London in Stereo // Dec/Jan 2017

DE CE M BE R 2016 J ANUARY 2017 ISSUE 44 // FREE

THE NEW SOUNDS OF 2017

WELCOME COSIMA

GAIKA

I wanted to write an editor’s letter about how excited we are for the new year, the wealth of talent being nurtured at the moment. I wanted to get excited about having two different covers for the first time ever, but instead I’m compelled to talk about recent politics.

Firstly, anger is a reasonable response to these things, it’s ok, I feel it too. But we need to use that anger, do something you might not have otherwise, talk where you might not have talked, listen where you might not have listened. Do something. Even if it’s simple, we need change and you have no idea how your small change might make a difference, or where it might eventually lead.

It’s so easy to become complacent, accepting, it’s already taking root in so many.

It can be difficult to drive forward, inconvenience yourself, even doing something as simple as not buying a product or using a particular company can feel difficult and pointless, but it’s not. That effort is worth it and you are important. You can make a difference.

SLOWCOACHES

STAFF ON REPEAT the tracks we can’t stop listening to this month JESS: SAMPA THE GREAT - MONA LISA DAVE: HATER - MENTAL HAVEN LOKI: GROUPLOVE - GOOD MORNING DANNY: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - WE THE PEOPLE GEMMA: NOGA EREZ - DANCE WHILE YOU SHOOT JACK: SLOWCOACHES - 54

photo: Jonny Davies

RACHEL: INHEAVEN - TREATS LiS 03

CONTENTS 08. LiS TRACKS OF THE YEAR

LONDON IN STEREO IS:

THE NEW SOUNDS OF 2017:

Editor: Jess Partridge jess@londoninstereo.co.uk

12: COSIMA 16: GAIKA 21-25: DREAM WIFE, ELF KID, SÄLEN 26-29 OFF BLOOM, KAIYDO, SWIMMING TAPES, SKOTT, STEVIE PARKER, FRIGS, ANNA WISE, FISH, LIYV, SORCHA RICHARDSON 32. ALBUM REVIEWS 40. EVENTS 45. GIGS OF THE MONTH 51. LIVE LISTINGS 71. TALES FROM THE CITY 73. PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Deputy Editor: Dave Rowlinson dave@londoninstereo.co.uk Online Editor: Rachel Finn rachel@londoninstereo.co.uk Sub-Editor/Sales: Loki Lillistone sales@londoninstereo.co.uk Staff Writers: Danny Wright, Gemma Samways, Jack Urwin.

Photography: Cosima & Gaika cover stories: Phil Sharp philsharp-photo.com Contributors: Simone Scott Warren, Rhian Daly, Geoff Cowart, Kate Solomon, Rachel Grace Almeida, Tim Hakki George O’Brien, Jake May, Thomas Hannan, Lee Wakefield, Grant Bailey, Henry Wilkinson, Andrew Hannah.

KAIYDO

londoninstereo.com

@LondonInStereo

/londoninstereo

/london-in-stereo

londoninstereo LiS 05

FUTURISTIC

HACKTIVIST

DEC 06 O 2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON

DEC 10 UNDERWORLD

LEROY SANCHEZ

RAE SREMMURD

KALEO

JAN 17 2017 O 2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON 2

JAN 18 2017 O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

JAN 31 2017 O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

ALAN WALKER

TOUCHÉ AMORÉ W/ ANGEL DU$T

FEB 02 2017 O 2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON

SOURCE

DEC 14 LOCK TAVERN

Y RA G EL E AB AT AV

ANGEL

FEB 27 2017 BUSH HALL

FEB 23 2017 O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON

SUNDARA KARMA

IDLES

BIRDY NAM NAM

FEB 24 2017 O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

MAR 10 2017 MOTH CLUB

MARCH 2017 HEAVEN

THE BEST IN NEW LIVE MUSIC L O

N

D

O

N

@LNSOURCE LIVENATION.CO.UK

THE LONDON IN STEREO TRACKS OF THE YEAR Every weekend we sit down and listen to 100+ tracks released that week (yeah, we know how to party harder than just about everybody else) to compile our Tracks Of The Week playlist. Most of them are entirely ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, some of them make us want to punch ourselves in the face until the pain stops (yes, we’re looking at you [redacted]), but a very small handful remind us that three minutes (occasionally eighteen minutes) of new music can still be the most unique and uplifting experience.

So, here – in no particular order – are our favourite tracks of 2016. In their own special way, whether celebratory, downcast, smart or just pure fun, they’ve made our world a better place.

photo: Phil Sharp

MYKKI BLANCO

HIGHSCHOOL NEVER ENDS

photo: Rachel Lipsitz

ANNA MEREDITH TAKEN

photo: Lucy Johnston

MITSKI

YOUR BEST AMERICAN GIRL

photo: Tim Boddy

RAY BLK MY HOOD

DANNY BROWN REALLY DOE

LAMBCHOP

DOE photo: Emma Garland

THE HUSTLE

LET’S EAT GRANDMA

DOE

ANGEL OLSEN

CHANCE THE RAPPER

MALLRAT

THE AVALANCHES

JAPANESE BREAKFAST

SHARON VAN ETTEN

LOYLE CARNER

POWELL

EAT SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

SHUT UP KISS ME

TOKYO DRIFT

EVERYBODY WANTS TO LOVE YOU

NO CD

SINCERE

BLESSINGS

FRANKIE SINATRA

NOT MYSELF

FRANKIE

MASS GOTHIC

EVERY NIGHT YOU’VE GOT TO SAVE ME

LOYLE CARNER photo: Tim Boddy

MARTHA

ICE CREAM AND SUNSCREEN

SILVANA IMAM VARMA GATOR

WHITNEY

NO WOMAN

KAIYDO

ARCADE

PET SHOP BOYS

WHITNEY photo: Tim Boddy

THE POP KIDS

KEVIN ABSTRACT

TRAAMS

BEYONCÉ

OLGA BELL

EMPTY

FORMATION

A HOUSE ON FIRE

RANDOMNESS

KAYTRANDA GLOWED UP

CAR SEAT HEADREST BEYONCÉ

DRUNK DRIVERS/KILLER WHALES

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COSIMA words: simone scott warren photography: phil sharp

everything.” And she really does; ometimes, if I’m tired of crying, Leonard Cohen, Jessye Norman, Solange, I’ll just sing instead,” Cosima confides Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Buckley, The from across a table nestled in a slate Smiths, even S Club 7 all get dissected grey studio, in the depths of Seven during the course of our conversation.

Sisters. “When I’m getting ready to go out is one thing, but if I really listen to “It’s been good to have time to music, I come for the lyrics, because understand the difference between the I want to feel music that I love to something, I want to “I come for the lyrics, because I listen to, and the cry to something. music I want to want to feel something, I want And I can’t just cry make. How do I to the melody, I need to cry to something. And I can’t translate what I to cry to the words.” hear into something

just cry to the melody,

that works for me?

If there’s one thing I need to cry to the words.”

There’s such a that Cosima has focus on finding proven in the yourself; owning your sound, forever. snippets she’s let us in on so far, it’s that And actually, when you listen to a lot of both lyrically and vocally, she’s a master really interesting artists, every record is of pathos. From the sublime R‘n’Bdifferent. It’s the person that’s the same.” slash-dream-pop of ‘Girls Who Get Ready’, an ode to Having spent her formative years in “real realising that the guy you’re busy Peckham, round the corner from the changing small details about yourself for North Peckham estate, not Dulwich isn’t actually worth the effort, to the Peckham”, Cosima credits her vocal smooth dark depths of ‘Had To Feel diversity to a year spent in Germany after Something’, so far the cohesive thread college. Staying with her grandparents, seems to be the sense of longing she took singing lessons with a retired radiating from her vocals. opera singer. “Now that I look back on it, it was probably one of the most special That being said, it’s almost difficult to times that I’ll ever have in my life. I place those strains as originating from didn’t appreciate it at the time of course, the same mouth. Both tracks are in because what 18-year-old ever does; totally different ranges; there’s some always ungrateful. It was just, I’ll go serious shapeshifting going on here. away and decide what I like in my voice, “That is everything,” she grins, “and before someone else tells me what they that’s what’s going to happen from now like in my voice. It was really pure, I until I stop making music. I listen to LiS 13

“I think the big thing is just to have more people connect with my music, to be able to connect with people.

