The Dø, London, Garage

The Dø

By Nick Cowan

April 11, 2012

The clue’s in the name (or the o, to be precise) that The Dø have Scandinavian ties but it’s their stage performance that brings it to the fore. When Olivia Merilaht starts belting out sexy chic rock and drifting sylphlike around the stage you’re immediately captivated and reminded of great performers like Björk or Fever Ray (albeit in a less dramatic fashion). One minute she’s delicately caressing the microphone and the next she’s hammering a drum like Thor smiting a lowly peasant.  Meanwhile Dan Levy struts back and forth in the background like a brooding prize cockerel with a bass. It makes for some ace viewing, especially on crowd favourites such as ‘Slippery Slope’ and ‘Too Insistent’ which are distorted into each other and culminate in an all out fracas of sax, synth and guitar. Not even the spanners are hung up at the back are safe from the melee. … Continue Reading

The Futureheads, Nottingham, Glee Club

The Futureheads

By Rosie Duffield

April 12, 2012

The Andrew Sisters, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas; vocal harmonies done well have always been impressive. Doing them well a cappella is even tougher, but The Futureheads don’t seem to be worried about that. Their latest album Rant sees the band do just that – rearranging their older songs, putting their own stamp on some interesting covers and showcasing traditional folk songs and sea shanties – and all of them unaccompanied. … Continue Reading

WU LYF, London, Heaven

By Robert Freeman

March 22, 2012

Ellery Roberts growls away like a little denim-clad bear, letting his congregation know what’s what. He’s really feeling it – head back, eyes closed, beating his chest with a fist. WU LYF songs chug along in a prolonged, constant climax (it’s all the yelling to be honest) and Roberts is unnervingly animated. Although, as energising as it is listening to four topless lads orgasm in four minute bursts, at times one does slightly yearn for a chorus, if only to give a bit of structure to the sing-a-long. … Continue Reading

Rizzle Kicks, London, Shepherds Bush Empire

By Destiny Madhoo

March 15, 2012

I first heard Rizzle Kicks on the BBC’s Friday Download back in early July. Before ‘Down with the Trumpets’ had become a hit for the duet, I instantly knew I was going to be a big fan. A month later, I was lucky enough to catch them at the Underage Festival at London’s Victoria Park and I haven’t looked back since. So when I got the chance to see them at the Shepherds Bush Empire recently I was ecstatic. I had never been to the venue before so I was looking forward to hearing what the acoustics sounded like. … Continue Reading

Lloyd Cole, Amsterdam, Amstelkerk

Lloyd Cole

By Matt Brown

March 15, 2012

When referencing back pain and disappointing t-shirt sales as the enduring memories of this tour, Lloyd Cole tends to perpetuate the perception of a ‘grumpy old man’ persona. However with a bucketful of charm and self-deprecation he treads effortlessly on the right side of endearing without veering off into self-pity. … Continue Reading

Wild Beasts, Cardiff, Coal Exchange

By Russell Warfield

March 16, 2012

As much as I love Wild Beasts, it’s the allure of hyper-promupstarts alt-J which entices me to make the trip to see my ex-homecity’s best exports for what must be close to the billionth time. There’s just a clutch of tracks circulating around the net in advance of their full debut (due later this year), but material as strong as ‘Fitzpleasure’ and ‘Breezeblocks’ is more than enough to get people rightly excited about this band. And, just a few days before the gig, I realise that I’ve encountered these chaps before – playing the back rooms of pubs in Leeds during my university years. Then called Films, they were incredibly arresting and promising even in that germinating state. Tonight, alt-J move through their songs with competence and style, even if somehow lacking a slight measure of vitality – there’s a little reserve to the vocals; the electronics sound a little canned; the components of the arrangements never quite meld together into a unified perfection. But these are quibbles – the tiniest chinks in the armour of a band who are still very much in their infancy, and tonight is a perfectly solid airing of an eerily accomplished set of tracks for material comprising a debut record – very, very encouraging. … Continue Reading

School of Seven Bells, London, The Garage

05 Days Off Festival: Escort + WhoMadeWho, Amsterdam, Paradiso

By Stef Siepel

March 7, 2012

The energy bar, instead of slowly being drained of colour, fills up throughout the Wednesday night at the 05 Days Off Festival. It started out completely empty, but finally managed to end in the green. Sometimes music feeds energy, though your Sims might beg to differ. 05 Days Off is a dance festival spread over a number of days (without checking my facts – I know, I’m awful, please read on – my guess would be five of them), and the Wednesday is the first day on the list. I’m not sure how they generally fill up Wednesdays, but apparently this year they thought, “lets just invite the biggest band around” (Escort, which is about 12 musicians worth of people this tour) “…and then we’re halfway there.” They didn’t make it a complete disco and house night though, putting WhoMadeWho on as the band headlining the smaller upstairs room. … Continue Reading

Museum Lates: Night of the Mummy with Sparrow and the Workshop and Bwani Junction, Edinburgh, National Museum of Scotland

Museum Lates: Night of the Mummy

By Steve Mcgillivray

February 24, 2012

It’s not every day you get to go an see a band in a museum. Luckily tonight I was getting the chance to see two bands. That’s only part of what’s on offer though as the National Museum of Scotland is throwing open it’s doors to 2,000 people and letting them loose in the newly refurbished museum. As I wander in through the doors I’m pleased to see it’s a very mixed crowd. As you may reasonably expect, tonight’s draw is the building itself, and the many artefacts and items that are on show here, with the bands probably being the last thing on the majority of people’s minds. Not me however. Such is my overabundance of culture, I plan on taking in lots of exhibits and watching both bands. … Continue Reading

Laura Marling, Birmingham, Symphony Hall

Laura Marling

By Sam Cleeve

March 2, 2012

Laura Marling’s current UK tour is something of a victory-lap for the Reading-born folkie. Her latest album, A Creature I Don’t Know, was followed by last year’s When The Bell Tolls tour, a jaunt that took in the finest of this country’s cathedrals (and I would guess filled the lot of them to the rafters).  … Continue Reading