FOMA can humbly boast some of the finest futurist bands this side of the Watford gap: top of the bill on this outstanding showcase is the psychedelic baroque-indie of Hoopla Blue, who recently released their stunning ‘Itch Be Still’ EP. Hoopla Blue’s brain is a rumbling volcano, spewing out a thick lava flow of rich influences: Grizzly Bear, Adult Jazz, Adebisi Shank, the Beach Boys. On tape, it’s rustled drum shuffles, guitars pitch-shifted to breaking point, cavernous melodies and songs so tastefully avant-garde they could be served at a Michelin restaurant. Mutes, on the other hand, have slowly mutated, Fly-like, from drifting ambient dreamscapes into a thundering shoegaze racket. With a knack for understated melody that recalls an early-noughties J Robbins project, this is flesh-and-blood music where the room hums and the reverb-laden guitars battle for supremacy.

Sat 4 Mar, Blotto Studios 9, Floodgate Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5ST Birmingham. £5
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