Just to do that.” wasn’t in London, I wasn’t surrounded by what you’re supposed to sing like, what the cool thing is to do. It was literally, just disconnect yourself. Work out what music means to you. What you want to say through it.”

Cosima sounds very much like she’s figured out what kind of artist she wants to be, so can we expect to see an album in 2017? “I want to put it all out now, but apparently I can’t just throw everything out into the world,” she laughs, “I’ve written and recorded so much. I have enough. But I feel like an album, that’s like your big… ‘this is me now’.” You can almost see her visibly

reign in the excitement, play it a bit more cautiously. “The main thing for me is to keep releasing music, every year I just want to be better at it than I was before. And get more notes in my top range. That G above high C, can we do that this year please? Let’s read this back in 2018, see if I did that. And I would love to play more shows, because I really love that. I think the big thing is just to have more people connect with my music, to be able to connect with people. Just to do that.”

LISTEN TO: Girls Who Get Ready ONLINE: @cos1ma // facebook.com/cos1ma // soundcloud.com/cos1ma

GAIKA words: geoff cowart photography: phil sharp

“I feel like I’m swimming upstream.

Don’t people get it?

You don’t have to erode your morals in a constant quest for power.”

verything Gaika touches seems to turn to gold. Especially when he’s dripping in it.

The Brixton-born musician/producer Gaika Tavares began proving his mettle after unveiling his first mixtape, Machine, two years ago. Since then he’s embarked on a whirlwind journey between gigs and studios from Miami to Manchester, before signing on the dotted line with the legendary Warp records.

He flashes a razor sharp smile before humbly acknowledging just how far he’s come. “I’ve always just made music for myself. Now people I don’t even know are listening – it’s weird,” he says with a laugh. “But I will stay genuine.”

Gaika’s recent Spaghetto EP marked his Warp debut, while an album is being readied for the spring. It’s an artistic pairing made in heaven. Both specialise in pitting man against machine to push sonic boundaries. And for Gaika it means marrying his wild ragga, rap and pop vocal manipulations with the delirious, hazy blasts of darkened ambient miasma in which he submerses his tunes.

“My voice is the key instrument,” he says.

“I sing to cut through the noise. It works like a ray of light through the mid-range.

It’s exciting. I want to beat the machine.”

As his confidence grows, so does the visceral impact of his singing. From his early mixtapes – where he obliterates his

voice with a barrage of Auto-Tune – to his more assured delivery on Spaghetto, his progress as a singer and an artist can be plotted on a frightening upward trajectory.

“I’m definitely happier with my singing,” he attests. “It helps that I’ve recently been practising and performing a lot.”

For a masterclass in extreme vocal delivery check out track ‘3D’ from Spaghetto. He barks like a possessed dancehall general on the staccato chorus: “This is my city and these are my streets/ And a state of emergency/ This is my city and these are my streets/ And it’s murder out there.”

You can almost taste his anger as his echo-laden vocals erupt over a droning sub-harmonic hum while the punishing beats scatter like gunshots. And the imagery of the “jewels and Glocks” getting “knee-deep in the concrete” is as poetic as it is arresting.

“In London everyone’s trying to elbow each other out of the way – and getting nowhere,” he says. “While everyone is trying to shaft each other we’re living in the shadow of the greatest transfer of public wealth into private hands. I feel like I’m swimming upstream. Don’t people get it? You don’t have to erode your morals in a constant quest for power.”

His fierce reflections on the topics of punishment, violence and subordination erupt frequently in conversation.

Fittingly his spiky tongue matches his LiS 17

“I sing to cut through the noise.

It works like a ray of light through the mid-range.

It’s exciting. I want to beat the machine.” taste in clothing – as ready for medieval warfare as it is fresh for the street.

Gaika’s political and stylistic themes also extend to his video work. With a burlapsack-turned-balaclava covering his head – complete with devil’s horns – the lyrics to ‘Blasphemer’ question the intense friction between “black boys” who are “looking for jobs” and the “killer cops”.

With his bare chest soaked in sweat and blood he sports necklaces of bone, voodoo paint and glints of gold jewellery.

“The music just takes on a life of its own,” he says. “But I don’t put in a bit of dancehall because my family lived in Jamaica, or techno because I lived in

Amsterdam. No. I want to make kid music.

Music that reminds me of being a kid.”

It’s a constant, if evasive, theme that runs through Gaika’s music. By striving to perform with a delirious child-like abandon he aims to disrupt the insidious power structures that surround him. And after a lifetime’s worth of fights, clubs, promoting, travelling and generally living by his wits, the stars are finally aligning for his radical re-thinking of music, fashion and cinematography.

LISTEN TO: 3D ONLINE: @GAIKASAYS // facebook.com/gaika.world // soundcloud.com/gaikasays

DECEMBER 2016 ~ LIV E ~ 2nd

Girls & Boys / 7th

Elzhi /

4th

Vianni /

Sounds Familiar Music Quiz /

10th 18th

3rd

Fat Buddha Yoga /

13th

Mark Morriss (Bluetones) / 21st

Gospeloke /

31st

9th

Marissa Nadler

Swimming Tapes

Faithettes / 20th

6th

14th

Wildhood

Sounds Familiar Music Quiz

NYE at Studio 54 w/ The Reflex

coming up in january 2017 5th

Nipah /

17th

4th Estate Literary Salon / 27th

12th

Gospeloke /

Club CloseUp /

14th

Fat Buddha Yoga

26th

31st

Sophie Barker

OG Maco

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DREAM WIFE

by Jake May

I don’t think Dream Wife ever expected it would be like this. A band that started out without any real intention of actually being a band (they formed initially, as they’re no doubt bored of hearing repeated by now, for a performance art piece during their time at art school in Brighton), the London/Icelandic trio – Rakel Mjöll (lead vocals), Alice Go (guitar and vocals) and Bella Podpadec (bass and vocals) – have since grown into one of the most exciting and anticipated acts in the UK. While the attention and adoration they’ve gained over the past twelve months might have come as a surprise to them, it certainly hasn’t to the rest of us.

Listening to Dream Wife feels a bit like that time back in Fresher’s Week where you found yourself experiencing the sticky floors, cheap pints and blaringly loud PA of your university town’s basement venue (RIP Cardiff Barfly) for the first time all over again – it's fun, exciting, and just a little bit scary all at

photo: Francesca Allen

the same time. The combination of Rakel’s menacing lyrics (“I’m gonna fuck you up / I’m gonna cut you up / I’m gonna fuck you up,” she promises on single ‘FUU') and hypnotising vocal delivery, Alice’s wriggling guitar licks that refuse to stop playing on a loop in your head, and Bella’s big, driving basslines, Dream Wife fill you with a youthful exuberance and a lust for life you probably long forgot was a feeling your brain was even capable of mustering.

Despite their already huge, catchy choruses, their irresistible combination of fun and fury, and their explosive and exhilarating live shows, you somehow you get the sense Dream Wife are barely even getting started yet – and with a debut full-length due at some point over the next year, I hope they’re getting themselves ready for a busy 2017.

LISTEN TO: Hey Heartbreaker ONLINE: @DreamWifeMusic // facebook.com/dreamwifedream // soundcloud.com/dream-wife LiS 21

ELF KID

by Gemma Samways rom Skepta winning the Mercury and Kano bagging the MOBO for Best Album, to Dizzee Rascal revisiting his era-defining debut in front of more than 7,000 fans, 2016 was the year the grime resurgence reached the mainstream. Of course, while the scene’s veterans stole all the headlines, a whole new wave of young artists were quietly limbering up behind the scenes, intent on pushing the movement even further forward. And if we were to single out one act from this next generation with the drive, determination and talent to achieve breakout success, it would be South London’s Foday Toby Dumbuya, AKA Elf Kid. Born and raised in Deptford, Dumbuya swapped football for MCing after failing a professional trial for Tottenham Hotspur, and founded Lewisham grime crew The Square alongside Novelist. The latter has since departed for the bright lights of XL Recordings but Elf Kid continues to roll with Blakie, DeeJillz and Faultsz, and when he’s not spitting bars he’s studying for a degree in Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The ultimate aim is to combine the two, and establish and grow his own musical empire a la BBK. Surveying his progress in the past eighteen months alone, you don’t doubt he’s capable of it.

