Gigs Of The Week: 11 – 17 April 2011
The Low Anthem (pictured) – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 11 April
The Bella Union record label must be bracing themselves for the coming months as their flagship band Fleet Foxes gear up for the release of second album Helplessness Blues. In their wake we've seen the label triumph with a series of excellent acts proving that success can breed success. One of the finest has been Rhode Island four-piece The Low Anthem, who put out their fourth album, Smart Flesh, earlier this year. Blending folk and country with rock and gospel, they may just be the best of the current wave of all that can be filed under that strange Americana category.
More details here.
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – Royal Festival Hall, London – 13 April
When Nigerian master of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, died in 1997, it was his youngest son Seun who took over his band Egypt 80. In the UK for his first full tour of the country, he'll be playing some of the tracks from his recently released album From Africa With Fury: Rise, an album that finds him following his father's lead but in a more digestible way. Support comes from Malian act Donso, for an African Soul Rebels lineup that will continue to Northampton, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Basingstoke and Poole.
More details here.
Also Recommended:
Teitur – Bush Hall, London – 11 April
Jose Gonzalez with The Gothenburg String Theory – Barbican, London – 11 April
Young Rebel Set – Lexington, London – 12 April
Architecture In Helsinki – XOYO, London – 12 April
Cloud Control – XOYO, London – 13 April
The Brute Chorus – Lexington, London – 13 April
Marcus Foster – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London – 13 April
Ben Howard – Borderline, London – 14 April
J Mascis – Relentless Garage, London – 14 April
Saint Saviour – Hoxton Hall, London – 14 April
Raghu Dixit – Royal Festival Hall, London – 15 April
Ghostpoet – XOYO, London – 16 April
Metronomy – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 16 April
Just Announced:
Battles – Heaven, London – 8 June
Four years after they wrapped the hype machine around their skittish fingers and became the figureheads for everyone's favourite non-genre mathrock, Battles are back with their second album, Gloss Drop, due for release on 6 June. Taster track Ice Cream (downloadable from their website) finds Matias Aguayo taking over the vocals where Tyondai Braxton left off, all rushed glitchy rhythms and distorted melodies. Having sold out their gig on 20 April at the ICA in an hour, they'll be back for another headline gig at Heaven in June, as well as sets in Brighton, Manchester, Dublin, Leeds and Glasgow.
More details here.
Beirut – Brixton Academy, London – 16 September
It's never been difficult to spot where Beirut's influences have come from. Whether its Balkan folk, Mexican mariachi or French chanson, the band play up their debt to whatever they, or presumably frontman, Zach Condon, has been obsessing over recently. But with a third full-length album being released later this year, there are few clues as to what we can expect this time around. Their recent cover version of Caetana Veloso's O Leãozinho, recorded for the Red Hot & Rio 2 compilation raising money for the Red Hot Organisation, might suggest a shift towards Brazilian tropicalia, which would be no bad thing. They'll be in London and in Manchester this September.
More details here.
