Wed 20 Aug – Future Of The Left, Fighting With Wire, Truckers Of Husk

Last night I finally got the chance to see Future Of The Left live. ‘Curses’ has been a constant soundtrack to my drunken bus journey's, and my determined gait as I ponder the different ways to kill other Londoners for about, ooh 12 months now. So it was with a mix of anticipation and childlike enthusiasm that I barged my way to the front of Water Rats to catch a glimpse of the Welsh three piece. However, when 'the kids' started rocking out I was swiftly…

Who the hell are Bowerbirds? Well let me tell you. They are Phil Moore, Beth Tacular and Mark Paulson.

The band formed after Moore's previous band (Ticonderoga) split. Around this time Moore took a job tracking birds, which involved living in a cabin in the Carolina woods, far from civilization. Moore's girlfriend, Beth Tacular, joined him in the cabin to work on her painting and at night Moore penning the numbers that would constitute the Bowerbirds set. After his band split Moore and Tacular formed a duo, with Tacular teaching herself accordion and providing basic percussion with…

Leed’s Gizeh Records are fast becoming purveyors of some of the finest, darkest and dreamiest music around. Following up the double whammy of the Glissando and Her Name Is Calla albums comes Dutch songstress Chantal Acda, recording under the banner of Sleepingdog and set to the brooding soundscapes provided by Stars Of The Lid’s Adam Wiltzie. Read More…

Sat 9 Aug – Field Day

Last year Field Day had a day of wonderful weather, perfect for sitting in the park, drinking beer and listening to great music, sadly they got the organisation horribly wrong and the result was a shambolic blend of loo queues, bar queues and bands you could barely hear.

Fast forward 12 months and here we are again having been promised a massive improvement and lured with cheaper tickets. Things had got better. There bars were better and seemed to have more staff, the loos, while still not perfect, were better and the sound on…

Stereolab are up to their eleventh album with ‘Chemical Chords’ but their sound remains as youthful as ever. A collection of 14 "purposefully short, dense, fast pop songs", as the 'Lab's Time Gane has it, the record is a vibrant vibraphonic ride that moves from the breezy ‘Neon Beanbag’ to the Beatles-ey ‘Vortical Phonotheque’ via Motown percussion, sweeping orchestral soundtracks and, in ‘Daisy Click Clack’, some decidedly pub-style tinklings on the Old Joanna. Read More…

After witnessing this quartet’s performance at a Fopp in-store appearance, I was looking forward to reviewing this about as much as having my testicles nailed to a ship's mast. And opener 'Hot Tent Blues' confirms my worst fears. It sounds exactly how they look - Hoxton personified. Even worse it sounds like Queen played by the Shoreditch fashion police - all pomp, bombast and awful 80's synth. After 30 seconds I'm fighting off the urge to be sick in the wastebin under my desk, however rather than heralding the arrival of a suicide inducing album of pain it announces an…

Lackthereof is the solo side project of Menomena’s Danny Seim, although it seems that the day job doesn’t give him much time off as this is only his second album under this appellative since it’s conception in 1997 and the first in four years. Read More…

Sun 20 Jul – Joanna Newsom, The Red Krayola

The last gig of this year’s Summer Series, a solo set by singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom, promises to be one of the best. The harpist’s distinctive voice and ambitious narrative song structures on ‘Ys’ undeniably made it one of 2006’s most memorable albums and, after her show at the Royal Albert Hall last year, this rare UK performance should be altogether more intimate. Read More…

Joanna Newsom

Conor Oberst has decided to go solo with his latest album - 'Conor Oberst'. A surprise for some as 'Bright Eyes' is more often than not seen as a vehicle for Oberst's solo work anyhow. So maybe this new acceptance of his birth name is more a signifier of a step change. Well apparently not. Read More…

I first encountered Capricorns at All Tomorrows Parties last year. It was Sunday evening, I was feeling somewhat jaded by the time they came on. Not for long though. They blew out the cobwebs and no mistake. As soon as I got home I sought out their back catalogue only to discover that it only consisted of 2006’s ‘Ruder Forms Survive’. As a result, I have been awaiting this follow-up release with some anticipation. Read More…