TUESDAY 4TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** QUACK QUACK, BAD GUYS, THE SAILPLANES @ Boston Arms, Tufnell Park, 20.00
'On the surface, Leeds trio Quack Quack seem to exist in some animated part-prog, part-post-rock indie hinterland, but closer inspection reveals a tight-knit instrumental trio who, in absorbing and acknowledging everything from dub, jazz, funk, and electronic music, subvert all tidy enclosures of prog-this or post-that.'
WEDNESDAY 5TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** DRUGSTORE, DRY THE RIVER plus DJs @ ICA, 20.00, £12adv
'DRUGSTORE, one of the lost treasures of the 90's, Isabel Monteiro is back with a new line up and a new spring in their collective step...Dry The River armed with their fresh, vigorous take on English songwriting, covering themes of religion, history, community and landscape...'
THURSDAY 6TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** BO NINGEN, MARIA & THE MIRRORS, THE RAYOGRAPHS plus DJs @ Bardens Boudoir, 20.00, £5 adv
'The Rayographs are three girls who kind of mix a classic riot-grrrl ethic with a PJ Harvey style Nick Cave blues feel, more than that though, they're not that easy to pin down ... they’re stark yet full bodied, wired yet rich, they really are creating something that threatens to be special, they’ve got a dark edge, a menace that you wouldn’t want to mess with. Sharp, atmospheric, alive... stark words, imagination, real blues.... One of those stand out bands that doesn’t often come along, one of the genuinely exciting new bands...and how good is that moody riff at the start of /Yellow hair/... catch this conversation, pay attention, this band are good (Organ)'
FRIDAY 7TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** THESE MONSTERS, THE PLIGHT @ Borderline, 20.00
'These Monsters are a prog-rock quartet from the North of England are renowned for putting on a hell of a show with their jazz-infused, melodic punk and unconventional sounds and 'exude a confident, purposeful feel to their accomplished, brooding sound, and a rare sense of space and discipline. Something reaches out and grabs your attention, a palpable personality'
SUNDAY 9TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** RUINS (ALONE), CHARLES HAYWARD, THE RACISTS, FLATS plus more @ Bardens Boudoir, 20.00, £5adv £6door
"The indisputable master drummer of the Japanese underground" Tatsuya Yoshida and his unique blend of Magma-flavoured prog meets punk art-rock drumming that you will not be able ot take your eyes and ears off, everyone should witness this man lieve at least once in their lives! Ruines, in al lthier forms are vital, this is him along besides his eight arms and his four legs, wel lhe must have that many to do what he does... (The Organ) Meanwhile CHARLES HAYWARD is a Founding member of legendary experimental rock group This Heat.... "Telepathic magic... Hayward is one of the most life-affirming people who stalks this dark globe." (Sound projector) "The appeal of ex-This Heat drummer Charles hayward's mastery of performance does not seem to fade. Thundering away over homemade backing tracks while howling abrasive vocals.." (The Wire). and all you need to know about The Racists is that The Racists are just insane (The Organ)
MONDAY 10TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** MR B THE GENTLEMAN RHYMER, ERIN K AND TASH, LISTEN LISSE @ 12 Bar Club, Denmark St, 20.00, £6
'Mr B is on a one man mission to bring an apreciation of the Queen's English and the fine art of cricket to hip hop, equal parts Chuck D, Terry Thomas and George Formby'
TUESDAY 11TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** THE SLITS @ Islington Academy, 19.00, £15
'The Slits known for their infusion of punk and reggae sounds are one of the most significant female punk-rock bands in history. Both legendary and somewhat notorious there is a satiric, tongue-in-cheek quality to their songs instead of a strident peachiness. The Slits are loud, brash, bold and unrepentant. They never compromised their image or stance and their very presence threatened those that considered rock to be a male-only pursuit. In the late 1970’s an early 1980’s the band toured with legendary punks such as The Clash, The Buzzcocks and The Sex Pistols. They went on to influence many generations of bands including The Gossip and Sonic Youth whom they played with in 2007. The Slits continue to expand the boundaries of punk, combining it with various ethnic and experimental sounds and plan to continue doing so for years to come. Their latest album Trapped Animal was released October 2009 The current lineup features original members Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt along with Hollie Cook (daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook), Anna Schulte and Adele Wilson'
WEDNESDAY 12TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** ENABLERS, EX-LIBRAS, PHANTOM @ The Lexington, 20.00, £7adv
'ENABLERS bring their dramatic, word-rich, personal, almost spoken work post rock darkdrift over from San Francisco, outputting positive space in a rather uniquely special way with post-rock Radiohead flavours from London's Ex Libras and Phantom doing their two piece rockabilly flavoured smoke and mirror female Morrissey black cat Cure contradiction thing"'
**WEARS THE TROUSERS RECOMMENDS** WARPAINT plus guests @ The Luminaire, 19.30, £7.50adv
'Over the course of their three-year infancy, Warpaint have been through drummers like we’ve gone through pens. Drummer number four, Corridor’s Michael Quinn, left in November after just three months of stepping into Josh Klinghoffer’s shoes, and has now been replaced by Stella Mozgawa of MINK who appears to be joining founding members Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman and Jenny Lee Lindberg on a more permanent basis, working with them on the recording of their debut album, due out later this year through Rough Trade Records.'
