Monolord | Mon 22 May | The Flapper | £8
Swedish sludge-metal upstarts Monolord tap right into the same slow-moving lava flow that sustained heavy-weight masters like Yob and Electric Wizard in their heydays, elevated to the next level by Thomas V. Jäger’s psychedelic vocals. Your week’s tip for a slow-motion metal pummeling. seetickets.com

Swans | Wed 24 May | Asylum | £23.50
The experimental noise gods, lorded over by the ever-enigmatic Micheal Gira, create a savage tower of sound so profound it’s at times unbearable; ear-shredding drones, menacing motifs and gruff vocals. The last tour of this ‘incarnation’ of Swans before Gira reinvents himself again. See our full preview here.

Julie Byrne | Wed 24 May | Hare & Hounds | £9
Pristine, cosmic folk from Buffalo, New York: Julie Byrne’s voice exudes a disarming calm, not unlike Laura Marling or Gillian Welch, as she weaves together songs of solitude, awe and mystery. An early booking by the Moseley Folk Festival, let’s hope Byrne brings a proper East-Coast springtime with her. seetickets.com

The Growlers | Wed 24 May | O2 Academy 2 | £16
The unlikely combination of the Strokes’ flat funk with country, surf and psychedelia has carved out a nice pocket of appreciation for California’s The Growlers. For everyday pub songs – pinned down by a barnacle-tight rhythm section, elevated by a taste for the unusual – you can hardly do better. seetickets.com

Wovoka Gentle | Wed 24 May | Sunflower Lounge | £6
London electro-folk experimentalists Wovoka Gentle take their inspiration from Americana and pastoral folk, building on it with layers of psychedelic soundscapes, jazz and collage music. The result is majestic, atmospheric soundscapes, as evidenced by this year’s flow of gorgeous new singles. seetickets.com

Graviton – Andrew McCormack | Thu 25 May | Hare & Hounds | £10
Acclaimed jazz pianist Andrew McCormack’s new album Graviton seems aptly named; it’s pulled a host of fantastic musicians into its orbit, from London’s soul queen ESKA to The Comet is Coming’s Shabaka Hustings, saxophone manipulator extraordinare. Playing only a few select dates as the Graviton band, this is a unique and unmissable experience. skiddle.com

Mala | Fri 26 May | Hare & Hounds | £13.50
Visionary South London DJ, producer, label owner and co-architect of dubstep, Mala has many strings to his bow, and an immaculate sense of taste, blending heavy bass, deft rhythms and strains of world music at will. A unifying force returning to the Hare & Hounds. skiddle.com

Sensateria VII ft. The Mourning Suns & Black Mekon | Sat 27 May | Hare & Hounds | £10
Two wild psych driven guitar bands, Sheffield’s The Mourning After and Birmingham’s Black Mekon turn on, tune in and drop out at Birmingham’s legendary psych party night. The Mourning After’s return revives their passion for 60’s Garage/Beat/RnB and wild frenzied stage activity in the hallucinogenic ilk of Primal Scream,Psychic TV,Spacemen 3, etc. Black Mekon offer similarly unbridled live thrills in the form of blistering punk blues, jet-engine noise and pelvis-shattering drums. Visuals and club decor add to the mind-expanding atmos.
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