WILLOW TREE

CIRCULUS TO PLAY CLWB IFOR BACH, November 2nd

'A mad, bad blend of Moog, lute and massed choral arrangements that put the Polyphonic Spree to shame' – NME

The modern rock scene is not short of musicians out to revive the music of the past. Few, however, are willing to go quite so far back as the 11th Century. Few, that is, but London’s Circulus. Formed over a decade hence, this band of
psychedelic medieval rockers take up lute, mandolin, Moog and harmonium for a suite of serene folk-rock epics and cider-glugging Village fayre jigs. Their November 2005 show at Clwb was one of the highlights of last year’s calendar, and this date – in support of new album ‘Clocks Are Like People’, out now on Rise Above records – should see their audience continue to swell.

Support on the night comes courtesy of local progressive rock veterans Rocket Goldstar and newcomers Silver Spurs. Tickets retail for £6 advance (£7 on the door), and are available from Spillers Records or the Clwb website at www.clwb.net

SECRET SPILT

THE SECRET SHOW (MATT DAVIES OF FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND) PLAY DEBUT SHOW AT CLWB IFOR BACH, OCTOBER 30

Most know Matt Davies as the vocalist of South Wales post-hardcore quartet Funeral For A Friend, but this October 30 sees the emo frontman – a little older, a little less shaven - strike off on a very different path with his new outfit, The Secret Show. An alt-country septet featuring musicians including Mark Foley and Rhodri Viney of Cardiff post-rockers Vito and local songstress Cate Timothy, the outfit take up acoustic guitars, pedal steel, banjos and harmonica in service of a rootsy sound influenced by Gram Parsons, Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams. The Secret Show’s debut album, Impressionist Road Map Of The West doesn’t land until next year. For now, though, tonight’s show – the outfit’s first ever gig – should be enough to quench your appetite. Tickets available now, £10 a head.