Off the back of 2015’s ‘Oh Gosh’ – a rapid-fire freestyle over Jamie xx’s original track – and his joyous, Amerie-sampling, debut single-proper ‘Golden Boy’, Elf Kid found himself in huge demand in 2016. There were intimate gigs at The Great Escape and Visions, big-room shows at Ibiza Rocks and Reading Festival, a guest turn at the BBC’s Bowie Prom and even a trip to the Rio Olympics, where he performed as part of the British Underground’s Grime Showcase.

Here’s hoping he injects as much energy and fun into 2017, via his dexterous, Dizzee-ish flow.

LISTEN TO: Golden Boy ONLINE: @Elfisworld // facebook.com/Elfisworld // soundcloud.com/elfkid LiS 23

photo: Ellis Scott

SÄLEN

by Kate Solomon

Ellie Kamio might be the only singer in London to have a venue named after her.

She might also be the only singer in London to have willingly covered herself in corn syrup and food colouring for a music video this year, the disgustingly gloopy ‘Diseasy’ that her bandmates Paul and Simon wisely stayed out of.

Sälen’s songs don’t necessarily delve deep into the human psyche. They steer clear of masterbatory chord progressions and $5 words. With Ellie’s sugary vocals and the band’s tendency to plinky-plonk, some songs sound like nursery rhymes for millennials stuck in arrested development - but, like most nursery rhymes, they tell darker stories than they pretend to. “I can taste the teeth dying in my mouth” isn’t the most Top of the Pops friendly opening line you’ve ever heard but who hasn’t worried that their body is starting to rot after a particularly heavy night with inappropriate company?

‘The Drwg’ could just as easily be about

addictive pharmaceuticals as a new lover you’d happily ditch all your friends to hang with, while their most recent single, ‘Copper Kiss’... well, we’ll let Urban Dictionary fill you in on that one.

The band’s preoccupations feel very specific and very general all at once; and they’re all underpinned by moreish top lines and chill beats. There’s one upcoming song that sounds like Ace of Base if Ace of Base had been born in 1997 - and that’s a sound we can absolutely get on board with.

As willing to declare emoji over (“Have you seen the new gun? It’s so shit”) as they are to demand a live snake for their next video, Sälen’s slinky, groove-laden pop songs are exactly the kind of louche ear candy that we’re all going to need to get us through 2017.

LISTEN TO: Diseasey ONLINE: @heysalen // facebook.com/heysalen // soundcloud.com/heysalen LiS 25

FRIGS

by Rhian Daly

LISTEN TO: Chest ONLINE: @FRIGSband // facebook.com/FRIGSBAND // soundcloud.com/frigsofficial

Before Frigs made their way to the UK in May we called them a band who could change your life. During that tour they proved us right, winning the hearts of everyone who saw them and proving to be a total revelation. Led by the growling, howling and whispering Bri Salmena, they clobbered Britain around the ears and lulled it into a sweet daze at the same time.

It’s not just their guttural assaults that make Frigs so exciting. Their songs are more than just sonically powerful, tackling bigger issues in their lyrics. Latest single ‘Chest’ raises the problems of victim blaming and white male privilege, detailing Salmena's anger at the Brock Turner rape case. “Stay asleep as you spoil me,” she hushes over delicately guitar lines and brittle post-punk basslines. It’s heavy, but important and another case of the Toronto group being a beacon of hope amidst the dark.

KAIYDO

by Lee Wakefield

LISTEN TO: Arcade ONLINE: @Kaiydo // facebook.com/Kaiydo // soundcloud.com/kaiydo

Armed with syrupy drawl delivery and swaggering bravado, Kaiydo is unlike any rapper we’ve heard for some time. Heralding from Orlando, Florida and startlingly patient in delivery, he instead pursues infectious choruses, his sluggish flow providing the foundation for them to detonate with undeniable abandon.

So far, we’ve been treated to ‘Fruit Punch’, which boasts the hallmarks of the greatest, heady hip-hop anthems - all explosive hooks and mischievous lyrical barbs. In contrast, the rapper’s woozy wordplay on ‘Arcade’ sounds so effortless he might as well be mumbling in his sleep, at odds with its razor sharp content and the delirious bounce of ‘Reflections’, another extraordinary offcut. While we savour each outstanding single, Kaiydo will continue to fascinate in 2017. “No talking, I rather action”, he declares on ‘Arcade’, his languorous persona perhaps concealing a steely determination in those words. You’d be foolish not to come along for the ride.

You’d imagine, as a music-listening human on the cusp of 2017, that the appetite for dreamy indie music might be well and truly sated. And that’s pretty much my go-to stance, but then a band like Swimming Tapes come along, plug in their guitars, offer a prayer to the more languid shoe-gaze deities, dial the reverb round to ‘woozy charm’ and conjure up the kind of delicate haze that leaves you wallowing in the most idyllic daydreams. Throw in cover art aesthetics to die for, plus a really fine – and almost onomatopoeic – name, and I’m diving in.

SWIMMING TAPES

LISTEN TO: Souvenirs ONLINE: @swimming_tapes // facebook.com/swimmingtapes // soundcloud.com/swimmingtapes

LISTEN TO: The Cure ONLINE: @Stevieparkeruk // facebook.com/StevieParkermusic // soundcloud.com/stevie-parker-6

photo: claire shiland

“It sort of happened almost by accident,” Stevie Parker says of her burgeoning pop career.

“I just happened to start writing a song for myself out of latent curiosity.” And it just so happened that Stevie was really good at writing woozy lovelorn pop you’d be just as happy dancing as weeping to under your duvet for several days.

Her heartache coloured EP, Blue, is a velveteen taster of things to come in 2017 - as is the fact that she recorded her upcoming album with Winehouse-collaborator Jimmy Hogarth. When heartbreak sounds this good, why be happy?

by Dave Rowlinson

STEVIE PARKER

by Kate Solomon

Skott is the embodiment of the kind of genreless protean pop world we’re rapidly moving towards. Hailing from the continent (remember that place?) she’s dropped scorchers like ‘Wolf’ and ‘Porcelain’, songs that envelop you in their instinctually sure-footed cohesiveness. During a revealing interview with Zane Lowe she let on that the bulk of her childhood musical development came from soundtracking video games. It’s a mood-oriented approach that will prove exemplary now that the wells of alt-rock and deep house have well and truly been dried.

LISTEN TO: Amelia ONLINE: @skottpeace // facebook.com/skottmusic // soundcloud.com/skottpeace

SKOTT

by Tim Hakki

LiS 27

OFF BLOOM

LISTEN TO: Love To Hate It ONLINE: @offbloom // facebook.com/OffBloomMusic // soundcloud.com/offbloom

by Lee Wakefield

Given their reluctance to adhere to one particular genre, perhaps Off Bloom is a fitting title for the volatile Danish trio. As ‘Love To Hate It’ threatens to flourish into sugary pop terrain, crunching guitars and a jarring synth hook send it hurtling into more fascinating territories. The same goes for the ambiguous ‘Orchid’, four minutes of seductive and hypnotic chorus buried amongst ominous, layered vocal samples and destined to nestle within many end of year lists. Crucially, unlike the majority of their contemporaries, Off Bloom refuse to blossom and flaunt their musical wares in any sense considered conventional. And they’re all the better for it – a genuinely beguiling prospect that proves impossible to ignore. On the strength of Love To Hate It, their debut EP, Off Bloom’s dominance of 2017 is assured, fuelled by the mystery of which genres may be confronted, channeled and explored further.

