Contemplative yet gutsy Irish singer-songwriter Gemma Hayes finally making a welcome return to the Arts Centre for a gig originally scheduled for May. Plus: Manchester electro-pop outfit Delphic and Hazel O'Conner revisits Breaking Glass.
GEMMA HAYES
Norwich Arts Centre, October 22
Contemplative yet gutsy Irish singer-songwriter Gemma Hayes, whose initial appearance drew comparisons with Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, finally making a welcome return to the Arts Centre for a gig originally scheduled for May. Over the years, Gemma's songs have appeared in countless TV programmes and films from Grey's Anatomy to One Tree Hill and most recently The Vampire Diaries.
Her debut album, Night on My Side, received much critical acclaim from all corners and garnering a UK Mercury Prize nomination and earning her an award as Ireland's best female artist. Her subsequent release, The Roads Don't Love You, earned her yet another best female artist nod. Her dreamy third album, The Hollow Of The Morning, featured My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields on guitar.
Her latest studio album, Let it Break, marked an evolution of her music combining euphoric electro-folk, 1980s indie-rock and acoustic intensity recalling Mazzy Star in the 1990s.
Her raw, soul-shivering shows make her a contemplative, singular voice finding her natural musical kinship not in female singer-songwriters, but in fellow maverick outsiders. 'Bon Iver, Sigur Ros that's what inspires me,' she says, 'musicians who are a world unto themselves.'
Support comes from Ann Scott.
t Further listening: www.gemmahayes.com
DELPHIC
Norwich Arts Centre, October 25
High-flying Manchester outfit bring their perky and accomplished synth pop, which tips its hat at Orbital and New Order. Here they will be playing their newest material since the release of their debut album, Acolyte, in 2010.
They've recently been previewing material, with slightly pretentious sounding titles like Baiya, Memeo and Atlas, from their forthcoming new album No doubt they'll drop their official Olympics single, Good Life, too.
On record they've yet to really come into their own, coming over as slightly derivative. However on stage their glorious hard-wired gene pool of anthemic indie and stadium techno comes into its own, driving along like a perfectly pitched DJ set and where other bands pause to sip their riders between songs, Delphic slip in hypnotic driving techno interludes that turn any gig into a rave.
Obsessive fans of the highly metaphysical films of 1970s Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, Delphic's combination of high art aspiration and party spirit is very Manchester. The band are well marinated in the Factory city's classic collision of ordinary blokeiness with high-end ideals.
t Further listening: www.myspace.com/delphic
HAZEL O'CONNOR
Waterfront, October 25
Hazel O'Connor is celebrating the special release of her iconic movie Breaking Glass by taking to the road with a Greatest Hits tour that arrives at the Waterfront on Thursday. Hazel – joined by a full band – will power through songs which brought her fame in the cult film Breaking Glass, and you can expect to hear the likes of Big Brother, D-Days, Eighth Day and, of course, Will You. Hazel started her professional life as a dancer working in such diverse countries as Japan and the Lebanon. In 1980, she was catapulted to stardom as Kate in the film Breaking Glass for which she also wrote and performed the soundtrack. She won the Variety Club of Great Britain's 1980 Film Actress Of The Year Award and, in 1981, was nominated for BAFTA Best Newcomer with Breaking Glass nominated for Best Film soundtrack. In addition to the release of Breaking Glass on DVD, the tour coincides with the publication of her autobiography Breaking Glass Barefoot.
