Mon 18^th January    Austra + Viv Albertine’s Limerence  + Daughter @ Windmill

Tue 19^th January    Austra + Elephant  @  Old Blue Last

Fri 21^st January    Dana Falconberg + Matt Bauer + Oh Ruin + Judson Claibourne @  Kings Head
Sat 22^nd January   Ssssshhh festival  @ Cecil Sharp House  (Stuart Braithwaite + Tasseomancy + Conquering Animal Sound + Dana Falconberg + Judson Claibourne+ Still Corners + Outshine Family + Fuzzy Lights….)
Mon 24^th January    Kristin Hersh  @  Bloomsbury Theatre

Mon24th January    Divorce + Child Abuse  @  The Victoria (Dalston)

Tue 25^th January    Twin Shadow  @  Lexington

Wed 26^th January    Anika + Gyratory System  @  Lexington
Thu 27^th January    Would Be Goods  @  Jamm

Thu 27th January   Meddicine + Trogons  @  Victoria

Fri 28^th January    James Ferraro + Felix Lee + Universal Swimsuit   @  Artch

Sat 29th January   Josienne Clarke  @  Betsey Trotwood

Sat 29^th January    Gnod  @  Horatia

Mon 31^st January    Jeff The Brotherhood + Wet Dog + Not Cool  @  Camp Basement

Mon 31^st January    Abigail Washburn  @  Slaughtered Lamb

Tue 1^st February   La Sera + Race Horses  @  Madame Jojos

Wed2^nd February    Azure Ray  @  Borderline

Wed 2^nd February    Freelance Whales  @  Xoyo

Wed 2nd February   Wire  @  Scala

Thu 3^rd February    Smoke Fairies + Sea Of Bees + Lucy Rose  @  Scala

Fri 4^th February    Chris and Cosey + Factory Floor @ Ica

Fri 4^th February    The Vaselines  @  Xoyo

Sat 5^th February    Melrose Place + Warm Brains + Colours  @  Old Blue Last

Mon 7^th February    Conquering Animal Sound  @  Slaughtered Lamb

Mon 7^th February    Olafur Arnalds  @  Tabernacle

Mon 7^th February    Allo Darlin  @  Lexington

Tue 8^th February    See See + The Tambourines  @  Old Blue Last

Tue 8^th February    Hannah Peel + Oh Ruin + Serafina Steer  @  Vortex

Wed 9^th February    Hannah Peel  @  Rough Trade East In-store

Wed 9^th February    Esben and the Witch  @  Xoyo

Wed 9th February   Lucky Dragons + Halo Halo  @  Café Oto

Wed 9^th February    Family Of The Year  @  Lexington

Fri  11^th February    Weekend    @  Lexington

Sat 12^th February     Weekend + Dignan Porch + The Trogons

Sun 13^th February    Sharon Van Etten + Alessis Ark  @  Hoxton Bar And Kitchen

Tue 15^th February     Guards  @  Madame Jojos

Tue 15^th February    Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan  @  Shepherds Bush Empire

Wed 16^th February    Guards + Young Buffalo   @  Lexington

Thu 17^th February    Tu Fawning  @  Old Blue Last

Thu 17^th February    Ringo Deathstarr + Tripwires  @  Lexington

Fri 18^th February    Yuck + Cults  @  Bush Hall

Sat 19^th February    Echo Lake + Prizes + Proper Ornaments  @  Old Blue Last

Sun 20^th February    La Sera   @  Lexington

Sun 20^th February   Zoey Van Goey  @  Slaughtered Lamb

Mon 21^st February    Warpaint + Twin Shadow  @  Shepherds Bush Empire

Tue 22^nd February    Cults  @  Madame Jojos

Tue 22^nd February    Glasser  @  Xoyo

Tue 22^nd February    Caribou + Factory Floor + Walls  @  Shepherdds Bush Empire

Tue 22^nd February    Gruff Rhys  @  Cadogan Hall

Wed 23^rd February    Suuns  @  Camp Basement

Thu 24^th February to Sun 28^th February London Pop festival at different venues

(Thu 24^th Feb   The Pooh Sticks  @  Bush Hall

Fri 25^th Feb    The Andersen Tapes + Sourpatch + Town Bike + The X-ing School  @ Windmill

Sat 26^th Feb   The Monochrome Set + The Felt Tips + Eux Autres + Help Stamp Out Loneliness  @  100 Club

