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.

Do you speak guitar? Could you parse the seemingly identical layers of lo-fi fuzz to reveal three separate young bands tonight? Funny how tiny differences equal big outcomes: every act on this bill deals in scrappy noise to some degree but only one steps above the wash to become anything more than vaguely enjoyable scuzz. Basically, you need to take away the fact that JOANNA GRUESOME ARE FUCKING BRILLIANT, and effortlessly better than openers Mowbird, whose angular zeal is fine enough, if a little unmemorable, and headliners Black Tambourines, who jitter through tight indie that arrives frayed and febrile. The latter band are like some modern day Merseybeat combo, head wobbling and ooh-ing over songs that strut awkwardly towards pop greatness but never quite get there. Their rush of breathless clattering is a benign tonic while it lasts though, and comes with plenty shy boy charm.

 So why are Joanna Gruesome so good? All their imperfections are their strengths: anything mumbled against them in the crowd gets too easily batted back. They’ve got a singer who murmers like she’s crippled with stagefright and/or boredom? Well fuck you, it’s another layer of perfect lo-fi guitar noise. They’re a bunch of skinny legged kids who look like they can barely dress themselves? Well fuck you, they’re the kids who’ve won through knowing no separation between DIY moshpit, unselfconscious love of music and making a racket yourself. Their version of Galaxie 500′s ‘Tugboat’ is a good calling card: verses that are sleepy, dreamy, stumbling into crashing sections that junk the choruses for howling guitar waves. JG originals are sweet too, sometimes literally: boy/girl vocals (estimated first shave date for male singer: 2017) are honeyed but not cloying, lost in six string distortion that’s a brilliant crush of wailing, stabbing notes and bullseye melody. “Twee Sonic Youth” is too trite – Joanna Gruesome are cute and rough, gangly and huggable, with rocks in their cardigans. Start stalking them now.

Tempting to think that Talk Normal were handpicked by Wire to open proceedings with the kind of awkward experimentation the latter group long left behind, but in reality (a) Wire still hide a lot of sharp corners in the pretty conventional songs played tonight and (b) Talk Normal’s racket is totally, completely great. Comprising two Brooklynite ladies (some middle aged men in the audience will alter congratulate them in a surprised manner), it’s a noise dominated by rhythm and squall rather than melody, with Andrya Ambro’s compulsive drum beat putting needles under Sarah Register’s piercing guitar and one-finger keyboard. In their starker moments they conjure up bracing no-wave heroines Ut; in the urgent call and response yells and drawn out guitar work they just sound fucking cool, like classic NY rough edges party stars. Devastating, even in grey leggings.

There’s some obvious signs of age as Wire start, though most of them are in the audience. Despite Shouty Man In Crowd, they don’t play I Am The Bloody Fly, though chucking in Another The Letter as your second song is a sweet deal; 1978′s niggling romp sounding box fresh, and unspoilt by it’s main riff being played by a session guitarist who looks he was stolen from Kurt Vile’s backing band. There’s very little played tonight from their first three albums, the ones that saw Wire ricochet from scabrous, crossword clue punk to gloriously mutated art rock in a ridiculously short space of time. This is a fine attitude, and though the bloody minded-ness is deflated slightly by playing two flipping encores, their shark-like aheadness leaves even less dazzling songs imposing and weighty still. Please take, from this year’s Red Barked Tree, thrums with dignified melancholia, thanks to an excellently stoic vocal from bassist Graham Lewis (good facial contortions too). 1988′s The Boiling Boy adds guitar layers so subtly it’s a thrill to be suddenly caught in the crashing, krauty finale. 1979′s Great Lost Single Map Ref. 41°N 93°W moves from perfunctory version to electrifying version once Colin Newman’s vocals start yowling at the song’s end. Always their presence is physical and jarring, a fact jabbed into your temples by a slowly steamrollering Pink Flag, a roll call of buried bodies set to stately explosions. Newman follows each glowering number, each minute long thrasher, with a steady swipe of his onstage iPad. They keep going, two fingers forever.

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.

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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 

Diet Pills
http://www.facebook.com/dietpillsband
Surreal, Heavy, Terrifying. Just a few of the words that could be used to describe Leicester’s Diet Pills. Amp fetishists take note: sexy gear will abound. New split 7″ with Grinding Halt out soon

Spider Kitten
http://www.facebook.com/spdrkttn
South Wales eclectic doom veterans grace The City with a rare show. More sexy gear will abound. Expect 70s influenced Doom Metal played with late 80s punk energy.

Thorun
http://www.facebook….129341573779803
The power of the riff compels them. So much so, in fact, that they don’t bother with any of the normal distractions such as vocals. Heavy groovy stoner goodness. Sexy gear abounds etc…

@ The Gower, Cardiff

Friday 18th November 7pm

£4

Facebook event page

Keef’s full review will be along shortly (along with a guide by the band themselves), but you can note these celebratory dates now. The first launch night happens in fine style at Chapter Arts Centre, taking over the monthly MovieMaker upcoming artists slot to show the ten music videos especially commissioned for the album. From Ellen Los Campesinos! to BAFTA dude Matt Brown to MovieMaker’s own hero Tom Betts, there’s some good stuff there, only some of them featuring the band being murdered. AND – live musical launching will take place at beautiful Clwb Ifor Bach a few days after, also with another of Keef’s fave bands Vvolves, as well as Without Maps and Effort’s winningly slack pop. PLUS – Kutosis take to the road with fellow Cardiff screamers Samoans for a jaunt that takes in Bristol’s Croft on the 13th. Time to get fanatical, he said poorly. 

Exciting change to the programme this month: in August we launched a contest to produce music videos for every track on Kutosis’ upcoming album, and on Monday 07/11 we’re going to be screening all the results! Admission is free and all are welcome. However, tickets still need to be collected from the box office and since so many of you lovely people have been coming lately (and the cinema only has 60 seats) it’s sometimes best to pick them up early. More details and links to previous films screened can be found on the MovieMaker blog at http://chaptermoviemaker.blogspot.com/. If you’d like more information, or have a film you’d like to show, please get in touch. Ideally submissions should be on DVD.

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