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In York:
Daedelus [City Screen Basement – 26/10 – £6/£7otd]
Alfred Darlington, Daedelus, has been confounding gig-goers for much of the decade with a live show incorporating Monome machines and Max/MSP for his style of realtime music making (pretty complex stuff, as far as I can make out). To catch his sample-heavy performance in such an intimate venue will be a rare treat, but those tickets are running out fast.
The Unthanks [The Duchess – 28/10 – £15/£16.50otd]
To a chorus of justifiable excitement, the folk artists formerly known as Rachel Unthank and the Winterset return to York this week. Sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank offer contrasting Northumbrian lead vocals (with occasional clog dancing) to the mix, and will be accompanied by a newly reshaped backing band on songs from their new album, the expansive, varied Here’s the Tender Coming.
Manchester Orchestra [The Duchess – 30/10 – £7.50/£9.50otd]
Neither from Manchester, nor an orchestra (come on, that wouldn’t fit in the Duchess), Manchester Orchestra are the raucous result of frontman Andy Hull’s rebellion against his life at a restrictive Christian high school in Atlanta, Georgia. Their rocky second album, Mean Everything to Nothing, hit the US Top 40 on its release in April, and this show is their only headline performance in the UK.
Euros Childs [City Screen Basement – 03/11 – £4/£5otd]
Once a leader of psychedelic Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Childs is a true maverick, going against any current trend you’d care to mention. His latest album of weird pop lyrically covers topics as diverse as mayonnaise, boots and fridges, accompanied by a bunch of ancient synths. His dry sense of humour and frequent left-turns make for an enjoyable show. If you fancy something a bit different, give Euros a try.
Around York:
In Leeds, this year’s Brainwash Festival [29/10-01/11, £5-15 per day, £22.50 for the weekend] hosts bands including BLK JKS, Hot Club de Paris and Oceansize at a bunch of venues across the city. Elsewhere, a whole bunch of the year’s best bands are visiting: on November 3, Wilco [O2 Academy, £20] and Blue Roses [Brudenell Social Club, £6] tour their great recent albums, whilst Camera Obscura’s wistful pop [Cockpit, 27/10, £10] should charm anyone lucky enough to be present.
A taste of Scandinavia comes from Norwegian electro-pop duo Röyksopp [Leeds Uni, 04/11, £16] and Danish proggers Mew [Leeds Met., 07/11, £12/50], whilst Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear will play much of their latest album, Veckatimest, at Leeds Met. [05/11, £15]. Effervescent Welsh septet Los Campesinos! put on an energetic show at the Cockpit [30/10, £8]
In Manchester, Bellowhead [25/10, £17], Phoenix [27/10, £13] and Yo La Tengo [07/11, 14] play the Academy venues, whilst drone-led ambient artist Grouper is at Nexus [06/11, £7]. In what's bound to be a highlight, recent Mercury nominees Portico Quartet and Sweet Billy Pilgrim host a joint concert at the RNCM [03/11, £12-16 plus concessions].
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