London Zine of Music, Arts and Miscellaneous Happenings. Monthly updates & seasonal physicals.
02
___Gwenifer Raymond @ The Bedford £17 - One of, if not the greatest contemporary fingerstyle acoustic guitar player. Raymond plays gripping instrumentals that moves in sudden intricate directions. With the guitar front and centre, she uses the language of blues and folk as a jumping-off point for her moody and dark ballads. tickets
07
___Pindrop Presents: BUFFEE @ The Windmill £6 - We’re back at it again with a new shameless plug, and who says we don’t have range? After the success of our first night we’re bringing together some of the best progressive electronic and hyperpop music the UK has to offer. Headlining we have the beautiful hyperclub noise of BUFFEE (who couldn’t make our last night for illness) with support from the leading force in UK “hyperpopera”, diva MXLLY, the thundering noise pop of Łoter and the artful dissonant of Sophie du Ry’s electronica. They aren't artists that would always play at the Windmill, so come down to have your mind expanded. tickets
08
___Ladylike @ The Social £5.2 - A warm hug of melodic and dreamy indie from Brighton’s rising Ladylike, using bright reverbing textures and folk-inspired electric guitar as a foundation for swelling dynamics and sweet vocals of young confusion. tickets
10
___Barbican Estate @ The Post Bar FREE - Out of crescendos of droning psychedelia bursts minimalist indie rock by these Japanese brutalist-obsessives. Sometimes tense, sometimes catchy, the band injects some much-needed creativity into the vapid state of the slacker aesthetic. To see them and openers Speedial for free is a no-brainer. rsvp
___Life Is Beautiful Records Takeover @ Cafe Oto £9/£15 - Starting as a radio show in 2021, the record label celebrates freedom and creativity however simple and abstract it manifests. With a night of secret guests from across their force, artists that can be expected are the lugubrious poet Isaiah Hull and the eclectic, stuttering and improvisatory producer Aloisius to name a handful. tickets
12
___Bathtime Harvest Party @ The George Tavern £9 - Put together by the Spang Sister’s Skydaddy, the night enshrines songwriting, including solo projects from the frontwomen of Black Country, New Road and Ugly and a set from Manchester’s euphoric art-rock 5-piece Mewn. tickets
___The Vaselines @ MOTH Club £25.5 - A band accidentally formed in place of an 80s Glasgow fanzine, The Vaselines' unashamed naivety proves that simplicity and authenticity stand the test of time (that and the Kurt Cobain shoutout). These drum machine stamped nursery rhymes are the natural progression from Humpty Dumpty for reserved, angsty teens and those that were once reserved, angsty teens. PS. Get you anorak out for the full duration because 14 Iced Bears will be there too. tickets
13
___Concentration @ Sebright Arms £8 - Melbourne/Berlin industrial-jazz freaks make their way over to the UK to leave a trail of vicious electronics, winding sax and exhilarating live performances. Support comes from London’s intense and wriggling no-wave posse, Findom. tickets
15
___Wax Head @ Shacklewell Arms FREE - Vocals drenched in a thick sludge of echo, thundering drum and guitars pushing their amps to near-collapse with 60s garage-rock effectiveness. If you like the sound of that, Manchester psych outfit Waxhead may be the band for you. And while you’re there, openers and Speedy Wunderground alumnus Hot Face will be up your alley too. rsvp
18-21
___Fred Frith 75th Birthday Residency @ Cafe Oto £10/16/18 - Perhaps the most legendary avant-garde guitarist ever, Frith is a man who has acted as the fulcrum for experimental scenes across the world: playing in late 60’s Cambridge’s renowned Rock-In-Opposition band Henry Cow and 80’s New York’s no-wave jazz-freakout group Massacre. Since then, he has become a pioneer in prepared-guitar extended-technique and extended, enrapturing pieces. tickets
18
___Nala Sinephro @ Barbican Centre £24.72 - After she exploded into stardom with her 2021 debut of ambient and exploratory jazz album Space 1.8, fans have eagerly awaited Sinephro’s sophomore attempt and have not been disappointed. Like Alice Coltrane with a modular synthesiser, 2024’s Endlessness crafts long-form expeditions that blend the classic jazz quintet format with the angelic interplay of wavering electronic textures, strings and harp. Showcasing the album/celestial voyage alongside her brilliant group, it’ll be its own journey just trying to get tickets. Good luck! Don’t get played by scalpers. tickets
19
