Live Music Highlights – September 2010

September's gig schedule is completely stacked, and NYC posse Cymbals Eat Guitars will set the bar high at Glasgow Stereo on 4 Sep. With a fantastic debut under their belts these peeps have been (not so) quietly evolving into one of their homeland's most unmissable bands. Put drag, chillwave and crab core on the back burner for one night and remind yourself how thrilling a thunderous guitar/drums/keys/combo can actually be. Few motherfuckers know how to cut loose like these guys – you may not see a better gig all month.

Changing the channel from the aforementioned incendiary rock action, Icelandic prodigy Jónsi will unfurl his lush, post-Enya soundscapes and spirited vocal contortions at Glasgow O2 Academy on 5 Sep. Recent gigs have seen his band experimenting with gorgeous theatrical set design – so fingers crossed we'll be treated to more than de rigueur strobing gel filters.

Yet more theatrical art-folk this way comes – this time of a slightly darker hue – courtesy of Fever Ray who will perform at Glasgow O2 ABC on 6 Sep. Expect shadowy, brooding drama to pulse and ripple atop a framework of supple electro and portentous synthetic melody. Known for their love of performance and spectacle (i.e drawing weird stuff on their faces), you'll probably have summat to gawp at too.

Canucks Wolf Parade bring their thing to Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire on 8 Sep. Urgent rhythms, ace keyboard lines and enjoyably Bowie-esque vocals all play second fiddle to this band's amazing songwriting skills. This should be totally great.

Café Drummonds in Aberdeen and Duke's Corner in Dundee play host to two mouthwatering nights of music on 8 and 9 Sep respectively. Highlanders Shutter will caress your senses with delicate post-rock melodies before trying to drown you with oceanic metal riffs whilst local favourites Pensioner can be depended on to unleash their spunky, spiky, punky inner beast.

I'm assuming you all know by now that Bronto Skylift are a fucking good live band: relentlessly exciting, magnificently aggressive and deeply sexy in a way that only the best two-piece bands can manage. Get yours at Dundee Doghouse on 10 Sep and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete's on 12 Sep.

Fantastic Edinburgh three-piece Come On Gang! are well on their way to becoming a classic Scottish indie-pop group. Chipper post-punk guitar lines, perky, throbbing bass and wonderful vocals that are slightly awkward without being affected have us convinced they're something a bit special. The launch for their new single takes place at Edinburgh Caves on 10 Sep (with Found and Jesus H. Foxx) and the band will also hit up the Z1 Bar in Girvan on 3 Sep, Aberdeen Snafu on 9 Sep, Duke's Corner Dundee on 11 Sep, Glasgow Captain's Rest on 14 Sep, Inverness Hootenanny on 17 Sep, The Old Bridge Inn in Aviemore on 18 Sep and The Attic in Bathgate on 19 Sep.

Electric Eel Shock are at it again at Aberdeen Café Drummonds on 10 Sep and Glasgow King Tuts on 11 Sep. Deafening fuzz riffs, ridiculous lyrics ("I'm made of metal! You can't hurt me!") and shameless Sabbath-worship are all the ingredients they need to get cooking. It may not be the healthiest option on the menu, but sometimes you just have to say: FUCK JAMIE OLIVER ALL THE WAY TO FIERY HELL.

British Sea Power may not be quite the same band that wrote The Decline of..., but they've still got plenty of romantic, pastoral longing left in them yet – not to mention some damn fine tunes. Check them at Dundee Doghouse on 28 Sep.

The Twilight Sad will round out this stellar month with a quartet of gigs at Aberdeen Lemon Tree on 29 Sep, Dundee Doghouse on 30 Sep and Stirling Tolbooth on 1 Oct, before visiting Edinburgh's Liquid Room on 12 Oct. Drama, intensity and blizzards of intoxicating noise shall reward the faithful. And rest easy my children – any defecit of understated electronic funk will be made good by co-headliners Errors who also appear at all four dates.