SINGLE: The Phenomenal Handclap Band – Baby
Some music defies description. Imagine listening to ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ when it was released in June 1967! Imagine being in Vienna’s Kärntnertortheater on 7 May 1824 for the premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by the Maestro himself! Imagine a 1943 night flight over a glowing Dresden in a fully laden Lancaster with Dame Vera Lynn’s new tune on your headphones! Sometimes, the appropriate words have yet to be invented. The music of The... Read More
SINGLE: Kyle Hall – Kaychunk/You Know What I Feel
Detroit based Kyle Hall makes his debut appearance on the mighty Hyperdub. Signed up from a remix of Darkstar’s phenomenal Aidy’s Girl Is A Computer (the original is one of my all time favourites), his remix saw a track take on a House style approach, and most importantly bring him into the Hyperdub spotlight and out with this release. This Eighteen year old wonderkid, who, under the guidance of Detroit’s finest (most notably Rick Wilhite from Three Chairs) has been at... Read More
LIVE: GENERAL FIASCO – 08/03/2010
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Motionless and pudding-faced as they grub their way through a set of competent, simple indie-pop, there has surely never been a band less in need of a second guitarist as The Mandigans. The local sextet exist in a charisma vacuum, and although they aren’t even close to breaking out of their teens yet, it wouldn’t be irresponsible to suggest that they start downing drugs and whisky and get their finger nails dirty. Pegasus Bridge are... Read More
LIVE: CATE LE BON – 08/03/2010
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Meeting your heroes can be a truly terrible experience or one of the happiest moments of your life. When we meet our heroes we do not expect to be disappointed, so when they turn out to be a big fat lecherous let down it can be quite a blow (is there something you’d like to share with us, Ellie? – Ed). Though Cate Le Bon is not a hero, she is currently being praised as a fantastic folk singer, specialising in soul soaring songs.... Read More
The Seven Deadly Sins Of Music Performance
I’m pretty new to the reviewing game but I’ve been watching gigs for 15 years, and playing them for 10. Along the way I’ve seen shows good, great, mind-numbingly bad and all shades of in-between. However, there are some things that REALLY get my goat as a gig-goer, so I’ve complied them into a list of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’, which I really hope one or two of you musicians out there read before I come to see you. Playing the same set every gig: By all means play your... Read More
LIVE: THE MISERABLE RICH – 07/03/2010
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Though they hail from the beaches of blighty, with their cowboy hats, deep throat drawls and bare existentialist lyrics you could be forgiven for thinking The Miserable Rich had ridden up outside Trof on horseback directly from the dusty plains of the American wild west. The Deaf Institute is the perfect setting for tonight’s gig thanks to its sumptuous leather lined, concert-style steps and fabulously over the top décor. The sound... Read More
SINGLE: First Aid Kit – I Met Up With The King
First Aid Kit state on their Myspace page, “We aim for the hearts, not the charts”. A hackneyed statement definitely, but judging by the strength of this single their aim is true. This is unlikely to trouble the charts – though folk does seem to be going through something of a renaissance. And I doubt very much that they would complain about chart success. Such an attitude is as po-faced as it is disingenuous. Yet I Met up with the King will trouble your heart; it will... Read More
SINGLE: Officer Kicks – Automatic
I’ve developed a knack for telling how good a release is by the style of the cover artwork. The most obvious thing about the Officer Kicks single, other than the band’s stupid name, is the Libertines typeface. My guess, therefore, is that this band is a rocky Libertines rip off, all effort put into the attitude with nothing left to spare for song writing, instrumentation etc (the important stuff). Sure enough, “Automatic” is the most vacuous song I’ve heard for a long... Read More
LIVE: THE XX – 06/03/2010
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – South West London trio, The XX, formed a few years back while at the prestigious Elliott School, and with wrap sheet including Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet, I know where I wish I’d spent my teenage years. After getting signed to Young Turks Records, they dropped the self-titled début album in August 2009 and proceeded to make their massive mark on the world with a truly phenomenal sound and production style that resulted in one of the... Read More
LIVE: Paper Spaceman – 06/03/2010
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – It’s fairly safe to say that Alan McGee knows a thing or two about music. Love him or loathe him, he has been the British Indie Music Scene’s leading impresario for some time now, despite disappearing off the radar slightly in recent years. His new club night at The Ruby Lounge promises to showcase some of the best new talent around and Paper Spaceman are a band that the musical svengali himself has tipped to watch out for in 2010. Having... Read More
