With their brand new album, Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon on the horizon, The Wave Pictures announce a series of headline UK dates for February including a gig at Cambridge’s Portland Arms on 4 February. The album is a collaboration with one of their all-time heroes Billy Childish, who wrote the music, while the band’s Dave Tattersall wrote the lyrics. Bursting with energy and ignited with a garage-rock spark, the album rings loud and bold, showcasing Tattersall’s searing guitar solos and sharp lyrical wit.
In the same style as in April 2013, when he last visited Cambridge, true gentleman singer-songwriter King Charles will be playing a gig in the UK each and every night in February 2015. With new material under his belt ahead of a release later this year, King Charles plays The Portland Arms on 9 February.
Irish folk-pop duo Hudson Taylor spend February undertaking an extensive tour of the UK, taking in 22 venues across Scotland, England and Ireland, stopping by at Cambridge Junction on 10 February. The dates, which run throughout February 2015, are part of the siblings’ biggest headline tour to date and follow their main support of Jake Bugg on his UK arena tour in October.
The Catenary Wires are Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey, originally from Tallulah Gosh, Heavenly and Tender Trap who formed last year when they decided to leave the stress of London, and who will be recording an album soon. The duo’s UK tour rolls into Cambridge on the 15th, playing The Portland Arms. Support on the night comes from Cambridge’s own Model Village, who balance lilting folk and East- Anglicised American indie.
The Staves support the release of their forthcoming second album, If I Was, with an 11-date UK tour this February which concludes at Cambridge Junction on the 17th. Avoiding the dreaded pitfall of writing a second album about touring, The Staves have cleverly opted to address the issue from another perspective, examining what they’ve left behind rather than the endless motorways, hotel rooms and what they see in front of them. Their new album was produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.
One of 2015’s hotly tipped indie bands, Blossoms play The Portland Arms on the 18th, having made big waves in their native Manchester by creating and playing music as if they’re possessed: they smash out the melodies reminiscent of classic psych outfits such as The Zombies, The Doors and 13th Floor Elevators.
Little Comets return to the Cambridge Junction on the 24th. The tour coincides with the release of the band’s highly anticipated third album Hope Is Just A State Of Mind – released via The Smallest Label on 16 February 2015. Little Comets tenaciously engage with topics not often discussed in mainstream music, whilst maintaining a real sweetness of sound. This band of three differing creatures continue making music that has to be heartfelt and communicative.
Enter Shikari are an English four-piece rock band formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. They are well known for their crossover style, incorporating post-hardcore and various heavy metal sub-genres, such as metalcore and alternative metal, with elements of different electronic genres, such as industrial, dubstep, trance and occasionally drum and bass, creating a very distinct sound. In January they released their fourth studio album, The Mindsweep, and on the 24th they bring their new record to the Cambridge Corn Exchange.
We end with our must-not-miss recommendation for February and a long-awaited home town show for Sivu. Sivu undertakes an extensive UK headline tour, in support of critically acclaimed debut album Something On High. The 21-date UK trek, which includes a show at The Portland Arms on 25 February, follows support tours with Nick Mulvey and Bombay Bicycle Club (featuring the final ever date at Earls Court) and sold-out headline shows. Originally from St Neots, this will be Sivu’s first Cambridge headline show since the release of his debut LP.
