O2 Love Music Column – February 2014
Roving indie folk collective Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes pitch their prairie wagons in Glasgow this month (O2 ABC, 6 Feb) as part of a whistle-stop European tour. Lead by tireless charmer and recent Golden Globe-winner Alex “Edward Sharpe” Ebert (who doubles as the frontman to Californian pop-punk outfit Ima Robot as well as producing his own solo work; some people just make you feel lazy, don’t they?), the 12-piece troubadour Zeroes always bring a show-stopping dose of gospel-flavoured Americana rock wherever they march. This tour proves there’s still life in their third studio album, 2013’s Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.
11 Feb offers up a choice: trip-hop or hip-hop? O2 ABC’s main stage houses chillout chart darlings London Grammar, tipped (to no result, alas) for 2013’s Mercury Music Prize. The trio (hailing from – wait for it – London!) have been making waves with their soulful, haunting debut If You Wait (notably featuring their darker-still reprise of Kavinsky’s pining centrepiece to the Drive soundtrack, Nightcall), thanks in no small part to leading lady Hannah Reid’s formidable warble. Backed by Dot Major’s soft keys and Dan Rothman’s able guitar, their sets are at times intimate, at others passionate, but if you’re looking for something a little more restless that night, we’ve got you covered.
The O2 ABC2 hosts the always ‘bigger than hip-hop’ US rap duo Dead Prez the same night. Unashamedly political, M-1 and stic.man have been spitting confrontationalist lyrics over tight beats since their discovery in the late 90s. Their most recent record, Information Age, released through Krian Music Group / Boss Up Inc. / Sound Weapon back in January 2013, is their first studio album since 2004’s Revolutionary But Gangsta, having filled their time in the interim with activism and documentary film-making.
Ah, Valentine’s. A time for smug couples, cynical singles, and sequin-studded burlesque acts in the style of a Prohibition-era speak-easy – right? Right. Glasgow’s own Club Noir (O2 Academy, 15 Feb) certainly think so, taking us back to the Big Apple with a swanky Valentine’s in New York soiree. With over 18 acts themed around the glitzy 20s (and onwards), expect everything from showgirls and Harlem shuffles to breakdancers and strippers, while DJs Loveless and Poprock provide some era tunage. Dress code is self-explanatory (no trainers, dollface), so dust off your tuxes and corsets, apply a liberal layer of slap & glitter, and – why not? – be a part of it (sorry).