Momus

In an affectionate act of tribute to his greatest songwriting heroes and influences, Momus is presenting an exceptional mini-residency at Cafe Oto this autumn in which he devotes two consecutive evenings to the songs of Howard Devoto and David Bowie.

At the Friday night show Momus will appear in the persona of "Harvard Momoto", singing an hourlong selection of material performed by Howard Devoto during his time with The Buzzcocks, Magazine and Luxuria, as well as from the solo album released under his own name. The songs will be accompanied by "scratch videos" concocted in Osaka by Momus, with musical backings all freshly performed and recorded.

Devoto's songs have a thrilling darkness to them, a jaundiced yet sweeping vision, a mixture of cruelty and vulnerability. Sung against backgrounds of sarcastic fairground music, icy pomp rock, nervous neo-punk chugs, Dylanesque ballads and staggering drunken strums, Devoto's lyrics are peerless, turning cliches on their heads, shining bright torches into realms of madness and disaster, and sketching out acerbic love scenes that live on in the mind.