4 ace acts coming to Edinburgh soon - Part 1

Some ace artists are playing gigs in Edinburgh over the coming weeks and months. Some of these tasty gigs may already be on your radar or in your diary, some may not. Either way, here are the ones that float my boat the most – hope this helps you discover something you may not have known about

1 Pip Blom

The Caves, Wed 9 Oct

Utterly uplifting grungey indie-pop goodness from Amsterdam. I was among the sweaty sardines crammed in to catch a blast of one of their sets at The Great Escape and they rocked it. Guaranteed to put a smile on the face of anyone who own records by the The Breeders, Throwing Muses, Pavement or Dream Wife.

Tickets: http://bit.ly/PipBlomCaves

2 The Murder Capital

The Mash House, Tues 15 Oct

Another hot ticket from The Great Escape, and another hot band from Ireland riding the post-punk wave. I love the undercurrent of dark Joy Division drumming and the frenetic fuzzy rush of early Cure and New Order that runs through The Murder Capital. ‘Don’t Cling To Life’ is easily one of my favourite tracks of the year – two and half minutes of absolute brilliance.  

Tickets: http://bit.ly/MurderCapitalMash

3 Fat White Family

Potterrow, Thurs 21 Nov

There’s a lot of hype and cartoon-ish stuff swirling around the Fat White Family that reminds me of all the annoying distractions around The Libertines/Pete Doherty. But I’m loving their ‘Serfs Up’ album. There’s a scuzzy fucked-up-ness running through it that reminds me of early Happy Mondays and a more laidback and likeable Kasabian. But crucially for me anyway there’s a depth and sophistication in there too, hints of Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, even T-Rex. Their live shows are meant to be amazing, and I can’t wait to see a decent band in this venue.

Tickets: http://bit.ly/FatWhitesEdin

4 Bat for Lashes

Queens Hall, Saturday 23 Nov

I sometimes struggle to completely connect with Bat For Lashes but new single ‘The Hunger’ is a thing of absolute beauty. It sounds and feels like Natasha Khan at the peak of her powers – the bassline, the organ and the vampiric vocals are just stunning. Every time I hear it, I have to turn it up and repeat it. The Queen’s Hall should be a perfect setting for her sound.

Tickets: http://bit.ly/BatForLashesTix - Tickets go on sale at 10am on 19 Sep.