Five clubs, three nights, two cities and over 40 acts – yep, it’s that time of year again, time for the m4music Festival, Conference and Demotape Clinic. This year’s line-up includes Foals, Jamie Lidell, Beardyman, The Jezabels, Veto, Delphic, FM Belfast, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Le Corps Mince de Françoise (LCMDF), Sheila She Loves You, ME, … Continue reading »
No, and no – Egyptian Hip Hip are not Egyptian, and nor do they play hip hop (go here for some of that if you are interested). Rather, Egyptian Hip Hop the band formed in 2009 in Manchester, four teenage friends who got together to bash out some psychedelic pop guitar riffs and found themselves attracting the attention … Continue reading »
Now here is one gig that I’ll not be missing for the world – the gorgeous melancholy of Perfume Genius, aka Seattle singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas. Hadreas’s unsettlingly beautiful and disturbing second album Put Your Back N 2 It has had me completely mesmerised. Delving into harrowing topics such child molestation, gay suicide, self-hatred, prostitution and overwhelming despair, … Continue reading »
Miracles do happen, you know. In fact, one will be taking place next Tuesday 15.05.12 @ Exil, ZH, when Young Magic (US) + Milagres (US) (what a beautiful name, Portuguese for miracle, I believe) conjure up a night of long, lingeringly lovely indie rock/pop with a touch of ethereal, psychedelic soul. Young Magic (Aussies Isaac … Continue reading »
I got back into the concert-going saddle on Saturday night for my eagerly-anticipated first gig of 2011 – the album release of Kejnu’s I Have No Arms And No Legs @ Exil (read my review of the album here). Continue reading »
My only concession to the terrible, ubiquitous trend of Best-of lists will be the following summation of my best live gigs of 2010. And, in a huge feat of rebellion, I have chosen 6 of the best, rather than the usual 5, 10, 25 or 100 Best-of’s. Yes, I’m really walking on the wild side … Continue reading »
Up late one night blogging way past my bedtime, I stumbled across Kejnu’s I Have No Arms And No Legs, and my interest was piqued enough to take a closer look. Strongly referential to Radiohead’s In Rainbows, IHNAANL is Kejnu’s third album (after 2006′s Induelo and 2008′s free-download-only Companion), an impressive genre-leaping effort that sees … Continue reading »
Fantastic gig last night by Yeasayer + Hush Hush @ Exil – I somehow didn’t expect them to be so good. It was a sold-out show (people were waiting outside with hand-written signs begging for tickets), with a high quotient of CYTs* wearing horn-rimmed or thick black glasses. Support act Hush Hush (the nattily-suited Chris) … Continue reading »
