Christmas with Jane Weaver at YES

Manchester’s own Jane Weaver, an artist who’s spent 20 years abusing, evading, and obliterating whimsical pop trends, is performing a one-off Christmas show at YES on 23 December.

From 90’s indie kid to psych revivalist to conceptual pop mistress, Jane Weaver’s career has taken a pretty fascinating arc. After operating in the relative fringes with Britpop band Kill Laura, folktronica band Misty Dixon, and releasing a string of increasingly esoteric solo albums, Weaver received an unprecedented surge of acclaim in 2014. Her album The Silver Globe was a masterclass in modern psychedelia, lauded for its invention, depth and detail.

Signing to Fire Records, 2017’s lauded follow up Modern Kosmology saw Weaver channel new depths of creative cosmic energy. Described by the Guardian as “a lean and thrillingly addictive slice of unearthly pop”, the album was a model student of second-hand Krautrock, punk, hard-subbed new-wave, synthesiser skip-finds and globetrotting pop; another eureka moment reached.

2021’s Flock was no less revelatory. Billed as a “day-glo pop odyssey”, it’s the record Weaver has apparently always wanted to make. Her characteristic cosmos-leaning sounds are all there, but there’s a definite shift away from conceptual roots and towards more immediate, hook-filled pop music.

Not that she’s gone entirely Kylie on us. It’s definitely a Jane Weaver record. One packed with woozy, euphoric soundscapes and esoteric electronics, as well as lyrics that rail against everything from the patriarchy to the pitfalls of digital communication.

Weaver has been touring the record, on and off, since its release, but hometown shows are always a bit special. And this one comes with a difference. Cosmic Christmas covers? Festive fun and games? Who knows what’s in store for the artist’s special Christmas show at YES, but just two days before the big day, it’s bound to be a lively one.