___Jim E Brown @ Paper Dress Vintage £10 - The (self-described) 19 year old, obese, Mancunian alcoholic writes songs about huffing nitrous balloons, wanting to open for Foo Fighters and being pre-diabetic. Self-loathing and jaundice go a long way for the outsider musician, with albums filled with synths and misery already in the double digits in this decade alone. tickets
22
___Cuckoo Spit @ The Windmill £5 - A night of ethereality with Cuckoo Spit delicately laying down the music of dreams! With minimal instrumentation, a lone guitar and a voice drip shimmering psychedelia as noises swarm and drums quietly plod. Support comes from FLOCO, whose intriguing songwriting compiled from spacey violin loops and soft vocals complete this strong lineup. tickets
23
___High Llamas @ The Lexington £24.32 - The 90s Anglo-Irish sunshine pop act return with their first album in 6 years, bringing their same passion for the tensions rife throughout 60s songwriting and the interest in a warped electronic soundscape instilled in the frontman Sean O’Hagan’s by his time in Stereolab. tickets
___Sonic Boom @ Dingwalls £24.48 - Throughout his career, from Spacemen 3 to Spectrum and all audio experiments in between, Pete Kember has noblely mastered the fuzz of the poly-drug experience so that the rest of us don’t have to risk the complications. As Sonic Boom, he mixes pop prowess with ambient textures to produce modern psychedelic hymns to make you feel like you’re tuned in to a different frequency. tickets
24
___Blue Bendy @ Lexington £14.25 - Pulled in all directions by catchy slacker melodies, genius lyrics with more than a handful of post-irony (“Didn’t have you down as the memelord type”) and piano-driven progressive pop sagas, London’s six-piece belatedly celebrate the release of their debut album ‘So Medieval’. tickets
25
___HYPER GAL @ Shacklewell Arms £13 - Following the release of their 3rd album ‘After Image’, HYPER GAL is taking stage with their dynamic noise-punk madness. Signed to Melt-Banana label Skin Graft Records, HYPER GAL’s music ranges from whispered slacker-rock to frenzied chanting screams.Catch them at Shacklewell on the 25th! tickets
26
___Demons (1985) [FILM] Rio Cinema £15 - An Italian high-camp horror classic directed by Lamberto Bava where two students join a group invited to a mysterious screening. Things are not as they seem, and they find they have been locked in by a band of ravenous demons. Give yourselves into the gore, scream away at SFX ghouls and save the Rio Cinema! tickets
30
___The Mall @ Shacklewell Arms £13.6 - Missouri’s moody, reverberating and dissonant electro-punk duo grace the Dalston stage with deep Reese basses; swelling, emotive synths; and shouting, yearning vocals. They combine the polarising nostalgias of a dark 80’s post-punk aesthetic with 00’s club fervour – this is a night to move your body like the goth/scene freak you are deep down. Opening are the mad Berlin-London techno punks Fat Concubine. tickets
31
___PC Music present: POP CRYPT II: NIGHT [CLUB] @ Outernet £39.27 - The legendary hyperpop/experimental electronic label might be dead, but on all-hallows eve, even the departed can return. With double last year’s trouble, this iteration of pop crypt is split between “Day,” a segment devoted to live sets and “Night,” a DJed club night. The lineup is still to be determined, but if last year’s event is anything to go off, it'll haunt you if you miss it. tickets
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by SE
End of the Road’s long weekend’s display of music refreshingly draws your eyes and ears away from the myopic London gig-circuit. Based in Dorset, the festival features a diverse array of music without compromising on talent. Celebrated artists like Slowdive, Yo La Tengo and Cornelius draw in audiences, while breakthrough acts across the UK are able to make their mark in the daytime slots. Leed’s Jellyskin and Belfast’s mui zyu are two great examples of this, while the festival also curates excellent experimental music from the likes of Ex-Easter Island Head and Colossal Squid. There is also a consistent curation of African and East-Asian artists like Ichiko Aoba, Florence Adooni and Nusantara Beat, a niche most festivals seem to forget. There is a little too much dilute indie-americana, but parents must be appeased.
