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 A sense of foreboding looms over much of Ásgeir’s set tonight. Not the overbearing darkness that comes part-and-parcel of so much Nordic non-pop music, but more a sense of feeling something sweet will soon be lost. Boy does Ásgeir know how to make an entrance, opting to remain black-lit silhouettes, letting the music provide the imagery.

     Well, it would have to be the music; it is doubtful many people in the audience have much of a grasp on the bands native Icelandic vocals. Still, the floating beauty in Ásgeir's voice, paired with that most oxymoronic of sounds – folksy electronic – evokes the cool, short summer nights of his homeland. The wistful yearning clearly present in the lyrics exudes, overcoming the language barrier. And the mellow sections, well, mellow-er sections, allow the spacey arps space to breathe and snake around the room before crashing down.

 It is all so beautiful sounding, but it would benefit so much from being in a venue with more character than EVAC’s loft – it’s a great venue, don’t get me wrong, but for music like this it just doesn’t quite gel. Somewhere outside on a warm evening would be perfect; the Kaz gardens in the coming months essentially. Anywhere without those blasted blue lights. Maybe they’re trying to evoke their native night sky, but it is majorly off-putting to watch. This is especially true on tracks like the rural post-bass music of ‘Ocean’, something that needs no effort to sound any icier.

“I love you Dan!”

“Was that my mum? That’s embarrassing.”

Luckily for rising Liverpudlian sensation Dan Croll, no, that was not his mother, but one of the adoring members of his sold out Kazimier crowd. Having headed out on a UK tour to promote his number 26 debut album Sweet Disarray, tonight Croll is playing the final night in his hometown of Liverpool. With a crowd mixed up of numerous family members, locals and fans from further afield, this show marks an occasion of celebration for the former LIPA student.

2014 has been an important year for Croll, with his rapidly increasing buzz culminating in the release of Sweet Disarray on 10th March. He has supported London Grammar on an extremely large-scale UK tour, been selected for a number of international festivals and has a US tour eating up April and May. He has achieved all of this in a swift two years at the meagre age of 23 – a feat that seems near impossible when considering the chronology.

Tonight’s show at The Kazimier is representative of all that Croll has managed to achieve in an incredibly small space of time. With only one album under his belt, his music seems somewhat mature and developed already. Sweet Disarray seems to be a loose collection of influences rather than being applicable to a specific genre, signifying perhaps the rollercoaster the past 24 months have been for him. Humbly taking the stage Croll and friends blasted through a set that has become today’s sound of Liverpool. This isn't a rock show, this isn't a pop show – this is something completely different that Croll has masterfully created in his time as a musician. The crowd is completely at ease as drinks flow and chatter flies freely. This feels more like a large party than anything else, which adds a genuine atmosphere to the crowded Kaz. Croll’s music is incredibly varied and expansive. This is reflected in the live show, with copious amounts of the crowd belting “indie bangers” such as ‘From Nowhere’ and ‘In / Out’. At times there is a more sensitive side to both Croll and the crowd – moments from his closer ‘Home’ and encore ‘Sweet Disarray’ offer a reminder that there is more to Croll that initially is taken for granted. There is so much more to Dan Croll than what is heard upon first listening, tracks such as ‘Compliment Your Soul’ and ‘Only Ghost’ investing in afrobeat and trop-pop. It is sounds like these, along with his band’s stunning four part harmonies, which invite such a welcome response from friends and family. Dan Croll is definitely going places – having explored so much with Sweet Disarray, this begs the question as to what he will do next. All we can do is sit, wait, and enjoy what there already is – and wait patiently for what is to come.

Arriving about twenty minutes after doors opened in the foolish assumption that in EVAC it just never fills up quickly, I made my way through the crowds of people, chatter and drinks in growing disbelief. Despite being stuck in an awkward side position in the second row, the fact that the audience actually seemed keen enough to turn up early gave me the hope that they might prove my EVAC-stereotype of largely inanimate onlookers wrong.

Toronto two-piece Madison Violet opened the night with their raw, husky voices, and a pleasant but average set, at times sounding like a female version of the headliner, or getting close to drifting off into the overcrowded synth waters of The xx inspired folk pop. They nonetheless excellently braved a broken guitar cable even without much help from the surprisingly inactive tech guys and concluded the forcibly short gig with the as of yet just provisory titled song ‘Rain’ off their newest album, which had all the energy and catch the rest of their set seemed to be lacking. If that last song is anything to go by, then their new album shows quite some potential, and they might be someone to look out for when they start their UK headline tour next month (sadly leaving out the North West).

Having made myself familiar with Jack’s back catalogue in advance, I admit I went into this gig expecting to leave pleased, with a few personal highlights, but no more. Jack started the set telling us how much he loved us and how overwhelmed he was, and whilst I’m not a fan of these premature declarations of love, he seemed to really mean it, and the smile that stayed on his face for the remainder of the night was proof of that.

Opening with the newest single ‘Written in Scars’ and following it up with songs like ‘Vagabond’, ‘Last Call’ and ‘Take me Home’, he should have gotten the audience going straightaway; however he was the only one to break a sweat, along with a couple of people mainly from ‘that corner there having a good time’. Failing to animate the ‘civilised corner’ (everyone else), he nonetheless carried on with an extraordinarily energetic set, giving even a dark acoustic song like ‘Soldier’s Eyes’ a remarkably powerful dimension.

