ALBUM REVIEW – PIXIES: PIXIES AT THE BBC, 1988-91
Pixies: Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, David Lovering Pixies influence on music is undeniable. They played a major role in developing the loud/quiet template, with the emphasis on the noisy part, that the likes of Nirvana went on to exploit commercially. On a personal level, they were my sound of 1988 and their music is entwined forever with memories of emotionally turbo-charged gigs that year and the adventures of travelling the country including hitching a lift from... Read More
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 8 MARCH 2024
Plenty to choose from this week as Silent Radio surveys the latest releases. Sarah Jane Morris The Sisterhood An artist best known for her contribution to one of the all-time classic sad yet euphoric sounding hits, The Communards’ version of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way, offers a well-thought out and realised project celebrating ten female artists who’ve inspired and shaped Sarah Jane’s life. It contains songs written about each of the following... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – DRUNK MUMS: BEER BABY
After a four-year hiatus, Drunk Mums return with their fourth studio album ‘Beer Baby.’ Known for their raucous and rowdy live shows that took them from America and the UK to the likes of Asia and Oceania as well as supporting Amyl and the Sniffers and Guitar Wolf. Consisting of Jake ‘Dingo’ Doyle and Dean Whitby on vocals and guitars, Adam Ritchie on vocals and bass and Johnny Badlove on vocals and drums, they formed in 2011 and have released three LPs and three EPs,... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – KAISER CHIEFS’ EASY EIGHTH ALBUM
Traditionally, the second album is the difficult one for bands who have achieved initial success, full of anxieties about how to retain the qualities that have made them successful without producing a carbon copy or drifting too far from their original template. Having effortlessly surmounted that hurdle many years ago, Kaiser Chiefs celebrate their longevity by cheekily titling their latest the ‘Easy Eighth Album’. It feels appropriate as it is the sound of a band at ease... Read More
LIVE REVIEW: FLORA YIN-WONG AND BIANCA SCOUT – SOUP 29/02/2024
I love dry ice. There’s nothing more I like than a stage, nay, a whole venue shrouded in the misty stuff, preferably with moody red lights cutting through it. I once saw The Strokes play enveloped completely by dry ice for a full set with just the instantly recognisable silhouettes of the (then) skinny New York upstarts visible through the fog; I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, and since then have had a penchant for the musty smelling mist. There’s just something... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – C TURTLE: EXPENSIVE THRILLS
Wow. F*cking wow. Smile and rave boys, smile and rave. C Turtle, have you read my mind? Your album is the exact reason I’ve gotten into music writing for moments like this. Where you find the new band that makes your mind move to the cool. That sludgy opening riff to “Have you ever heard a turtle sing?” it’s so goofy in its cool punky way. I have lived what this band call 10,000 experiences to find the new band that I’m going to follow because this time they are not... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – IDLES: TANGK
IDLES’ fifth studio album, TANGK, is an interesting snapshot of where the band are now. To me, this was the album that would indicate their quality as a unit. 2017’s Brutalism and 2018’s Joy as an Act of Resistance were teeth-clenched post-punk records that confronted the frustration and revelry available in daily life. The band occupied the space that Slaves (now Soft Play) had occupied just a couple years prior. By 2020’s Ultra Mono, however, IDLES felt like they had... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – MANNEQUIN PUSSY: I GOT HEAVEN
I Got Heaven, the latest album by Mannequin Pussy, sees the band continue to balance radio-friendly alt rock with visceral emotional honesty and in the process come away with some of their most rewarding material. Title track ‘I Got Heaven’ combines gritty, barked verses with a shimmering, gliding chorus that in combination set a great precedent for the album to come. It demonstrates in one blow the sum of what the album’s songwriting encapsulates. The lyrics delve into... Read More
MARCH 2024
We have trawled through the forthcoming gigs in and around Manchester so you don’t have to. We believe that if we are going to recommend a gig to you, then it should be exactly that, a recommendation. Our gig guide is handpicked and every act has been listened to before making it onto the list. It has been compiled by the ears of our editors and not by any promoters, band’s management or PR’s. ************* MARCH 2024 1 – Fever Ray – Albert Hall 1 –... Read More
LIVE: CHANNEL TRES – 28/03/2023
– Gorilla, Manchester – Channel Tres How on earth is someone this effortlessly cool? Dressed in a white vest with ripped off sleeves, dripping in pearls, Channel Tres is elevated above the audience and his two dancers on a podium on stage, oozing nonchalant chic, and it’s magnetic. Here to support his latest EP Real Cultural Shit, Tres blows away the Tuesday night cobwebs with a thrilling performance of bouncy Chicago house rap, guaranteed to lift up even the most... Read More