It is not merely the moreish Colombian arepas and tasty Lebanese food which puts EOTR above other festivals of its cadre: it is also the sheer quality of the sound. Especially for a festival on the smaller side, the sound systems are booming and crisp. Yet, the dreaded festival sound bleed between stages is also avoided. There is no smothering of a highly-anticipated folk act with some raucous punk 500 yards away, as other festivals struggle with. Although the Big Top Tent is as humid as ever, the Folly Stage has a gladly-received upgrade. What last year was a blank white tent you’d see at a village fête, now moves with exciting dynamic architecture, fit for the acts which grace its stage. One of the bands to christen it is the beautiful Ugly. Although their ambitious vocal counterpoint can border on marmite, their choir of voices completes songs of stunning odysseys with tensions that suddenly rip you to pieces and then immerse you in sweet concord. As the crowd gently sways, someone attempts to crowdsurf. It goes down as successfully as one might imagine.
Although they don’t dominate the lineup, this year’s London cohort provides a stunning array of some of the great artists of the city. Some acts debut the festival, like Ebbb, Sara Meth and The Orchestra (For Now), who pack the Big Top Tent at midday. Others return: Heartworms’s gothic belligerence and militaristic choreography show great improvement from shows of old. 2 years ago, before the release of their debut album, Jockstrap were left playing the small, tucked away Boat Stage. Today, the duo saunter onto Saturday’s mainstage as the penultimate act of the night, wearing wigs and comically large baseball caps. Although their 2022 album granted them as much notoriety as glitchy unorthodox pop can get, it is apparent that non-stop touring has had no affect on their sense of humour. Between heartfelt, sample-spliced and softly sung ballads of relationship ennui and moral ambiguity, the duo’s electrician and resident prankster Taylor Skye blasts noise at the crowd, flickering from speaker to speaker. There aren't many successful pop acts this creative but still brilliantly weird, a quality End of the Road knows how to find.
by MR
Perennial favourites of the Windmill Scene, chamber-poppers Black Country, New Road are back from a Falmouth residency with new material in tow. Their arrival is eagerly anticipated, the show having sold out to the extent that people are lined up on the Lexington curb asking for spare tickets. As there is no opener (the promised DJ is nowhere to be seen), the crowd discusses amongst itself what the night might bring: perhaps a return to a discordant klezmer inspired sound as could be found on For The First Time? Or maybe (and more likely), an extension of sweet harmonic chamber pop presented on Live At Bush Hall?
The answer is ultimately more the latter, with the exception of the epic closer, “For The Cold Country,” a track which has never been recorded but has been a part of the band’s live repertoire for about a year now. This, with a combination of the swirling piano of “Haldern,” the epic climactic energy of “Basketball Shoes,” and the discordance of “Opus” is certainly the most promising of their unreleased material. A new (and currently untitled) song with May Kershaw on lead vocals similarly offers an interesting juxtaposition of their older, bolder dissonance with their newer, more harmonic style, but this song is still a sketch with some way to evolve.
BCNR return with much of the repertoire they debuted in Cornwall, to the delight of their rapt audience. However, the Lexington gig is not a mere rehash of what went down in Falmouth: in Cornwall, the group briefly flirted with a full band instrumental for “The Mayor Of Cambridge” (now titled “Soon It Will Be Spring”), but return to the Lexington with the typical setup, the song entirely accompanied by recorder and accordion. The song “Auckland” (now titled “Saint Mary”) is also back, but with the lyrics completely reworked–this time the song is about being bullied as a child rather than New Zealand.
