Owen Pallett, Eindhoven, Catharinakerk

Owen Pallett

By Stef Siepel

Eindhoven is radiant due to all the city lights that have been placed for the Glow festival. Massive amounts of people are ant-like finding their way through the city center, which is bending if not breaking. In the midst of it a huge church is crowded by a throng of people, who see light coming from the House of the Lord and think, Well, maybe there is something in the church that has to do with Glow. So people hoard around the entrance, most of them being told that, in fact, this is a ticketed event. A gig, no less. It is, namely, the end of Owen Pallett’s two-and-a-half year world tour, which he concludes with orchestra. … Continue Reading

Twin Sister, Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

Twin Sister, By Kenny McMurtrie

By Kenny McMurtrie

Keen as mustard to be on stage for the capacity crowd here tonight Twin Sister delivered note perfect renderings of such numbers as ‘Champy’ and set closer ‘All Around And Away We Go’, along with a couple (including the encore) of duets between just Andrea (looking a tad over-dressed for the event) and Eric. Undoubtedly a nice bunch, their music comes across well in a live setting but one couldn’t help but feel that it would be even better appreciated without having the band actually visible as a point of reference. … Continue Reading

Sigur Ros – Inni

Sigur Ros - Inni

By James Blake

Sing along with Sigur Ros is a game enjoyed by friends and I. You play the track of your choice and try to keep up with frontman Jonsi’s angelic, soaring vocals. Admittedly, the game is often short lived. Primarily because Icelandic isn’t any of our first languages, but also the fun almost instantly fades into silent appreciation for the etherial quality the band possesses.

With Inni, our game becomes impossible. In a move away from the jaw dropping expanses of Icelandic scenery of 2007’s Heima, this live double album and film captures the raw essence of the band during a show at Alexandra Palace in 2008. The performance consists of the four original members without the usual accompaniment of strings and brass, revealing their emphatic energy in an analogue black and white. … Continue Reading

EMA, London, Cargo

EMA

By Russell Warfield

September 14, 2011

As much as I’ve loved EMA’s debut record over the last few months, I must admit to having had some worries about whether the album’s dank, crawling atmospherics would result in the live concert equivalent of being tossed off by a freezing cold fist. In the event though, I wasn’t stood with such a tense wince across my face as that, and that’s because EMA’s live performance necessarily translates through a lateral move into more of an organic incarnation of instrumentation and delivery.

This is made instantly clear by the opening performance of album highlight ‘Marked’ – a song which, on record, proudly boasts the shrill squeaking of fingers sliding between frets as its loudest ingredient in the mix. Tonight, however, the predisposition towards cultivating a sense of creeping dread through production and mixing tactics is replaced by a far simpler (in a subtle sort of way) vocal-guitar-drums rendition of the song. Sure, we lose something in the menacing vocal filters which originally sold her gravelly drawl of ‘marrrhrhked’ so perfectly, but – as a live performance – the simpler arrangements, and the more human feel, allows the song to breathe in a more suitable way for the occasion. … Continue Reading

Chad VanGaalen, Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

Chad VanGaalen, by Kenny McMurtrie

By Kenny McMurtrie

August 19, 2011

Forsaking the Canadian backwoods for a road trip in support of the recently released Diaper Island album, proceedings tonight kick off with the final track from it – ‘Shave My Pussy’ – delivered solo with ukelele by Chad VanGaalen who, it turns out, is a veritable man mountain at something close to six foot six. … Continue Reading

Shonen Knife, Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

Shonen Knife

August 15, 2011

Given that in their 30 year career Shonen Knife have only managed to part me from the cash for a solitary 7”, it’s safe to say that I’m aware of their existence and not much more. Tonight then could therefore either reinforce my indifference or end up costing me shedloads as I rush to fill the gap in my collection with their back catalogue. … Continue Reading

Austra, London, Cargo

Austra

July 7, 2011

As I entered what could only be compared to a cave like enclosure in Shoreditch’s Cargo, it seemed like the perfect venue for the enchanting Canadian band, Austra. With the beautiful vocals of Katie Stelmanis, I was intrigued to see how they would measure up in comparison to their strength on the debut album Feel It Break. … Continue Reading

Wild Beasts present ‘Bed Of Nails’ video and add new London show to UK tour

Wild Beasts are all over the place at the moment, touring behind their widely praised third album Smother. They’ve found time to shoot the video for that album’s next single though – you can watch the performance clip for ‘Bed Of Nails’ below. Meanwhile, check out the band’s tourdates below – they’re being supported by Braids or Dutch Uncles, and they’ve added extra shows in Manchester and London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. … Continue Reading

Japanese Voyeurs, London, Hoxton Bar And Kitchen

July 12 2011

“We’ve got it together now,” enthuses Steve Wilson, the hooded drummer of Japanese Voyeurs. “We can headline any show no problem.” … Continue Reading

James Blake, London, Koko

June 14, 2011

Due to time constraints rather than sheer laziness, I arrived at Koko in time to catch only the last part of Cloud Boat’s support set. Their sound was dense – on top, there was a swirling, almost post-rock ambience and underneath there were the now familiar dubstep rhythms. It seems inevitable that dubstep textures are going to be ushered into the music of bands who would normally be more concerned with guitars than laptops with ever increasing frequency, but the disconnect I felt here demonstrates just how difficult it is to combine the two without the results sounding forced or tacked on – something that you sense Cloud Boat are in the process of dealing with. It also underlines just how skilled tonight’s headliner, James Blake, is at avoiding this while also creating something uniquely his own. … Continue Reading