Sexwitch, London
Over the past five years, Natasha Khan has found considerable acclaim as Bat For Lashes, a user-friendly version of Björk. While her mildly eccentric presentation was exciting, Khan’s vocal style has often seemed a little conventional for her future-boho aspirations. Sexwitch – a collaboration with Brit psych rockers Toy and producer Dan Carey – goes some way to overturning those reservations. Together, the group supply heavy drone-rock touching hip bases from Ya Ho Wha 13 to Jefferson Airplane, with Khan’s banshee wail a fair change indeed. True, two quite good things don’t make for one essential one, but it’s interesting to hear Khan move beyond the mannered BFL exterior.
XOYO, EC2, Tue
JR
Dengue Fever, On tour
Exploring world music can be a consuming passion. For bands such as Can it can mean high-concept reinterpretations, or for Damon Albarn a new lease of life. Dengue Fever are in the former camp: a band from LA who were inspired by the vibrant pop scene of 60s Cambodia. There’s an appealing aspect to what the group do, combining feisty psych rock with a hook-filled tunefulness native to the pre-Khmer Rouge music of the region. They mean it, too, supporting Cambodian charities with their work. But, for all its far-reaching influence, the music itself can sometimes seem stuck in a rut.
JR
Squeeze, On tour
Squeeze were the post-punk Kinks. They substituted north London for south, and sibling rivalry for enduring mateyness, but they deserve a similar reputation as writers of top-drawer narrative song. Built around the talents of Chris Difford (words) and Glenn Tilbrook (music), the band has had famous associations (Jools Holland was a founder member; Elvis Costello a pal and producer), but their successes, notably a string of quality late 70s and early 80s hits, always teamed a hallmark dry wit with McCartney-esque tunefulness. Now the tempo is picking up again with Cradle To The Grave, a release in part occasioned by the similarly named Danny Baker sitcom (he’s another friend). There’s a strong 70s heritage to both show and music, but the album revisits youthful indiscretion with more than simply nostalgia.
JR
ICA Associates: Blackest Ever Black, London
Kiran Sande’s label Blackest Ever Black is responsible for reanimating portions of the forgotten English post-punk scene, reactivating interest in ambient industrial sounds, and is more than likely also behind that current tendency to use ambiguous black-and-white photography to package noisy electronic music. It’s the label that brought us gloomy duo Raime and industrialist Cut Hands, and has also played a part in bringing Ike Yard back into the spotlight. Celebrating its big five is a stellar lineup including Raime and Cut Hands on the decks, plus performances from more recent signings such as French avant garde trumpeter Jac Berrocal with David Fenech and Vincent Epplay; plus art-rocker Mick Hobbs’s Officer!; Edinburgh duo Dalhous; Ashtray Navigations and more.
ICA, SW1, Sat
JA
Diana Krall, On tour
When she last came to the UK, the multi-million-selling Canadian singer-pianist Diana Krall pointedly departed from from the repertoire of ballads and cool sambas that had made her a star and delivered a mixed-media show of ragtime, blues and rock that was surprisingly funky. Now she’s back after a long recuperation from pneumonia to present music from her recent Wallflower album, themed around covers of pop classics, including the Dylan song of the title, the Mamas And The Papas’ California Dreamin’ and 10cc’s I’m Not In Love. Krall has made no secret of her intentions to make adult pop rather than jazz albums for years, but her lightly swinging piano style still surfaces, and her rich tonal shadings, which make held notes buzz and glide, continue to unearth jazz roots that go back to her childhood.
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Mon; Royal Albert Hall, SW7, Wed & Thu
JR
Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk, London
The new season at the Coliseum marks a new chapter in the history of English National Opera. Both the company’s music and artistic directors departed over the summer, and only one of them has been replaced. Mark Wigglesworth is the new music director, with a big reputation as a Shostakovich conductor. He’s making his debut conducting the composer’s greatest, most notorious stage work, Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk, which caused Shostakovich problems with Stalin and the Soviet regime when it was first performed in 1934. Lady Macbeth played an important role in ENO’s history, too: the previous Coliseum production (directed by David Pountney) was one of the high-water marks of the 1980s “powerhouse” years. Director Dmitri Tcherniakov’s staging was first seen in Düsseldorf, but it’s been reworked for the Coliseum with Patricia Racette in the role of Katerina, the heroine.
London Coliseum, WC2, Sat to 20 Oct
AC
