Under starters’ orders, and they’re off:  Swn is 5.  Time once again to abandon such fripperies as sleep and regular meal times in favour of thirstily seeking out as much brilliant new music as Cardiff’s live venues can belch at you.  Away we go…

This year’s twist is a packed-out and boozy schedule across all venues on the Sunday, replacing the more laid-back Gwdi Hw events of recent years; instead, Thursday night is less frenetic than usual, allowing for a gentler introduction to the weekend, but there’s still plenty to investigate and enjoy. For a sure-footed start Clwb for Elephant Stone‘s bubblegum psych-pop. Stay around for a bit of Algiers‘ tuneful post-punk clatter but be sure to hop to Dempseys and crane your neck towards Elephant (no relation) who offer sweet boy/girl harmonies and delicate, dark 60s-tinged pop. Back to Clwb for the ever-splendid shambling antifolk joy of Herman Dune, after which you can either stake out a spot in a heaving 10 Feet Tall to see Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat croon and murmer post-watershed sweet nothings over Bill Wells‘ jazzy arrangements or chance your arm on getting in and catch North Walians Jen Jeniro‘s heart-tugging pop in between. If you’re off work on Friday, or made of strong stuff, there’s Yr Ods in O’Neills or Fixers‘ dayglo Animal Collective-inspired pop at Dempseys; Buffalo then take day one long into the night with crackling, moody techno-infused dubstep from Martyn and Disclosure‘s languid, haunting beats. It’s 4am. Shouldn’t you be in bed?

It being the weekend proper, Friday packs the good stuff in like Swn of old. Fill your satchel with Ginsters and Lucozade, it’s going to be an endurance test. Start in fine style with a little Swn-themed bingo in CAI but don’t miss Two Wounded Birds, skinny wolves forced out of the shadows early doors to glower and coo for your enjoyment. They’re upstairs in Clwb, from where you should be able to hear Run, WALK! screaming blue bloody murder downstairs. Suitably tenderised and exhilarated, hop to Buffalo where Lesson No. 1 host a night-long glowering contest featuring the reshuffled and always excellent Brandyman, the meat-grinder unpleasantness and slithering noise of The Good Wife and Sweden’s Skull Defekts. Three hours can be very well spent just darting between there and Undertone; there, the Rusty Trombone Of God offer up a plethora of improvised, psychedelic esoterica. Team Sports‘ cello/samplers/drums set-up is the skyscraping highlight, but check out the moog-heavy prog/drone fuzz of Ultrahumanitarian and psych wayfarers Ashtray Navigations too. There’s more though, and an equally fine time can be had checking Gross Magic‘s goofy lo-fi fun and moody post-hardcore instrumentalists Brontide (both Clwb) followed by the brilliant c86-meets-Lush dual harmonies and snappy new wave pop of Veronica Falls and Gallops!‘ propulsive electro/post-rock attack (both Dempseys). Following on from the latter, Clwb go electronic for the rest of the night. Ifan Dafydd does intriguing things with James Blake-esque vocal manipulation and eyebrow-raising samples, and with Stay+ bringing booming bass thud and Seams’ glitchy beats and quicksilver dexterity you’re all set. Modern Life Is Rubbish have your back in Undertone if your needs are more indie-flavoured. Buy them a drink and you’ll get your request played. Deal.

Day three. Alldayer time, and the men and boys are separated. Heroes of the weekend are surf-rock titans Y Niwl, casually doubling last year’s tally by playing four sets in a day. Perm any two from four and you’re sorted; miss them all and you’re an utter chump. You’ve been warned. Start your day with them in CAI if you choose, followed by a one-two of Kiwi noise-punk duo DZ Deathrays and fuzz-punk scruffs Mowbird in Buffalo. For an alternative take there’s more cerebral fare afoot in Chapter, where dots.filmband unfold intricate compositions for short film in front of the big screen. Following that relaxed start, Barefoot Dance Of The Sea‘s gorgeous three-part harmonies and lovelorn shanties and either Summer Camp‘s cute, knowing keyboard-driven indiepop or the flinty-voiced atmospheric balladry of Sam Airey will do nicely. Whichever route you take, don’t miss Eagulls‘ excellent shambling racket in Undertone or LA2019‘s pristine, pulsing Vangelis-via-Boards Of Canada neon dreamscapes in Clwb. After that, it’s a cross-town dash to the Uni to join several hundred lumpy fortysomethings waiting to see The Fall. The main attraction shouldn’t be missed, naturally, city hobgoblin MES’ gnomic mumblings and stentorian gaze overseeing his charges’ roiling, savage stew of post-punk rhythm and krautock rifferama. Head over early for Ted Chippington‘s blank-faced verse and the new-for-2011 reanimation of the Nightingales, Robert Lloyd’s vituperative Midlands counterpoint to the Fall lent similar new vigour. Should all that not appeal, beat a path to Chapter instead; there, Bleeding Heart Narrative‘s delicately crafted music-box post-rock soundscapes and the warm, flickering melancholy of Daughter will soothe tired limbs and hearts. Further solace can be sought with Melodica, Melody and Me (Undertone), whose twinkling percussion and dextrous assimilation of styles make up for an awful name, while Beaty Heart‘s joyful Afrobeat and sticky pop hooks offer a gleefully danceable variant on the theme at Dempseys. Perhaps thankfully, there’s a lull late in the evening; plenty on, but few thrills. Grab some food, or something. Then queue up at Dempseys for Y Niwl‘s triumphant final set of the day, before dosing up on The Keys‘ mercurial psych-pop in a sweaty O’Neills. By then you’ll be either dead or dancing; if the latter, join perennial party-starters Ugly Duckling for hands-in-the-air hip-hop classicism at CAI. Then fall over.

Great! It’s Sunday. Nice big lunch, maybe a relaxing few hours in one place watching a few bands… oh bollocks. Yes, it’s another full programme, rich with noise and giddy enthusiasm. Wash down your Sunday roast at Quiz Quest, Cardiff’s premier cake-awarding Powerpoint quiz about East 17. They’re in the Owain Glyndwr this year, handy for checking out Barry-based artist and renaissance dude Carl Chapple‘s portrait exhibition Musicians in the High Street Arcade during half-time. Early musical recommendations? Try FAMY at Buffalo for slanted pop charm like an over-stimulated Grizzly Bear (the band, sadly), or Olympians‘ hyper-melodic math-pop in Undertone. First must-see, though, is Right Hand Left Hand‘s annual “where the bloody hell have you been” set in Dempseys. Insist on an album release from these men. It must happen. Haste ye then to O’Neills, where Them Squirrels‘ twisty, proggy tempo-switches and jubilant clatter opens a killer Shape Records stage. Stretch your legs with a dash to catch a curiously early set from Danish electro-pop gems Battlekat in CAI – surely better suited to a celebratory late-night slot – before returning for Gentle Friendly, pummelling through two-minute nuggets of catchy blastbeats and see-sawing buzzpop choruses. More of that sort of thing! To whit, Kutosis, trailing their soon-come new album at Dempseys, as do Truckers of Husk back in O’Neills. If you’re flagging or in need of less familiar thrills by that point, however, detour either to Undertone for Hail! The Planes‘ stately, stirring post-rock or over to CAI where a triple-team of yearning indie-pop/c86 revivalism kicks off with stripped-back duo Big Deal‘s lyrical intimacy and fat-free grunge-pop guitars and The History Of Apple Pie‘s borrowed nostalgia for an unremembered, er, 90s. From that point there are a handful of equally fine routes to take. Dam Mantle get a bum deal with an 8pm headline set in Buffalo, but their glorious melding of superbly funky electronica and unsettling horror fx will rule regardless; follow that with the Swn return of mental Bristolian world/funk/psych hydra Zun Zun Egui in Gwdi Hw. That, or the awesomely kinetic one-man guitar and drum looping wunderkind Theo in Undertone followed by Saturday’s Kids in Dempseys. Or H. Hawkline followed by Sweet Baboo in O’Neills, perfectly positioned to allow you to take in David Dondero‘s warm, engaging and witty alt-country folk songs at 10 Feet Tall in between sets. Phew. Come the end of the night, and the weekend, there’s always one band that unites everyone who’s peeled off on different, equally rewarding paths. It’s how Swn is; Future of the Left have been that band, so have Islet. This year, saints preserve us, it’s Strange News From Another Star. In Undertone, not noted for its capacity, temperate climate or working toilets. You’ll be relieved when it’s all over, but you’ll miss it by Monday.