ANNA WISE

Hip hop heads have already heard Anna Wise’s dulcet tones on two of the biggest Kendrick Lamar songs of his career: ‘These Walls’ and his masterpiece ‘Money Trees’. This year saw the advent of her debut solo EP The Feminine: Act 1 one of the most militantly feminist performances since the infamous letterbox burnings of last century. Songs like ‘Bitchslut’, ‘Precious Possession’, and ‘Go’ peddle apoplectic assaults on the idea that female sexuality and selfhood is still controlled by a hypocritical, patronising and often contradictory patriarchy.

by Tim Hakki

photo: Emari Traffie

LISTEN TO: BitchSlut ONLINE: @annathewise // facebook.com/annathewise // soundcloud.com/annathewise

Steering clear of intellectual proselytising, Anna seals her sentiments on tracks that are objectively worthy denizens of bangerville. With a Grammy under her hat she’s already infiltrated the great pop mill on her own terms. It may be frustrating that in 2016 we still need reminding of basic human decency but after this nightmare year recedes into memory she’ll be coasting at the top.

London is throbbing with exhilarating new young bands right now in a way that’s been lacking over the last few years. Fish are one of those, four teenagers from the north of the city making lush grunge-pop that has all the potential to conquer their hometown and further afield. It’s still early days for them, but they've already proved they can hold their own on big stages (they opened for Wolf Alice at the Forum in March) and small.

Expect them to only get better, stronger and even more impressive.

LISTEN TO: Wished ONLINE: @FISH4MUSIC // facebook.com/FISH4MUSIC // soundcloud.com/fishuk

FISH

by Rhian Daly

Full of scorn and weary sadness, Liyv proclaims “You bore me to death” over the scuttling synthpop sparkle of ‘You’re Not Going To Ruin My Life’ and her unique appeal instantly crystallises. Sure, gluing downbeat sentiment to upbeat rhythms is no new trick, but when there’s this much sophistication, coloured in such soft hues, it feels fresher than the first daffodils of Spring. Songs for the jilted and that affirm smart jilting alike, from the threat-laden sweetness of ‘Little Fox’ to the boisterous strut of ‘Laser Eyes’, Liyv is set to be the exactly the pop star we need.

LISTEN TO: You’re Not Going To Ruin My Life ONLINE: @iamliyv // facebook.com/liyvsounds // liyv.bandcamp.com

LIYV

by Dave Rowlinson

Sorcha Richardson is a story-teller. Songs – born out of her New York apartment – revolve around relatable experiences, the people we meet and the places we go. The Dublin-born artist isn’t looking to paint herself as something she’s not though, and it gives the brilliantly DIY, slackerrock earworm ‘Lost’ an honesty: “I know it’s bad baby c’mon we can dance it off / everybody’s feeling lost”, she cries. A rum-soaked, windswept night of young adventure forms another early theme and as we move into 2017, it’s clear Richardson has stories we are desperate to hear.

LISTEN TO: Lost ONLINE: @SorchaRichardsn // facebook.com/sorcharichardsonmusic // soundcloud.com/sorcharichardson

SORCHA RICHARDSON

by George O’Brien LiS 29

THU 1 DECEMBER SCALA

TUE 31 JANUARY THE WAITING ROOM

THU 1 DECEMBER THE WAITING ROOM

WED 1 FEBRUARY OMEARA

HONEYBLOOD KIM JANSSEN FYFE SARA HARTMAN JOHNNYSWIM COMMUNION NICK HAKIM CLUBNIGHT ELLE WATSON LISA MITCHELL MAGGIE HISS GOLDEN ROGERS MESSENGER BENJAMIN TORS FRANCIS LEFTWICH SEAFRET FRANCES THØSS MICHAEL COMMUNION KIWANUKA CLUBNIGHT NIGHT MOVES PICTURE THIS MON 6 FEBRUARY THE LEXINGTON

SUN 4 DECEMBER NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB

MON 13 FEBRUARY THE LEXINGTON

MON 5 DECEMBER SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS

TUE 21 FEBRUARY OMEARA

MON 5 DECEMBER VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

MON 27 & TUE 28 FEBRUARY OMEARA

MON 12 DECEMBER THE WAITING ROOM

THU 2 & THU 9 MARCH OMEARA

TUE 13 DECEMBER OMEARA

WED 14 DECEMBER OLD BLUE LAST

TUE 11 APRIL O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

SUN 8 JANUARY NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB

FRI 5 MAY ROYAL ALBERT HALL

MON 16 JANUARY OMEARA

THU 18 MAY ELECTRIC BALLROOM

COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK

COMMUNION PRESENTS

TICKETS FROM COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK

ALBUMS

RECORD OF THE MONTH CLOUD NOTHINGS

LIFE WITHOUT SOUND As a modern punk band, Cloud Nothings represent everything and nothing: they’re corrosive and brazen, but in a way that builds presence and feeling, with all self-righteousness left at the door. Since the band’s beginning, singer Dylan Baldi has seemed to identify with being a musical loner above anything else; Cloud Nothings records always carry the running theme of isolation and trying to find your place in the world, for better or for worse.

Baldi has weaved a narrative where he self-examines every aspect about himself, leaving no space for brutality or skepticism on his journey. His unique brand of nihilism is one that practices acceptance – it’s specifically welcomed at times – and that’s a sentiment that also translates into Cloud Nothings’ fourth studio album, Life Without Sound.

It’s a record that still sounds unequivocally Cloud Nothings, it’s galloping and brash, but added textures and morelethargic-than-usual outros create drama to the tenor of the record. Overall, Life Without Sound is a statement about release – release from yourself, from tension, from defeat, from life. Baldi – both through his lyrics and the music – is coming to terms with everything; he’s admitting vulnerability in more complex ways than ever before.

Speaking of the album, Baldi said that he realised he was missing something important in his life, a part that he didn’t realise he was missing until it was there, which is why he chose the title Life Without Sound. There are references – both directly and indirectly – to this phrase that are used to inspire and

assert the important space they occupy in new age music.

In freeing themselves Wichita // January 27th from the shackles of Stand Out Tracks: worry their previous Modern Act records exhibited, Up To The Surface Strange Year Cloud Nothings are Things Are Right With You now showing their Live: Koko, March 21st desire to live in the present, resulting in Online: @cloudnothings their most self-aware cloudnothings.com facebook.com/cloudnothings record yet.

Life Without Sound ends on a note of mutual understanding. The final song, ‘Realize My Fate’, never truly climaxes; in fact, it does the exact opposite. It starts with unbearable tension and creates a thrashy mess laced with distortion pedals, sporadic drums and out-of-tune anger.

As the song continues, his singing becomes hardcore punk scream-shouting, until his final words: “I find it hard to realise my fate / and when it comes? / I won’t be going straight”. At this point, it feels like you’re helplessly watching a violent tornado form outside your house, waiting for everything in your life to be destroyed, and there’s nothing you can do about it. First comes the shock, then the pain, then all-encompassing acceptance. As the record winds down with a quiet, thoughtful guitar line, you can’t help but feel like this was your battle too. It looks like Cloud Nothings, treading through darkness and futility, have finally found their light.

Rachel Grace Almeida

ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL STELLULAR

Vermilion Records // January 13th Arriving as the gloom of winter cloaks our days and the world falls apart in front of our disbelieving eyes, Stellular comes laden with oh-so-necessary respite from the malaise, full of comfort and empathy just when we need it most. Sure, Rose paints a vivid picture of a very real London: a “cold and cruel city” full of shady pool halls, drinking too much and “the fear of closing time”, but there’s something profoundly uplifting about this record. Between the never-say-die optimism of “I want a love to lift me up high” (the glorious ‘Space To Be’), the title track’s morale-boosting affirmation “You are stellular”, and the we’ll-face-this-fuckertogether of “Let’s go to hell and back again” (‘Hell And Back’), there’s sanctuary and hope offered in this album, and you’d be foolish to not accept it. Dave Rowlinson

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS FEED THE RATS

Rocket Recordings // January 20th A perfect balance of obnoxiousness, ridiculousness, intensity and theatrics. That’s how this porcine-friendly group from Newcastle humbly describe their heady new project. And while the five noise veterans (Blown Out, Ommadon, Khunnt) are certainly enjoying themselves, the tunes remain deadly serious. On their Rocket debut they unleash three tracks over 40 minutes which offer a white-knuckle ride through a frenzy of crunching riffs and woozy repetition. Vein-popping singer Matthew Baty leads the Lemmy-like charge by harnessing the power of their now-legendary live shows, with epic songs ‘Psychopomp’ and ‘Icon’ letting them pummel away with an eerie effortlessness. And rolled up neatly between them is the raw smile-inducing ‘Sweet Relief’. It’s a joyous, Sabbathinspired nugget of hazy rock potent enough to corrupt any brain. Pig out. Geoff Cowart

SOHN

RENNEN 4AD // January 13th Christopher Taylor aka SOHN may have taken Pitchfork’s 5.0 review of his first album, Tremors, to heart. “Tremors is nunu-indie R&B, cluttered, painfully stylized, and overaccessorized with baubles,” they said, and as a fuck you second album Rennen is the total opposite. Rennen is an exercise in restraint, an encyclopedia of skittering percussion and the sparsest synth settings available, all foregrounding Taylor’s vocals which are by turns prayer and party-like.

