It’s the smaller, lower-key nights that hold the most appeal in Cardiff this month, as – with the exception of the long-since sold-out JONATHAN RICHMAN shindig in Clwb (28th) the medium-scale and up shows favour duller, worthier fare. The always-excellent ERRORS return once more, their splendidly crunchy, danceable post-rock/electro ever a treat. Top bill for their Clwb show (13th) where top-drawer Rock Action labelmate REMEMBER REMEMBER and Three Trapped Tigers man TOM ROGERSON support. Errors move on to the Fleece (14th) but y’know, Clwb will be way better. GENTLE FRIENDLY will hopefully make it this time, having pulled their Swn show; the dayglo No Age/Japanther thump is scrappy, life-afffirming fun (Undertone, 5th), as are awesome brother-sister noise outfit THE HYSTERICAL INJURY (10 Feet Tall, 16th). Denver-based pair GAUNTLET HAIR mine a similar seam to Gentle Friendly, albeit a less euphoric, grubbier one, and should be checked out at Buffalo (18th). Speaking of euphoric, there’s primary-coloured cheeky house fun from Raf Daddy out of THE 2 BEARS at Clwb (16th), where entry is free if you bring a radiator or something; get there early for the witchy Knife-style electronica of FACE + HEEL.

The laudable recent trend for booking return visits for friends of Swn weekends past and present continues, with THOMAS TRUAX (10 Feet Tall, 8th) and his mechanical menagerie back for his 768th Cardiff date, the battering ram two-man hardcore fun of RUN, WALK returning at Buffalo (3rd, or Louisiana, 2nd), promising Barely Regal signees HOLLAND (Undertone, 24th) and folkies both indie-fied (ROSIE TAYLOR PROJECT, 10 Feet Tall, 19th) and Jefferson Airplane fuzzy (HAIGHT-ASHBURY, Gwdihw, 23rd). Indiepop good and less good is back amongst us too, care of the winningly punchy ALLO DARLIN’ (Buffalo, 29th and Fleece, 28th) and the tiresome Shrag (Undertone, 25th) who are at least supported by clattering noise-pop kids TUNABUNNY.

Bristol, meanwhile, gets the plaudits for breadth of genre, gig size and eye-catching names this month. There’s an implausibly great-looking rash of shows at the o2 Academy, whose cavernous non-charms welcome LEE ‘SCRATCH’ PERRY (4th), as focused and on-point as you could reasonably expect at last May’s ATP and with an excellent band to boot; JUSTICE (9th), whose terribly overcooked second album will be bolstered live by their classic material and a shit-hot live show; the fantastically goofy ur-stadium rock of MASTODON (5th), fast becoming the Metallica it’s ok to not push off a cliff; and GZA (18th), possibly the third best living Wu-Tang member and most likely ambling through the best bits of ‘Liquid Swords’ on a bill with brit-hop lifers SKITZ & RODNEY P. The Academy (20th) and Cardiff Uni (19th) also host the NME Awards Tour, which is worth a punt for METRONOMY’s arch electropop gems and, in particular, the deliciously filthy electro-boosted hip-hop of AZEALIA BANKS. Both will make the rank indie rock losers on the bill look like eternal dullards.