The strongest element of the new BCNR is the way they have embraced vocal melody between the three main vocalists (Kershaw, Ellery, and Tyler Hyde), producing something more sweetly harmonic than their old style and yet no less interesting. While “24/7 365 British Summer Time” has been on the setlist for over a year, the Cornish (and now Lexington) version has mellowed out, Tyler Hyde is now the vocalist (instead of Lewis Evans), with her buoyantly staccato vocals layering nicely over the sort of syncopated beat you want to snap your fingers to. What makes this song such a joy, though, is the way Kershaw and Ellery introduce additional vocal harmonisation, which feels like a further embrace of the band’s ensemble approach after Isaac Wood’s departure.
There is much to be delighted with regarding the new material. “The Lemons” is a particular highlight, with jaunty stomping drums and a vocal storytelling style which is reminiscent of Joanna Newsome’s blend of progressive folk. “Horses” has been on the setlist for a year, but Georgia Ellery has evolved the song into a more theatrical affair, which peaks with a soaring vocal refrain that feels somehow transcendent of the chamber pop genre all together. “Besties” is a sweet song about friendship, but manages to avoid falling into the divisive cheesiness of “Up Song,” the newfound vocal harmony of the group carrying the song instead.
While it’s still early days for much of the material, to the extent no recording of the gig was allowed, there is much promise to be had here (although the older version of “Auckland” is somewhat missed). In particular, the greater integration of vocal harmony (and shared vocal duties within songs) indicates a new and interesting stylistic direction for the six-piece. Arguably (and understandably given the circumstances), the material here is of stronger stock than what went on “Live at Bush Hall,” with the group clearly having found their footing after the departure of Isaac Wood. What BCNR ultimately do with it in the studio is still up in the air, but they’ve clearly hit their stride on the new road ahead.
by MR
As those who managed to read Pindrop’s damning diatribe against ‘Crankwave’ will know, long gone are the days where Slint tribute acts seemingly dominated the London circuit. Still, for those who yearn for wonky time signatures and a fairly improvisational approach might find something to enjoy with Saint Mega, a self described “erratic prog rock trio.” The incorporation of bluesy guitar, mathy drums, and a bass section which alternates between a bass guitar and bass synth produces a dynamic that’s enjoyable for those of us who still yearn for 2021.
Playing as a part of a fundraiser for a film (“Pauline Heaven”), Saint Mega didn’t quite get the attention that was fitting for the event. This was also true of the night’s opener, Cameron Picton, but is probably more attributable to the nature of the event than the audience or performers themselves. Still, in spite of the ambient chatter, the performance was a compelling one, with most of the audience seemingly converted by the end, prompted by David Adsett’s intricate drumming. Adsett’s talent is immediately clear within the context of Saint Mega’s sound, as his drums guide both the band and the audience smoothly through the set. There is a distinct pleasure that comes with attempting to dance (or sway) along to erratic and unpredictable percussion and there is certainly the skill to deliver on that here.
Their synth-work is another promising component, one which could be expanded on to benefit their overall sound. However, the vocal strategy of the band is unclear: the vocals seem somewhat hasty in their addition and could benefit from further attention (or could be scrapped all together). It wasn’t enough to impact the overall quality of the performance, but was still notable enough to think about. There is something charming about Saint Mega’s incorporation of American alternative influences, making their sound a welcome addition to the London scene.
DR
___Dirty Postcards by The Korgis (1979, UK)
___If I Could Make You Care by Cardinals (2024, Ireland)
GKA
___Pearls by Sade (1992, UK)
___Hurrian Hymn To Nikkal (1400BCE, Ancient Mesopotamia) [pretentious bastard]
MMB
___Bon’yō vs. Bōyō by Midori (2010, Japan)
___Difficult by Uffie (2010, France)
MR
___I Won’t Share You by The Smiths (1987, UK)
___All Night by The Dare (2024, US)
SE
___Cool Daddio by R. Stevie Moore (1974, US)
___Dog’s Life by Plantoid (2023, UK)