Sun 27^th Feb   14 Iced Bears + The Notes + Youngfuck  @  Lexington

Fri 25^th February    Cults  @  Lexington

Fri 25^th February    Cloud Nothings  @  Camp Basement

Fri 25^th February    Mogwai @ Brixton Academy

Sun 27^th and Mon 28^th February     PJ Harvey  @  Troxy

Mon 28^th February   Lykke Li  @  Rough Trade East In-store

Mon 28^th February    No Joy + Young Prisms  @  Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen

Tue 1^st March   Fiction + No Joy  @  Madame Jojos

Tue 1^st March    Olof Arnalds  @  Vortex

Thu 3^rd March    The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart +  Spectrals  @  Kings College

Fri 4th March    Outshine Family  @  Cafe Oto

Mon 7th March    Caitlin Rose  @  Borderline

Tue 8th March    Former Ghosts + Terrorbird + Powerdove  @  Cargo

Wed 9^th March    Let’s Buy Happiness  @  Lexington

Thu 10^th March    Caitlin Rose  @  Windmill

Thu 10^th March    Iliketrains  @  Barfly

Fri 11^th March    Caitlin Rose  @  Barfly

Sat 12th March    Nodzzz + The Mantles + Bomber Jackets  @  The Victoria

Tue 15^th March    Tyvek + The Pheromoans  @  Grosvenor

Tue 15^th March    Liz Janes + Amor De Dias  @  Slaughtered Lamb

Tue 22^nd March    Kit  @  Lexington

Thu 24^th March    o00o0  @  Old Blue Last

Wed 16^th March    Woods  @  Bush Hall

Thu 17^th March    The Babies  @  Camp BasementTue 22th March

Mon 28^th March    Tearist  @  Old Blue Last

Wed 30^th March    Crystal Stilts  @  Cargo

Thu 31^st March    Deerhunter  @  Shepherds Bush Empire

Fri 1stApril    The Thermals + The Coathangers  @  Xoyo

Tue 5^th April    Dum Dum Girls  @  Dingwalls

Sat 9^th and Sun 10^th April    Keiji Haino  @  Cafe Oto

Mon 18^th April    Dustin Wong  @  Lexington

Wed 20^th April    A Hawk And A Hacksaw  @  Xoyo

Tue 26^th April    Barn Owl + Jefre Cantu Ledesma  @  Camp Basement

Wed 18^th May    Parts and Labor  @  Camp Basement

Tue 19^th April    Liturgy  @  Camp Basement

Wed 27^th April    Anna Calvi  @  Bush Hall

Fri 29^th April    Best Coast  @  Koko

Tue 3^rd and Wed 4^th May    Alasdair Roberts  @  Slaughtered Lamb

Wed 11^th May    Twin Shadow  @  Scala

Fri 13^th to  Sat 15^th May

ATP curated by Animal Collective (+ Gang Gang Dance + Beach House + Atlas Sound + Thinking Fellars Union Local 282 + Prince Rama + Meat Puppets + Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffitti + Spectrum + Dent May + Black Dice…)

Thu 19^th May    The Tallest Man On Earth  @  Shepherds Bush Empire

Thu19^th May    The Dodos  @  Scala

Tue 31^st May    Half Japanese  @  Scala

Fri 1^st July

The Flaming Lips (performing The Soft Bulletin) + Dinosaur Jr (perform Bug) + Deerhoof (perform Milk Man)

Sat 23^rd to Sun 24^th July

I’ll Be Your Mirror London curated by Portishead (+ PJHarvey -23^rd + Grinderman -24^th + Swans + Beach House + Liars + Anika + Factory Floor + The Books…)

Recommended promoters, clubs and venues to check for further gigs

Promoters:

Upset The Rhythm     www.upsettherhythm.co.uk

Rock Feedback     www.rockfeedback.com
Bird On The Wire      www.birdonthewire.net

Eat Your Own Ears    www.eatyourownears,com

ATP    www.atfestival.com

Electroacoustic Club    www.electroacousticclub.com

The Local      www.localism.org.uk

Miles Of Smiles    www.milesofsmiles.co.uk

Fortuna Pop    www.fortunapop.com

Sex Beat    www.sexbeatlondon.com

Venues:

