It has been a fairly low-key week, and the gagging need to get out there and see something might be why this time around we’re heavy on the early part of the weekend, but that’s fine, Sunday is supposed to be relaxing, I guess. A bit like a couple of weeks ago, this weekend features mostly tried and tested greats, and that might be a reaction to Prince’s death; you only get one life so don’t take any of these acts for granted.
5) New Myths, Surf Rock is Dead, Gingerlys, Fruit and Flowers at Berlin
I saw New Myths for the first time a few weeks ago and loved the band’s multi-genre approach to being a power-trio, with some shredding guitar solos thrown in for good measure. Surf Rock is Dead excel at treble-heavy indie-pop ala Violens, Beach Fossils, etc, that seems to have drifted off peoples radars recently, but I welcome their emphasis on melody. Fruit and Flowers and Gingerlys are well suited for the bill and shouldn’t be missed. Thursday 8pm
4) James Chance & The Contortions, Gary Wilson, Horse Lords, Eartheater at Market Hotel
I saw James Chance last year at Trans Pecos and can safely say the man has lost none of his cool and charisma, which obviously don’t account for much if you don’t have the tunes or talent to go with it, which also remains in spades! It’s safe to say that Gary Wilson shows are pretty rare too, given that he spent over 20 years off stage from the 80s until 2002, it could be a fairly bizarre evening.
3) Thurston Moore Group, Ryan Sawyer at Rough Trade
Thurston is set to release a new album this year titled Rock n Roll Consciousness, which will be his 5th album under his own name following 2014’s The Best Day (not to dismiss the myriad of other projects and bands he has been in). As far as guitar icons go, Thurston is right up there and is always worth catching, doubly so with the fine band he has put together; Steve Shelley on drums (you might recognise that name…); Deb Googe of My Bloody Valentine; James Sedwards (who formed a really great band called Nøught). Rough Trade is one of the best sounding rooms in the city so should be able to cope with all the weird noises the band can imagine. Thursday 8pm
2) Deerhunter, Soldiers of Fortune at Webster Hall
While Fading Frontier may feel like somewhat of a “typical” Deerhunter album (whatever that really is), it’s testament to the band’s success that such a good record can be described a little vanilla by their standards. It almost doesn’t matter what their records are like, you can see some bands and you might as well just listen at home, but Deerhunter give you a different expreience for handing your money over, the guitars are more aggressive and while they don’t tend to move around all that much, there is an intensity to their delivery that gives everyone a real workout. Saturday 8pm
1) Bob Mould, Ted Leo at Webster Hall
Patch the Sky was released last month via Merge Records and is Mould’s 12th solo album, when you combine that with Husker Du and Sugar, you have one of the best active discographies around. The new record continues the rock-trio format of the previous 2 albums, with Jon Wurster and Jason Narducy providing a perfect rhythm section for Mould’s work. Expect a set spanning almost 35 years played with more enthusiasm than someone a third of his age. Opening the show is cult favourite Ted Leo, who will be playing solo. Friday 7:30pm
Featured image of Bob Mould by Chris Quartly at Williamsburg Park in 2012.
