Lower Dens – London, Lock Tavern

Lower Dens by Angel Ceballos/Robotangel

Since its transformation from a cosy local to Camden’s premium indie venue, The Lock Tavern has become the ideal background for so many sternly-posed Facebook pictures. Despite downstairs providing ample room, the venue seems to be laid out in the least practical way possible, relegating gigs to a tiny upstairs bar with all the acoustic qualities of an abattoir.

Support came courtesy of local one-man-band Crewsdon, showing that jarring beats and ambient rhythms don’t take months to produce, performing his entire set on the fly, sampling everything from tearing paper to tapping Newcastle Brown Ale bottles. … Continue Reading

Janelle Monae, London, Koko

Janelle Monae. Photograph by Alex Kavanagh

September 8, 2010

Whilst reading this review, some of you will think I’m a plant; a member of Janelle Monae’s PR team that has infiltrated the impartial press as an audacious marketing strategy. Well, I’m not. I promise. Ask the editor. Run some checks. The simple truth is, this was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to, and if you have to steal from a child to afford a ticket of your own, it’d be worth the shame.

… Continue Reading

Male Bonding, London Camden Barfly

Male Bonding

One of the main joys of Nothing Hurts, the debut album released by Male Bonding in May, was the way it effortlessly captured the spirit and speed of their live shows – a Male Bonding gig has always been a brief, chaotic affair, and the simple energy on Nothing Hurts encapsulated this perfectly, while also revealing a few of the subtleties in their music, and particularly their lyrics, that had previously just flown by too quickly. … Continue Reading

The New Pornographers/Here We Go Magic, Camden Electric Ballroom

The New Pornographers

May 19, 2010

In a week when the sun’s finally starting to come out in London, it’s difficult to think of a more suitable, or indeed well-matched, pairing of bands to soundtrack the start of the warm weather – Canadian sometime-supergroup The New Pornographers were backed by New York’s sprightly Here We Go Magic at a sold out show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, where the charm, and the hooks, were laid on for an enthusiastic crowd. … Continue Reading

Our January show is announced! Featuring Cats and Cats and Cats, Stairs To Korea and Ute

Cats and Cats and Cats

Our amazing bills just keep on coming! After our storming show at The Camden Head one month ago, and our sure-to-be incredible gig in collaboration with Canadian Blast on November 24 at the Queen of Hoxton (tickets available here), I can now exclusively reveal the details of our next three-band spectacular at The Monarch on Wednesday January 20, 2010. Yes, that’s next year. Woah!

Headliners Cats and Cats and Cats are masters of their trade, crafting elegantly layered extravagance while never once containing their pounding experimentalism. A 5-piece who formed at the University of Hertfordshire, they’ve played Radio 1 sessions for Huw Stephens, released a split album with This Town Needs Guns through Big Scary Monsters and been brilliantly received by the NME, BBC 6Music and Rocksound. Tours profusely followed, including support-slots with iLiKETRAiNS, Errors, Tellison and 65daysofstatic. One minute it’s deftly-constructed orchestral folk-pop, the next it’s an agitated rhythmic fight-off; they’re masters of their own vision.

“Violin and trumpet echo over atmospheric and mathy guitars, accompanied by a shaky yet confident voice as the band pounds and crescendos all over the shop” – thefourohfive.com … Continue Reading

Free Energy wouldn’t buy LCD Soundsystem’s new single?!

Yesterday, we posted an ever-so-special feature involving Free Energy, currently all over Muso’s Guide, reviewing this week’s singles. Click here to see it. They had a jolly old time, and after that we took a few more minutes to ask them a few questions, and see how they found the old Reviewface experience. … Continue Reading

Yo La Tengo, London Roundhouse

Yo La Tengo

November 8th 2009

At one point during Yo La Tengo’s mammoth, celebratory two-hour set at the Roundhouse in Camden, Ira Kaplan mentioned that the band had been together for a “very, very long time” – it’s been around twenty years, in fact, and the trio’s quiet focus, mostly understated energy and, at times, ferocious power pointed to a band enjoying many of the benefits of (relative) old age and none of the drawbacks. Songs from their occasionally stunning current record, Popular Songs, were intermingled with fan favourites and classics in a set that was confidently paced and emphasised the range and depth of the band’s song-writing over their career.

… Continue Reading

We Were Promised Jetpacks, London Barfly

We Were Promised Jetpacks

August 21st 2009

Having heard significant amounts of hype around this band of late, this particular Muso felt it was about time to head out and check this band out live to see just what they have to offer.

And glad we were to have made that decision…

… Continue Reading

Lindstrøm & Glass Candy, London Koko

Italians Do It Better

June 11th 2009

… Continue Reading

The Camden Crawl: Day One

Oh it’s Camden Crawl time! Or do I mean #camdencrawl time. “W00t,” they tweet. And it’s joyous: the sun is out, the streets are amoc with fearless hedonists on their way to funtimes and well, you know how it is, the tantric joy of the festival with the added bonus of a bed at the end of it all.

Oh no, you don’t. That’s why you’re reading this. So it’s noon or thereabouts, and The First Pint has found its way into our light-emitting palm (and throat). Smooth. Pint two handily lives about two metres away, Eddie Argos (in a resplendent two-piece) away from us. Shame we’re on the bloody phone and unable to stop, get down on one knee and refuse to leave until he marries us, really.

We saunter up to The Good Mixer for a bit of background DJing, and then to The Spread Eagle to catch the tail-end of Hollyoaks’ soundtrack-botherers Broadcast 2000‘s set, which is sunny and lovely, as it goes. Who knew that this tiny living room-space would go on to become the temporary home for one Mr Coxon the day after? … Continue Reading