EAGULLS

Eagulls played last year’s Sŵn, the crowd comprising ten people and a big Clinic-shaped hole. Don’t be a fool this year: the Leeds band make a terrific sneering racket, shambolically loose and ASBO noisy, their scuffed shoes guitaring coming off like some awkward meeting between Dinosaur Jr and Earl Brutus. Hopefully the bassist won’t feel like comedy machine gunning the audience again (though that was quite cool).

THEM SQUIRRELS

So glad this band haven’t been shelved amidst the ruckus surrounding Islet. TS include JT and Alex from said band; they also feature wailing violin, mutli-tempo drum seizures and guitar work that ranges from mathy fret abuse to prog-tinged meandering. A Squirrels gig still, unfortunately, being quite rare at the moment (Joy Collective coaxed a support slot out of them earlier in the year, to an audience of thousands), your presence is required here.

THE RUSTY TROMBONE OF GOD PRESENTS…

Freeform heaven at Undertone. Rusty Trombone bring the out there bands into Cardiff, and this one’s a heavy dose. Headlining is one Phil Todd, better known as Ashtray Navigations, and responsible for a heroic slew of home recorded brilliance, of tapes and CDRs that smoosh up fried psychedelia, raga bliss outs, twitching circuit boards and a general atomising of genre boundaries. Phil is a DIY dude and has probably released a few more albums since you started reading this. Go see. Stellar support too: Team Sports played certainly the best laptop/drums/cello/static storm set I’ve seen this year, and are the only Sŵn band to have performed halfway up a mountain (probably); Ultrahumanitarian (another Leeds crew) aim improv Moog and drum noise into the heart of several great galaxies, while His Naked Torso make bastard sounds to please that deranged garage/no wave skronk section of your brain. Obey your brain!

SEAMS

Still unsure about whether this appearance will quell fears of ‘dude behind laptop’ syndrome (though yer man James Welch has promised ‘singing’ in his future work, whatever that is), it’s a humongous fact that the music of Seams at least is covered in tonnes of glory. Check ‘Nightcycles’, all hushed hums and buried beats, or the ‘Tourist’ EP, which took sampled Berlin street chatter into warm, atmospheric places. They’re the best sounds, presented in obsessive detail.

dots.filmband

Lowercase darlings, dots.filmband will inject much classiness into your Ginsters-snaffling weekend. Their M.O. is collaboration with filmmakers, providing the musical backing to animated or live action images. Sŵn details are sketchy at time of writing; what’s clear is even a cursory listen to previous work shows great sweeping brilliance, of delicate piano and strings that makes the incidental vital. Sit near the front.

TWO WOUNDED BIRDS

You might not position a ghostly, crooning, surf-inflected rock band as springing from Margate but it kinda makes sense here: Two Wounded Birds contain both the delicious faded glamour of rundown treasures and the underlying creepiness that hides behind net curtains in David Lynch films. Their quiet songs work best: crawling within clouds of guitar lurk, waves shivering over leather-jacketed dead bodies. Sort of thing.

ELEPHANT

Could well be that this geographically seasoned (Pontefract/France/London) duo fill what’s known (in my head) as Sŵn’s Still Corners hole i.e. some sort of species of swooning, whooshing, pop tremendousness. While not as lush and retrogleaming as that London band, Elephant’s precision sighing may still yield live results if singles ‘Ants’ and ‘Allured’ are any yardstick: breathy female vocals at the forefront, conducting things skyward.

DAVID DONDERO

Sometimes, the oldies are the besties. David Dondero has the unfortunate curse of sounding a fair bit like the chap from Bright Eyes, though Dave has the drop on age and experience: active since the early ’90s in bands like Sunbrain and This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, the Minnesotan now makes effortless-sounding country blues shapes, easy rolling with good humour and life well lived. Another gem from the good promoting folks of Gathered In Song.

LESSON NO.1 PRESENTS…

If it can match the best of last year’s brutality (Bellini/Arabrot/Wounds is a sandwich any true Epicurean should salivate over) this will be real fine times. Another raw feast: The Skull Defekts are from Sweden and sound like they worship scary Gods – their anvil psych is like a repetitive nose hammering (in a good way). Joining them are The Good Wife, who just sound nasty: deranged wailing, Jesus Lizard-style scraping, a slow, creeping death (in a good way). And please be upstanding for Cardiff’s premier scumbags Brandyman, back from the dead with a rejigged line up and a renewed purpose of sounding like a feral landlord kicking metal fans out of his pub. They really are the fucking best.

(With further nods to Gentle Friendly, Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells, Yaaks, Stay+, Niki & The Dove, Esben & The Witch, Ren Harvieu, Mechanical Bride, Winter Villains…)

When I was in school, myself and a couple of other sweet toothed friends used to have fun with the hundreds of Kinder Egg toys we’d amassed, disassembling, heating with a lighter and melting together the tiny plastic components into twisty new creations. Why can’t an arm grow out of a face, or a car? The debut album from Bristol’s Jelas reminds of those times: their songs are twitchy mutants that follow their triple noses along awkward linear paths, separate sections bolted together and writhing with freedom. Guitar/bass/drums/vocals may form the core of the noises they make, but the end result is like a warped take on what they used to say about early REM, that everyone solos all the time. It’s just in this case it sometimes sounds like the members are soloing from different songs at the same time (NB – they don’t sound like REM).

Opener ‘You Days Are Numbered’ rolls in on martial drumming and strident guitar lines, crunching through choppy, quickly changing variations, uneasy standing still or repeating anything. It’s unusual amongst ‘Body Parts’ songs in that it’s mostly instrumental; most songs are more like the following ‘Thundercloudbusting’: two or more voices rolling loosely over the music and each other, clashing, meshing, set at weird angles to everything else. Sometimes meandering half asleep, sometimes madly agitated, the vocals (cliche ahead) are an instrument in their own right, dead in keeping with the freeform ideas splurge, and fairly evenly split between Colin’s frazzled English gent and Natalie (also of superb clattering duo Bellies!)’s equally wonky rambling. ‘Spiders’ is the exception, a shy and strangely affecting meditation on saving the creatures from being squished that features drummer Aled’s semi-spoken wobbling, and which rocks like a surreal short story gradually blazing into light. The album’s lyrics as a whole are a dense stew of oblique imagery and fractured word play, again feeding into the feel of ‘The Body Parts’ being heavy with imagination and substance, even as the music moves between fiery crashes and awkward silences. Songs like ‘Antarctica Toc’ and ‘Like A Person’ contain both, post punk creeping that plays with space as well as skronk, and thrills unnervingly.

There’s a lot in here, especially relative to the album’s half hour running time. Something like ‘Hepatitis C Hepatitis Do’ (yes, they have the best song titles as well), with its hopscotching vocals and random guitar crashes, Nat’s terrific rising cry ripping the ending, feels substantial, joyous with meaning, even if you don’t know what that meaning is. ‘The Body Parts’ is strange, funny and brilliant. Stick your hand in, pull out the guts.

Available now or soon from these fine people:

http://jelas.bandcamp.com

http://www.localkid.co.uk

http://www.spillersrecords.co.uk/

AND! Colin, Nat and Aled were kind enough to cough up some memories and write this nice track by track guide to ‘The Body Parts’.

You Days Are Numbered

Colin: Probably our happiest song. This title came from a note I left underneath Aled’s drumstool when he went to the toilet once. I think Aled was inspired by this.

Aled: Inspired to kick your ass!

Thundercloudbusting

Colin: Ballad.

