Pitchfork Music Festival London takes over the city this week, and the best of it is in the smallest rooms: a week of MOTH Club takeovers, Los Thuthanaka in the round at EartH and a Saturday wristband for six Dalston venues. Away from the festival there’s a cult shoegaze band at Oslo, a fingerpicking guitarist at Green Note and some UK rap at the Shacklewell. It’s a heavy week for Hackney and Dalston, but there’s a quieter Sunday on the South Bank to finish.
Monday 2 November
Horse Jumper of Love + Jawdropped + Hammok – MOTH Club, Hackney
The first of Pitchfork’s MOTH Club takeovers belongs to Boston’s Horse Jumper of Love. Their songs crawl along at a whisper and then land with real weight, which works best in a room where you can hear the quiet parts. Jawdropped and Hammok complete a three-band Monday. Check the festival’s timings page for stage times. Tickets · Event page
shame + Sorry + Lava La Rue – EartH Hall, Dalston
A benefit for trans healthcare that’s also one of the strongest London bills of the week. shame bring their wound-up post-punk, Sorry their crooked, sample-flecked indie, and West London’s Lava La Rue a looser mix of alt-R&B and guitar pop, with more acts to come. It runs 6.30pm to 10pm, so you’ll be home at a sensible hour. Tickets · Event page
Tuesday 3 November
Alison’s Halo + Bug Teeth – Oslo, Hackney
Arizona’s Alison’s Halo recorded in the nineties and have spent the years since as one of shoegaze’s best-kept secrets, the kind of band people pass around on old compilations. Seeing those hazy, heavily treated guitars in a room Oslo’s size is a treat. Bug Teeth open. Doors 7pm, £20. Tickets · Event page
Greg Mendez + Asher White + villagerrr – MOTH Club, Hackney
Philadelphia’s Greg Mendez writes small, plainly sung songs that land harder than you’d expect. It’s the sort of set that suits a hushed, close room, and MOTH can be exactly that. Asher White and villagerrr fill out a strong undercard. Tickets · Event page
Thursday 5 November
Los Thuthanaka (In The Round) + Joshua Chuquimia Crampton – EartH Hall, Dalston
Sibling duo Los Thuthanaka run Andean music through distortion, noise and heavy electronics, and the result is loud and physical. EartH is setting it up in the round, with the audience on every side, so it’s worth getting close to the middle. Tickets · Event page
Colin Miller + lifepath99 + h.pruz + Elijah Wolf – MOTH Club, Hackney
Four acts from the twangier, scruffier end of American indie make for the best value MOTH night of the festival. Colin Miller headlines, and with a bill this long it pays to arrive early and catch at least one name you don’t know yet. Tickets · Event page
Sam Moss + Dietrich Strause – Green Note, Camden
For anyone who’d rather skip the festival, American guitarist and songwriter Sam Moss plays Camden’s tiny folk room, sharing the night with Dietrich Strause. Green Note is made for fingerpicked guitar: small, attentive and quiet enough to hear every note. Starts 7pm, £17.60. Tickets · Event page
Friday 6 November
Kiwi jr. + Alien Boy + Bone China – MOTH Club, Hackney
Toronto’s Kiwi jr. play quick, wiry guitar pop with hooks that stick, the right band for a Friday in a packed small room. Theirs is the last of the festival’s MOTH takeovers, with Alien Boy and Bone China in support. Tickets · Event page
Tony Bontana + Shayk – The Shacklewell Arms, Dalston
A welcome change of pace in a guitar-heavy week. Tony Bontana is one of UK rap’s more distinctive and off-kilter voices, and the Shacklewell’s 200-capacity back room is a good way to hear him. Shayk is also on the bill. Doors 7.30pm, from £17. Tickets · Event page
Saturday 7 November
Pitchfork Music Festival London: Dalston Takeover – EartH, The Shacklewell Arms, The Victoria, Cafe OTO, St Matthias Church
One wristband gets you into six Dalston rooms for the evening. DIIV and Working Men’s Club are the bigger names, but the fun is wandering between venues to catch Maria BC, Hiding Places, Robber Robber, Midwife, Freak Slug, Sarah Meth and plenty more. Collect wristbands from 4pm at EartH Kitchen. Doors 4.30pm, last act finishes by midnight, 18+. Tickets · Event page
Sunday 8 November
Hania Rani – Royal Festival Hall, South Bank
The festival’s last night ends somewhere very different from the sticky floors: Polish pianist and composer Hania Rani playing a solo acoustic recital of new pieces. It’s a big hall for one piano, but the Festival Hall was built for this kind of sound. 7.30pm, from £29.50. Tickets · Event page
