The last week of October has a special place in the North West’s music calendar. As autumn turns to winter, Liverpool Music Week returns to tease and woo us with its annual musical harvest.
The opening party takes place at the Kazimier on the 23rd with a rare live appearance from Holly Herndon. Her arty electronica is jam-packed full of field recordings and samples of herself. “So how does this translate into a live show?” I hear you ask. Apparently, a recent gig involved visuals taken from audience members’ social media accounts, so you might want to make sure you lock your Facebook account down before you arrive. She’s supported by an all-star cast of oddball electronica, from Mikachu and the Shapes‘ cut-and-paste giddiness to Darkstar‘s excellent glitch pop.
If you’d prefer something a bit more mellow, Grand Central Hall plays host to Richard Hawley‘s Brylcreemed baritone ballads on the same night. His latest album may be a bit more laid back, but he can be trusted to bring a certain atmosphere live. Support comes from GIITTV’s favourite orchestral pop artist Meilyr Jones.
On the 25th at Bluecoat, Stealing Sheep‘s performance draws this year’s Liverpool Irish Festival to a close. They’re collaborating with Immix Ensemble, bringing strings and brass to their folky electronica. Immix describe themselves as “a vehicle to champion the work of forward thinking composers, songwriters, bands and electronic artists… whose work slips between the cracks of style and genre,” which certainly sums up Stealing Sheep very nicely.
The same night at Kazimier, electro-noise-punks HEALTH will no doubt be showcasing new material from their long-awaited third album proper, notwithstanding two remix albums and a video game soundtrack, ‘Death Magic’. If the critics haven’t quite decided what to make of their new, more accessible direction then it’ll no doubt make more sense at a blisteringly loud volume, which will hopefully help them shake off those awkward Linkin Park and Depeche Mode comparisons.
Speaking of loud, Godspeed You! Black Emperor are set to lay waste to Camp and Furnace on the 27th. There aren’t many bands whose work you can describe in movements, but Godspeed aren’t like most bands. Expect half the set to be comprised of their latest record Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, and the other half to be a series of crescendos, each more life-affirming than the last.
Josh T. Pearson brings his mighty beard and presumably some new material for this, his third gig since he played on a boat on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in support of his debut three years ago. He’ll be gracing the Scandinavian Church on the 28th. Evian Christ, fresh from being locked up at Leeds Festival and producing Yeezus, is throwing a bit of a Trance Party at Liverpool’s newest venue, The Buyers Club, on the 29th, featuring the likes of rave heroes Altern-8 who are apparently still a thing.
Best Coast arrive with their brilliant third album California Nights to the Kazimier on the 30th. They’re still sad, but they don’t get stoned on the beach and sing about cats anymore; they’re more into Ash-style power pop. How it’ll work with their reverb-laden early work is yet to be seen, but their new material is so strong it doesn’t matter.
The closing party on Halloween is a post-punk affair with the always interesting Deerhunter and Gang of Four. Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox says he’d been listening to a lot of INXS while recording their new album Fading Frontier, but whether that influence is an obvious one is up for debate. A full supporting line-up is headed by SOAK, who has been in various ‘ones to watch’ lists for the past couple of years now, and former Late of the Pier frontman LA Priest will be keeping it weird.
Sadly, Liverpool Music Week will be something of a last ‘hurrah’ for the Kazimier that is closing its doors forever on 1 January, but with a list of names like this gracing the stage, it would be rude not to join the party.
For tickets and full line-up information click HERE.
Read our Festival Guide: 10 Best Autumn Festival HERE.
