INTERVIEW: SYLVAIN SYLVAIN (NEW YORK DOLLS)
Sylvain Syl Times were tough for New Yorkers in 1971. Their city was dark, dirty and full of crime. Unemployment was high – gang members even higher. Undernourished drug dealers dominated the streets, while bloated MOR rock dominated the charts. As government officials tried to sort out the city’s mean streets, someone or something needed to change its musical landscape. Thankfully, that change came in the form of five revolutionaries from the NY suburb of Queens –... Read More
ALBUM: Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
It’s quite hard, when listening to Kurt Vile, to reconcile the sound of the music with the name of its creator (though, it could very well be his real name…(but, probably not…(but then, it might be…))). You’d probably be expecting something quite raucous. However, not finding that, you probably won’t be too disappointed either.Even if you’ve not heard Vile before, it’s likely you’ll have heard his name along the way. Smoke Ring For My Halo is the Philly... Read More
LIVE: ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT – 28/03/2010
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – They’ve been away and now they’re back, with a cracking new album and live show to further blow our tinnitus fizzing ears. ‘Coconut’ released on the 1st of March has been widely praised, and much has been made of the input of DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy on the sessions Stateside for the album. A few listens and its clear the collaboration has borne some rich fruit. The Academy 3 (or the Hop & Grape bar, as some of us remember it) is... Read More
SINGLE REVIEW: May 68 – My Ways
May 68 refers to a massive protest movement that occurred in France in May 1968 (of course) that marked a decisive shift towards a more sexually, spiritually, equality driven liberal society. For this Manchester band it’s a decisive statement. Where most modern electro-pop bands look back to New Order for inspiration, May 68 set their gaze towards a more continental pop style, which makes for a refreshing change. Also, it’s clear that they are not making music for a cerebral... Read More
ALBUM: The Chameleons – What Does Anything Mean? Basically
The Chameleons have long been relegated to the position of footnote in the history of Manchester music, despite being the greatest band to ever emerge from Middleton. They have become the Gaugin to the Stone Roses Van Gough, the Salieri to the Smiths Mozart. With this reissue of the seminal 1985 album ‘What Does Anything Mean? Basically’ they attempt to re-establish their musical legacy. The album is an amalgamation of all the classic 80s sounds. If it were released... Read More
LIVE: SIDEBURN LAUNCH PARTY – 26/03/2010
– THE BRITISH LEGION, WIGAN – It’s cold and dark and I’m walking down a street just on the outskirts of Wigan town centre looking for the British Legion. Now I know you might be wondering what the hell I’m doing spending my Friday night at the Legion, well it’s not because I’m meeting up with some old war buddies to discuss rations of bully beef, it is in fact for the launch party of issue 5 of Sideburn magazine. The said magazine is described as “The world’s... Read More
ALBUM: We Have Band – WHB
I’m still not too sure whether I want to be friends with We Have Band. He (she, whatever) is a little bit pretentious. He sings like a version of Guy Garvey who hasn’t spent his life drinking beer and eating cigarettes in The Temple or Big Hands. There are chasms of hidden depth, but there’s something going on here that I can’t quite figure out that makes me feel a little comfortable. He’s either a secret serial killer or the second coming of Jesus and so far I’m not... Read More
LIVE: THE TWIGHLIGHT SAD – 25/03/2010
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Blessed with chunky frames and even chunkier beards, Glaswegian monsters, Take A Worm For A Walk Week, pick up the grooves of Clutch and add a dram of caledonian insouciance. That the quartet don’t take themselves at all seriously is a boon – their début album, ‘The Monroe Transfer’ is, after all, named after an obscure, unlikely and completely ludicrous kink – especially when they know full well that the scarf-wearing audience... Read More
LIVE: THE SCREENING – 25/03/2010
– THE NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – In the reliably low-lit surroundings of Night & Day Café there is always the chance of seeing something special, even on a washed-out Thursday evening of the kind that levels all hope spring might, just might, be arriving. This was one such occasion, with any thoughts of the habitual weather swept away the moment The Screening powered up their punchy set. Meeting all objectives when it comes to incisive riffs, tight harmonies... Read More
LIVE: SOUL:UTION – 26/03/2010
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – The sound system was rubbish. That MC wouldn’t shut up. The bar was too expensive. I had to go in a portaloo. That DJ didn’t have a clue. These disgruntled statements and more along the same lines are all that I’ve been met with from Drum & Bass in Manchester in the recent years. No one could seem to get it right, after living and breathing the music for years, I was slowly watching the live scene die before my eyes. That... Read More