Nat: Duet. Pretty.

Aled: A lot of Saxophone on this one, soulfully played by haggard blues man Sam Goff. He used to play live with us quite frequently, but we haven’t really spoken since we replaced him with a keyboard.

We’re Practically a Boyband

Colin: I regret that our band has two tall men in it.

Nat: I wrote this for Colin and Aled to tell them I love them despite them being tall men. But then I never told them that. Or I might have done, but that was when I used to drink, so I can’t really remember.

Aled: That’s lovely, Nat. Although I don’t believe that Colin actually regrets being tall, because he favours a relentless comparison of himself with Didier ‘The Dog’ Drogba, scorer of many goals. I quite like being tall, but I have the decency to sit down when we play.

Colin: I’m actually much more like Gareth Bale, but right footed.

Hepatitis C Hepatitis Do

Colin: Aled said that Vitamin C Vitamin Do wasn’t offensive enough.

Nat: Good call. This song’s about having a heart attack. I’ve never had one though.

Aled: That’s not true! We all agreed that Vitamin C Vitamin Do sounded too pleasant for a song about heart attacks, I just happened to be the first to coin the more offensive variant.

Funsick

Colin: We played this weekender called Our Band Could BBQ Your Life and we did a set of half our songs and half Mission Of Burma songs. It was fun, we got an email from Clint Conley! This is our rip-off.

Nat: Another breakdown in communication. My Mission of Burma rip-off happens at the end of Spiders.

Aled: I really like the lyrics to this one. The verses are about moving house, and the chorus features a reference to Colin’s beloved (now sadly deceased) hamster Bernedette. RIP Bernedette.

Spiders

Colin: I think the album hinges on the sincerity of this title.

Aled: I didn’t realise until I grew up and started conversing with other adults quite how many people are scared of spiders, and would sooner kill one then handle it in order to shepherd it to safety outside. Personally I’ve never been so fearful of a spider that I felt I had to kill it. Apart from the Deku Tree boss in the Ocarina of Time, I’d slash that sick bastard in the eye any day of the week.

Colin: The Deku tree stills dies though. What does that teach you?

Nat: Features a Mission of Burma style bass bit at the end.

Antarctica Toc

Colin: Educational song about a man called Nain Singh I read about in a James Cameron (the journalist, not the douche) book. Interesting!!!

Nat: Lovingly conducted additional vocals.

Aled: The title and backing vocals are reference to global warming, a shameless attempt to curry favour with Guardian readers.

Cloak & Badger

Colin: Notable for it’s use of the word ‘olfactory’, which was Nat’s idea. We accidentally taped over Sam’s sax on a part of this song so we replaced it with an organ. Aled mentioned this earlier. It’s recorded on tape you see, couldn’t click ‘undo’.

Nat: It sounds a bit like we’re saying ‘old fat tory’, but we’re not. It’s about autism.

Aled: You can’t imagine the argument we had about whether to call this song ‘Cloak and Badger’ or ‘Stoat and Dagger’.

Principal Chaos

Colin: The bit just before where Aled sings reminds me of the music in A New Hope for the shot that shows that the droids crashed in the desert.

Nat: Virtually unplayable now, but great fun while it lasted.

Aled: The end of this song is the only bit on the album where Colin and I sing together for a sustained amount of time. It’s totally bromantic.

Like a Person

Colin: Can’t really remember anything about this.

Nat: I used to play a can on a stick and a harmonica strapped to my face using old elastic from a pair of pants on the live version of this song.

Aled: Ah yes, I remember old sticky harmonica pants face Nat, a fitting end to any album.

This might as well just be a list of events with the word ATTEND in marquee along the top; strap in, because October has a ridiculous amount of great gigs in Cardiff and Bristol.  The highlight will be Swn Festival, offering scores of new bands and a clutch of familiar names across Cardiff between the 20^th and 23^rd for what remains a frankly unfeasible price; we’ll have a full preview in due course, but rest assured that this alleged writer recommends it highly and finds nit-pickers and nay-sayers to be tedious in the extreme.

Right then.  First up, mention should be made of Oxjam’s excellent work across the region; warm up for Swn’s marathon sessions and sharpen your wheat/chaff separation skills.  The Cardiff event (Clwb, City Arms, Dempseys and Revolution, 2^nd) features The Gentle Good, Houdini Dax, Denuo, Ruffstylz and loads more; Oxjam Brecon (15^th) has The Last Republic, Under The Driftwood Tree, Pamela Wyn Shannon and more; and finally Bristol’s event takes over Stokes Croft (22^nd) with dozens of home-grown turns.  All cheap, highly worthy events.

Top among the individual recommendations this month are GRUFF RHYS, whose current touring set backed by Y NIWL is a confident, creative joy.  He’s at St David’s Hall (5^th), and Y Niwl support too, so arrive early.  JULIAN COPE is in town (the new-look Globe, 29^th); dunno in what format yet, but he played solo acoustic at ATP last year and was a quotable, personable treat.  JEFFREY LEWIS & THE JUNKYARD return the following night (Globe, 30^th), and with a longer than usual gap since his last visit and (a lower ticket price too) it should be busy, life-affirming fun (also at the Thekla Nov 1st).  Likewise ART BRUT (Clwb, 19^th), questionable on record but all rock poses and bon mots live. 

Fifty-something transgender performance artists and part-time tree surgeons turned acclaimed singer-songwriters are, of course, ten-a-penny round these parts.  Nevertheless, make a point of going to see BABY DEE (Globe, 25^th); seriously, unique and affecting stuff.  Also highly recommended are ÅRABROT; the experimental Norwegian metallers stormed Swn last year care of Lesson No. 1, and the same groovy fuckers welcome them back alongside the excellently sludgy DETHSCALATOR and local newcomers HUNGER ARTIST (Undertone, 27^th).  Get to that, and to the CONAN / ZONDERHOOF / PUS show at the Gower (8^th), for your unpleasantly noisy kicks.  Or to the seemingly still going ICARUS LINE, seethingly misanthropic Iggy-wraiths back in the day at Barfly and hopefully back on form (Clwb, 10^th).

Elsewhere in Cardiff, Balloon’s fine music/lit crossover night visits Café Jazz (16^th) featuring author NIGEL JARRETT, ZERVAS & PEPPER and Hail The Planes’ HOLLY MULLER among others.  It’s free, so no excuses.  Mathy improvisers THINGS MAKE ELECTRIC have a free show too (14^th); part of Chapter’s Experimentica 1.1 season, it’ll be an audio-visual performance which may well draw parallels with sister band Dots. who play the same venue during Swn.  Nice.  The artier fringes offer some intriguing one-offs; MARC ALMOND’s chanson covers show (St Georges, 7^th), GAVIN BRYARS’ brilliant-sounding interpretations of Tom Waits, Kurt Weill and Fellini soundtracks by a ‘circus band’ and mezzo-soprano (St Georges, 27^th), little-seen Baltic chanteuses LE MYSTERE DES VOIX BULGARES (Colston Hall, 25^th) and vocal artist YVON BONENFANT (Arnolfini, 7^th).

Some belting mainstream guff over in Bristol, too; the effortlessly charming JENS LEKMAN makes an overdue return with his swoonsome, chiselled-cheeked indiepop (Thekla, 18^th, with LIA ICES); WILCO tour their best album in a while and reliably great catalogue of assured Americana (Colston Hall, 27^th); the crystalline, Flying Nun-tinged coastal pop of REAL ESTATE is hugely recommended (Start The Bus, 26^th, with excellent Sheffield shamblers SPECTRALS in support); DANANANANAYKROYD bring the tangled limbs and sweaty all-ages fun (Thekla, 12^th) and SAM AMIDON does plaintive backwoods folk with a pleasing sense of the absurd (Cube, 19^th).

