"... with his shirt sleeves rolled up, it seemed as if he was going to work in the fields, which I suppose he was, somehow, but rather than fields of wheat, fields of imagination." - Siobhán Kane travelled to London earlier this month to see Jeff Mangum play at Union Chapel.
'This is really what makes this concert so astonishing, the sense of free, almost combustible artistry, the coaxing sensuality coupled with a sense of boundary and mystery' - Siobhán Kane on Angel Olsen's Thursday night Whelan's gig.
Siobhbán Kane's epic roundup of this year's Primavera Sound festival
You'd be forgiven for not knowing John Grant from the band he fronted for ten years, The Czars. The acclaim their four records received was never matched with commercial success and the band split in 2004. They did, however, have superfans in Midlake, who convinced Grant to make an album in their studio, serving as his backing band in the process.
"In the midst of this attention to detail and craft, there is an obvious love of fun, something that radiates from the stage like little shards of lightning." - Siobhán Kane on Dirty Projectors' show at London's Roundhouse last week.
'so laid-back as to make Evan Dando look like an uptight control freak' - Neill Dougan on John Murry's gig in the Pepper Cannister Church on Sunday 23rd February
'they have surely given us one of the music experiences of the year' - Siobhán Kane on Konono No 1's gig in Whelan's.
Niall McGuirk's epic roundup of his annual punk rock pilgrimage to Blackpool's Rebellion Festival
'Jesso's voice almost resembles a howl, full of searching questions, with no easy answers' - Siobhán Kane reviews Tobias Jesso Jr's performance at The Unitarian Church on Sunday night
Paul G Smyth and Chris Corsano's 'engaging double-team attack on the senses' leaves an impression on MacDara Conroy