Róisín Murphy, On tour
How do you survive as a pop diva in midlife? You can try to evolve like Madonna. Pretend it’s not happening, like Kylie. Or head for a quirky mix of high fashion and pop art like Goldfrapp. For Róisín Murphy, best known as the vocalist in Moloko, (a trip-hop band who became stars with the massive pre-milennium disco hit Sing It Back), it’s been more like the latter. An artist with a lot of goodwill, Murphy’s solo albums were well received, and attempted to move things on, but for all the couture madness of her presentation, they seemed locked into some familiar modes: stirring Massive Attack-style symphonic beats, or chirpy drivetime house. It’s been seven years since her last album, but the time away has helped clean the slate. Hairless Toys finds Murphy reinventing herself as a post-dubstep Sade, and nominated for the Mercury prize, too.
02 ABC, Glasgow, Tue; Albert Hall, Manchester, Wed; Eventim Apollo, W6, Fri
JR
Disclosure, On tour
Not for Howard and Guy Lawrence the routine of the superstar DJ. Rather than simply making the beats, then turning up to point a finger in the air, a Disclosure performance features a bit more involvement than that. Sure, the pair aren’t shy of using singers to front their material (featured vocalists on Caracal, their second massive album of electronic pop, include young heavyweights Lorde and Sam Smith). More impressively, the pair’s live show illustrates self-reliance. Howard sings a few songs himself, which they mix live, and they feature their own guitar and bass playing – a fusion of Nile Rodgers and Manuel Göttsching, with an endearing look of discomfort that’s theirs alone.
The SSE Hydro, Thu; touring to 3 Dec
JR
ATP 2.0: Nightmare Before Christmas, Prestatyn
A nightmare only if you feel yourself easily spooked by Fuck Buttons side projects, the return of the All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) franchise to this Welsh seaside holiday camp is a blessing indeed. Curators of ATP events come and go (this time it’s British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, who programmed the first Nightmare a decade ago), but the flavour of the music and the consistency of its quality is very much a constant. With a strong emphasis on the various strands of post-hardcore US alternative rock (there are showings here from minimal stoners Om, the hairy duo Lightning Bolt and Built To Spill), there’s a lot here for people who enjoy a conversation about Steve Albini now and then. Variety is the spice of ATP life, though, and particular highlights here include high-concept electronica from Holly Herndon and post-punk Cretan lute/drum jams from Xylouris White.
Pontins Holiday Centre, Fri to 29 Nov
JR
Lightning Bolt, On tour
The Brians Chippendale and Gibson have been ploughing the same field and farming a bumper crop since they first sprouted in a froth of math-punk noise more than two decades ago in Providence, Rhode Island. Their energy is as strong as ever, and they managed their first studio recording stint in six years last year. Chippendale still pummels his kit in a show of precision smashing and squawking into a mic, dressed in what now must be a particularly pungent gimp mask. He’s flanked by Gibson, who carves up the madness with cleaver-heavy bass riffs. Lurking in this tour are other shows: a set by Chippendale’s solo project Black Pus at All Tomorrow’s Parties’ Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as one by the full duo, and a slot with doom-rock group Om in London (Thu).
JA
Andy Sheppard Quartet, On tour
Andy Sheppard never looks like a man in a hurry to exert himself, yet the varied eloquence of the saxophonist’s music constantly testifies to coolly camouflaged dedication and the shrewd deployment of a unique imagination. On this tour, he showcases his new album, Surrounded By Sea. For the quartet, he’s added the Norwegian effects-guitarist Eivind Aarset to his original trio, comprising French bassist Michel Benita and Polar Bear drummer Sebastian Rochford. The spaciousness invited by Aarset’s arrival brings with it more delicately shaded music, including translucently beautiful Hebridean ballads or hints of the serene murmur of Portico, with Sheppard’s phrasing often pared to hoots and whispers over Aarset’s drones or Rochford’s grooves.
JF
Noise Opera: Hirda, On tour
New Opera In Scotland Events (or Noise) is dedicated to presenting music-theatre in the country’s farthest flung parts. It’s latest couldn’t be flung much farther. Hirda was inspired by the stories of the Shetland Islands, and the libretto makes much use of Shetland dialect: the title itself means chaos or confusion. It tells the story of a successful actor who returns to his Shetland home for his brother’s wedding and falls for his sister-in-law. It’s interwoven with a real-life tale of a 19th-century Shetland woman and her sailor fiancé, told in their letters.
Mareel Arts Centre, Lerwick, Thu; Haroldswick Hall, Fri; touring to 8 Dec
AC