There’s a reverent echo to most of the record, and the churchy vibe of tracks like ‘Still Waters’ jar with the deconstructed techno of album opener ‘Hard Liquor’. They come together in the final song - ‘Harbour’ - three minutes of gentle spiritualism before the closing minute of the record: a sudden, urgent skeleton dance. Kate Solomon LiS 33

TKAY MAIDZA TKAY

Kitsune/RED // January 13th Not to be melodramatic but it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for Tkay. In reality, it’s been two and a half years since the Australian singer/MC first caught our attention with her thrillingly-diverse Switch Tape EP, but the point stands: people are excited to see if the twenty-year-old can capitalise on her early promise.

The initial omens were extremely positive. Killer Mike-starring lead single ‘Carry On’ finds Maidza baiting haters over cacophonous beats and the blare of air-raid sirens, her crisp rapping in the verses contrasting with a bratty, Charli XCX-style jump-rope chant in the chorus. Likewise, the propulsive, minimalist ‘Tennies’ posits Maidza as the missing link between Missy Elliott and Arular-era M.I.A. Completing the trio of teaser tracks, the insanely infectious ‘Simulation’ is proof that there’s plenty of mileage left in dancehall-influenced electro-pop. Impressively, they’re not even the best songs on the album. That accolade goes to the hyperactive ‘Always Been’ - which blends Baile funk influences with jackhammer beats - and bass-heavy sadbanger ‘Afterglow’. In fact, for a blissful, nine-track run it’s difficult to find fault, but once you hit the twitchy two-step of ‘State Of Mind’ your attention begins to wander, and there are still four songs left. With more ruthless editing Maidza’s debut might have been great; as it is, Tkay is a strong foundation on which to build upon. Gemma Samways

THE FLAMING LIPS OCZY MLODY

Bella Union // January 13th When The Flaming Lips make a really good album, they often spend their next two records trying to make it again.

While both Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and At War With The Mystics embarked down the trail they expertly blazed on The Soft Bulletin and returned with erratic results, attempts to recapture the unsettling glories of Embryonic have been more artistically fruitful. Taking The Terror’s fascinating drones as their last album proper, Oczy Mlody goes so much further through the looking glass that we may have lost the band we knew forever.

Rather than an indie rock group, today the ‘Lips resemble The Residents if they supped from Dali’s waterfalls more than Duchamp’s fountain. Luscious sounds run rampant despite melodies being scarce, words that talk of joy are delivered in a manner devoid of any, and tales of attempted wizard assassination unfold at a doggedly smacked-out pace. These aren’t songs in any conventional sense. ‘The Castle’ sounds like the clouds opening, but elsewhere it’s largely a punch-drunk dirge. Wayne Coyne’s plea to “Legalise it, every drug, right now” on ‘How’ partially explains things, while the rave preparations in ‘There Should Be Unicorns’ (”If the police show up we will give them so much money it will make them cry”) are far more anxious than its lyrics suggest.

Wanting to escape reality is understandable, but Oczy Mlody offers in its place a make-believe world that’s way more fucked up. Thomas Hannan

AFRICA EXPRESS PRESENTS...

THE ORCHESTRA OF SYRIAN MUSICIANS & GUESTS Transgressive // December 9th The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians & Guests is a rich testament chiefly to the work of the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music. The LP is a live recording of their performance at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and it features appearances from Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, and Julia Holter. The raison d’être of the record however is the classical Arabic music. From the transportive strains of the introductory vocal a capella to the frenzied hypnotic soloing of ‘Al Ajaleh’, the album serves as a flashily executed and deeply evocative window into eastern music. Of the few western songs rendered here Holter’s ‘Feel You’ steals the show gracefully. Altogether, it’s a joyful excursion through the united soundscapes of two distinct musical traditions. Tim Hakki

FOXYGEN

SLOWCOACHES

Jagjaguwar // January 20th

Leisure & District // December 2nd

Spectacle pop doesn’t come much more mercurial than this. Hang sees Foxygen at their manic apex, languishing in a mould of by-gone pomp-pop. Sam France is playful and emotive, a swaggering Bowie figure via Broadway, exploring all the theatricality of his voice in bottomed-out baritones and warbling melodies. The subject matter veers along an erratic line of joyous distress. A Hollywood washout puts a gun in her mouth over cheerful horns in ‘Mrs. Adams’. Festive chimes speckle a sneakily downcast ode to the US on ‘America’, masked by Randy Newman warmth. “If you’re there, then you’re already dead!”

France spools. This saccharine double-bluff is Foxygen’s appeal. It feels like the duo took one look at the headlines and put their heads in the clouds. Or the sand. Either way, Hang is great escapism.

Grant Bailey

Slowcoaches first burst onto the blog scene (remember that?) with their We’re So Heavy EP, a swift, sharp slap of fuzzed-up and frenetic lo-fi punk that saw them compared to the likes of No Age and Male Bonding. Over four years since its release and the Leeds-formed, London-based three-piece are finally ready to unleash their debut full-length.

Nothing Gives, recorded at London’s Sound Savers (Sauna Youth, Mazes, Cold Pumas), is a swift, sharp slap of frenetic punk... but forget about that fuzzed up and lo-fi nonsense – this is a far larger beast with considerably sharper teeth. Loud, relentless, fast and angry, Slowcoaches have delivered a fierce record of pop hooks and big melodies. Let’s not go another four years until the next one though, pals.

Jake May

HANG

NOTHING GIVES

LiS 35

JAPANDROIDS

NEAR TO THE WILD HEART OF LIFE ANTI- Records // January 27th

The follow up to acclaimed album Celebration Rock has been a long time coming for Vancouver's frat-noise duo Japandroids, and as it rides in on the drum-rolling, barbed-wire crescendo of the opening track, you'd be forgiven for thinking that nothings changed. As the wave breaks though, it's clear that their sound has been fine-tuned. Vocals, and consequently lyrics, are more prominent; the trademark mono-syllabic shouts are kept to a minimum; Southern rock sounds are cranked up and toes are even dipped in country influenced, acoustic guitar (’North, East, South, West’ in particular). Melodies and melancholia feature more than ever (’I’m sorry’ and ‘Midnight To Mourning’) and all over loose-ends have been tied up and swept away. The band have grown up, but it sounds like they ain't having half as much fun. Henry Wilkinson

MENACE BEACH

LEMON MEMORY Memphis Industries // January 20th Debut album Ratworld found Menace Beach in a storm of grunge and shoegaze, furiously spooling out blasts of noise and lyrical nihilism. Two years on, Lemon Memory takes that attitude and gives it a hearty polish. Liza Violet and Ryan Needham’s second album still packs the same punch, but this time it's more refined, like a boxer who’s spent hours in the gym instead of scrapping on street corners. Opener ‘Give Blood’ finds Needham sneering “Why'd you always sing about death?” while ‘Suck It Out’ is a playful mix of swaggering, sci-fi-tinged Britpop. Oppositely, ‘Maybe We'll Drown’ is an exercise in keeping things grounded, a beautifully restrained effort that acts as a dummy to the rest of the album’s thwacking uppercuts. Rhian Daly