There’s an incredible amount of great stuff happening on the experimental fringes in Bristol this month.  Top of the pops is the touring version of the Newcastle-based Tusk Festival, bringing Harry Pussy guitarist BILL ORCUTT’s wild and individualistic solo stylings, Irish 12-string prodigy CIAN NUGENT, noise soundscaper JESSICA RYLAN and concrete cut ‘n’ pasters POSSET to the Cube (13^th).  Don’t miss that under any circumstances.  That’s courtesy of Qu Junktions, who also present FIRE! with OREN AMBARCHI – utterly wild free jazz, avant-skronk and blistering psych-rock in one dervish-like package (Arnolfini, 25^th), EKOCLEF – Bass Clef and Ekoplekz teaming up to launch Clef’s new experimental electronica label Magic & Dreams (FAG Studios, Kings Square, 22^nd) and a special How Come night with ZUN ZUN EGUI and special guest GREEN GARTSIDE (Trinity, 29^th).  You utter heroes. 

More Bristol treats!  Burial Chamber have some cracking gigs lined up, kicking off with Italian prog/doom types UFOMAMMUT (Croft, 3^rd) and monolithic stoner dudes YOB (Croft, 14^th).  In other oppressively loud news, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM bring their immersive, prog-infused black metal (and, by all accounts, their own PA) to the Fleece (29^th), where you’ll also find Ipecac recording artistes DUB TRIO fusing bone-rattling low-end and fearsome metallic noise (10^th).  Even better, ENABLERS’ whipsmart hardcore and furious invective hit the Cube (15^th).  That’s not to mention inimitable electronic pioneers SILVER APPLES (Fleece, 24^th), an intriguing-sounding ‘acoustic grand piano show’ from alt rock/hip-hop genre-mushers WHY? (Colston Hall, 23^rd), Finnish avant-metal/prog weirdos CIRCLE (playing with SECRET CHIEFS 3 and A.P.A.T.T., if the Croft are to be believed, though the latter two have pulled dates twice already (19^th)) or Japanese math-rockers LITE (Fleece, 18^th).

Limited, but quality stuff of an electronic bent about this month; GOLD PANDA returns (Thekla, 5^th) SBTRKT and the excellent BECOMING REAL pair up (Thekla, 6^th), there’s crystalline techno loveliness from LONE at Start The Bus (15^th) and magpie Planet Mu newcomer TROPICS debuts at 10 Feet Tall (19^th), though perhaps most intriguing will be APPARAT’s first full-band tour, taking in the Arnolfini (14^th) with SJ ESAU and neat Hood/Fuck Buttons-referencing combo SILVER PYRE in support.  RHYTHM & SOUND, PINCH, PEVERELIST and loads more mark Subloaded’s 7^th birthday bash (Black Swan, Bristol, 7^th) while Aperture’s October is an old-school dn’b one with LTJ BUKEM (Clwb, 7^th) and GOLDIE (Clwb, 28^th).

Are you still reading?  I doubt it, but they just won’t stop.  I’m going to try and summarise the rest.  Idiosyncratic folk: ALELA DIANE (Fleece, 4^th), ROZI PLAIN (Cube, 21^st) or RAE SPOON and LIANNE HALL (Café Kino, 13^th).  Trad folk: ELIZA CARTHY (Colston Hall, 13^th).  Weathered Americana: ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO (St Bonaventures, 12^th).  FOREIGN BEGGARS (Fleece, 12^th) are a multiracial cross between New Flesh and Nobsta Nutts, funny, vulgar and dextrous, and more entertaining than DELS (Start The Bus, 11^th).  RODDY FRAME (Fleece, 17^th) is better than RODDY WOOMBLE (Colston Hall, 12^th) because he wrote High Land, Hard Rain.  EMMY THE GREAT (Fleece/Clwb, 11^th/13^th) is nice enough but RICHARD JAMES (support on 13^th) is nicer.  BOB DYLAN (Motorboat Arena, 13^th) has early onset dementia as evinced by touring alongside Mark Knopfler.  Although the Local Hero theme rules.  THE KEYS will blow Aussie lightweights CLOUD CONTROL offstage (Buffalo, 11^th).  LOVE PARRY III make the CAVE PAINTING gig worth a punt (Clwb, 14^th).  SNOOP DOGG is in town! (Motorboat, 8^th).  Lock up your “hoes”.  ALICE COOPER is in town! (Colston Hall, 26^th).  Lock up your golf clubs.  THE SPECIALS are in town! (Motorpoint, 28^th).  Lock up your dentists.  DZ DEATHRAYS will never be DFA 1979, but are alright (Thekla, 15^th).  PETE & THE PIRATES should tour less (Cooler, 1^st).  ANNA CALVI is really pretty good (Trinity, 31^st).  THE LOVELY EGGS are always better than I think they’ll be (Louisiana, 21^st).  So are THE HORRORS, in a different way (Trinity, 23^rd).  WU LYF are worse than I thought they were (Thekla, 25^th).  ASH really, really ought to give up (o2 Academy, 21^st).  Oh, and there’s this four-day new music festival with like 140 bands across four days… you’ve never had it so good.

It’s a fair cop; I’m already at least six days late with this month’s preview due to various weekends away, a house move and good old-fashioned laziness.  As a result, recommended shows from WORMROT, DJ SHADOW, PUBLIC ENEMY, ALEXANDER TUCKER, THEE PIATCIONS and RAINBOW ARABIA have already taken place.  Did you go?  If so, have a biscuit.  You’re one of the good guys.  Onwards and upwards with the rest of September’s goodies, then…

The aforementioned gigs aside, it’s a slightly calm-before-the-storm sort of month in Cardiff, which makes my tardiness even less tolerable.  Sorry.  Swn continue to pile up the shows, though, with WILLY MASON (Gate, 6th) close to selling out as I type, and JUNIP (Gate, 10th), GHOSTPOET (CAI, 22nd) and highly recommended slacker-pop diamonds MALE BONDING (Globe, 25th) still to come.  If the latter appeal, which they certainly should, then ex-Nine Black Alps types MILK MAID – who plough a very similar Dinosaur Jr-loving furrow – should also be on your list.  They’re at Undertone (21st) with the splenetic, scrappy DIY fun from YAJÉ in fine support.  Additionally, make some diary space for …Trail Of Dead-esque Glaswegian noise combo UNITED FRUIT (Undertone, 6th, with STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR), Wave Pictures side-project THE LOBSTER BOAT (Buffalo, 26th, with H. HAWKLINE and between-band DJing so faultless it will make you weep uncontrollably) and the highly misleadingly named MARIA AND THE MIRRORS (Undertone, 18th, with GINDRINKER) who ought rightly to be more trust-fund whimsy from horsey Home Counties gels but actually do a nicely gloomy industrial/electro thing.  The mighty MELVINS return to Cardiff (Globe, 30th), never less than essential viewing, and anyone attending that should undoubtedly also get out in support of a fine stoner/doom bill on the 23rd at Buffalo, headlined by former Acrimony men SIGIRIYA and featuring IRONBIRD and ex-Circa Regna Tonat dudes THORUN.

On a less abrasive note, big tick for Kentucky singer-songwriter and My Morning Jacket collaborator DANIEL MARTIN MOORE (Buffalo, 10th), whose recent Sub Pop album marked a left turn into gospel interpretation which comes off beautifully.  Recommended for Iron & Wine fans, amongst others, as is Swedish indie-folk type I’M KINGFISHER (8th, though watch for a new venue as Buffalo Lounge has just closed (Now at Ten Feet Tall! – Ed.).  The latter is brought to you by the tireless Gathered In Song chaps, who have a trio of gigs this month; LAURA STEVENSON & THE CANS offer a jangly indiepop take on GiS’ alt country reference points (10 Feet Tall, 12th) and GERARD STARKIE (Le Pub, 24th, free show) is the singer dude out of late 90s Mojo-friendly indie outfit Witness.  Takes all sorts.