Elsewhere, Bristol has some tidy-looking gems, not least at the Cube. There, MARY HAMPTON’s disquieting subject matter and crystalline vocals make for superbly warped alt-folk which will be a highlight of the month’s listings (11th). The same venue also hosts an ace triple-bill of experimental duos (17th) headlined by Brooklyn’s HIGH PLACES, whose bleached-out psychedelic pop is ably supported by THE HYSTERICAL INJURY and Zun Zun Egui / SJ Esau side-project HESOMAGARI. I know, right? Hyper-literate pop polymath MOMUS is at the Cube too (10th), while around the grounds Bristol rounds up varied treats care of beloved agit-folk-punk duo VIALKA (Café Kino, 17th), the mighty post-hardcore screamalong fun of Leeds nutbars PULLED APART BY HORSES (Fleece, 18th), ex-Cul de Sac man and 12-string picker par excellence GLENN JONES (Arnolfini, 23rd, with SHARRON KRAUS), RM HUBBERT, formerly of unsung Glaswegian post-rock outfit El Hombre Trajeado (seriously, look them up) and now solo (Cube, 2nd with Cardiff’s THINGS MAKE ELECTRIC), STILL CORNERS’ poised detachment and brittle Broadcast melodies (Louisiana, 9th), glorious Fence Records drone-folk from KING CREOSOTE & JON HOPKINS and the fine WITHERED HAND (Fleece, 5th) and the perennially underrated and beautifully crafted pop of FIELD MUSIC (Fleece, 23rd)..

Qu Junktions are back, bringing intriguing and playful experiments in techno from ITAL (formerly of solid Dischord kids Black Eyes, still half of no-wave freaksters Mi Ami) to Bristol’s Take 5 Café (10th). Diogenes have a couple of excellent shows, with exploratory psych lifers ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS (Croft, 9th) and slow-crawling doom from PUS and others (Croft, 2nd). Blinding scenes at the Cube (25th); “experimental tuba trio” ORE offer a wall of numbing low-end and, well, shitloads of whacked-out brass. Come on, that sounds amazing. ANTA, FAIRHORNS and SKJOLBROT make up a corking bill. This month’s obligatory SATURDAY’S KIDS mention: they’re at the Croft on the 16th before a launch gig for the new ‘Grey On White’ 7″ which takes place in the basement of Newport’s Barnabas Arts Centre (23rd).

What have I missed? Not a lot, although I heard DJANGO DJANGO’s assured late-period Beta Band single on the radio this morning and it was pretty good (Cooler, 25th). THE DEATH OF HER MONEY appear with AXIS OF at Buffalo (26th), always good. THE AFTERNOONS, presumably cryogenically frozen since 2001, are back and playing Buffalo (25th); sweet South Walian Sarah Records pop, as I recall. LONEY, DEAR does sad-eyed Swedish melancholia (Louisiana, 19th) and CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH, who must be gutted to be in the round-up, tour their sadly flat recent material at the Thekla (4th). Nice surf one-two at the Cube (4th) with MUSTARD ALLEGRO and HANGMEN, who I should get around to seeing. Gathered In Song have OX playing Le Pub (8th) and FANFARLO do brass-assisted junior Arcade Fire-isms (Thekla, 27th). Think that’s about it. Time for my cocoa.

Buffalo, Undertone and 10 Feet Tall lead the way in the January sales, as usual, giving curatorial duties to bands, labels and promoters wanting to put on a cheap night. New kids on the block, the Moon Club (space above the Full Moon, formerly Y Fuwch Goch/Kaz Bar etc) go one better with a full month of completely free shows. Highlights, you say? Well, the Joy Collective Hot Boyz DJ Team fully endorse MARIA & THE MIRRORS’ rescheduled Buffalo show (4th), with an excellent support bill of GINDRINKER, TOTEM TERRORS (formerly Joy of Sex) and WRONGS (formerly James James, now about 3% more easily searched online). Y NIWL and H. HAWKLINE are the party-starting dream team the kids all crave, and they team up with Harvest (Buffalo, 28th) while Y Niwl also play Bristol’s Café Kino on the 7th. Lesson No. 1 bring the return of Liverpudlian sludge monsters CONAN (Buffalo, 22nd, with co-hosts PUS), while long-missing hardcore types THE KEEP return alongside supergroup of sorts (members of Night & The City Of Broken Promises, Ironclad etc) NATURAL ORDER (Clwb, 20th). It would be remiss of us not to insist you keep your diary free on the 31st, too; FLOWER OF PHONG, a new CD-R record label brought to you by some local miscreants including our own Vivers, hold a launch gig at Undertone. Details here shortly. Meanwhile, Moon Club freebies, still very much subject to additions, include STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR (28th, with HIS NAKED TORSO), THE DEATH OF HER MONEY (13th), BEDFORD FALLS (26th, with Swansea surf dudes HANGMEN), A THOUSAND ARROWS (22nd) and WITCHES DRUM and THORUN (27th).