t Further listening: www.hazeloconnor.com
SOUNDS IN THE CITY
OCTOBER 19
Labrinth (hip hop) — UEA
Benjamin Francis Leftwich (acoustic/indie) — Waterfront
Reverend & The Makers + Saragasso Trio + These Ghosts (indie/rock) — Open
Bicycle Shop Birthday Party: feat. Andy Kirkham + Blue Rose Code + more (acoustic) — Bicycle Shop
Killer Hurts (metal/album launch) — King Edward VII
The Glamtastics (glam rock) — Brickmakers
Dove & Boweevil Band (soul/blues) — Brewery Tap
Hessian Rose + Under The Radar + Paul E Fawcett (rock) — B2
Outhablues (blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Smokes, Shoots & Leaves (indie/rock) — Blueberry
Floating Greyhounds (rock) — Hog In Armour
Hard Rain (acoustic) — Silver Road Cottage
Freeload (rock/pop) — The Griffin
Nigel King Band (50s/60s) — Arkwrights
Lucas (soul) — Old Catton Maids Head
Daaron — The Nelson
OCTOBER 20
Trivium + As I Lay Dying + Caliban + Upon A Burning Body (metal) — UEA
Django Django (indie) — Waterfront
Joanne Shaw Taylor (blues) — Arts Centre
Yes Sir Boss + Killamonjambo (indie/blues/roots) — Open
Terror + Brutality Will Prevail (rock) — Waterfront Studio
Whole Lotta DC + Bad Touch (rock/tribute) — Brickmakers
Shea + Jah Love + The Interney Crew (reggae) — B2
Andy Robinson Band (blues/rock) — Walnut Tree Shades
The Broad Cut Drifters (bluegrass) — The Birdcage
Storm (rock) — Boundary
She/Sez (rock/pop) — The Heartsease
Dog Days of Summer (country/bluegrass) — The Stanley
Moneyshot (rock) — Hog In Armour
Replica (rock) — The Gordon
Honeydripper (blues/rock) — Trowel & Hammer
Hot Smoke & Danger (rock/blues) — Golden Star
3 Up 2 Down — Angel Gardens
Antoine Fleuriot (acoustic) — Old Catton Maids Head
Cornered (country) — The Champion
Kevin Solo — Heath House
David Cass — Keir Hardie Hall
Tony Cann — Quebec Tavern
OCTOBER 21
Joan Armatrading (rock/jazz/country) — Theatre Royal
NME Presents: feat. Howler + The Cast of Cheers + Gross Magic (indie) — Waterfront
Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three (swing/blues) — Arts Centre
I Am I (metal/rock) — Waterfront Studio
Blind Spirit (rock) — King Edward VII
Next Big Things Semi 2: feat. Freya Roy + Noise Pollution Project + more (local/competition) — Open
Dog Days of Summer (country/bluegrass/2pm) — The Gordon
Red Hot Rockers (rockabilly) — Boundary
Murphy's Lore (folk/roots/3pm) — Brewery Tap
Lee Vasey Big Band (12pm) — Brickmakers
TJ Solo — Boundary
OCTOBER 22
Gemma Hayes (singer-songwriter) — Arts Centre
Lacuna Coil (rock) — Waterfront
Fossil Collective (indie/acoustic) — Waterfront Studio
Jazz Jam: feat. Rich Buddie — Walnut Tree Shades
Jazz Jam — Silver Road Cottage
Brickie Sessions (open mic) — Brickmakers
OCTOBER 23
Bowling For Soup (pop-punk) — UEA
Toy + Charlie Boyer & The Voyeurs (rock/indie) — Waterfront Studio
Myshkin & Al Lewis (folk/swing/gypsy) — Bicycle Shop
Shock Hazard (rock) — Brickmakers
Phab Club Presents: Han and Liz (Americana/folk) — Vauxhall Centre
Dan Friend with Simon Brown Trio (jazz) — Green Man
OCTOBER 24
Mary Coughlan (blues/folk) — Arts Centre
The Cribs (indie) — Waterfront
Little Comets + General Fiasco + Tied To The Mast (indie) — Open
Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers
OCTOBER 25
Conor Maynard (pop) — UEA
Hazel O'Conner (punk/indie) — Waterfront
Delphic (indie/pop) — Arts Centre
Karnataka (rock) — Playhouse
8th Time Lucky Vs The Ocean's Eyes (rock) — Waterfront Studio
Mucked Up Funkies (funk/rock) — Brickmakers
The Kurve + Fascists To Ashes + For From Innocent (hardcore) — B2
Animal Lover (punk) — King Edward VII
Blues Situation (blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Johnny Jump Band (blues/country) — Rose Tavern
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