Meursault, Olympic Swimmers, Conquering Animal Sound @ Cab Vol, 10/4

Conquering Animal Sound (***) spend half of their time on-stage crouched, and if you're at the front you can see why: pedals and knobs, wires and cables, gizmos and toys on the floor. It's fascinating to watch the Edinburgh duo use their array of devices to build up a song: they make a noise, loop it, pick something else up and loop it too, singer Anneke Kampman miaows and Jamie Scott fingerpicks his guitar and those sounds are looped; and six minutes later the pathwork is complete, it drops to silence, and there's huge cheers. Tonight their four rolling collages could do with a few more focal points, but it's clear to see why CAS are picking up plaudits.

MySpace

In contrast, Glasgow quintet Olympic Swimmers (***) are pretty conventional, being a five-piece indie-rock band in the vein of Yo La Tengo, female lead singer aside. Like the New Jersey band, Swimmers' slow, brooding songs don't exactly set pulses racing live, and they are also apparently handicapped tonight by the absence of their usual rhythm section. Final song Father Said is the standout, redeeming a somewhat sleepy set by growing from a tenuous start towards an epic, shimmering finale. More songs like this please.

MySpace

Finally it's Meursault's (*****) turn to launch their second album All Creatures Will Make Merry in front of a hometown crowd so keen the venue sold out almost a week ahead. They opt for the slightly risky strategy of playing the new album in full, despite few of the songs being known to anyone, but it's clear from the off how focused they all are on their performances. Sparse ballads, where singer Neil Pennycook is backed by just a cello and toy guitar, are interspersed with songs with racing beats and abrasive textures, and each one is met with roars at the end. On this form, Meursault are nothing short of awe inspiring.

MySpace

Meursault - New Ruin (Live at the Queen's Hall) from Song, by Toad on Vimeo.

Diplo, Morrissey & Holy Fuck in Scotland this month

previews for The Skinny


Morrissey @ Barrowlands, 7 May

We've long given up hope of a Smiths reunion, but any chance to see Morrissey with his current band of choice is a chance worth taking. New album Years Of Refusal adds another few crackers to the Moz solo canon, such as the Latin-tinged When I Last Spoke To Carol, and first single I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris. Best of all could be album closer I'm OK By Myself, which builds to a raucous climax that promises to be exhilirating live. Oh, and he might do one or two old songs too.


Holy Fuck @ Oran Mor, 11 May

There's a reason they're called Holy Fuck, and it's not just to be nakedly controversial. When The Skinny saw these guys on the tiny Relentless stage at last year's T In The Park, those were the words grabbed from everyone's throats by the sheer force of the music. No-one quite knew what was going on, only that a bunch of Canadians were making some kind of transcendental, spectral racket, and that it was moving, in a very physical way. It was arm-raising, eye-watering stuff. If you're not one for drugs, try Holy Fuck instead.

Diplo @ Cabaret Voltaire, 21 May

The reason everyone compares M.I.A. and Santigold (nee Santogold) is Wesley Pentz, aka Diplo, producer and one-time beau of the former, producer and remixer of the latter. He's an unstoppable record collector, a musical anthropologist who knows everything worth knowing about dub, reggae, hip-hop and electro, and has no qualms about moving between the genres at pace. Even better than Santogold's debut album was Diplo's mixtape with her, Top Ranking, which you can and should download for free if you've any doubts about the prospective merits of this night - and check out that bargain ticket price too (£5).

where's my photo of Diplo? Here. All the photos.

Dananananaykroyd @ Cabaret Voltaire, 7/4

Dananananaykroyd @ Cabaret Voltaire, April 7th
live review for the skinny

Favours for Sailors (***) have seemingly been winning a few influential fans recently, but it's not really apparent here why. They sound like a band more in thrall to Stephen Malkmus' solo records than his Pavement stuff, which is kinda the wrong way round to take it. Anyway, their harmless pizza banter and competent show is utterly blown away by the band that follows them. There's lots of people who'll tell you that Glasgow's Dananananaykroyd (*****) are the best live band in Britain. Who are these people? Anyone who's been to watch them. Dananananaykroyd need two drumkits to batter out their relentless sprawling rhythms, two singers to scream, yell and work the crowd, and just a few songs to get everyone into a frenzy. Both vocalists and guitarist break the fourth wall by spilling into the crowd and cheering along with us; it's gallus, but nothing compared to the cuddling outbreak they manipulate like impudent preachers, or the final song that's sung off-stage by the crowd in chorus. Yes, you read that right - there was a brief, crazy outbreak of cuddling in the crowd. You have to see it to believe it. You have to see it.