As you might expect, there aren’t a great deal of tours calling this way so early in the new year, although a few bigger names do pop up. The city’s club nights score big, with JOY ORBISON and JACKMASTER returning for another B2B set following last year’s blinder (Clwb, 27th) and Signature bagging totally ace Dutch dubstep/techno chap Dave Huismans, aka 2562 (Buffalo, 12th). Don’t miss that one. Swn hit the ground running with three shows varied in nature, if (personally) not so thrilling; dig if you will this year’s “new Strokes” HOWLER (Clwb, 27th with KUTOSIS or Louisiana, 23rd, without), EVERYTHING EVERYTHING (Globe, 17th) and 1996’s favourite misanthrope BABYBIRD (Globe, 26th). Hmm. Better, Barely Regal team their promising recent signings OLYMPIANS with the excellent SAMOANS and perma-touring grunge kids TUBELORD (Undertone, 8th), while JOANNA GRUESOME head up a neat-looking bill at Gwdihw (25th) with LITTLE ARROW and RATATOSK. Nice. Finally, there’s highly promising moody electro atmospherics from FACE + HEEL, whose third attempt at a debut gig will hopefully happen at Buffalo (24th), hook-filled Welsh pop classicism from JEN JENIRO (Clwb, 21st) and a US folky double bill of THE TOY HEARTS and REBECCA PRONSKY care of Gathered In Song (10 Feet Tall, 22nd).

Fewer things jumping out of the Bristol listings for the month ahead, and it’s particularly galling that three blinders occur on the same ruddy night. Top recommendation anywhere this month is WILD FLAG, whose debut album of playful, aware and hopelessly cool indie-rock was one of 2011’s best. Their first full UK tour calls at the Thekla (27th), while across town FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS launch their first album since springing from Bristolian cult status to fully-fledged indiepop contenders at the Motorcycle Showroom in Stokes Croft (27th again, with THE LIFTMEN). Meanwhile, same night, there’s a corker of a free gig at the Cube featuring total babes THE JELAS alongside MATT LOVERIDGE and LINE. It’s just not fair, Bristol. Elsewhere in Bristol, VIC GODARD & SUBWAY SECT return early doors (Thunderbolt, 7th), the increasingly proggy, increasingly feted and increasingly dull M83 play the pretty sizey Trinity (17th), THE HORRORS do the same venue (20th, sold out – they’ll play Cardiff in May) and smiling hardcore raconteur HENRY ROLLINS’ latest spoken word show The Long March visits St Georges Hall (17th). Also worth seeing are SCHNAUSER (Grain Barge, 13th), ANTA (Croft, 14th), the CAVES/BEDFORD FALLS bill at the Croft (29th) and the tireless and always fun MR SCRUFF (o2 Academy, 28th). Those are the headlines, god I wish they weren’t.

