Tom Vek, Koko

Angular by name, angular by haircut, Tom Vek brings his complex, electro-driven indie to Koko on October 15.
It's been a while since we heard from Vek. The St Martin's art student and multi-instrumentalist made a name for himself in 2004. The self-taught musician was well-received by a British music scene still coming to terms with the break up of The Libertines. His debut single If I Had Changed My Mind was full of the jangling guitars, crunching bass, staccato rhythm and the typically offbeat (not always tuneful) vocals that came to characterise his debut LP, We Have Sound.
Despite the hype and the critical acclaim, Vek, along with his keyboard, guitars, bass, drums, and synthesisers effectively disappeared for 6 years. 
Resurfacing with 2011's long awaited Leisure Seizure, he retained the same noisescapes but added smoother production, giving him a more mature sound. Not content to wait another six years, earlier this year he announced a third album, Luck, slated for a summer release, along with lead single Sherman (Animals in the Jungle).
If Luck is made up of tracks like Sherman, it promises to be a very interesting album. Sherman begins with increasingly high-pitched bursts of synth before breaking back into drums, guitar and a menacing bass-line showered with the same jolting synths from the intro. Vek's deadpan delivery fits his lyrics perfectly: 'Oh it's so ha ha/ha ha ha ha/We're just animals in the jungle, Sherman'. 
Vek’s newfound mastery of his own sound makes the Koko gig something not to miss: a young British artist who has found his feet, in one of the hallowed sites of British indie.