Windmill    www.brixtonwindmill.co.uk

The Lexington    www.thelexington.co.uk

The Old Blue Last   www.theoldbluelast.com

Cafe Oto    www.cafeoto.co.uk

Corsica Studios    www.corsicastudios.com

The Social    www.thesocial.com

Xoyo    www.xoyo.co.uk

Clubs:

White Heat    www.whiteheatmayfair.com

Dance Magic Dance    www.myspace.com/dancemagicdanceclub

Instores

Rough Trade    www.roughtrade.com

Recommended places to book tickets

We Got Tickets   www.wegottickets.com

Music Glue    www.musicglue.com

We met at University, and have been playing together since November 2008. Beginning with two loop pedals, a harp, a toy keyboard and some microphones, we’ve let our sound and ideas grow with various instruments, hardwares, softwares, and just whatever comes to hand. Many people have been really good to us, lots of people have asked us to play shows, and some of them have even been far away – we even went to Holland once, and it was super fun.

February 7th will see the release of our debut album “Kammerspiel” on Gizeh Records/Mini50 Records. “Kammerspiel” means “machine music”, I think. Either way, we’re really excited about it.

When I last saw Kelli Schaefer, she was singing dark, earnest songs that sounded as if some unseen force were dragging them out of her. This time she appears more confident and forceful, and has greater command of the stage. She digs deep to produce a brazen vocal explosion for the intro song, and maintains this level of intensity for several more. Mid-set, drummer Jeremiah Hayden frees one of his drums, leaves his station, and circles the stage while thumping out a heavy rhythm. Theatricality and grand gestures are incorporated into the performance, with guitars tossed to the ground and additional incidences of wandering drummer. There is raw emotion present in the delivery of every song, as if each member of the band is feeling particularly troubled tonight. Hayden casually tosses his tambourine across the stage, where it is retrieved and played by a member of another band who has emerged from backstage. Schaefer’s set ends and she shuffles away looking distracted. Her talent is evident, but something is quietly tormenting her this evening.

“Writing a pop song/eating a popsicle,” are the lyrics to the cute intro mini-song that serves as our formal introduction to The Head and the Heart. This performance is sold out, due in part to the band’s canceled Doug Fir appearance last month. The members perform with giant grins, and look truly happy to be onstage. They play the first full song like a tiny electrified orchestra, and fierce drumming from Tyler Williams pushes the drum set – shared by all three bands – against the cinderblock intended to hold it in place. The air is thick with their energy, and I wish the band could bottle this liveliness for sale to the more lethargic acts that pass through town.

Each song is loaded with the sounds of shakers, tambourines, and violins that add to the overall complexity of their folksy-pop sound. Reminiscent of old hymnals adapted to suit modern ears, the lyrics are complex and heartfelt. Primary vocalist Charity Rose Thielen draws her words out carefully and coyly. After several of their own songs, the band announces that they will be playing a cover from 1926. They omit the title, but it sounds like Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #1.” The Head and the Heart enhance their presence during the final number, stretching far larger than themselves and taking up all available space. They are still consumed by the joy of performing, and have not forgotten the feeling of being on the other side of the stage. Members of the previous two bands crowd onto the stage to play any available instruments and contribute their voices to the cacophony that envelops us. The set ends in an acapella sing-along featuring all three bands and a select few audience members who know the words. The band returns for its obligatory encore performance, but nothing can top the collaborative effort of the previous song. Filled with rich melodies from the aptly named the Head and the Heart, we audience members shuffle warmly into the chilly night.

In other RAA news, the band will play shows across North America in the months ahead. Dates below.

The Rural Alberta Advantage:

12-15 Hamilton, Ontario – The Casbah
12-16 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Palace
12-17 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore
12-18 Ottawa, Ontario – Ritual Nightclub
01-12 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
03-09 Cambridge, MA – Middle East
03-10 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-11 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
03-12 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
03-13 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
03-14 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
03-15 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
03-17-19 Austin, TX – TBA (SXSW)
03-20 Dallas, TX – The Loft
03-23 Milwaukee, WI – Mad Planet
03-24 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
03-25 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
03-26 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

Posted by Tom Breihan on December 14, 2010 at 9 a.m.