Outside of the DJ Shadow and Public Enemy gigs, few this month will stir as much local interest as GRANDMASTER FLASH, originally slated to play Millennium Music Hall a while back but now hosted by Clwb (7th) for an intimate, if bracingly expensive, night of party-starting tuntablism.  The shrewd beat conossieur may well save the pennies for JULIO BASHMORE‘s super-bassy garage/electro hybrids (Buffalo, 29th) instead, or even METRONOMY‘s visit to Bristol (Trinity, 28th).  Whatever your choice, the Micro.Mutek event (Arnolfini, 30th) looks like a doozy; the Montreal-based festival hosts a spin-off at Bristol’s loveliest arts venue featuring Akufen’s orchestrated minimal techno alter-ego HORROR INC and Basic Channel-esque dub techno from DEADBEAT.  The same venue celebrates its 50th birthday (!) in fine style on the 24th with the help of the inimitable QU Junktions, providing the month’s finest line-up; ribcage-rattling post-punk hugeness from FACTORY FLOOR, the claustrophic dread and warped synth-pop of HYPE WILLIAMS, ANIKA‘s typically Bristolian melding of post-punk clamour, dub and frosty songwriting and a DJ set from Optimo’s JD TWITCH.  Oof, that’s good.  Horrorshow clash that night, sadly, as hugely influential and quite brilliant NY No Wavers UT make a welcome return (Croft, 24th, with BIG NATURALS) – perfectly complimentary gigs, shame they’re on the same night.  Both recommended, of course.

Plenty of other good stuff in Bristol, too.  Strung-out bad-acid psychedelic rawk from KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS meets the blissful harmonies, sun-dappled country and occasional ten-minute Grateful Dead jams of WOODS at a post-End of the Road show (Fleece, 7th).  Ex-Gowns member Erika Anderson, now EMA, brings her gripping, skeletal indie-rock to the Thekla (15th), the very loud and very fun SCREAMING FEMALES are joined by THE HYTERICAL INJURY, our pals BELLIES! and more at an ace-looking Croft alldayer (11th), raucous Atlanta garage-punk boys BLACK LIPS hit the Fleece (23rd) and, on a very busy night, Steven Adams’ post-Broken Family Band outfit SINGING ADAMS bring glorious songwriting and cheeky, self-deprecating wit to the Cooler (24th).  QU Junktions’ summer hiatus ends in style; ahead of the Arnolfini blowout they bring a staggeringly great collision of the Vandermark/Nilsson-Love sax/drum duo and The Ex guitarists Terrie Ex and Andy Moor, together going by the name LEAN LEFT (Croft, 13th, with HUNTING LODGE – are they back?).  Expect tumultuous free-improv noise, furious rhythm and some excellent dudes.  QU also present a teasingly vague event named FORAGE, offering live improv, workshops, food and drink and all manner of arts, crafts and exploratory activities at a space christened Boiling Wells in the St Werburghs district (10th).

What else?  Indie/hiphop beatmaker YOUNG MONTANA?, irritating punctuation aside, is worth checking (Start The Bus, 10th); THREE TRAPPED TIGERS and SEAMS team up (Fleece, 18th); Swedish indiepoppers I’M FROM BARCELONA continue to try and emulate their one great moment (Thekla, 19th), ROBYN is cute, funny and tuff mercurial pop genius made flesh (o2 Academy, 10th), SLOW CLUB have local interest in the form of support act and new bassist SWEET BABOO (Cooler, 25th), NEDRY spin some pretty lovely patterns from what would once be called shoegaze and what would once be derided as trip-hop (Thekla, 30th) and fine alt-folk types ROZI PLAIN and SJ ESAU appear down the bill at the Louisiana (6th).  Perma-touring steampunk wonder THOMAS TRUAX pops up at the Cube this time (22nd), there’s homespun lo-fi folk from BEN CALVERT & THE SWIFTS and MY TWO TOMS (Grain Barge, 9th), more traditional variations from THE UNTHANKS (St Georges, 17th) and SARABETH TUCEK (Thekla, 13th) and, go on then, a farewell tour for the frankly impossible to dislike BLUETONES (o2 Academy, 21st, seeing as the Glee Club show on the 5th was, um, yesterday).  They were in Spaced once, you know.  Mark Morriss once beat me at pool in Newport TJs.  That’s a stone cold fact.  Night night.

In a reasonably sedate month for Cardiff gigs, it’s your most reliable local promoters who bring you the choicest cuts.  Lesson #1 get things off to a rousing start with the bats Gallic folk-hardcore of VIALKA (Buffalo, 2^nd; Cube, 1^st), supported in style by their never-better Welsh equivalent THREATMANTICS and the glowering, face-pulling AmRep hardcore fun of BRANDYMAN.  Nice.  The Rusty Trombone of God follow up a podium finish of a show at CAI last month with some freaky electroacoustic drone/folk tackle at Thé Pot Café in Cathays (15^th), where VAMPIRE BLUES, AKKE PHALLUS CARTOGRAPHY and H. HAWKLINE will do their thing.  Tickets are super limited due to space, so get to Spillers for that one.  Your Joy Collective pals, undaunted by your blanket snubbing of our last top-drawer presentation, again team up with Loose to bring a double-header of US garage fuzz and lo-fi pop from NODZZZ and THE MANTLES (Undertone, 16^th) with a frightening supporting cast of (hopefully not literally) balls-out punk from STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR and DRAINS.  Be afraid.  SNFAS launch their split EP with SAMOANS at Clwb on the 18^th, too.  There’s also a welcome return for MUNCH MUNCH this month, the polyrhythmic Bristolian quartet touring their long-awaited debut LP at Buffalo (19^th) with an intriguing live debut from JAMES JAMES (two thirds of King Alexander, giving it some No Age-style thump) on the undercard.

Continuing the theme, there’s predictably high levels of activity from Bristol’s noisy, industrious underground.  Café Kino continue their recent run of form with a crammed album launch gig for WAR AGAINST SLEEP (12^th), whose acidic, melodramatic creations feature support and contributions from members of GRAVENHURST, BRONNT INDUSTRIES KAPITAL and BUCKY.  “Bring a clock”, they ask.  But of course.  Bristolian DIY luminaries THE BALKY MULE and (ex-Headfall peeps) MOTES appear there on the 24^th with Cardiff’s own THINGS MAKE ELECTRIC, whose considered take on Thrill Jockey post-rock and neat Stereolab pop also turns up at Gwdi Hw on the 11^th.  The Middle Ones’ monthly residence (27^th, this month) sees them joined by MAT RIVIERE, whose Brainlove labelmates NAPOLEON III and PAGAN WANDERER LU are in action at 10 Feet Tall on the 7^th. 

Nice to see sold-out crowds at a number of Cardiff shows recently.  As more than one promoter has remarked, as much as anything it helps them plan ahead with some confidence, so if you fancy some of March’s treats you’d do well to book in advance.  Already putting up the ‘no vacancy’ signs are the 02 Academy, for surprise recent US chart-toppers THE DECEMBERISTS (8^th), recently detoured into bare-faced REM worship but with a fine back catalogue to fall back on, the Thekla (for JAMES BLAKE, 23^rd) and, soon, the CIA (where ELBOW bring their soon-come fifth album, again 23^rd).  You probably think Elbow are rubbish, but you’re wrong, so shut up.  Avoid such disappointment by investing in the mighty DAEDELUS, who packed out Clwb for Swn two years ago and should do the same at CAI (11^th) and the Thekla (10^th, with TEEBS’ FlyLo-approved moody beats in tow), HJALTALIN’s blending of familiar Scandinavian Big Music anthemics with proggy subtleties (Buffalo, 5^th, with Among Brothers; Start The Bus, 4^th) and JAMIE WOON’s soulboy take on dubstep and electro (rescheduled for CAI, 6^th).  Recent bookings of Mount Kimbie and James Blake and a forthcoming date for Joy Orbison suggest there’s as healthy a take-up for club gigs too, so moody Detroit-influenced dubsteppers  INSTRA:MENTAL’s headline show (Buffalo, 31^st) and Wiley acolyte SKEPTA’s appearance at MMH with BENGA, P MONEY and others (21^st) should be ticket-only affairs.