CHERRY GLAZERR APOCALIPSTICK

Secretly Canadian // January 20th Whereas their previous releases may have been distinctly lo-fi and sometimes slow to take-off, for their third album, Cherry Glazerr deliver a collection of fuzz-rock that brings a new urgency. ‘Nuclear Bomb’ features a slow beginning that races into a bleary, fuzzed-out chorus and the album’s title track is an all-instrumental of ominous riffs and swaggering bass. The short but sweet ‘Sip O’ Poison’ is a two-minute proclamation of catharsis; where frontwoman Clementine Creevy’s vocals were in the past far more subdued, they now threaten to slide into a scream at any moment. Importantly though, after spending the past couple of years bubbling under the surface, Cherry Glazerr are finally coming into their own. Rachel Michaella Finn

Goldenvoice Presents BILLY BRAGG & JOE HENRY

LEA PORCELAIN

16.01.17 T SOLD OU UNION CHAPEL

LAURA DOGGETT

31.01.17 THE LEXINGTON

YELLOW DAYS

02.02.17 DINGWALLS

ALYSS

09.02.17 OMEARA

BARNS COURTNEY

15.02.17 OMEARA

TOM PRIOR

22.02.17 KAMIO @ RED GALLERY

28.11.16 ELECTROWERKZ

29.11.16 THE WAITING ROOM

29.11.16 T SOLD OU THE NINES PECKHAM 30.11.16 BERMONDSEY SOCIAL CLUB 30.11.16 XOYO

30.11.16 SEBRIGHT ARMS

TOURIST

02.12.16 T SOLD OU OVAL SPACE

CONNIE CONSTANCE 05.12.16 T SOLD OU ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH

SHURA

07.12.16 O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

SHAME

08.12.16 ST. MORTIZ CLUB 08.12.16 THE NINES PECKHAM 08.12.16 STAG’S HEAD HOXTON

SCHOOLBOY Q

14.12.16 O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON

TIFT MERRITT HIDDEN CHARMS CLOVES LIV DAWSON FUFANU ELBOW

04.03.17 T SOLD OU EVENTIM APOLLO 05.03.17 EVENTIM APOLLO 06.03.17 EVENTIM APOLLO

HIGHLY SUSPECT 09.03.17 KOKO

SAMPHA

29.03.17 ROUNDHOUSE

TEMPLES

30.03.17 ELECTRIC BRIXTON

ISLAND 03.05.17 HEAVEN

goldenvoice.co.uk

28.11.16 KOKO

NOV – MAY

ANNE-MARIE

THU.01.DEC.16

TUE.06.DEC.16

THU.01.DEC.16

TUE.06.DEC.16

FRI.02.DEC.16

SAT.10.DEC.16

THU.16.DEC.16

12 - 15.DEC.16 THU.19.JAN.17

MON.12.DEC.16 WED.07.DEC.16

FRI.02.DEC.16

SAT.21.JAN.17

TUE.13.DEC.16 WED.07.DEC.16

WED.25.JAN.17

FRI.02.DEC.16 THU.08.DEC.16

THU.15.DEC.16

THU.26.JAN.17

MON.05.DEC.16 FRI.09.DEC.16

THU.15.DEC.16

FRI.27.JAN.17

SAT.28.JAN.17

SAT.11.FEB.17

THU.02.MAR.17

TUE.14.FEB.16

TUE.07.MAR.17

FRI.03.FEB.16

MON.03.APR.17

MON.03.APR.17

MON.27.FEB.17 TUE.28.FEB.17 SUN.05.FEB.17

MON.17.APR.17 TUE.14.MAR.17

TUE.28.FEB.16

THU.11.MAY.17 THU.16.MAR.17

WED.08.FEB.17

SAT.03.JUN.17

TUE.28.FEB.16 SAT.11.FEB.17

TUE.28.MAR.17

SAT.25.NOV.17

EVENTS

a selection of new stuff we’re excited about: THE BEST FIT FIVE DAY FORECAST Can it be only twelve months since we were buying tickets to see the likes of Diet Cig, INHEAVEN, Pumarosa and Oscar at Best Fit’s 2016 Forecast shows? Well, you’ve seen the year those acts have had, so you can be pretty sure that the taste levels are gonna be spot-on for this year’s extravaganza.

From the pop wonder of Dagny, the indie-dreaming of Swimming Tapes to the ludicrous amount of party that is Charlotte Church’s Pop Dungeon this is a week crammed with exactly the kinda thing we love at LiS. A couple of nights are sold out, but you can still get in via full week tickets.

January 9th-13th, The Lexington, N1 9JB. @bestfitmusic // thelineofbestfit.com

U SUCK: ON ICE Pop music and ice-skating have long shared a rich history, be it Robbie Williams’ ‘She’s The One’ video or, erm, well....we won’t bore you with the rest because history is about to get a new and exciting chapter: our fave club night, U Suck, is taking a break from Birthdays this month for a onenight residence on the ice within the picturesque environs of Somerset House.

Yep, we might have to swap our exceptional dance-floor skills for clumsy gliding at first but a mulled wine or two and it’ll quickly become all salchows to ‘Sorry’, axel jumps to Ariana and probs skating on our own to Robyn. Also, ^5 for that incredible poster.

December 8th, Somerset House, WC2R 1LA @usuckclub // facebook.com/usuckclub

A DISAPPEARING EXHIBITION A collaboration between our good selves and the sweet anonymous free-gifting folk This Must Be For You, this is an art show with a difference - because you get to take all the photography home, for free! Ten photographers passed around two Polaroid cameras to ensure an exhibition low on specific brief and high on individual concepts, with diverse and real fun results. Plus, we’ll be putting on a bunch of great new bands. Good times, huh?

January 18th, Servant Jazz Quarters, N16 8JN FREE @MustBeForYou // @ServantJazz

THE FORTUNA POP! WINTER SPRINTER Hard to believe, but after twenty years of Fortuna Pop! excellence (oh, just an alumni of DIY greats like Comet Gain, Joanna Gruesome & Darren Hayman) the label is winding down.

Therefore this is the last Winter Sprinter, too.

With final Fortuna shows in March, this alwaysrad way to kick-start the year boasts an array of bands mostly not on the label, but ones they (and we) love anyway. Really, take your pick from Trust Fund, Radiator Hospital, Ultimate Painting, Martha, Girl Ray and much more.

January 3rd-6th, The Lexington, N1 9JB @fortunapop // fortunapop.com

LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Once again, January is ushered in by the London Short Film Festival. From the ICA to Hackney Picturehouse, last year saw more than 450 45-minutes-or-less films by a huge range of talented directors. Running for over a week there’s a ton of stuff to get involved in, from the giant opening night party to Q&As with directors, and panels dedicated to important world issues. The full programme is under wraps for now, but what better way to spend the long cold evenings than discovering the newest talent in independent cinema?

January 6th-15th, Various Venues. @LSFF // shortfilms.org.uk

LiS 41

ThursdaY 01OCTOBER DecemBER | 7:00 SUNdaY 02 | 7:00

BOSTON MANOR DIY ALL DAYER FEAT PRIDES01 + MORE ThursdaY DecemBER | 7:00 MONdaY 03 OCTOBER | 7:00 WHISKEY MYERS NE 09 OBLIVISCARIS FRIDAY decemBER | 7:00 TUESdaYNO-ONE 04 OCTOBER | 7:30 KING OSCAR FRIDAY 09 DECEMBER | 7:00 WEDNESdaY 05 OCTOBER | 7:00 CRIPPLED BLACK ELECTRIC CITIZEN PHOENIX

