ALBUM: BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE – HUG OF THUNDER

For almost two-decades, the Toronto-hailing army-of-indie that is Broken Social Scene have been traversing their counter-cultural anxieties with visions of familial community and refreshing doses of celebratory sound-collage – ushering in some of our darkest political hours with defiant, unabashed joy. 2010’s ‘Forgiveness Rock Record’ closed with a two-minute ode to the loneliness found in […]

LIVE: SHEER MAG / TV CRIME – 23/07/2017

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- What’s going on here, then? It’s not even 8pm and the merch table is 4 deep with t-shirts and records flying from one side of the counter to the other at a sweatshop pace; this isn’t normal. Then again, neither are Sheer Mag. A quintet formed in upstate New York (in Purchase, […]

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Portable Radio at The Castle Hotel

SINGLE: THE WAR ON DRUGS – STRANGEST THING

Sleepless, flame-out anxiety ivies the narrative of Adam Ganduciel – front-man of Philadelphia-hailing sonic-sculptures The War on Drugs. The obsessive architect has openly touched on how a sudden personal downfall – flanked by isolation and paranoia, inspired elemental crusher ‘Lost in the Dream’, but has also spoke of how he’s still figuring out what happened […]

LIVE: LET’S EAT GRANDMA – 16/07/2017

-PAVILION THEATRE, MANCHESTER- Stepping from a bright Manchester afternoon into a blacked-out tent in the middle of Albert Square, I am soon joining the gathered crowd in applauding the on-stage arrival of the two young Norfolk musicians in Let’s Eat Grandma. The claps give way to complete silence as Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth take […]

SINGLE: TURNOVER – SUPER NATURAL

Austin Getz, vocalist and guitarist of Virginia Beach darlings Turnover, demystifies ‘Super Natural’, the first cut from the band’s third studio album ‘Good Nature’, by describing a meditative, yet colossal love as influencing the weightless cut. Getz paints scenes that speak to the indescribable qualities that can be found in the meeting of memory and […]

WHO ARE YA? GAFFA TAPE SANDY

WHO ARE YA? THE GNARWHALS

LIVE: THE HAXAN CLOAK – 07/07/2017

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- The Haxan Cloak, or Bobby Krlic to his friends, is performing as part of the Mary Ann Hobbs curated Dark Matter strand of the Manchester International Festival, “eight immersive shows from pioneering national, international and Manchester-based musicians…with a light show that will transform Gorilla and the Ritz, creating new universes for each artist”, according […]

LIVE: JAMES / THE SLOW READERS CLUB – 07/07/2017

-CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER- Castlefield Bowl is a phenomenal venue, regardless of who is playing there. It is not used for concerts very often but every year Sounds of the City takes full advantage of the outdoor performance space that is surrounded by the buildings of Deansgate and Castlefield in the city centre. It turns the […]

INTERVIEW: SEAN PECKNOLD

LIVERPOOL PSYCH FEST ANNOUNCE SINGLE DAY TICKETS ON SALE ALONGSIDE DAY SPLITS LINE-UP

THE LEMON TWIGS ANNOUNCE ‘BROTHERS OF DESTRUCTION EP’ OUT SEPTEMBER – HEAR FIRST TRACK ‘NIGHT SONG’ NOW

NADINE SHAH SHARES NEW TRACK ‘HOLIDAY DESTINATION’ ALONGSIDE 2017 UK TOUR DATES

THE BIG MOON SHARE LIVE VIDEO OF ‘CUPID’ & SOOO MANY LIVE TOUR DATES – CHECK THEM OUT HERE

LIVE: BONOBO / SANDUNES – 04/07/2017

– MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL, MANCHESTER – Bonobo at Manchester Cathedral was nothing short of an absolutely stunning show. The Manchester Cathedral was an extremely interesting choice of venue but it was the perfect place for the Manchester International Festival to showcase the electronic sensation that is Bonobo. The combination of music and light made this a […]

INTRODUCING: CULTURE ABUSE NEWLY SIGNED TO EPITAPH RECORDS – LISTEN TO NEW SINGLE ‘SO BUSTED’

CRUMBS REVEAL NEW SONG & VIDEO ‘WEASELS CAN WAIT’ FROM THEIR DEBUT ALBUM OUT THIS MONTH

ARCADE FIRE UNVEIL NEW TRACK ‘ELECTRIC BLUE’ FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM ‘EVERYTHING NOW’ OUT THIS MONTH

WARM DIGITS ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES ALONGSIDE NEW TRACK ‘BETTER FRICTION’

LIVE: HOOKWORMS/CARLA DAL FORNO – 02/07/2017

– PAVILION THEATRE, MANCHESTER – Loud doesn’t really cut it. According to Twitter someone in the crowd clocked Hookworms playing at 124.8 decibels tonight, which Google describes as “tinnitus inducing, ringing in the ears, permanent hearing loss”. It’s an absolute fucking blast. Hookworms play as part of the Manchester International Festival at the Pavilion Theatre […]

LIVE: CABBAGE – 01/07/2017

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Before I talk about Manchester’s new favourite sons and their Cabbage Patch Kids, I want to briefly mention how good The Blinders and Strange Bones were as support acts tonight. It’s not easy supporting one of the most exciting live bands in the UK but both clearly knew what the […]

THE GOLDEN LION – A CULTURAL HUB IN AN UNLIKELY PLACE

HOLY FUCK ANNOUNCE ‘BIRD BRAINS EP’, ALONGSIDE THE RELEASE OF THE TITLE TRACK’S VIDEO AND AUGUST TOUR

ULRIKA SPACEK MAKE THEIR RETURN TO SOUP KITCHEN THIS OCTOBER

THOUGH NOT CONDONED L.A. WITCH SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘KILL MY BABY TONIGHT’

‘NO MIND’ FOR PAVO PAVO’S NEW VIDEO – WATCH NOW

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INTERVIEW: TOM HICKOX