Elsewhere in Bristol, Qu Junktions diversify neatly into timeless British folk traditions, with THE UNTHANKS (see Vivers’ review for Buzz magazine this month for breathless approval) and the utterly awesome TREMBLING BELLS in the refined settings of the Arnolfini (21^st), with the Unthanks alone continuing on to St David’s Hall (22^nd).  Also recommended is the PJ Harvey-via-Angelo Badalamenti psychodrama of ANNA CALVI (Cooler, 4^th) and AIDAN MOFFAT’s characteristically boozy, lovelorn, tender and filthy vignettes (Cooler, 5^th, with ex-bandmate MALCOLM MIDDLETON’s new project supporting).  If that’s your cup of gut-rot, perm any one from BAREFOOT DANCE OF THE SEA supporting both PHILIP HENRY (10 Feet Tall, 6^th) and Curly Hair (Buffalo, 27^th) ahead of their split EP with Evening Chorus; countercultural activist and protest singer DAVID ROVICS (Buffalo, 28^th); a Journal of Plastik-hosted gig for HAIL! THE PLANES (Millennium Centre, 4^th) or, assuming it’s still on, Fence Collective associate ROZI PLAIN’s Cube gig (4^th, now without Death Vessel).

Aside from the aforementioned Daedelus and James Blake shows, expect frenzied paroxysms of hipster love for HYPE WILLIAMS’s creeping, muffled lo-fi approximations of much better modern R&B and Southern hip-hop (Croft, 25^th, topping a packed Qu Junktions line-up) and the intriguing tribal hybrid pop of shadowy Manc collective WU LYF (Start The Bus, 21^st).  OPTIMO play out at STB on the 11^th, too, which should be ace, and FUJIYA & MIYAGI’s progressive electro-pop is perfectly serviceable if you ignore the lyrics (Fleece, 5^th).  Two more massive pop shows at the 02 Academy, too, where the unimpeachably great ROBYN (4^th) and chart-smashing soul brother CEE-LO GREEN (31^st) should both be top value for not inconsiderable money.  Changing tack ever so slightly, ace heavy stoner jams abound as ELECTRIC WIZARD have a sole UK date at the Bierkeller (6^th); more interestingly still, hyper-technical, prog/jazz/fusion metallers SECRET CHIEFS 3 appear alongside avant-garde conceptualist pranksters a.P.A.t.T. at the Croft (22^nd).   Ever-brilliant Portland lo-fi indie-rockers with stadium hearts, THE THERMALS give the Fleece a big messy hug (31^st) with the splendidly/appallingly named grrl-punk foursome THE COATHANGERS in support.  That’s not to mention folk-rock cause celebre JOHN GRANT – the ex-Czars frontman’s star has gone supernova this last year, so expect St George’s to be rammed on the 28^th – or for that matter the farewell tour from Seb Roachford’s nu-jazzers POLAR BEAR (Thekla, 19^th), gloomy Mary Chain-esque indie-poppers CRYSTAL STILTS (Start The Bus, 25^th), cracking lovelorn indiepop from the lovely PETE & THE PIRATES (Cooler, 11^th) or even INTERPOL, surprisingly still able to command the Colston Hall after several limp albums (19^th).  Phew.

Quick round-up of what’s left, then; Gathered In Song continue to strive on behalf of alt.country fans the region over with SOCIETY, Joshua Caole and Ffred Jones hitting Le Pub (11^th), while on the 19^th ex-IK Plus dudes THE MILK RACE support one Benjamin Bloom.  Both worth your time, Newporters.  There’s a patchy Artrocker tour at Buffalo (21^st); spooky French duo JOHN & JEHN open, and are the best of the bunch, and THE CHAPMAN FAMILY’s chaotic garage is decent enough, but leave before pompous headliners O.Children start.  Idlewild’s RODDY WOOMBLE gives it some folky solo meandering (Clwb, 29^th), Mad Decent affiliate KITO is at CAI (4^th), there’s well-crafted, vaguely tribal indie from CRYSTAL FIGHTERS at the Fleece (17^th), PATRICK WOLF’s peacock electropop (Thekla, 28^th) and is that resurrected C86 fuzz-pop darlings THE PRIMITIVES at Start The Bus (18^th)?  It seems it is.  Well I never.  See you in April.

Told you it was going to pick up a bit. Shortest month it may be, but February’s local listings are stuffed to the gills with excellent-looking gigs and, hearteningly, several have sold out weeks in advance. Good work you lot. Keep it up. As a brief hover over the images above and text below will demonstrate, there’s plenty more beyond the bigger name stuff this next 28 days…

First up, sincere thanks are due to those who came to our jointly hosted night with Drum Eyes, H. Hawkline and Bear-Man last week. Three cracking sets and a welcome and healthy crowd, especially given that there was other stuff on across town and in Bristol that was well worth seeing too. Cheers. We’re at it again this month, and that Hawkline chap is heavily involved again. Indeed, Mr Huw Evans has put together a stellar evening of psychedelic treats (Clwb, 11th) headlined by one MC Taylor, formerly of gently baroque Americana outfit The Court & Spark (their Bless You LP was a gem, check it) and now charting solo explorations as HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER. Stirring in deep Southern Soul, gospel and hushed folk, he’ll be joined on guitar by Rick Tomlinson AKA Voice Of The Seven Thunders, which is ruddy awesome news. Not only that but CATE LE BON will support, with a full band and a stack of new songs, and H. HAWKLINE himself opens with a solo set. We’ll be trying not to ruin proceedings with shit music when we join the quality DJ line-up on the middle floor afterwards. Seriously, all nepotism aside, do not miss this. Neither should you sleep on a belting night of outer-limits noise and invention at CAI (20th) care of NZ blackened dronemeister OUR LOVE WILL DESTROY THE WORLD, with electro-acoustic improv from TEAM SPORTS and epic ambient shoegaze vibes from MARS TO STAY in support. Turn up, heathens, and thank Murray the promoter when you leave.

On a completely different tack, we’re also back in Undertone and teaming up with Loose again on the 28th. This time there’s a cracking double bill with sibling duo EUX AUTRES, all bilingual French/English cooing, Brill Building songwriting chops and Aislers Set-style indiepop cool, and STANDARD FARE, who, I repeat, are the best band of their ilk in the country right now. We’ve also nabbed THE JELAS and THEM SQUIRRELS as supports, both for their first Cardiff show in ages, and the twitchy post-punk Bristolians have a highly attractive hometown album launch at Cafe Kino (26th) with the splendid WET DOG among others. Yet more DIY spirit on offer at Undertone on the 7th, too, where the perma-touring LOVELY EGGS (also playing Mothers’ Ruin in Bristol on the 3rd) are supported by a solo debut for Joy Of Sex multi-instrumentalist ROSIE SMITH and the utterly unique improv/toytronic/picnic spectacle that is STACKING CHAIRS. Not to be missed, I’d wager.

One of the most impressive things about February’s listings, though, is that Cardiff seems for once to have wrestled the most mouth-watering medium to large alternative gigs from Bristol (or, at least, convinced the bands to play both cities). Hats off to Swn, in particular, who have a crazy eight gigs this month. Top coup is the first Welsh show for LES SAVY FAV (Globe, 23rd), consistently great US indie-rock dark horses on record but transformed into utter must-sees live. You cannot see this band often enough. Plenty of architectural features at the Globe for Tim Harrington to climb up/hang off too. TRUCKERS OF HUSK‘s glacially-paced re-evolution continues with a tasty support slot so get there early. The night before (Globe, 22nd), wonderfully euphoric Danes EFTERKLANG return to the scene of one of the Point’s last great shows; they’ve sanded away their more experimental edges on record of late but as their Green Man closing set showed they’re still a joyous night out. ATP film director Vincent Moon’s Efterklang piece An Island will show beforehand, and is also aired alone at the Cube on the 21st. Before all that, Swn cap a hectic week with the debut Cardiff show for Euros Childs and Norman Blake’s hot new combo JONNY (Clwb, 8th, support from one-man folk orchestra HUW M) – splendidly, this one’s already sold out, but check returns (or see them at the Cooler in Bristol the night before). The album’s dreamy, should be a lovely old night. The other twin pillar of questing Welsh psychedelic pop, GRUFF RHYS, takes his Hotel Shampoo on the road this month with the mighty Y NIWL as support and backing band; they call at Bristol St Georges on the 28th. Preceding the Jonny gig are Swn shows for Jose Gonzalez’ dayjob band JUNIP, with well-chosen support from sweetly folky Canadian indie troupe WOODPIGEON (MMH, 6th) and the, er, Australian Seasick Steve CW STONEKING (Globe, 7th). Phew.