THURSDAY 13TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** MISSION OF BURMA @ Dingwalls, 19.30, £12.50adv
'Legendary post-punk outfit from Boston, Massachusetts, Mission of Burma are ready to rip up London Dingwalls with a rare show on this side of the world'
MONDAY 17TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** SOULFLY @ Islington Academy, 19.30
'Metal legends in town ahead of their new album, the single off it, Rise Of The Fallen, has us licking out lips. Modern metal doesn’t have to always sound like you’ve heard it before. Max Cavalera and his crew sounding as committed as ever, pushing slightly different colours without ever forgetting who they are and what’s required of them'
WEDNESDAY 19TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** THE BUNDLES feat. Kimya Dawson and Jeffrey Lewis @ Union Chapel, 19.30, £15
'The Bundles, a kind of lo-fi anti-folk supergroup whose line-up consists of former Moldy Peach Kimya Dawson, alongside Jeffrey Lewis and his brother Jack, ubiquitous New York drummer Anders Griffen and prolific singer-songwriter Karl Blau, have announced that they will be over in the UK for some gigs in May. Their eponymous debut album came out this March via K Records.'
THURSDAY 20TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** THE RAINCOATS performing 'The Raincoats' plus guests @ Scala, 19.30, £15adv
'THE RAINCOATS perform their classic debut album, now thirty years old and still sounding fresh... The band who launched a thousand positive feminist flavoured punk rock thoughts, riot grrrl ideas, ideals and a whole set of different rule breaking ways of doing 'it', stil las vital today as they ever were'
FRIDAY 21ST MAY
**NEMESIS TO GO RECOMMENDS** MAB @ South Of The Border, 350 Old Street, 20.00, £5flyer
'The return of operatic valkyries Mab, now with a new line-up after two members of the band left to form Lilies On Mars. Mab's roaring guitar extravagances and vocal swoops would seem OTT in the hands of any other band, but somehow they nail it as if it's entirely natural. Mab are what Babes In Toyland would've turned out like if they'd grown up on a diet of Wagner and Black Sabbath. It's good to have them back - the gig circuit was a far less colourful place during their absence.'
SATURDAY 22ND MAY
**WEARS THE TROUSERS RECOMMENDS** NATALIE MERCHANT @ Hammersmith Apollo, 19.30, £27.50
'Natalie Merchant has announced her first full European tour in what could fairly be described as an awfully long time; it’s scheduled for May and will see the legendary lady visit seven UK cities in support of her upcoming album Leave Your Sleep (now due April 12 through Nonesuch).'
SUNDAY 23RD MAY
**WEARS THE TROUSERS RECOMMENDS** LAURA MARLING @ Barfly, Camden, 19.30
'Last month, we finally got our mitts on the artwork and tracklist for Laura Marling’s upcoming second album I Speak Because I Can, the first of two full-length releases she has planned this year, and we’re even happier to hear that the Hampshire folk darling will be gracing Camden Barfly on March 23 for what the club’s Fly Presents are accurately, tantalisingly calling an “intimate” gig.'
MONDAY 24TH MAY
**WEARS THE TROUSERS RECOMMENDS** HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS, DIRT BLUE GENE, MARIEE SIOUX @ Bush Hall, 19.30, £25
'With their last UK headline show selling out faster than we could get a ticket, we’re very happy to hear that Hope Sandoval has announced that she will play a one-off intimate show at London’s Bush Hall on May 24.'
TUESDAY 25TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, STEARICA @ Corsica Studios, 20.00, £9adv
'The cult Japanese prog band drenched in psychedelic acid and all kinds of flying saucer shaped pink lemonade monster riffs and flowing Magma from the other side....'
THURSDAY 27TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** LIARS, FOL CHEN @ Shepherds Bush Empire, 19.30, £12.50
'The ten foot tall men here once more to drag you off to a forest in a bag, will you get back> Back with their avant contradiction and those unique North American other rock, they’re unique, they’re tribal, they’re just damn different, they’re one of those must see at least once kind of bands'
FRIDAY 28TH MAY
**ORGAN RECOMMENDS** TWELFTH NIGHT @ The Luminaire, 19.30, £12members £15adv £17door
'The cult 80’s English prog rock band are back with more tales of speaking ceilings, art and illusion and blue powder monkeys... The Andy Sears fronted version of the much loved (by the prog underground anyway) band are back in action with not so many beads in their hair...'
