Cargo – 29^th May

The Walkmen – Village Underground – 12^th June

Bloc Party – KOKO – 21^st June

Eugene McGuiness – Lexington – 26^th June

Calexico – Forum – 20^th September

Sparks – Barbican – 26^th October

Rufus Wainwright – Hammersmith Apollo – 18^th November

REPORT: Mystery Jets launch Radlands

Just before the Easter break, sometime Eel Pie Islanders Mystery Jets staged a couple of special gigs to showcase their upcoming fourth album Radlands, an album recorded in Austin, Texas and finished up in, um, Streatham.

In Stoke Newington's Abney Park Cemetery an audience of invited guests ate pizza and drank margaritas as the band played under the looming uplit structure of the non-denominational chapel. (See the shadowy iPhone photo to the right.)

Beyond London, the band have embarked on a tour of smallish venues (they reach Cardiff tonight), in amongst which they played a free show at Edinburgh's Electric Circus on April Fools Day.

Martyn Young was in the room and made some notes...

Mystery Jets arrive in Edinburgh on their preview tour of small venues for forthcoming fourth album Radlands in rather a strange situation. Bassist Kai Fish departed the group following the completion of Radlands and this first Scottish show sees them playing only their fourth show with new bassist Peter Cochrane and Matt Park completing the newly extended and augmented line up on pedal steel guitar and keyboards.

Understandably, the band begin rather nervously with the stark stripped back intro of new single Someone Purer. The crowd packed in to the sweaty box of Edinburgh’s Electric Circus bar don’t seem to quite know how to react to the new material until the sky-bursting chorus arrives with its plea to "Give me rock 'n roll" offers them a chance to cut loose. From then on, the show is a perfect mix of the old and the new giving the crowd the chance to hear a new more developed Mystery Jets sound.

Radlands is described as a concept album about America and a distorted black and white American flag forms the backdrop to the bands performance. You can certainly hear the American influence in the clutch of new songs they air tonight. Greatest Hits is surely a perfectly titled single in waiting and its bouncy melody, redolent of Steelers Wheel's Stuck In The Middle With You, is the band at their most straightforwardly melodic. There is also a strong country vibe in the lilting waltz of Roses, a lovely duet between guest singer Sophie Rose Harper and guitarist William Rees which they end with a great big kiss.

The big hits from Twenty One and Serotonin form an exuberant end to the gig with Young Love and the eternally youthful romp of Two Doors Down coming across particularly well.

There is a sense that these preview shows see the band in a rather playful mood and a wide smile never seems to leave the face of singer Blaine Harrison and guitarist Rees. The show ends with a rousing sing-along to second album highlight Flakes and Mystery Jets MK II are very much up running.

Mystery Jets' Radlands is out through Rough Trade on 23rd April 2012. The band play London's Brixton Academy on 18th May 2012.

London Gigs Diary: 9 - 15 April 2012

This month has witnessed the return of electronic/dance duo Orbital who released ninth album Wonky after a long period away. It’s been warmly welcomed, not least by us here at musicOMH, and they seal a successful return with a show at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday. It’ll be interesting to see how they integrate the new tracks alongside their classic material.

Last month the Barbican hosted a magnificent show featuring talented American neo-classicist Nico Muhly and this week he returns to the same venue on Monday to head a collaboration featuring Sufjan Stevens and The National’s Bryce Dessner. The evening will see the trio perform a new song cycle named Planetarium, with assistance from  New Trombone Collective and Navarra String Quartet. It should be another fascinating event. Muhly’s earliert concert also involved Sam Amidon and he’s also in London this week to play a solo show at the Westminster Reference Library on Friday.

Elsewhere, female performers dominate the gig week. Lana Del Ray plays an intimate show at the Jazz Cafe, Soap&Skin promote second album Narrow at the Scala on Wednesday, while much-respected R&B/soul artist Lauryn Hill plays her first London show in five years at the Indigo2 on Saturday. There’s also an appearance by Sub Pop signed LA quartet Dum Dum Girls at the Islington Academy on Wednesday, while Portland singer-songwriter Laura Gibson brings her alt.folk songs to the Lexington on Tuesday.

The week closes with a pair of notable gigs – cult outsider artist Daniel Johnston plays a show at Union Chapel on Sunday, whilst the Barbican continue their impressive contemporary music series with a performance by Gavin Bryars and Philip Jeck.

Also taking place this week:

Library Tapes – Vortex – Tuesday 10^th April

Simian Ghost – Surya - Tuesday 10^th April

Toy – XOYO – Wednesday 11^th April

Honningbarna – Shacklewell Arms – Wednesday 11^th April

Asian Dub Foundation – Royal Festival Hall – Thursday 12^th April

Great Lake Swimmers – Cargo – Thursday 12^th April

JP Thirlwell’s Manorexia – Union Chapel Bar – Thursday 12^th April

Amadou & Mariam – Shepherd’s Bush Empire – Friday 13^th April

Just announced:

Gravenhurst/Neil Halstead/Fairewell – St Pancras Old Church – 25^th April

Dan Sartain – Lexington – 5^th May

Jah Wobble and Keith Levene – Village Underground – 25^th May

Dirty Three – Cargo – 7^th June

Sun Araw & M. Geddes Gengras meet The Congos – Village Underground - 22^nd June