Loads more impressive names where that lot came from, though, the most mouth-watering of whom is MOGWAI. Last time the consistently awesome post-rock doyens were here, their blistering volume crumbled the very ceiling of the Coal Exchange; shame there’s no venue deemed more suitable than the Uni Great Hall (18th) or the 02 Academy (19th) this time, but you can’t have it all. Suitably epic, Krautrock-tinged support comes from THE TWILIGHT SAD. BRITISH SEA POWER double up too, their Bunnymen pomp and Dad’s Army eccentricity blending nicely at Clwb (7th) and Thekla (8th). RACE HORSES support at both dates, with HAIL! THE PLANES opening the sold-out Clwb date. Elsewhere, WIRE tour their best album in 20 years (Fleece, 10th) and will, rest assured, be much louder than you expect. THE HOLD STEADY are another wildly uplifting live band who’ve been treading water a little in the studio, but even in the o2 Academy (5th) it should be ace boozy, air-punching fun.

Still on headline-grabbing names, but with fewer lumpy blokes in plaid, the irksome but impressive CRYSTAL CASTLES and overcooked dubstep ‘supergroup’ (ugh) MAGNETIC MAN are the pick of the NME Tour line-up (Cardiff Uni 13th; 02 Academy 15th). That money’s far better spent on the thrilling future-R&B of JANELLE MONAE (02 Academy, 24th) or one of two supreme bills upcoming in Bristol on the same weekend. First up is a Border Community label night at Thekla (18th) with label boss, high profile remixer and author of progressive-techno gems JAMES HOLDEN and genius protege NATHAN FAKE. Even better is the following night’s line-up at the Arnolfini where, if their recent live album is any indicaction, MORITZ VON OSWALD TRIO will totally slay with live dubbed-up fx and spacey kraut-techno-jazz workouts. Near-uncategorisable bass explorer ACTRESS and spooked-out drone/dub/out-music duo DEMDIKE STARE fill out a bill which is currently making me kick myself from one end of the office to the other for the fact I can’t go. Do not be as stupid as me. More dancefloor-friendly activity (or opportunities to crane your neck at dudes with laptops) can be found with DARKSTAR‘s full-band versions on dubstep (CAI, 24th or Start The Bus, 25th), much-vaunted dubstep-friendly R&B newcomer JAMIE WOON (Start The Bus, 20th) and the still fun tartrazine rush of THE GO! TEAM (MMH, 27th, with Banjo Or Freakout or Anson Rooms, 11th). If you go to that Arnolfini gig, you’d better bloody enjoy it. Grrr.

Too much to fit in this month really, so here’s a few more recommended gigs before the round-up begins. FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS and CLOUD NOTHINGS is a pretty excellent double bill of cheeky Dexys/Futureheads soul-pop and frighteningly precocious lo-fi pop nuggets respectively; plus, the Cardiff gig is (a) hosted by Britain’s Nicest Man Huw Stephens and (b) winningly taking place in Dempseys (25th). Attend, or there’s F&TH on their own in the Fleece on the 27th.  LA SERA, who feature Katy Goodman out of Vivian Girls, hit these shores for the first time at Start The Bus (19th) – first on with two slightly ropy electropop turns though, so travel early.  THE PHANTOM BAND‘s curious mix of Beta Band experimentation, Alasdair Roberts’ questing Scottish folk tradition and bassy main-stage rock should work nicely at the Fleece (5th). Shirt-spurning, soundman-bothering Joy pals ACTION BEAT bring their endless hall-of-mirrors guitars and drum setup to the Croft (25th) where Qu Junktions and How Come present another epic bill. Qu also have Joanna Newsom sideman RYAN FRANCESCONI and NANCY ELIZABETH team up at the Cube (20th) where THE BALKY MULE support; elsewhere on Bristol’s teeming DIY scene THIS IS THE KIT and THE MIDDLE ONES play Cafe Kino on the 20th and 27th respectively and Liverpudlian psych nutbags MUGSTAR return to the Louisiana on the 4th. Those in or near Newport should unquestionably join Gathered In Song and Balloon at Le Pub (13th) for Americana treats with DOLLY VARDEN and MAGNOLIA SUMMER, writers, poets and booze; they should also check out Throwing Muse-y Dutch types LABASHEEDA who we’ve reviewed before and who play Meze on the 18th. Last words: go see THEE VICARS‘ stylish garage facsimiles (Gwdihw, 4th), SAMOANS‘ tumbling prog/math epics (Buffalo, 9th, with SURVIVALISTS in support) and TWIN SHADOW‘s navel-gazing 80′s-indebted sad-pop (Cooler, 18th). Or don’t, whatever.

Round-up time, or Stuff I Either Forgot To Mention Or Wasn’t That Bothered About. Are you stuck in the 90s? Big whoop, ULTRASOUND are laying into the riders again (Thekla, 13th) and DAVID MCALMONT is maybe playing that one song (Fleece, 13th). Choose! Or, go see bluesy Brit classicists WOLF PEOPLE (Cooler, 14th), eerily popular minor Wainwright JOAN AS POLICEWOMAN (Thekla, 5th), absurd twin bass drum metal gods NILE (MMH, 8th), doom brethren GHAST (Croft, 3rd), MEIC STEVENS‘ last ever Welsh gig (Clwb, 12th), ho-hum indies THE DUKE SPIRIT (Clwb, 15th), evergreen wordsmith and total dude JOHN COOPER CLARKE (Globe, 12th, with GINDRINKER no less), Wichita Linesman JIMMY WEBB (St Georges, 2nd), top Mekon JON LANGFORD (Newport Barnabas Arts House, 5th) or singing anthro-PC MR HOPKINSON’S COMPUTER (Cube, 14th). Happy Valentine’s Day if you’re going to that one, weirdos. Happy February to the rest of you. Get out there.

www.diverserecords.co.uk

www.diversevinyl.com

www.weareballoon.co.uk

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Recorded music highlights of 2010:
Quite a few this year. Cats & Cats & Cats finally having a proper album out for me to fawn over after my years of borderline obsession. Deer Park’s debut album which I discovered through a friend giving me their CD to see what I thought. I made it my album of the year, he ended up managing them. Having albums by The Rural Alberta Advantage, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Dan Mangan show up at work and spend a lot of time on the Diverse stereo and of course Los Campesinos! having a new album.

Live music highlights of 2010:
Lucero, Justin Townes Earle and Deer Tick at SxSW was awesome. Seeing Camper Van Beethoven in a freezing car park was pretty cool too. Locally, Islet were always brilliant and Swn was a massively fun, drunken blast of a weekend. The Whale Watching Tour and ATP cider binging.

2010 was…
The year I realised that I was old and now sounded grumpy quite often when talking about new bands that I think are shit. I’ll stick to my alt.country and the kids can have their electro. Or fucking Salem.

Tips and predictions for 2011:
Balloon to return and to baffle people further. Diverse Records to release some great albums. Will to finally implode at mine and Jonny’s slackness on this very site. Scotty to spend one sixth of the year drunk with me. Music wise, a new Future Of The Left album. The continued emergence of Saturday’s Kids and Claire McGuire*

*No idea, heard her tipped on the radio this morning.

