DIRTY SUNBEAMS’ GIG OF THE MONTH:
Index For Working Musik, The Golden Lion (Todmorden) – Sunday 13th April
Behold, Lion-hearts! London band Index For Working Music have us in range, with their mono-prog, black-clad, shimmering death-pop at the ready – another juicy live show from Dark Matter Promotions!
There’s an eerily authentic sense of nostalgia to IFWM. They are drenched in Warhol-esque minimalist experimentation, but in a way that is fundamentally real and raw; it’s no glossy 21st-century romantic recreation of an adored, bygone age.
With their scaly, DIY, art-basement rock softened by chanteuse overtures, the Velvets references are undeniably etched in. But there are subtler influences too. The more obscure, fractured sounds that emerged from the early 90s post-shoegaze explosion are certainly evident – bands like Bark Psychosis and His Name Is Alive, in particular. And from certain angles, the blistered, ambient mood swings of Bowery Electric and Flying Saucer Attack.
The band is the brainchild of Max Oscarnold and Nathalie Bruno (Drift). They have a second album, Which Direction Goes The Beam, coming soon – the follow-up to 2023 debut on Tough Love Records, Dragging The Needlework For The Kids at Uphole. Warhol, right?
2. MILES HUNT, The Trades Club (Hebden Bridge) – Saturday 5th April
Slomanmusic presents… the frontman of The Wonderstuff, the two-legged groove machine, the indie accompaniment to Vic and Bob’s 90s TV peak. Miles played the Unitarian Church in Todmorden last year and went down a storm. He has a show and set that delights and unites, spanning four decades of consistently catchy releases and a book’s worth of celeb anecdotes. More>
3. RESONANCE CALDER: DUDU KOUATE, THORN WYCH, Natural Endings (Todmorden) – Saturday 12th April
Headlining Resonance Calder’s latest evening of immersive analogue ambient sound is percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Dudu’ Kouate. Born in Senegal in 1963, he is an enhancer of traditional instruments, especially percussion and idiophones, and has recorded with his group Odwalla, Bergamo saxophonist Guido Bombardieri and Bakan Seck in the Youssou Ndour’s JOLOLI Dakar recording studio. At Resonance events, every frequency is produced by handmade instruments, organic textures and the beauty of voice. They celebrate the warmth of traditional craft and the soulful, resonant sound of its original source. More>
4. BRIANA CORRIGAN, The Trades Club (Hebden Bridge) – Wednesday 16th April
With a voice that “could melt icebergs at 50 paces” (VOX), Belfast-born Briana Corrigan is best known for delivering The Beautiful South’s most successful single, the chart-topping, No.1 and Brit award-winning A Little Time. More>
5. PIT PONY, The Grayston Unity (Halifax) – Thursday 17th April
New, gallant indie starlets, Pit Pony note the influence of their regional titans Nadine Shah and The Futureheads, with a good pull at PJ Harvey’s Uh Huh Her for good measure. Frequently on 6 Music playlists since the turn of the year, they are a band well and truly on the rise. More>
6. JAH WOBBLE, Unitarian Church (Todmorden) – Friday 25th April
Combining global music, reggae, fusion and punk influences, Jah Wobble has entranced the world with his hypnotic bass riffs for over four decades and has become one of Britain’s most influential and distinct bass players. More>
7. THE RED STAINS + EVA KISS, The Grayston Unity (Halifax) – Friday 18th April
Cooking up a plastic, fantastic, disco-punk sound from a collage of musical influences, Manchester four-piece The Red Stains embrace the kitsch and the tacky as a power to disrupt the male-dominated music industry. More>
8. GOO + BENTHEAD, The Puzzle (Sowerby Bridge) – Friday 25th April
The lovable, poppy, fuzzy indie-rockers from Keighley return, combining ‘tunes the milkman could whistle to, with a raucous live energy’. More>
9. HEATSICK + SCHISMS, Nan Moor’s (Todmorden) – Wednesday 16th April
Headlining is the project of musician and visual artist Steven Warwick. Heatsick’s entrancing live show is created in real time based upon loops that are moulded, stretched and reduced, combining a palette of sources from early Chicago house mixtapes through to musique concrète and psychedelia.
10. PROPELLED BY ROCKETS, The Blind Pig (Sowerby Bridge) – Friday 18th April
Alt-rock three-piece from West Yorkshire, serving up rock with hints of punk, pop and the lighter side of metal. More>
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