Lockdown is easing and we're all slowly emerging into the bright lights of a (relatively) whole new world, or certainly one that's irrevocably changed by the ramifications of a pandemic the likes of which humanity hasn't seen for many decades. But, enough about that, live music is back! As long as things keep improving (🤞), gigs will be going again from 1 September. So, here's a selection of highlights on Amsterdam's musical calendar.

Camel Power Club

 

The perfect music for both the party and the afterparty, Camel Power Club’s music bumps up on the dancefloor against the star-gazing synths of Air and Madonna at her most fun (Holiday, anyone?). Camel Power Club is French producer and multi-instrumentalist Léonard Bremond, a mysterious figure who eschews publicity. Catch a glimpse at the man behind the curtain at Paradiso this September.

Listen to: Laika, Fisher

Paradiso // 13 September 2020

London Calling

If you're into indie, it's difficult to attend a London Calling festival and fail to find at least one band you like playing. Tastemakers who seem one step ahead of the game when it comes to knowing who's going to be big, this edition's lineup promises great things, with Porridge Radio, Tops, Dry Cleaning and The Blinders all featuring.  

Listen to: Disq and Porridge Radio's new albums

Paradiso // 30 & 31 October 2020

Easy Life 

If The Streets had been raised on a diet of Netflix and the Notorious B.I.G. they probably would have turned out something like Leicester five-piece Easy Life. Genre-bending indie-jazz, hip-hop and a distinctly British outlook give their seemingly lightweight pop songs more heft than you might expect. 

Listen to: Earth, Peanut Butter

Paradiso Noord // 21 November 2020

Warmduscher

With band members called things like The Saulcano and Mr Salt Fingers Lovecraft and featuring members of The Fat White Family, it's fair to say that Warmduscher don't sound quite like anything else you've heard. Three albums in they've basically laid waste to any genre they might be interested in, dissecting garage punk, surf pop, disco and classic rock’n’roll to make monstrous music that's completely captivating. See them at Paradiso on 4 December 2020.

Listen to: Disco Peanuts, I Got Friends 

Paradiso // 4 December 2020

Destroyer

Completely unclassifiable but always completely captivating, almost every one of Destroyer’s songs offer moments to savour, whether it’s the blasts of saxophone woven through the outro of ‘Tinseltown Swimming in Blood’ or the rip-roaring acoustics of ‘Times Square’. Give them the time and you’ll reap very welcome rewards.

Listen to: Bay of Pigs, University Hill, Times Square

Paradiso Noord // 1 February 2021

Black Country, New Road

If you played post-hardcore punk with brass and strings, it might sound something like Black Country, New Road. Plying a long-form tension and release blueprint that's also being refined by peers like BODEGA, Black Midi and Squid, they fuse classical and blasts of jazz with whirling math-rock lines. Mainly instrumental, when vocalist Isaac Wood's lyrics appear from their melodic fug the band are even more bracing: whether he's musing on bad sex or throwing in the odd pop culture reference or two.

Listen to: Athen's, France

Bitterzoet // 15 February 2021

Viagra Boys

There’s a wealth of post-punk bands currently making music raging against the modern world, but there’s not many bands making music that’s doing it quite as mercilessly (and mockingly) as Viagra Boys. The six-strong Stockholm group’s heavy basslines and squalling blasts of reverberating guitar and saxophone perfectly counterpoint lead singer Sebastian Murphy’s deadpan drawl. It’s no surprise they’ve toured with fellow point-blank piss-takers Sleaford Mods.

Listen to: Sports, Worms

Paradiso Noord // 31 March 2021

The Beths

New Zealand’s The Beths make indie-pop guitar music that speaks to the awkward and the self-conscious. But despite appealing to the outsider, the group’s music is the perfect antidote to anxiety, filled with more hooks than a fisherman’s satchel and played out with a confidence that belies Stokes’ chosen subject matter. It’s music about feeling bad that makes you feel good. Find them at Amsterdam's Paradiso on 23 April 2021.

Listen to: Less than Thou, Happy Unhappy

Paradiso Noord // 23 April 2021

For more great events in Amsterdam check out I amsterdam's Weekend Guide.