Hot Chip, Barrowland, Glasgow review - dancefloor kings keep the party going

★★★★★ HOT CHIP, BARROWLAND, GLASGOW Dancefloor kings keep the party going

Londoners were in sublime form promoting their new album

Familiarity evidently does not breed contempt, at least in the case of Hot Chip and Glasgow. This was the band’s third appearance on Glaswegian soil since April, and what a glorious, life-affirming evening it was. They arrived with a fine new album to promote in the shape of “A Bath Full of Ecstasy”, and both new and old songs alike were imbued with fresh energy here, aided by a crowd evidently buzzing on Saturday night adrenaline (and in some cases, quite possibly certain other substances).

CD: Allah-Las - LAHS

★★ ALLAH-LAS - LAHS Underwhelming fourth album from the previously sprightly Los Angeles quartet

Underwhelming fourth album from the previously sprightly Los Angeles quartet

It’s unfortunate that LAHS’s opening track is titled “Holding Pattern” as the album only achieves lift off with its ninth cut “Light Yearly”, a chugging workout with spiralling guitar and echoes of Sixties folk rock if it were refracted through an opaque crystal.

Richard Hawley, Barrowland, Glasgow - black clad crooner's songs remain full of atmosphere and heart

★★★★ RICHARD HAWLEY, BARROWLAND, GLASGOW Black clad crooner's songs remain full of atmosphere and heart

The singer was in playful form at the Barrowland

When Richard Hawley arrived onstage, he had a confession to make. “I like to talk”, he declared, before adding “and play rock n’ roll”. Both were delivered in ample supply during the ensuing performance, the black clad quiff wearing troubadour a natural fit for one of Scotland’s most famed rock n’ roll locations.

CD: Mark Lanegan Band - Somebody's Knocking

★★★★ MARK LANEGAN BAND - SOMEBODY'S KNOCKING Growling auteur continues his purple period with an album of winningly dark pop

The growling auteur continues his purple period with an album of winningly dark pop

Spaghetti Western guitar, rumbling bass, a rattling keyboard pulse and an unyielding forward thrust combine to delineate Somebody's Knocking’s opening cut “Disbelief Suspension”. Then there’s that growling yet melodic voice delivering sinister lines like “gonna fly to the sun in a helicopter…you wanna take a ride.” Recognisably, it’s Mark Lanegan. Equally perceptibly, his new album is another winning episode in the purple period he’s been enjoying over the last four years or so.

Two Door Cinema Club, O2 Academy, Glasgow - lively but risk averse party songs for the weekend

★★★ TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB, O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW Lively but risk averse

The Irish trio were in Glasgow supporting new album False Alarm

The onstage arrival of Two Door Cinema Club was heralded by a tongue-in-cheek video countdown that reached zero and then flashed up an error message, before asking the crowd to “try again”. In truth, the band’s own performance was never likely to hit any hitches, being the sort of well-honed and slick display that you would expect from a group who have been touring steadily for the past several months. That is both a positive and a negative.

CD: Trentemøller - Obverse

Danish noir star reassesses his methods

Since the mid-2000s, Anders Trentemøller has been a major part of the European live circuit. A long time indie rock musician in his native Copenhagen, he had actually come to prominence as a fairly commercial electro-house remixer, but it was his 2006 album The Last Resort that cemented his position.

theartsdesk in Hamburg: Reeperbahn Festival 2019 review

Hustle, bustle, Matt Dillon and forehead-slappingly forceful Mancunians in sin city

Hatari’s 10th placing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest hasn’t done them any harm. Neither did ruffling the feathers of the European Broadcasting Union and host nation Israel with their stance on Palestine. Based on their performance in Hamburg at 2019’s Reeperbahn Festival, Iceland’s favourite BDSM-leaning popsters haven’t smoothed-off their rough edges.

Muse, 02 review - bombastic Brit-rock with a sci-fi theme

Instrumental genius and a brilliantly ludicrous cocktail of styles

For a band mostly known as a brilliantly ludicrous cocktail of other’s people’s sound-styles, the Simulation Theory tour is proof that Muse have become musical legends in their own right.

Edwyn Collins, Concorde 2, Brighton review - enjoyable evening of tight guitar pop

The Orange Juice frontman stays mostly seated but delivers a rousing, dynamic gig

In March of this year Edwyn Collins released his ninth studio album, Badbea, his fourth since two life-altering cerebral haemorrhages derailed him in 2005. It’s a vivacious collection that runs the gamut of what guitar pop can be, from acoustic strumming to psychedelic riffing to lo-fi punkin’, all catchy as burrs. His set is peppered with it.

What Girls Are Made Of, Soho Theatre review - euphoric gig-theatre

Cora Bissett recalls the highs and lows of being a teenage Britpop star

It’s now Edinburgh Fringe transfer season in London, but here’s one they made earlier: Cora Bissett’s Fringe First-winning autobiographical play from the 2018 Festival about her time in 1990s indie band Darlingheart. Though the broad shape of this tale is familiar, Bissett’s gig-theatre approach lends it a raw authenticity and engaging confessional quality.