Well, we said it’d be a quiet start. January is traditionally the graveyard shift for gig listings around South Wales and the West, and 2011 rubs the sleep from its eyes in typically relaxed fashion. If there’s slim pickings for touring bands though, those that are about are of a pretty decent quality – and pleasingly there’s a few enterprising, if slow-starting, initiatives in place to get you onto the icy streets in search of cheap, plentiful local goodness too.

Buffalo/Ten Feet Tall and the Globe both tackle the New Year blues with month-long showcases of local bands, promoters and labels. Best to keep a regular eye on the listings, as they’re still forming as I write; Buffalo’s Myspace and the Globe’s Twenty4Eleven minisite will tell more, but there’s some early highlights. Not least, of course, our own next presentation, in conjunction with the heroic Lesson No. 1, in which mentalist Kraut-noise supergroup DRUM EYES (DJ Scotch Egg, Boredoms and Trencher members) unleash a fearsome percussive battery with awesome chewy prog-folk-pop from H. HAWKLINE and improv guitar/drum explorations from BEAR-MAN in support. It’s on the 21st and trust us, this will be stellar. There’s more gems in the Buffalo calendar, too. Joy faves SATURDAY’S KIDS start their quest to play more gigs in 2011 than I have hot dinners, the disconcertingly mature punk striplings appearing with excellent split single pals EVARISTE GALOIS and Oui Messy (4th). Also among Buffalo’s varied offerings are wide-eyed psych-poppers Broken Vinyl Club (14th), ex-King Blues shouters Slow Science (17th), a first birthday love-in with Cardiff indiepop label ZooPop (30th) and the more delicate, glacial warblings of Mwsog (15th). Fill your proverbial boots, why don’t you?

Less confirmed at Ten Feet Tall and the Globe so far, though there’s a few solid line-ups. Smiley, rollicking indie-pop meets wonky indie-folk genius as ALLO DARLIN’ and SWEET BABOO team up (Ten Feet Tall, 31st, with Ivan Moult); there’s folky singer-songwriting par excellence with THE GENTLE GOOD, Stephen Wheel and Meilir (Ten Feet Tall, 11th), and a fine clutch of epic doom-rock and strident punk led by THE DEATH OF HER MONEY and HARBOUR (Globe, 22nd). Further variations on the latter theme are found with a none-more-VFM free gig with the aforementioned Evariste Galois, grunge-loving goodtime boys DRAINS and, er, Goodtime Boys (Clwb, 28th) and Swansea psych-prog dudes WHITE NOISE SOUND, launching their new album (Clwb, 21st). Newport wakes early, too, with industrious metal promoters Video Nasties lining up a bunch of tasty-looking bills at Le Pub; hometown Black Metallers ORDER OF TEPES headline on the 18th, with Fourth Autumn (4th), Crux (11th) and Spawn Of Cerberus (25th) doing the honours throughout the month.

This is all very well, of course, but perhaps needs a little variation, some dancefloor noise to mix things up. Few bring freaky rock thrills to the disco like lifelong crate-digger ANDY VOTEL. The Finders Keepers mainman teams up with Cardiff’s own psych doyen Carl Forecast and the Harvest DJs (and an as-yet-unconfirmed live turn) at Ten Feet Tall on the 9th. Beat excavators of a hip-hop bent, mash-up mixtape favourites THE NEXTMEN hit the same venue on the 26th, and while we’re on the subject there’s an afternoon of top sweary fun in the offing with Ben Potter’s all-Wu Tang Top 100 (CAI, 14th). Plenty of live electronica too, especially if you fancy a quick trip to Bristol, where you’ll find lush electropop mavens METRONOMY (Thekla, 27th, paired with sweetly kooky Kiwi indie-rocker CONNAN MOCKASIN), so-hot-right-now London imprint Night Slugs’ impresario L-VIS 1990 bringing an ever-evolving dubstep/tech-house/grime hybrid to Thekla (21st), Skull Disco don SHACKLETON‘s own mutant strain of dubstep (Start The Bus, 28th), BENGA and RAMADANMAN heading up a hefty bill at Motion Sk8park (15th) and already tabloid-notorious, ominously drawling street MC GIGGS (Cooler, 22nd). Votel turns up across the bridge too, heading up Qu Junktions’ first big shindig of 2011, a suitably eclectic sprawl with THE LIFTMEN, ZEA and plenty more at the Croft (29th). Or, if you’re set on staying put for the month, you can check out d ‘n’ b veteran turned dubstep dabbler ZED BIAS (Buffalo, 27th) and some homegrown laptop finery from ZWOLF and LITTLE ERIS (Ten Feet Tall, 23rd).

Not much in the way of touring names in South Wales this month, as we’ve established, but there’s a few treats to note in Bristol so LISTEN UP. Top tip is a cosy one-off evening at the Arnolfini in the company of KRISTIN HERSH (26th), wherein the ever-captivating Throwing Muses leader reads from her memoir Paradoxical Undressing and performs songs from her two-decade-plus career on the indie rock front lines. Should be memorable. Worth booking in advance, too. Likewise, consider upfront tickets for epic, widescreen indie-country rockers BAND OF HORSES (02 Academy, 30th), recently decamped from Sub Pop to Columbia and toting a suitably more mainstream yet still heart-tugging appeal. THE WALKMEN continue to be a U.S. alt-rock best kept secret, 2010′s Lisbon possibly their best effort yet, and they should sell out the Thekla (21st). On a very different note, if just as blog-friendly, Ohio’s TEENGIRL FANTASY offer supremely chilled-out R&B, blurry, smeared pop hooks and Balearic loveliness; see them in unsuitably cold Bristol at Start The Bus on the 22nd. Elsewhere, ex-Hold Steady keyboardist FRANZ NICOLAY brings his whimsical folk tales and splendid facial hair to the Croft (11th) and the redoubtably excellent RICHARD THOMPSON returns to the Colston Hall (22nd). A few familiar names do reach Cardiff, too, notably I AM KLOOT, who played Clwb aeons ago with a youthful Teflon Monkey in support IIRC; they’re now Mercury-nominated and their miserablist, chippy northern tunesmithery now plays the Millennium Music Hall (29th). Rival Schools dude Walter Schreifels is in Spillers more often than me, and will no doubt pop in while visiting Clwb on the 27th.

ADDENDA:  Ok, so more good stuff has cropped up in the listings since this went up.  You should know about it.  BENNI HEMM HEMM, horn-inflected country-folk Icelander and scourge of my previews (one full-band gig commuted to a solo show and one cancelled outright) has a rescheduled show for his six-piece band at Buffalo (28th) with support from the heart-tugging splendour of RATATOSK and Among Brothers’ Alexander Comana.  Hushed folk duo NO THEE NO ESS launch their EP at Chapter (15th) with Eugene Capper of Evening Chorus in support.  Finally, and guaranteed 100% folk-free, there’s a cracking touring double bill at the Bristol’s Croft (12th) wherein Italian afrobeat/noise practitioners IN ZAIRE team up with Krautrockin’ That Fucking Tank side-project NOPE.  Better late than never, I’d say.

Best finish up, I suppose. Last word this month goes to a few outside bets for a reliably fine evening. Gathered In Song kick off another year of tirelessly striving to get people out and watching little-known but well-chosen Americana; they have folk/blues Southern belle DANA FALCONBERRY and excellently downbeat Will Oldham/Iron & Wine type MATT BAUER playing Le Pub on the 29th, and you should support their efforts. THE LOVES draw to a close (again!) with a quick last-minute set alongside the aforementioned Allo Darlin’ in Bristol (Start The Bus, 30th). GEISHA, fiercely punk in attitude if not always musically these days – equally likely to present squalling breakcore noise – head up a seven-band bill for a cool fiver at the Croft (15th), with the Liftmen (again) and surf hotties MUSTARD ALLEGRO among the others on board. And VIC GODARD returns with Subway Sect, the ever-charming punk wordsmith popping up at something called the Thunderbolt in Bristol on the 8th. No, me either. Still, that’s plenty to go on for now, right? Just make sure you make some effort this month. Think of it as a warm up, and resolve to see more bands this year. Or else.