Some choice one-offs in the capital too, chiefly of an unpleasantly noisy fashion; yer punk and hardcore kids are the ones to turn to for pre-Christmas party fun, no mistake. SATURDAY’S KIDS stop touring for no man, of course, and their co-headline tour with ace W. Yorks / S.Wales punkers FACEL VEGA calls at Undertone (15th), with HARBOUR and HUNGER ARTIST in support. The latter band also prop up GOODTIME BOYS’ co-headline with Berlin’s AT DAGGERS DRAWN (Undertone, 1st) on a fine bill with THE DEATH OF HER MONEY and CROSSBREAKER. Woof. Be sure to catch TWO WOUNDED BIRDS’ glowering blend of Wall Of Sound pop, Ramones’ gawky attitude and Gene Vincent tremolo-heavy guitar twang, a highlight of Swn for me and supported by Swansea surf dudes HANGMEN (10 Feet Tall, 8th). Stirring Hereford post-rockers TALONS’ classical violin-driven sound does familiar things very well indeed; they play Undertone’s Christmas party on the 21st. In fact, it’s SOUTH WEST REPRESENT! month, notably the traditional musical backwater of Cornwall. Derivative but fun, not least in appropriating their name, Falmouth lo-fi noiseniks BLACK TAMBOURINES team up with JOANNA GRUESOME (Buffalo, 12th) for some shabby pop fun, while rowdy hardcore types KASA (Undertone, 20th) hail all the way from rock city Penzance. Finally, if you really can’t stand your co-workers and in-laws, spend the Friday before Christmas in the company of SPIDER KITTEN, THORUN and others (Bogiez, 23rd). Across the bridge the excellent people at Burial Chamber present a mammoth line-up including ALTAR OF PLAGUES, Thorun and the very fine BEAR-MAN (Croft, 3rd) and your pals and mine ISLET may or may not be playing the Croft (9th – the venue says yes, deafening silence elsewhere.  Check press, etc).

There’s a handful of fine evenings of more relaxed seasonal cheer scattered about. ALASDAIR ROBERTS hosts “an evening of folk culture, ritual and song” entitled Here’s A Health To The Barley Mow (Cube, 11th), where he’ll perform alongside FINGLEBONE and show a series of BFI films on the arcane and ritual. The man is a total chap. Espers frontwoman MEG BAIRD appears at the same venue (Cube, 8th) on a fantastic-looking psych-folk triple bill with FURSAXA and SHARRON KRAUS, as does recent Swn guest and experimental folkie DAUGHTER (Cube, 6th). Wonky, prolific and weirdly brilliant troubadour MEN DIAMLER, once magnificently described by our own Vivers as “Brian Blessed singing murder ballads”, signs off before calling time on his musical efforts (Cube, 1st), and no less eccentric ex-Hold Steady man FRANZ NICOLAY serenades the Croft (15th). Back in Cardiff ANTHONY REYNOLDS, still best remembered by me and some other old losers as songwriter with splendidly seedy 90s band Jack but now a regular collaborator on his home town’s art scene, performs new material at Chapter (10th); promising new Fence Records signing SEAMUS FOGARTY debuts at the Full Moon (formerly Y Fuwch Goch, 11th) and 10 Feet Tall pay tribute to the late Bert Jansch with songs from THE GENTLE GOOD, RHODRI VINEY and IVAN MOULT alongside DJs and films (11th).

Going to sign off with a few more recommended titbits. Electronic picks of the month are three; LONE, whose ‘Emerald Fantasy Tracks’ melded woozy Boards Of Canada synths and beatific R&S techno to splendid effect (Thekla, 9th), fierce futurist 303 belters from his labelmate BLAWAN (Buffalo, 1st) and a typically fascinating-looking line-up of out-there experimental pop, drone and electronica at the Arnolfini (8th) under the title Active Crossover. EKOPLEKZ, SJ ESAU and SKJOLBROT foremost on that bill. DEATH IN VEGAS’ halcyon days may be behind them but they still crank out some decent krautrock-heavy jams; move fast for their Thekla gig (13th) as it’s possibly already sold out. ACTION BEAT, who are bloody fantastic live and welcome back here anytime, join SJ ESAU (again), ANTA and BIG JOAN in support of MADNOMAD for a tenth anniversary celebration of Bristol’s Club Choke (Croft, 22nd). Finally, indestructible Mackem punk legends LEATHERFACE show the young’uns a trick at the Croft (7th). Somewhere, Steve Lamacq is sipping weak cider and sighing wistfully. Merry Christmas, Steve. Merry Christmas everyone.

