Live Music Highlights - April, 2009

The month gets off to a stupendous start on 3 April with the inauguration of Powerup; an exciting new monthly event taking place at Studio 24 in Edinburgh. Explosive live-favourites Hundred Reasons will be on hand to make sure the night gets underway with a bang whilst support comes from the frankly fantastic Johnny Foreigner. With future nights set to include the likes of Mudhoney, Idlewild and Mondo Generator this looks set to become a staple of the Edinburgh music scene.

Notable experimentalists The Telescopes (well, Stephen Lawrie with help from St Deluxe) will perform a mostly acoustic set at Captain's Rest Glasgow on 11 April. Having emerged as contempories of My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 before forging their own unique path, it should be of interest to all fans of out-there music to see Lawrie perform an intimate set of solo material.

Continuing their run of snagging more interesting leftfield artists than most, The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh play host to Canadian hip-hop duo Magnolius on 12 April. Eschewing the tired self-aggrandising schtick of their peers, they deliver an intelligent and brilliantly original take on hip-hop that doesn't pull any punches when it comes to dynamics. With a stage show that that marries music with visual projections, this should be a multi-sensory spectacle.

Ayr quartet Cinematics are preparing to take Scotland by storm this month with a brace of gigs to celebrate the completion of their forthcoming second album. If you enjoy driving, powerful songwriting in the vein of Editors you'll definitely want to catch them at one of the following venues: Café Drummond, Aberdeen on 15 April; Fat Sam's, Dundee on 18 April; Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh on 19 April and King Tut's, Glasgow on 20 April.

Defiantly uncategorisable noise-pop (ha!) darlings HEALTH bring the crazy to Glasgow's Stereo on 19 April for what promises to be this month's most intense gig. Chewing up voices, synths and guitars beyond all recognition and somehow spitting out an urgent and rhythmically brutal sound, HEALTH's modus operandi is anything but orthodox - but I swear to God they'll turn any venue into a sweating, dancing mess in seconds. Essential.

Super-dependable Glasgow posse Errors pitch up at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh on 24 April and the Tunnels, Aberdeen on 25 April for another fascinating electronic-rock workout. Weaving complex strands of sound into delicious and danceable patterns, it's always a pleasure to watch these masters at work.

Sucioperro have paid their dues on the local scene and honed a powerful, melodic sound that is finally bringing them to a wider audience. Basically, this band know how to write a riff, bringing an aggressive metal edge to their compositions - and without any ridiculous growling, thank heavens. They're playing The Tunnels, Aberdeen on 27 April; Dundee, Doghouse on 28 April and Hinterland Festival, Glasgow on 30 April. Speaking of which...

The Hinterland festival 2009 takes place across multiple venues in Glasgow from 30 April to 1 May and features dozens of great acts including The Fall, Broken Records, Drums of Death, Micachu and many more. Skinny picks include dazzling and energetic youngsters Copy Haho; Galchen - who blend post-rock guitar-scapes with driving rhythms and loops; and The Invisible, an up-and-coming trio who are making a brilliantly original noise. Check www.hinterlandfestival.com for more info.