LIVE: OMNI – 13/06/2017

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- It’s unusual for the lingering impression you are left with from a gig by a three-piece in a small music hall to be regarding the light and smoke settings. Entering the Deaf Institute tonight you are hit initially by the smell and then the choking intensity of synthetic smoke which makes it […]

LIVE: PARKLIFE 2018

-HEATON PARK, MANCHESTER- Parklife is a festival which has grown year upon year, I’ve witnessed this first hand as I remember the days when it was held in Platt Fields with only a few thousand people and an up and coming band Everything Everything! Fast forward to 2018, and I’m here at Heaton Park, a […]

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Today's Recommendations

Lumer at Soup Kitchen David Byrne at The Apollo

LIVE: THE ROLLING STONES / RICHARD ASHCROFT – 05/06/2018

-OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER- Walking around Manchester on a gorgeously hot summer’s day, you’re greeted by tribes of people wearing the most iconic rock image in the world – the Rolling Stones’ red mouth is sticking its tongue out defiantly at everyone who dares to think The Stones are past it. By their own admission, they […]

LIVE: BORN RUFFIANS – 08/06/2018

-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- Canadian band Born Ruffians have been releasing music since the early noughties and have toured the world, supporting the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip and Caribou along the way. Now, having just released their fifth studio album Uncle, Duke and The Chief, they are nearing the end of their own headline […]

LIVE: COURTNEY BARNETT – 04/06/2018

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Courtney Barnett chooses a brave route for the first half of the show, playing the whole new album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, in full. No smattering of previous hits to keep the crowd appeased. But it pays off. The new album is brilliant and well received. There is a greater […]

INTERVIEW – IDLES (Joe & Bowen)

PIRATE PRODIGIES WHO ARE YA TAKE OVER – RIVAL BONES

LIVE: LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – 06/06/2018

-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- Having just returned from the World’s Greatest Festival(tm), Primavera, a day ago, I have to confess that I am not exactly massively up for this gig. I still have that festival ‘jet lag’ where everything is a little hazy, I feel like I haven’t slept for about 2 weeks, and even though LCD […]

LIVE: PATTI SMITH – 05/06/2018

-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- Tucked into the modest seats of the Apollo’s circle, and the second song in is a cover of ‘Paint in Black’ by The Rolling Stones. It’s an impromptu addition. Patti reads the lyrics from a sheet of paper and misses a vocal cue, having to re-join the song a few bars down the […]

INTERVIEW (IN A CHIPPY): THE CHARLATANS

THE BLINDERS ANNOUNCE UK TOUR + DETAILS OF DEBUT ALBUM

HERE COMES PARKLIFE, YOU READY?

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA SHARE VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE ‘HUNNYBEE’

TEEN CREEPS – NEW VIDEO AND UK TOUR DATES

LIVE: VIRGINIA WING / APOSTILLE – 23/05/2018

-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- In detailed album reviews from The Quietus, Virginia Wing receive strong praise. There is particular attention paid to the careful vocal blend of singer Alice Merida Richards, and also the various references their music nods towards (Broadcast and Stereolab to name two). Detachment, haze and dreaminess are all considered key elements of […]

CHRIS HAWKINS TO JOIN SILENT RADIO FOR SOUND CITY+ SESSION

MEXRRISSEY TO PLAY HOMETOWN GIG (SORT OF)

HINDS RELEASE VIDEO FOR ‘FINALLY FLOATING’ + UK LIVE DATES

FRANCOBOLLO RETURN WITH NEW SINGLE ‘HOO HA’

LIVE: STRANGE WAVES III (UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA / DEERHUNTER / BLACK LIPS / SAM EVIAN) – 26/05/2018

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- This is the third time music promoters Now Wave and Strange Days have brought their pysch rock night to Manchester and the line up certainly doesn’t disappoint, Despite the blistering bank holiday sun outside, the first act, Boy Azooga, must have had a pretty sizeable crowd because by the time I get […]

LIVE: EZRA FURMAN / DU BLONDE – 27/05/2018

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- With the room still lit up by the sunlight, I arrive at Manchester’s Albert Hall about five minutes before tonight’s support act Du Blonde is due to begin. I’ve been aware of both Du Blonde and tonight’s headliner Ezra Furman for a few years now without ever making the leap to see […]

PIRATE PRODIGIES WHO ARE YA TAKE OVER – JAMES HOLT

WARMDUSCHER’S NEW SINGLE ‘STANDING ON THE CORNER’ + UK LIVE DATES

FRANZ FERDINAND TO HEADLINE THE BRITISH SOUND PROJECT 2018

SNAPPED ANKLES RELEASE NEW TRACK ‘CIA MAN (NSA MAN VIOLATION)’

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING RELEASE NEW EP ‘A DEEPER SEA’

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PIRATE PRODIGIES WHO ARE YA TAKE OVER – RED RUM CLUB