Group Inerane

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The Rusty Trombone of God Presents…

BIRCHALL CHEETHAM DUO

David Birchall / Andrew Cheetham Duo. David on prepared guitar with Andrew on drums. Both met when playing in Rhys Chatham’s G3 Ensemble in March 2011. Free improvisation, drone and noise from Manchester, UK. Full-pelt skronk.

http://soundcloud.com/birchallcheethamduo

DEAS & DENTON

Cam Deas (perhaps better known for his 12-string solo acoustic guitar) teams up with Adam Denton leaving the quiet and beautiful world of his solo project behind for a twin-electric feedback assault. Drawing from influences as far-reaching as La Monte Young, Basic Channel and Pan Sonic. Expect throbbing feedback and hypnotic drones as well as onslaughts of over-arching beats. Deas & Denton have releases on the Blackest Rainbow and Present Time Exercises (PTE) labels.

http://soundcloud.com/camdeas/deas-denton-inferno-side-b
http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=5227
http://www.presenttimeexercises.com/

SOUNDING

Sounding is the new solo project from Ben Moon one half of Forest Creature (Blackest Rainbow). I would expect some modest pulsing lights – perhaps not lasers but they won’t be disco lights either. It’s almost too easy to compare influences to Yellow Swans, Black Dice and Fuck Buttons but I am going to do it anyway.

http://soundcloud.com/sounding-1

R.SEILIOG

R.Seiliog was born in the basement of a watchmakers shop in Peniel, North Wales in 1985. This early exposure to the syncopated rhythms of countless different timepieces was to have a lasting effect on the way he hears the world and indeed, composes. His music has the repetitive, hypnotic, and melodic qualities of his kosmiche forefathers Klaus Schulzes, CAN and Harmonium, but is harmonically more akin to Cluster or Terry Riley.

http://soundcloud.com/r-seiliog
http://www.youtube.com/user/yseiliog

Monday 28th November
The Gower, 29 Gwennyth Street, Cardiff
8pm £3adv / £5 door

Tickets: directly via paypal – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EEJRD53TQBQK4

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• Doors: 8:00 PM
• Price: £4 Adv
• Entry: 16+
• Room: Main Room 

People Like Us: Magical Misery Tour

Ergo Phizmiz’s The Third Policeman

Wednesday and Thursday, 9 and 10 November 2011

Nothing weird about ultra-prolific Japanese psych-rock behemoth ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE playing in a bar in Bridgend.  On a Monday night (Hobos, 14^th).  Nope, hang on, that’s highly weird, yet fantastic.  It’s cheap (£8 maximum) and has excellent support from longform psych improvisers BEAR-MAN.  Oh, and Hawkwind’s Nik Turner might turn up and play because he lives down the road.  Splendid.  If Bridgend’s too much of a stretch, AMT play the Thekla on the 15^th too.  Further exploratory truffles can be uncovered in the no less unusual surrounds of Cathays’ Gower pub (28^th), where the Rusty Trombone of God dudes follow up their fine Sŵn bill with prepared guitar and drum workouts from BIRCHALL/CHEETHAM DUO, manipulated feedback jams from DEAS & DENTON and R. SEILIOG.  Trippy.  Elsewhere, seek out multimedia polymath PEOPLE LIKE US, who turns her unrivalled skills in A/V plunderphonics to the horror genre in ‘Magical Misery Tour’ (Cube, 17^th) and former PLU collaborator ERGO PHIZMIZ, who presents “electronic neur-opera” The Third Policeman, a feast of animation, music and interactive storytelling, over two nights at the Cube (9^th, 10^th).

