Liverpool indie rockers are touring new album Different Creatures, while the enduring voice of British folk plays in Norwich and Diss. Plus Jesca Hoop, Fránçois and The Atlas Mountains and more.
Fránçois and The Atlas Mountains
Norwich Arts Centre, March 31, 8pm, £10 adv/£12 door, 01603 660352, www.norwichartscentre.co.uk
Fantastique off-beat pop from this French, by way of Bristol, music collective whose sound combines afrobeat, an indie take on chanson, dreamy psychedelic instrumentation and plucky riffs. They arrive having just released their fourth studio album. An album of strength, beauty, ups and downs, Solide Mirage is the group's most outspoken and deep-rooted work to date. Support from Brooke Sharkey.
New Model Army
Waterfront, King Street, Norwich, March 31, 6.30pm, £20, 01603 508050, ueaticketbookings.co.uk
Justin Sullivan's rumbling, militant doom-rock veterans march on, 37-years after they first came together in Bradford. Despite the band's music hilariously once been described by the US Immigration Department as having 'no artistic merit', their fanbase (known as The Family) are hyper-loyal. They arrive on the back of powerful latest album Winter. They have been massively influential in 'post-punk', 'folk-rock', 'politico-rock', 'goth', you name it, but have steadfastly refused to belong to any genre.
Jesca Hoop
Epic Studios, Magdalen Street, Norwich, April 2, 7.30pm, £12, 01603 727727, www.epicstudiosnorwich.com
Having just released her latest album, Memories Are Now, on Sub Pop Records, Guy Garvey endorsed pop-folk singer Jesca Hoop, who was once employed by Tom Waits as a nanny for his children, is in riveting and reflective mood. While her last album was a collection of duets, songs on this fifth release are her own and are minimalist in both style and structure, yet brimming with energy, plus emotional depth that comes from years of honing her craft.
Maciek Pysz Quartet
Milestones Jazz, Hotel Hatfield, Esplanade, Lowestoft, April 2, 8pm, £7 (£6 cons), 01502 568684, milestonesjazzclub.co.uk
Polish guitarist and composer Maciek Pysz makes his Milestones Jazz Club debut with a modern style that includes washes of sound, flighty melodic lines and insistent rhythms influenced by Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Flamenco and Brazilian music. His band performs with real improvisational flair and features a top line-up from the UK jazz scene: John Turville (piano), Yuri Goloubev (double bass) and Eric Ford (drums).
Circa Waves
UEA LCR, Norwich, April 3, 7.30pm, £15, 01603 508050, ueaticketbookings.co.uk
It's been a long two years without music from Liverpool indie rockers Circa Waves. The wait is over with this month's new album, Different Creatures, and it has proved worth the wait. Led by singles Wake Up and Fire That Burns, their sound has matured and the tracks are heavier, but they still have that same pop-rock edge that saw the band shoot to fame with festival favourite T-Shirt Weather. Crying Shame and Without You are the pick of the bunch and this tour promises to be a breakthrough. Support from The Magic Gang and In Heaven.
Maddy Prior
Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich, April 3, 7.30pm, £16.50, 01603 620917, maddermarket.co.uk/Wingfield Barns, Diss, April 4, £16, 7.30pm, £16, wegottickets.com/event/386945
One of the most respected and enduring voices of the British folk scene is back for two dates. A member of Steeleye Span, Maddy Prior has been at the forefront of modern and electronic folk throughout her career, collaborating with a range of artists from diverse backgrounds. Latest album, 3 For Joy, is no exception. She teams up with Giles Lewin, a multi-talented instrumentalist, alongside fellow singer and accordion player Hannah James.
Haley Bonar
Norwich Arts Centre, April 4, 8pm, £10 adv/£12 door, 01603 660352, www.norwichartscentre.co.uk
Dakota-born, Minnesota-based singer-songwriter Haley Bonar, whose whip-smart, alt-rock album, Last War, was amongst many critics favourites in 2014, visits having released its follow-up Impossible Dream, last year. It saw her tempering the folky tweeness with power-pop tunes and a healthy dose of rage. The songs were about loss of youth, teenage parenthood, jealousy and suspicion. But she continues to show pop-rock mastery. Support from Michael Nau, solo spot from frontman indie-folk outfit Cotton Jones.
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