WednESdaY FEBRUARY | 7:30 TUESdaY 1808 OCTOBER | 7:00

CHROME + TEETH OF WOVENHAND THE SEA THURSdaY 20 OCTOBER | 7:00 Thursday 23 february | 7:00 INHEAVEN JESSARAE SATURdaY 22 OCTOBER | 7:00 SATURDAY INME25 FEBRUARY | 6:00 BAD ELEPHANT SATURdaY 22 OCTOBER | 7:00 MUSIC sunday 26 february | 6:00 NEGURA BUNGET TIGER TALES SUNdaY 23MOTH OCTOBER | 6:30 THURSdaY OCTOBER| 7:30 | 7:00 SATURDAY 1006 DECEMBER Thursday 09HARTS march | 7:00 DEAD BLOOD YOUTH DEVILMENT JULY SUNdaY TALK 23 OCTOBER | 7:00 THURSdaY OCTOBER| 7:30 | 7:00 SATURdaY 1006 DECEMBER thursday 16 March | 7:00 OBSCURA MITSKI LAWNMOWER DETH VUKOVI MONdaY 24 OCTOBER | 7:30 FRIdaY 07 OCTOBER | |7:00 MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 7:00 tuesday 28 MARCH | 6:30 PORCHES GUITAR WOLF HATE + NOCTEM NEW CARNIVAL Wednesday 26 OCTOBER | 7:00 SAT 08 & SUN 09 OCTOBER THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER | 3:00| 3:00 Thursday 06 april | 7:30 ANGELCORPSE LIVE EVILLES 2016 REGARDE HALEY BONAR FRIdaY 28 OCTOBER | 7:00 MONdaY 10 OCTOBER | 7:00 HOMMES TOMBRE Thursday 06 april | 7:30 BLACK FOXXES CHUCK MOSELEY THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER | 7:00 MISERY SATURdaY 29INDEX OCTOBER | 7:00 WEDNESdaY 12 OCTOBER | 7:30 ROLAND LEE GIFT saturday 08 APRIL | 7:00 STRAIGHT LINES TURNOVER SATURDAY 31 DECEMBER | 6:00 MAGENTA SATURdaY 29 OCTOBER | 8:00 FRIdaY 14 OCTOBER | 7:00 SADISTIC INTENT NYE SATURDAY 22 APRIL | 7:00 ROZALEN DEAD LETTER TUESDAY 10 JANUARY | 7:00 CIRCUS OFERMOD MONdaY 31 OCTOBER | 7:00 FRIdaY 14 OCTOBER BALANCE &| 7:00 SATURdaY 22 APRIL | 7:00 BLANK MANUSCRIPT FRANCIS DUNNERY COMPOSURE WHILE SLEEPS WednesdaySHE 02 NOVEMBER | 7:00 SATURdaY 15 WEDNESDAY 25OCTOBER JANUARY||7:00 7:30 SUNDAY 23 april | 8:00 SHVPES KERBDOG THE HOTELIER WHILE SHE SLEEPS THURSdaY 03 NOVEMBER | 7:00 Sunday 16 THURSDAY 26OCTOBER JANUARY| 7:00 | 7:00 SATurday 13 may | 1:00 BLACK TUSK CARCER CITY BLACK PEAKS INCINERATION FEST THURSdaY 03 NOVEMBER | 7:00 MONdaY 17 OCTOBER | 7:00 FRIDAY 03 FEBRUARY | 7:00 SATURDAY 01 JULY | 11:00& TELEGRAM TRAP THEM DEAD! WONKFEST PHOBOPHOBES TUESdaY 18 OCTOBER | 7:00 FRIDAY 03 FEBRUARY | 7:00 FRI 04 & SAT 05 NOVEMBER | 6:00 THE MAHONES KEVIN DEVINE STATIC SHOCK WEEKEND

GIGS OF THE MONTH

OUR PICK OF THE BEST SHOWS HAPPENING OVER THE NEXT 2 MONTHS

THE TOOTING TRAM & SOCIAL CLEAN CUT // SKIES + MORE

The radiant folk behind When The Gramophone Rings are throwing an Xmas party in Tooting, and they’ve got some real ace bands playing.

10/12/16 £7adv @TootingTram TOOTING BROADWAY

BRIXTON WINDMILL

THE LEXINGTON

The Trashmouth Records Christmas shindig is packed with an absolute blast of a line-up, headed up by the raucous party that is Meatraffle.

If you don’t know about Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs yet, then check our album review on pg 33, and put your faith in this awesome night from the champs at Baba Yaga’s Hut.

16/12/16 £5adv @windmillbrixton

21/01/17 £8adv @thelexington

MEATRAFFLE // TAMAN SHUD // PIT PONIES + MORE

PIGS X7 // LOWER SLAUGHTER

BRIXTON

ANGEL

photo: sebastian nevols

SHACKLEWELL ARMS OUR GIRL

With a moonlighting The Big Moon member in their ranks, and a rich vein of sumptuous indie in their hearts, Our Girl are winning fans everywhere.

13/12/16 FREE @Shacklewell Arms

DALSTON JUNCTION / KINGSLAND

O2 FORUM

THE FALL // FOTL // GIRL BAND // HOOKWORMS Ridiculous line-up from Club.The.Mamooth, including so many of our favourite makers of the best noise.

FUTURE OF THE LEFT

MOTH CLUB

KENTISH TOWN

28/01/17 From £25 // @O2ForumKTown

FORTUNA POP! XMAS COVERS PARTY

17/12/16 £5adv @Moth_Club

Fortuna Pop! are collecting a bunch of their favourite artists (order arranged on the night), only letting them play covers and donating £ to Shelter. Win!

HACKNEY CENTRAL LiS 45

SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS

O2 ISLINGTON ACADEMY

A chance to catch the legendary Stereolab singer in this intimate environment is one you don’t want to be passing up.

Still full of all the vicious wit you’d expect, it’s great to see these indie survivors still going as strong as ever.

15/12/16 £tbc @ServantJazz

10/12/16 £19adv @O2Islington

LAETITIA SADIER // BAMBOO

THE WEDDING PRESENT

DALSTON JUNCTION / KINGSLAND

O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE MEXRRISSEY

If you don’t want to see a Mexican band re-creating Morrissey songs with strings, brass and Mexican flair then, well...

OSLO

28/01/17 £20.50adv @o2sbe SHEPHERD’S BUSH

HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN

AMBER ARCADES

SWIMMING TAPES // ZUZU

Amber Arcades was a total highlight of festival season, wowing us at End of The Road and The Great Escape alike.

This is her biggest London show yet.

18/01/17 £8.50adv @OsloHackney

ANGEL

One of our top picks to do something magic in 2017, catch the dreamy indiepop of Swimming Tapes now.

HACKNEY CENTRAL

09/12/16 FREE @HoxtonSquareBar

OLD STREET

THE GOOD SHIP

NEW CROSS INN

PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES // SKURVI // RAGE DC + MORE

PET PORTRAIT // HARTS BARQUE // GET HUMAN // L SICARIO

The annual appearance of stalwarts Peter And The Test Tube Babies in New Cross to celebrate xmas with punk‘n’beer.

The last show Pet Portrait are playing for a while (possibly ever), so make sure you don’t miss out on this one. There are no emoji that express adequate sadness.

30/12/16 £8adv @NewCrossInn

15/12/16 £4adv @thegoodshipNW6

NEW CROSS / NEW CROSS GATE

KILBURN

THE DOME

BLACK PEAKS After a huge‘n’noisey 2016, Black Peaks are looking to keep the momentum going in 2017.

Expect about as much fun as humans can have.

BLACK PEAKS LiS 46

26/01/17 £10adv @DomeTufnellPark

TUFNELL PARK

THE VICTORIA

ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL With a new album finally coming in January, (reviewed on pg.33), we’re real happy that the former Pipette is back on the pop scene, and making incredible music.

13/12/16 £5adv @VICTORIADALSTON

DALSTON JUNCTION/ KINGSLAND

WAITING ROOM

RHAIN // J CHURCHER A Bristol artist that a lot of people are getting very excited about, this is her debut London show, so don’t miss out.

07/12/16 £6.50adv @WaitingRoomN16

DALSTON JUNCTION/ KINGSLAND

An up’n’coming rapper, who has already collaborated with Giggs, listen to his ‘March Madness’ mixtape, and get on this one early.

15/12/16 £7adv @_Birthdays DALSTON JUNCTION/ KINGSLAND

ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL

BIRTHDAYS

YOUNGS TEFLON

BEDROOM BAR

JORO // ANTONIA VAI + MORE This nine-piece afrobeat band from London soak up all the influences of Fela Kuti to create their own unique sound. Dance hard.

18/12/16 FREE @Bedroom_Bar

OLD STREET

PAPER DRESS VINTAGE

CATS FROM JAPAN + MORE See in the New Year in Style as Paper Dress Vintage throw a giant Bowie-themed party, so just about the best party, huh?

31/12/16 £10adv @paperdressed

HACKNEY CENTRAL

THE LOCK TAVERN

100 CLUB

There’s gonna be fun for miles at The Lock Tavern this New Year, and Bad Breeding are just the band to get that all going.