More horizon-broadening stuff, again courtesy of Qu Junktions, at the same venue (16^th), where Balkan themes are interpreted by The Ex’s ANDY MOOR and Cypriot electronic composer YANNIS KYRIAKIDES.  Their take on Greek rembetika comes with Kyriakides’ film Varocha and support from Nalle and Scatter man Chris Hladowski’s psych trio THE FAMILY ELAN.  Ace.  Over at the Croft, more heavy psych treats; transcendental West African jam band GROUP INERANE, undeterred by their ATP performance going on ice, pair up with killer free noise pair FLOWER-CORSANO DUO for an unmissable night (29^th).  ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER returns swiftly to Bristol (Cube, 22^nd) with an A/V collaboration with filmmaker Nate Boyce, an apparently career-best new set of meditative, lo-fi sampledelia and support from Planet Mu alumnus HYETAL.  Finally, for now, there’s coal-black mutant jazz from Norway’s very awesome SHINING (Fleece, 6^th).

There’s lots of excellent new releases about from Cardiff’s best and brightest, and on the back of some triumphant Swn shows a few of them take the metaphorical champagne bottle across the bow this month.  TRUCKERS OF HUSK celebrate the release of ‘Accelerated Learning’ on Shape at Clwb (26^th), and if it’s half as rumbustuous as O’Neills was last week it’ll be a treat.  Not least because RIGHT HAND LEFT HAND, who slayed Swn themselves and whose ‘Power Grab’ should be bought, now, by everyone, support.  As do yer Bear-Man.  KUTOSIS, meanwhile, have ‘Fanatical Love’ birthed on the 14^th by Barely Regal, and launch it not once but twice with a gig at Clwb (11^th, EFFORT among the supports) and a playback of the videos created for each song at Chapter Moviemaker (7^th).  Their joint tour with SAMOANS, meanwhile, takes in the Croft (13^th).  Also on the 11^th, SCIENCE BASTARD unveil ‘Pull Tiger Death Cord’ with a freebie show at Le Pub; they also support returning heroes FUTURE OF THE LEFT who bring forth new material at Clwb (20^th).  SATURDAY’S KIDS are on that bill too, one of the month’s best.  Another sees LOS CAMPESINOS! touring with Ukraine-wasting nutbar geniuses STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR; the ensuing chaos serves to promote LC!’s ‘Hello Sadness’ album, and calls at the Globe (9^th).  ISLET aren’t, sadly, trailing a new album – yet – but play Buffalo (23^rd) with pictish scruffs DOLFINZ and the lopsided clatter of HIS NAKED TORSO.

Away from the local heroes, it’s a bit of a cracking month for quality live tackle in the capital.  THROWING MUSES are a bit of a coup for Swn, and should make the air fair crackle with intensity in the intimate setting of the Gate (8^th).  Watch out for the GIGCLASH though, as the same dudes bring you tender, wounded love songs and sleepy/druggy West Coast pop classicism care of San Francisco’s GIRLS (Globe, 8^th) on the same night.  Bummer, I believe, is the expression, a sentiment perhaps shared by Cardiff-based fans of DANANANANAYKROYD; no sooner had I plugged the Bristol date of their farewell tour than the lovable math-pop scamps had added a bonus date (Undertone, 5^th) with DRAINS in tow.  Top sweaty fun in prospect there, as there surely will be when MARIACHI EL BRONX swing by Clwb (27^th), even if their day-job incarnation aren’t appearing this time.  JOSH T. PEARSON is another whose show moves to Clwb from the Globe (24^th); on sparkling, hilarious between-song form at End Of The Road, that should be a treat.  Less predictable, but potentially great, is GHOSTFACE KILLAH (Solus, 6^th).  Such a shame that’s not in Clwb, too, but on his day he should rip it up anyway.  WISE BLOOD, rescheduled from summer, brings his dextrous cut ‘n’ paste pop to Undertone (18^th).

