Hypermanic punk-rock’n’roll-noise merchants Smilex have decided that their next few gigs will be their last for the year, as their members Jen and Tom will be spending the rest of the year in New York. This isn’t the end, though, by any means. Remaining members Lee and Pat will spend the rest of the year finishing off the currently-in-progress new album La Petite Mort, along with recording videos for a couple of the songs that will feature on the album.

You’ll miss them when they’re gone, so if you can, check Smilex out at either tonight (15 February) at the O2 Academy in Oxford, at the dreadfully-named Wahoo! in Oxford on 22 February, or at Fat Lil’s in Witney on 24 February. The band will also be selling much of their previously-released work at super-bargain prices at these shows. There will be a couple of live performances in March, but they’ll be a different bag of spanners altogether: Smilex through a dance/art filter. On 10 and 11 March, contemporary dance choreographer/visual artist Naomi Morris is working with the band to present ‘The Time Of Our Lives’, a multimedia mashup of dance, projections and live music.