Live Music Highlights – January 2011

There's no better way to ward off the January blues than with high voltage rock and roll and that's exactly what's on the cards at Glasgow King Tut's on 4 Jan as the hotly-tipped She's Hit look to showcase their impressive swagger-punk noise bombs on a tidy-looking bill that also features fellow Weegies Suplex the Kid and Sing-Kill-Worth.

Metronomy have had several drastic revisions to their live setup over the years but they emerge blinking into the harsh light of 2011 as a super-robust outfit that can deliver dancefloor-ready art-rock and angular electro-pop with equal aplomb. Shiny, sexy aesthetes they may be but their sound has been put together with real craftsmanship. Check them at Glasgow King Tut's on 20 Jan.

Super-hip and super-hyped, NYC duo Sleigh Bells made waves in 2010 peddling the kind of aggressive, dynamic industrial-pop that moved us to fondly reminisce over the long-defunct but much-missed Snake River Conspiracy. It may be a pretty contrived sound but there's no doubt they manage to wring one hell of a live show out of an overdriven backing track plus live guitar and vocals. Glasgow Stereo on 22 Jan should be a sweat festival.

Although overlooked in most quarters, Scandinavian trio K-X-P released one of 2010's best dance records. More interesting still is the fact that it wasn't really a dance record at all; comprised of pounding tribal-kraut live drums, strangled electronics and occasional vocalisations it managed to approximate the sound of Can, Throbbing Gristle and Suicide getting together to jam out a party album. Having already previously caught the ears of the Optimo heads, there's little doubt that their sound is built to be deployed live – count on their gig at Glasgow Captain's Rest on 24 Jan to really go off.

Led by the charismatic Louis Jones, Spectrals will demonstrate their mastery of gently psychedelic tune-smithery when they play Glasgow Captain's Rest on 26 Jan. You've heard their like many times before but fans of reverb-heavy surf guitar and 60s pop will dig.

Band of Horses aren't pushing any boundaries with their endearingly moustachioed retro looks, pleasant melodies and expansive alt-country sound, but if you're in the market for some balmy, feel-good rock then you'd do well to get yourself along to Glasgow Academy on 27 Jan.

In 2010 George Lewis Jr. (aka Twin Shadow) established himself as a promising break-out artist as he capitalised on the ongoing cultural fetish for the new wave aesthetic whilst managing to marry that feeling with a tremendous talent for smart, evocative songwriting. Though his vocal stylings have seen him labelled as 'the black Morrissey' on many a blog there's much more to him than that – Glasgow Captain's Rest on 27 Jan should be lush.

You'll know Walter Schreifels as that gnarly dude from Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand and Rival Schools, but in his solo guise he likes to switch things up and play around with a playful, stripped-down folk sound – in between a lot of good banter and some classic hardcore covers, natch. See him at Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire on 28 Jan.

Touring off the back of a quality second album, Broken Records kick off their 2011 with a hometown show at Edinburgh Liquid Room on 30 Jan – and a rousing affair it should be too. Co-headline duties come courtesy of quirky NYC folk-pop heads Freelance Whales.

Despite displaying more chops than a butcher's shop window, Maps and Atlases have fought hard against the math rock tag – but we ain't fooled. Their melodic, folky motifs are well and good but their fascination with finger-tapping and herky-jerky rhythms speak the truth. When they really throw down, they're mesmerising to watch, mind. Edinburgh Sneaky Pete's on 30 Jan.