No need to get John Dwyer’s lawyers on the phone. This is still, for all intents and purposes, the same band that has gone by minutely different handles such as OCS and TheOhsees and The Oh Sees. On the surface, this would seem like (sigh) OCD; jokes about that TV show are pretty much hacks-only at this point, and if Dwyer isn’t particularly happy with what we thought of his last album, it’s still showing up at the bottom anyway. But on The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In, consider it a flare gun signaling an impending about-face, as the undercooked folk of 2006 release The Cool Death Of Island Raiders is jettisoned for an album of a very particular sort of desert summer, as influenced by oil stains and scorched blacktop every bit as much as gutbucket garage and primordial rock.

Master’s Bedroom conjures vast stretches of I-10 through the Inland Empire, with an occasional heat-stroke mirage along the way (the true-to-title “Graveyard Drug Party”). And while this territory conjures wanderlust-induced drives that are often romanticized, in reality, you can go for dozens and dozens of miles without feeling like you’ve gone anywhere. It’s a natural result of Dwyer mostly working in two gears, namely rough & tumble or tough & rumble.

Ostensibly, the intent was to create a simulacrum of 1960s Bay Area psychedelics without the marathon solos, and in its own way, Master’s Bedroom can be as hypnotic and mesmeric as any drone album. Stephen Merritt might be the only guy relying on fuzz more heavily in 2008, but while Distortion used its namesake to clash with an obvious melodic microstructure, Dwyer’s work is more suited for muscle cars and barbecues than headphones. If you don’t have access to the credits, you’d have no idea Dave Sitek worked on three of these tracks.

Despite splitting between Sitek and A-Frames guy Chris Woodhouse, Master Bedroom manages to be a consistent record, albeit to a fault at some points. Working in a frequency band this narrow is liable to produce slump or two over the span of 15 tracks– the rubber band melody in “Block of Ice” is an instant pleasure, an imagining of what The B-52′s might sound like from a passing car. But halfway through the album (particularly on “Ghost in the Trees”) it feels like we’ve already heard it three different times in some minor variation and the megaphone effect on Dwyer’s vocals doesn’t make the lyrics particularly effective milemarkers; this is how the words “block of ice” end up sounding more like “fuck all night.”

Yet, all this “but is it art?” talk is rendered inappropriate when you consider this record’s just so goddamn fun and loosey-goosey that by comparison, the Black Keys sound like Interpol– tellingly, nearly every single track begins with a count-off, the sound of a guitar plugging in or some in media res feedback. Usually, that’s a cheap ploy for a band to feign garage “authenticity” while recording in a $500-an-hour studio, but here it feels like the natural entry to songs that have Thee Oh Sees getting their hands muddy and surprising themselves when they strike oil; listen to how the Nuggets-style title track unexpectedly powerlifts its hook, and it’s difficult to hear it any other way.

— Ian Cohen, May 13, 2008

As with previous albums, The Wild Hunt features mainly voice and guitar, and in this intimate, austere setting– where the banjo on the title track sounds like an indulgence– Matsson coaxes a wide range of colors from that limited palette, whether it’s the testiness of “You’re Going Back” or the exuberance of “King of Spain”. His grounding in American Southern traditions is apparent: While not a blues musician per se, Matsson draws important lessons from the likes of Mississippi John Hurt and Bukka White by realizing that his guitar speaks as loudly and as clearly as he does.

His playing is sophisticated but never showy, alternating between spry picking and forceful strumming. Whether due to his tunings or his crisp production, there’s something bright and expectant about his songs, so that even at his most forlorn, as on “Love Is All” or “The Drying of the Law ns”, Matsson’s heraldic guitar playing generates a certain major-key hopefulness that softly shades the songs. When he switches to an old and battered piano on the teen anthem “Kids on the Run”, the effect is not diminished but amplified, as the instrument reverberates uneasily. It’s an unexpected moment that colors everything that came before it and paints Matsson as a distinctive and singular artist.

As a singer, he has become much more confident and capable, using that wily, deceptively limited croak with greater nuance and subtlety. The hiccup hook on “Love Is All” sounds like a joyful noise despite the song’s tentative tone, and the rawness of his vocals lends gravity to the accusations of “You’re Going Back”. On the other hand, Matsson sounds warmly generous on “Troubles Will Be Gone” when he sings, “The day is never done, still there’s a light on where you sleep, so I hope someday your troubles will be gone.” Matsson is both a romantic and a realist, and on The Wild Hunt, he uses the barest of pop-folk settings to give mundane moments– another break-up, another tour, another change of season, another Dylan comparison– a grandeur so disproportional that it’s difficult not to identify and sympathize with him.

— Stephen M. Deusner, April 15, 2010