ALBUM REVIEW – SAINT ETIENNE: INTERNATIONAL
After 35 years, 13 studio albums, and a discography which found its identity by leaping between trip hop, synth pop and indie, Saint Etienne call it a day with the release of International, their final studio album. Exploring that vast collection of sounds the band has divulged in within their music, International is a journey and a celebration of all that has gone before, rounding off a divisive career of understated musical brilliance, refusing to dampen their legacy. Album... Read More
LIVE REVIEW – HAYDEN PEDIGO: ST MICHAELS, ANCOATS- 28/08/2025
Hayden Pedigo photo by Han Lake From the front, Hallé St Michaels is an inconspicuous building: nestled in a picturesque residential area of Ancoats, it is easily missed or, if seen, mistaken as any old church. ‘Any old’ it is not, though, given the concert it hosted on Thursday 28th August. As one would expect in an old church building, this was an intimate gig, with the audience seated in chairs and warm, orange light painting the main hall; a setting that very much lent... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – WATER FROM YOUR EYES: IT’S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE
“Contact, contact, all this shattered impact, shake three”. My introduction to Water From Your Eyes, and by extension, their second LP, was lead single ‘Life Signs’ which struck a nerve in me. An incredibly good nerve at that. Lead singer Rachel Brown may have a monotonal delivery, but their performance is just one key of a playful puzzle. The sound of Life Signs was a contradictory double-edged sword. It was a song that sounded wholly complete, yet simultaneously, a song... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW : FLESHWATER – 2000: IN SEARCH OF THE ENDLESS SKY
It is incredibly rare to see a band blow up in popularity after releasing their debut, but even if it is rare, it is not impossible to see, especially nowadays. This is something that Fleshwater have accomplished. This outfit are known for their mesmerising vocals and intricate musicianship, which has evidently been elevated in 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky. These tracks are varied enough, but with vocal performances as strong as the ones on this album, it is hard to think... Read More
GIG GUIDE – SEPTEMBER 2025
With the first leaves falling off the trees, autumn is just around the corner, what better place to hide away than in a sweaty room somewhere in Manchester watching some of your favourite bands and artists. Here is what is happening in September.September 1o Only The Poets — Deaf InstituteSeptember 3o Samba Touré — Band on the Wall –September 4o S.G. Goodman — GulliversSeptember 5o cheerbleederz — The Castle o The Burning Hell — Yes Pink Room... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – HALF WAIF: SEE YOU AT THE MAYPOLE
The backdrop to ‘See You At The Maypole’ is heartbreaking. Nandi Rose, who performs as Half Waif, was expecting her first child but in December 2021 a scan revealed no heartbeat. The treatment for a missed miscarriage is most effective with two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. However, Rose was only prescribed the latter so her body did not recover as it should and for the next four months she was literally carrying death inside her. While an additional procedure finally... Read More
LIVE REVIEW: JORDAN RAKEI – ALBERT HALL 26/09/24
The elegant, frayed decay of the Albert Hall gives it its charm, its chunky charisma. It is arguably our finest live venue, the balcony like a hug, the room something of an architectural cuddle. And if it’s not homely enough, tonight there are rugs on the stage, and lamps dotted about as well, so that it feels as though Jordan Rakei has invited us into his living room, with the conversation of the crowd a kind of aural smudge in the background domesticity. Even the security... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – GEORDIE GREEP: THE NEW SOUND
When I first saw Black Midi nearly two years ago at New Century Hall in Manchester, my mind was blown, I was enthralled by what I was seeing on stage, my eyes as wide as humanly possible, stood in complete awe as others around me screamed every word back to the band. From that moment, I had to know everything I could about them and dove headfirst into the band’s highly rated debut, Schlagenheim. This feeling of pure encapsulation into a new sound invading my ears is exactly... Read More
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 27 SEPTEMBER 2024
Rounding up a bumper week of releases that is equally high on quantity and quality. Sharada Shashidhar Soft Echoes Described by Gilles Peterson as ‘The Jazz Kate Bush’, ‘Soft Echoes’ justifies the fanciful description. A step forward, eschewing her previous work’s hip-hop tilt for expansive compositions that blend jazz and Indian classical influences into a swirling, spiritual whole. Naima Bock Below... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – ALAN SPARHAWK: WHITE ROSES, MY GOD
I haven’t anticipated the release of an album as strongly as I have in the case of Alan Sparhawk’s debut solo record, ‘White Roses, My God’. Like countless other fans of the work he produced while a member of the esteemed duo Low (alongside Mimi Parker), I was taken aback upon listening to ‘Can U Hear,’ the first of the record’s two promotional singles. One needed only to have heard the opening 20 seconds to realise that Sparhawk would... Read More
