Drugs, cheerleaders, Kim Jong-Un

The Quietus are five years old and to celebrate this milestone they are throwing a party at the great independent venue Corsica Studios on Friday 6th SeptemberThey will have three of their favourite artists of these last five years playing, though they can’t tell you who they are just yet because it’s a secret. Regardless, it’ll sell out before doors open, so crack on and buy a ticket now

This is the Facebook event page if you wish to publicly pledge your allegiance

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Formerly fronting Oslo quintet Norma Sass, Thea Glenton Raknes returns with The Wild in tow, and where her previous band was all technicoloured pop, this sees Thea fuzz it up, dabbling with the Blues ever so slightly, but still retaining a throbbing pop heart at the core, keeping time with hand-claps, a growling kick-drum, layering the chorus with a deep baritone which underscores her spectacularly distinctive, mellifluous voice. Half-English, Raknes always put her shoulder into her lyrics and here she brings a weariness to the table that belies her years: “Trying hard to seem / happy on the face of it /and God knows I’ve had practice…”. Let’s hope her shows at by:Larm lift her spirits.

Thursday 14 February, 2030, in the tent on Youngstorget
Friday 15 February, 22:00, at John Dee (our preference)

On 16 and 17 November, our friends at The Local are presenting a festival in the Crouch End area of London, cleverly entitled ‘The End’. Utilising a wealth of diverse rooms they’ll present a enviable line-up of musical talent, not least the wonderful Gravenhurst, who’ll headline at the Music Palace which we’re running for the weekend.

Tickets are £20 but if you book before 19 October you’ll only pay £12.50, giving you access to all venues, assuming they’re not full when you roll up.

Here’s the Facebook page, for all you modern people out there.

We saw the talented Sophia Brous supporting Jens Lekman at London’s Hackney Empire last week, with a certain Mr. Aaron Cupples of Civil Civic on – unlikely as this seems – acoustic guitar.

She and Jens became pals when he was living in Melbourne, and she duets with him on the track ‘Erica America‘ on his new album. Pitchfork liked it.

Touted as a “human powerhouse” and “prodigious chanteuse” (thanks, Rolling Stone), Melbourne’s Brous possesses an uncompromising vision for pop. Equal parts pop auteur and exotic diva, she weaves together a mesmerising palette of ’60s soundtrack fetishism, shimmering psychedelia and industrial lounge, with nods to pop traditions stretching from Japan to Brazil to Eastern Europe, showcasing stunning melodies, crowned by an extraordinarily powerful voice.

Since releasing her debut EP through Onelouder/Universal at the close of 2011, with intoxicating lead single ‘Streamers’ (video below), she received widespread critical praise, national airplay and award nominations across Australia. She’s sung on Bollywood soundtracks and Hollywood film scores, curated festivals, and kept up a constant schedule of new projects and collaborations with artists including Michael Rother (Neu!), the aforementioned Jens Lekman, Francois Tetaz (Gotye, Kimbra), Brian Chase (YYYs, USA) and Mick Harvey (Bad Seeds, Birthday Party), who makes up part of her live band when she plays as a full-five piece.

She’s unusual.

We like her a lot.

Click: homepage, Soundcloud, Twitter, Facebook

It’s sold out, but those who got a ticket will want to go to:
7 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NQ. Map

The new issue of the UK’s finest music paper, The Stool Pigeon, features what we consider to be the most thorough, well-researched article on the state of UK music festivals that we’ve read. We were interviewed for it, and great credit goes to the writer, Ben Cardew, for a proper piece of investigative journalism.

Read it here.

24 July Manchester Deaf Institute
25 July Liverpool Leaf
26 July Glasgow Captain’s Rest
27 July Newcastle Cluny
28 July Leeds Cockpit 3
30 July Nottingham Bodega
31 July Oxford Jericho
1 August Bristol Thekla