I hope you all got out there and voted this week, and now that you’ve fulfilled your civic responsibilities it’s time to have some fun. If fun means singer-songwriter, shoegaze, chillwave or some folky-indie, anyway…
5) A. Savage, Jack Cooper, Gift Wrap at Murmrr Theatre
Andrew Savage of Parquet Courts released his debut album, Thawing Dawn, via Dull Tools on the 13th of October. It’s more melodic and dreamy than a Parquet Courts record for the most part, with contributions from members of Ultimate Painting, EZTV, Psychic TV, Woods and more. Speaking of Ultimate Painting, also on the bill is Jack Cooper, who himself just released his debut solo record, Sandgrown, based around his hometown of Blackpool. Saturday 8pm
4) Hazel English, The Sea Life at Elsewhere
Hazel English is an Australian living in Oakland (which is probably fairly confusing for people who don’t seem capable of telling obvious accents apart) who excels at dreamy, almost chill-wave pop. Having just released a collection of two EPs, Just Give In and Never Going Home, (which you can buy here), you have two opportunities to see her this weekend. The first is at the newly opened Elsewhere on Thursday, and you can also head to Berlin on Friday. Thursday 8pm
3) Peter Matthew Bauer, Dark Tea, DÉMIRA at ALPHAVILLE
Peter Matthew Bauer released one of my favourite records of 2014 with Liberation!, and he is about to follow that up with Mount Qaf on the 10th of November, with vinyl copies to follow a few weeks later. You can listen to lead single Khidr below, and check out my interview with him from 2014 before buying tickets for the record releases show at Alphaville. Friday 8pm
2) Slowdive, Cherry Glazerr at Terminal 5
I saw Slowdive in Oxford back in June and the new songs sounded like they had never been away, though their self-titled album from this year is of course their first in 22 years. Not only did the new songs sound fantastic, but it was easily one of the best shows I have seen this year. It’s rare that the trek up to Terminal 5 is worth it, but those who venture out will be richly rewarded. Sunday 7pm
1) The Mountain Goats, Mothers at Brooklyn Steel
As I mentioned back in July, The Mountain Goats added an NYC show to their tour in support of Goths, which was released in May via Merge Records. After six months of shows in support of the record it’ll be interesting to see how different they sound from the studio versions, especially since it’s their first album that doesn’t feature any guitar. I haven’t seen the band since 2015 (featured image) and I’m excited to see what John Darnielle and company have in store for us. At the time of writing there are still some tickets remaining. Of course, super fans or just those who got on board during the initial tour announcement may heading out to Jersey City for the show at White Eagle Hall on Friday, which has since sold out. Sunday 8pm
