Recommendations: September 2013

Fortunately, September ended up being a month of way more gigs than I expected including the ever-improving Catfish and the Bottlemen at Manchester's Night/Day Cafe, vibrant, French singer-songwriter Melanie Pain at the Deaf Institute and a beautiful Laura Marling show at the Lowry - solo, and acoustic, she's different to how I've ever seen her before.



Nick Mulvey
There's so many folky singer-song writer types around nowadays, but Nick Mulvey, who supported Laura Marling on her UK tour last month, is truly something to do it. He's an exceptional guitarist, his lyrics are pure poetry and he puts on a great live show. "Cucurucu" my favourite of his, and he's definitely one to watch.

"Tiderays" - Volcano Choir
"Reprave", the second album from Justin Vernon's new project is completely beautiful, it's a lot more accessible and little less ambient and abstract than the first album (personally, I think this the new album is a lot more Bon Iver than the last). "Tiderays", the opening track, swells from the softest opening of dainty guitar riffs to a refrain bouncing with heart pounding percussion and piano. Utterly serene and perfect.

"The Artist Is Present"
A documentary about Marina Abramovic, one of the most famous performance artists in the world - I don't exactly know what I thought of this, and whether it inspired or upset me, but I know that it made me think a lot about human interaction and communication. "The Artist Is Present" is the name of one of Abramovic's most famous projects, during which she took a seat in the Museum of Modern Art in New York every day for several months, inviting visitors to sit across a table from her, for however long they wanted, and look into her eyes.

"Home Again" - Michael Kiwanuka
I finally picked up a physical copy of this 2012 album, and it's been one of my favourites for long train journeys recently, I think Michael Kiwanuka's one of the best R&B artists to emerge in a long time.

"Nothing Compares 2 U" (cover) - Capital Cities
I'm not even sure I really like this but it's a really interesting cover and definitely demands a listen, the use of horns is really interesting. Their track "Hair" is so much fun, as well.