Plenty of big stuff happening over the bridge.  DOOM returns to Bristol with another showcase of his multifarious pseudonyms; the best rapper of his generation appears at Motion (15^th), while over at Start The Bus there’s a chance to see SHABAZZ PALACES, capping a remarkable rebirth from Daisy Age obscurity with Digable Planets with his first UK tour (22^nd).  EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY take their textbook quiet-loud post-rock to the big stages (o2 Academy, 20^th), a big step up considering that WILD BEASTS are only playing the Anson Rooms (19^th).  Both ought to be good, of course.  OKKERVIL RIVER have slowly become rabble-rousing main stage gold in a way Bright Eyes never really managed; they’re at the Trinity (21^st), while BESNARD LAKES’ slow-burn rootsy indie-rock should sell well at the Thekla (21^st) the same night and BON IVER will have the 4×4 crowd going wild in the aisles at the Colston Hall (11^th).  Rather than the latter, spend the 11^th in the company of ST VINCENT, whose US jaunt with our own CATE LE BON in support crosses the pond; they’re at the Fleece (11^th) for the nearest thing to a triumphant homecoming.  Also recommended: redoubtable gentle giant of folk-blues WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE (St Bonventures, 15^th), wrought, emotional indie-rockers THE ANTLERS (Thekla, 9^th), Belle & Sebastian guitarist and total chap STEVIE JACKSON’s solo debut (Thekla, 11^th) and Constellation’s SISKIYOU (Cube, 12^th, with SILVER PYRE).

More Cardiff stuff!  Gathered In Song have landed a bit of a coup with American Music Club’s MARK EITZEL’s return to Cardiff alongside alt-country troubadour RICHARD BUCKNER (Buffalo, 9^th) and they also have ex-Grand Drive man DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD (Globe, 14^th).  Italian garage/shoegaze dudes THEE PIATCIONS have their postponed show rescheduled at Buffalo (21^st) with Laura Bryon of King Alexander’s new band TENDER PREY opening.  Ace Fence Records folkster ROZI PLAIN returns (10 Feet Tall, 28^th) as do decidedly un-folky Leicester sociopaths DIET PILLS (Gower, 18^th, with SPIDER KITTEN and more).  Satisfy your noise jonesing further in the company of sludgy Londoners PALEHORSE, skronky mathrock types NITKOWSKI and those STRANGE NEWS fellows (Clwb, 3^rd) or TALL SHIPS (Undertone, 10^th), or for something a little danceable check Kitsune’s CITIZENS playing 10 Feet Tall with the ace HEMME FATALE (16^th) or indiepoppers WAKE THE PRESIDENT (Undertone, 19^th).

What else? Lots. Sleek electro-pop goodness from NEON INDIAN (Cooler, 19^th), or maybe thumpingly direct polyrhythmic Animal Collective fun from FIXERS (Start The Bus, 19^th). PURE X offer a pretty intriguing amalgam of gluey shoegaze guitars and airy 60s pop structures which could either be great or an indulgent mess live, decide for yourselves (Thekla, 7^th). There’s supercute gossamer indiepop from CULTS (Thekla, 17^th), shuddering mathy hardcore from ICE, SEA, DEAD PEOPLE (Croft, 19^th), neon Fairlight disco classicism from AZARI & III (Blue Mountain, 3^rd), woozy falsetto lo-fi from GARDENS & VILLA (Thekla, 5^th) and hearty stop-start indie-rock care of PORTUGAL. THE MAN (Louisiana, 19^th). There’s also some preposterously strong bills over at Motion, with EROL ALKAN, HUDSON MOHAWKE, JON HOPKINS, WASHED OUT and more (12^th) and JOKER, MARTYN, NATHAN FAKE and JAMES HOLDEN all on one bill (25^th). That’s before we even mention a slew of perma-touring types making swift returns to Bristol, namely MELVINS (Thekla, 4^th), DJ SHADOW (Academy, 28^th), BILLY BRAGG (Anson Rooms, 28^th), JESSE MALIN (Fleece, 29^th), WIRE (Thekla, 29^th) and JAMES BLAKE (Anson Rooms, 29^th). Ridiculous. Frankly, there’s loads more – see the listings section for ample proof – but that should be enough to keep you going. Word to the wise: December’s dead, so make the most of it.