Talking about the gig now, it would be a lot easier could I just single out a few highlights. But the fact that from start to finish Jack was pretty much soaked in sweat is evidence enough of the energy and obvious passion he put into every single song. None of them gave my feet a second of rest, and towards the end of the set an increasing number of people seemed to defrost in the radiant presence of that jumpin’ Jack with the acoustic guitar and the big smile on his face. Indeed, after he closed with a raucous rendition of ‘Knock Knock’, everyone seemed to have realised that they didn’t want him to leave just yet. Bringing in a contrabass for ‘The Proposal’ and throwing every last bit of energy he had left into ‘Come Shine a Light’, he topped off the set with an encore that still left us yearning for more

On Tuesday 1nd April, hip-hop legend Peanut Butter Wolf makes his return to Liverpool, 15 years after his Merseyside debut. As the founder and head of Stones Throw Records, Peanut Butter Wolf has overseen a mass array of talent such as the late J Dilla, Madlib, MF Doom, Aloe Blacc, Dam Funk and Snoop Dogg to name but a few.  

      To celebrate and promote the release of the feature length documentary about Stones Throw, entitled Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton, Peanut Butter Wolf is treating Liverpool to an AV DJ set, which will see a backdrop of video clips that are synced with the music. 

Expect an eclectic mix of hip-hop, funk, soul and jazz from Peanut Butter Wolf’s extensive record collection as he takes over The Kazimier. It is rare that such an iconic figure in hip-hop comes over to the UK so get your tickets quick; this one is sure to be special.

Tickets

  Equipped with an arsenal of breezy indie-pop and a mix of influences, ‘from Afro-pop to French chanson and Yé-yé’, Bristol-based French outfit François & The Atlas Mountains are set to descend upon Liverpool later this month. Brimming with charm and boasting a live show abound with relentless grooves, François Marry and co. have been perfecting their infectious pop tunes with each new release, attracting the guys over at Domino to snap them up prior to 2012’s release E Volo Love. Without the hint of any intention to rest on their laurels, prestigious festival slots and a growing base of adoring fans came hot on the heels of the band’s success, the end result of which was the enchanting Piano Ombre released earlier this month.

Touring in support of the new record, François & The Atlas Mountains’ stay in the UK is limited to Glasgow and Manchester following their show in Liverpool. Very rarely do we get the opportunity to indulge in something which is both unique and packed with unadulterated joy, and even less often do we take it. This is such an occasion, and I urge you to make the most of it.

Doors: 7:00 pm

Tickets here

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Expect good new music from all genres.

Live performances are always indicative of how well bands structure their songs, how much craft has gone into each track and whether they have managed to assess and balance the various musical components successfully. This is no truer than in the lo-fi fuzz/grunge rock Cheatahs exhibit, where the barrage of distortion, drums and spacey vocals requires that spark to ignite it before it disperses into a bland, lifeless smog. An acute hook or intensified progression often does the trick, with Yuck an example of a more recent band who have largely realised this in their compositions. Cheatahs debut LP, released earlier this year, walked the tightrope between the two, and seemed to come off the better for it. Their performance this evening would be telling of whether they are really worth the accolade as part of the ‘grunge-pop revival’ they have been attributed.

First support act are always treated with an air of trepidation, and so Henry Pulp and the Sons certainly didn’t disappoint as opposed to passing the time for the eager few assembled. Sweet, rumbling verses graced our ears, accompanied by authoritative vocals and a film projected onto the barrier in front of the band, which made for an interesting performance and a sense of admiration towards the group for trying to do something a bit different. There was a noted lack of engagement, as the tracks tended to simmer, and simmer, and keep on simmering without ever sticking its flag in the summit promised by the ascent. Nonetheless, Henry Pulp and Sons warmed the eardrums of those gathered sufficiently, and showed a certain amount of potential for times to come.

If first support is cut a bit of slack, second support you normally hope to provide the next step on the climb up to our headline act. If this was the case with The Rise of General Mezmar however, we were on a musical journey of which the culmination was back down our metaphorical musical mountain, through the crust and out the other side, emerging somewhere off the east coast of New Zealand. The band played with a lack of a genuine sense of direction as they performed repetitive progressions and seemed to have run out of ideas after one song. Occasionally they would explode into an aimless solo of sorts, with the most exciting moment that of a stale jam towards the beginning of the set while the lead guitarist replaced a broken string. It was wearying to watch and listen to, and by the end of the performance you could have hummed the next track before they had finished their previous. Anticipation for Cheatahs was growing, not necessarily due to the excitement felt amongst the ebbing crowd, but rather due to the fact it would mean The Rise of General Mezmar could retire and spend some time coming up with a new riff.

With the crowd slightly disconcerted after our previous act, Cheatahs set the tone straight from the off with an avalanche of distortion and distant vocals. From the seismic punches of ‘Get Tight’ to the streaking hooks on ‘The Swan,’ Cheatahs offered a sense of adventure and expansive ambition which neither of their supports were able to come close to. They finally gave the audience a reason to perk up and remember why they decided to spend their Wednesday night at the Arts Club after all. Performing in a cloud of smoke, they raced from one track to the next, tirelessly bombarding the crowd with tracks from their recently released LP. At times the hooks were lost amidst the sea of instrumentation, and the relentless barrage of sound on occasion slowly strangled the life from some of the songs, but it was an authoritative and affirming performance which meant Cheatahs left the stage having left their own stamp on the Arts Club. The multi-national quartet came good when we needed them too, and ensured no one left without at least a degree of satisfaction.

Tonight was not the gig you wanted to spend time reflecting on. You wanted to leave it on the high which Cheatahs were able to induce and refrain from returning to the melee of musical misplacement featured earlier on. It was an evening of experience for sure, with the paradox between the bands highlighting the way live music exposes groups for their substance as a musical outfit. Thankfully, our hosts left us with the surety that they most certainly have the sustenance to take it even further, and that they really do deserve to be counted as one of today’s most exciting grunge-pop bands.