ROYAL BLOOD ANNOUNCE UK LIVE DATES
Fresh from the news that their self-titled debut album went straight to #1 with first week sales of 65,000 copies, Royal Blood can now confirm details of a new European tour which includes their first ever London headline shows at the Electric Ballroom. Recently seen at the Reading, Leeds and Download festivals as well as guests to Arctic Monkeys at two huge shows in London’s Finsbury Park and at Dublin’s Marlay Park, Royal Blood’s reputation is building internationally... Read More
LIVE: BC CAMPLIGHT – 28/09/2013
BC CAMPLIGHT – SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – I love a good story me, and boy, does Brian Christinzio aka BC Camplight, come laden with a whole heap of baggage. Namely the few the suitcases he packed in 2011, when he upped sticks from Philadelphia to set up home here, in Manchester. “Someday the press will awake to the fact, already known abroad and to some few of us in England, that the living centre of music in Great Britain is not London, but somewhere further North.”... Read More
Album Review: Haim – Days Are Gone
The three Californian sisters that seem to be everywhere right now have finally dropped their long awaited debut album Days Are Gone. They already have a string of hit singles, massive tours and a Glastonbury main stage set under their belt, and since their debut three-track EP, Forever, Haim has been the word on everyone’s lips. Topping the prestigious BBC ‘ Sound of 2013 Award’, they have a lot to live up to with this release. Originally from LA, Este, Danielle and... Read More
OCTOBER 2013
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. There are many other sites out here on the internet that have a gig guide, but how many of them can say they have actually listened to every single band/act they have listed? Well to be honest we don’t know the answer to that, but we’d guess not many, if any at all. Anyway,... Read More
LIVE: WIRE – 26/09/2013
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Wire are one of those bands that you discover through reading reviews of other bands. For me it happened in the earlier 2000’s, when ‘art-rock’ was making big waves through bands such as Franz Ferdinand and The Futureheads, and every review seemed to reference these bands from days of yore called ‘Wire’ and ‘Television’, and most of the reviews pointed in the direction of the album Pink Flag. Being young... Read More
LIVE: JON HOPKINS – 24/09/2013
Photo by Steve Gullick – GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I’m a little dubious about tonight’s gig at Gorilla, the main reason being that Jon Hopkins’ recent Mercury Prize nominated album ‘Immunity’ has been played to death since I got hold of it a few months ago and I’ve never listened to it with anyone else around. For me the whole album feels like I’ve broken into Hopkins’ house and bugged it. Right from off it’s as if... Read More
Album Review: Cuushe – Butterfly Case
For a pianist to adopt a chillwave sound for her sophomore album, a form of music often associated with amateur bedroom musicians, would seem like a dumbed-down shot at accessibility, and ultimately this album follows that lead, with sprinklings of beautiful musicianship along the way, just increasing the frustration of what could have been.To put together a successful and coherent album of this genre, the musician has to achieve the harmonic balance of both relaxing yet, most... Read More
LIVE: SAMARIS – 24/09/2013
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – After walking in Gorilla to find Samaris’ lead singer of just nineteen rushing through her homework, it was hard not to expect an uptight performance tonight, mirroring the Icelandic band’s young age, with the three-piece barely touching twenty. However, clarinet player, Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir, explained to me after the gig, how the band are “very calm” about their age, and that literally shone through tonight, with her... Read More
INTERVIEW: SAMARIS
Samaris delivered an ambitious yet wonderful album earlier this year, mixing traditional Icelandic poems with twisting and contorting electronics, all layered over and completed with the simple yet enchanting melodies of the clarinet. I spoke to possibly the only clarinet player in the electronic scene from the three-piece, Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir, just after their performance in Manchester supporting Jon Hopkins. She told me why this album should not be perceived as their... Read More
NEWS: STRFKR – UK TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED + ‘WHILE I’M ALIVE’ VIDEO
Hot on the heels of the release of their acclaimed third album Miracle Mile, Portland OR-based STRFKR reveal a string of UK November tour dates. STRFKR have always maintained a very close relationship with their fans, demonstrated again recently with the fan led remix for While I’m Alive. The original video is here…Following a run of incredibly successful US festival dates, which included FYF and Summerset, this extensive Winter tour marks another opportunity for the band... Read More