Today's idea - Marble Valley at the Freebutt

There exists an incredible amount of goodwill towards the various, until recently scattered, members of 90s slacker-icons Pavement, something evident not just in people’s continued faith in the waspish, detached figure of their mercurial talent, Stephen Malkmus (who continues to make his claim as the finest indie rock guitarist on the planet), but also in the love people continue to express for his bandmates. Scott Kannberg, once again trading as Spiral Stairs, has recently made his own return to form ahead of Pavement’s reunion, and the band’s two percussionists, Bob Nastonovich and Steve West have brought their wilful sense of mischief and dubious timekeeping qualities to bear on various projects, most notably David Berman’s recently wound-up Silver Jews.

With excitement building for the Pavement reunion, the opportunity to see West’s anarchic, shambolic Marble Valley outfit at the Freebutt tonight is one that should not be missed. MV’s records are hit and miss to say the least – bumping along somewhere between the psychedelic pop of Super Furry Animals and Pavement at their most chaotic, but their spirit is the draw here – expect a set of deeply enthusiastic, half-coherent underground rock, with high fives all round.