2017 will see the 30-year anniversary of The Telescopes, toast their classic indie psychedelica at 100 Club.

31/12/16 FREE @thelocktavern

25/01/17 £12.50adv @100clubLondon

BAD BREEDING + MORE

CHALK FARM / CAMDEN TOWN

THE TELESCOPES

TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD LiS 47

HINDS FRI 2 DEC O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

GIRL BANDOLD OUT S THURS 8 DEC SCALA

RHAIN WED 7 DEC THE WAITING ROOM

ROZI PLAIN & FRIENDS FRI 9 DEC OMEARA

THE MOONLANDINGZ UT OLD O WED 7 DEC S THE COURTYARD

CATE LE BON WED 14 DEC ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL

PETER SILBERMAN (THE ANTLERS) WED 7 & THURS 8 DEC THE FORGE

ANDY SHAUF WED 8 FEB OSLO HACKNEY

MITSKI MON 6 MAR VILLAGE UNDERGROUND GLASS ANIMALS THURS 16 MAR O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON CAR SEAT HEADREST THURS 23 MAR ELECTRIC BALLROOM YANN TIERSEN MON 30 OCT 2017 ROYAL ALBERT HALL

COMMUNIONS WED 15 FEB THE LEXINGTON PARALLELLINESPROMOTIONS.COM

DECEMBER & JANUARY FULL LISTINGS YOUR DAY-BY-DAY GUIDE TO ALL THE GIGS, AT ALL THE VENUES, COMING UP IN LONDON. FOR ALL THE LATEST & MOST UP-TO-DATE LISTINGS, AND TO SIGN UP TO OUR GIGS OF THE WEEK EMAIL, VISIT LONDONINSTEREO.COM THURSDAY 1ST DECEMBER

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FROM £12 // TOOTING TRAM AND SOCIAL

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TUESDAY 31ST JANUARY JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR £21ADV / O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY

THE RADIO DEPT.

12—16 Shacklewell Arms 71 Shacklewell Lane London E8 Monday 5 December

CHEENA Thursday 8 December

THE GOOCH PALMS Saturday 17 December

USA NAILS NYE: Saturday 31 December SABOTAGE: BEASTIE BOYS TRIBUTE

Lanzarote

lanzaroteworks.com #lanzaroteworks

presents

Friday 9 December

WHISTLEJACKET NYE: Saturday 31 December HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE LOVED NYE

The Waiting Room 175 Stoke Newington High St N16 Monday 5 December

A GIANT DOG Saturday 17 December

JAYDA G Monday 19 December

The Lock Tavern 35 Chalk Farm Rd London NW1 Monday 5 December

ACID TONGUE Wednesday 7 December

CLEVER THING Friday 9 December

DANCEHALL Saturday 31 December

BAD BREEDING The Montague Arms 289 Queen’s Rd London SE14 Friday 2 December

PHOBOPHOBES

SEAN NICHOLAS SAVAGE NYE: Saturday 31 December LET’S GO SWIMMING: BIG MIZ Saturday 14 January

MARIE DAVIDSON (LIVE) MOTH Club Valette St London E8 Saturday 3 December

HMLTD Tuesday 6 December

FLAVIEN BERGER NYE: Saturday 31 December

CAVE CLUB NYE Sunday 1 January

SECRETSUNDAZE

TALES FROM THE CITY

Gabriella Cohen

photo: Kain Balzary

After a 27 hour flight from Australia, it was nice to arrive in London. We got our hire car and drove straight into the city to pick up our drummer, Johnny, who we had met on Skype only a few days before. It is a spectacular feeling, being a bit delusional and giddy after an enormous flight and then you find yourself on the other side of the world, in LONDON. Because my manager is brave, we drove straight to Leeds from arriving in London. I remember drinking a few too many litres of water and well, I've never experienced so much dramatics- zooming down the highway, trying to find a toilet....

Our show at the Brudenell Social Club was the following night. The day of the show we met up with Guro, who fronts her own band, All We Are, and had a short rehearsal before running to sound check.

That was a good gig, we played with Wooden Ships and it sold out. My partner in crime and band mate, Kate Dillon, tried out her British accent on the audience. I believe they had a laugh.

The last few days in London saw us staying in the kitschest Airbnb, a tiny white dolls house filled to the brim with stuff and things that one doesn't need. It was so tiny that we had to do yoga in a space between the bathroom door and a bedroom door. Really zen stuff, you know.

I got completely abused at four in the morning by the woman who lived under our Airbnb, because of the racket our gear made down the staircase. I wanted to suggest the landlord put carpet on the stairs to soundproof them a bit, but it wasn't really the best time to interrupt the most fierce hurtle of whispered hissing abuse... ah well we probably deserved it.

Alright, let me change the mood.

Big highlight was going into the 4AD office and meeting Ed and the rest of the team. Kate, being Kate, recorded a song for her upcoming (INCREDIBLE AND UNIQUE AF) album, Chinatown, in their beautiful studio downstairs. Thank you Fabian, you are a gem.

Buckingham Palace guards was really something. Comedic, almost. I could only imagine their sweet relief when they can get home and laugh and cry and surrender their limbs to human activity...

I want to thank our lovely and hardworking booker, Alex Bruford for making sure we come back to England next year in September, and big thanks to Jodie Banaszkiewicz from Stay Golden PR for her passion and hard work. Not to mention our manager, Lorrae McKenna, who without her brilliant navigational skills, we would still be lost in a subway in London.

Thank you all who came to our shows and supported us - we will be back. Xx Gabriella releases her debut album Full Closure And No Details in the UK December 2nd, via Captured Tracks.

ONLINE: @gabriellaacohen // facebook.com/gabriellacohenmusic // soundcloud.com/gabriellacohen LiS 71

PRESENTS

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK

by Andrew Hannah They call it post-truth, don’t they? “They” who occupy both sides of the debate, “they” who – and I use this in the loosest possible sense – masterminded four election/referendum results which sent the left (me included) into a spiral of self-doubt, self-loathing and schism. The 2015 general election, the Scottish referendum on independence, FUCKING BREXIT and now Trump’s win in the US. A series of results which broke hearts, minds and the Labour party, possibly irreparably.

In the words of Father John Misty, let’s call it what it is. It’s lying. Professional lying by those in power, rank amateur lying by internet warriors conned by the likes of Gove, Farage, Johnson, May….I mean the list goes on. I can’t remember a time when I last looked up, without qualification, to a politician. Even sainted Nicola Sturgeon has let me down with the SNP’s stance on the third runway at Heathrow. Nothing’s sacred anymore. Abhorrent behaviour becomes normalised along the way.

We all take part in post-truth, though. From our internet personas – the magnified, out of proportion parts of our personalities we allow to roam unleashed on Twitter and Facebook – where we bend the truth with ourselves and each other on a daily basis, to the music we listen to…we’re lying to ourselves. I mentioned Father John Misty earlier – we’re not going to find truth in his embellished stories and heavy irony, but he’s not the only one. Pop music’s apparent escapism through tales of love, and partying til the sun comes up simply starts to feel cold when everything we surround ourselves with is a house of cards.

That’s why cries of “just think of the music we’ll get out of four years of Trump” are empty, nonsensical utterances. Sometimes retreating to the records we love just doesn’t work when we’re looking for some kind of ship-steadying comfort. I could listen to Sufjan, Wilco, Jenny Hval and Grouper for days on end and it’s not going to make the horror of Donald Trump, Steve Bannon et al disappear.

Now more than ever we need to take ourselves away from the online world, from those who whisper lies into our ears while we lie in a darkened room with only a record for company.

We have to speak out, take action, move, motivate ourselves, protect those who need protection the most. Now is the time that we have to make sure we don’t give up.

The world’s in danger. Let’s try and fucking save it.

LiS 73

PRESENTS

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK

PRESENTS

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S.J.M. CONCERTS PRESENTS

PLUS SHE DREW THE GUN / HIDDEN CHARMS

16 DEC / O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE

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16 JAN / HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN

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09 & 10 FEB / ALEXANDRA PALACE

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23 MAR / ROUNDHOUSE

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29 MAR / KOKO

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19 & 20 JULY / THE O2

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