LIVE: SKY LARKIN/DUTCH UNCLES/MILK MAID – 16/09/2010
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – If the Night & Day was a boat it would have capsized by now, such is the weight of people at the back of the room scrambling to get out of the way of Milk Maid. Being hardy souls here at Silent Radio, though, we glide towards the stage-end of the bar, where the four gents in the band essentially represent the evolution of man, so wide-ranging and distinctive are their heights and levels hairiness. Musically, they’re a no frills,... Read More
LIVE: BLACK MOUNTAIN – 15/09/2010
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – Black Mountain are about to blow my brain out the back of my head and then reassemble it differently, like some epiphanous trip that I will never understand. Afterwards I will see that they have the wisdom of the gods. For reasons unbeknown to me, the band skulk past the crowd halfway through the support acts set looking panicked and dishevelled, probably late, and this means they have to do lots of plugging in and tuning up (and turning on... Read More
INTERVIEW: TEN KENS – ELEVEN QUESTIONS
With “For Posterity” remaining one of the most played, most intriguing and definitely most enjoyed albums of 2010 thus far, we catch up with Dan Workman, the band’s lead singer, for a quick interview during his busy touring schedule: Hi Dan, thanks for taking time out to do this interview. How are you? – I am very well thank you, maybe a little tired. And what do Ten Kens have scheduled for the near future? – Lots and lots and lots of touring. I appreciate... Read More
LIVE: DENIS JONES/NANCY ELIZABETH/HOMELIFE – 09/09/2010
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Expectations are high tonight; three of the northwest’s finest contemporary, yet traditional music acts are on the same lineup. Homelife are playing as I walk in. Paddy Steer is tucked in the corner, in amongst a large selection of percussion and electrical equipment. Anton Burns sings with his guitar, centre stage as they glide through their chilled set. Songs from the album ‘Exotic Interlude’ have an effortless, hypnotic charm.... Read More
LIVE: NEON INDIAN – 04/09/2010
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – In case you don’t know Neon Indian are a hotly tipped band from Texas, producing ‘chill wave’. Chill Wave is, from my experience of it, what we used to call ‘ambient electronic music’ and actually sounds a little like the score to films like ‘Ladyhawke’ or ‘Labyrinth 2’ from the 80s. So there. That’s cleared that up then. Currently a 4 piece, containing drum kit, guitar and two keyboard players, wearing cardigans,... Read More
LIVE: THE LIKE – 03/09/2010
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – What a difference five years makes. Rewind to 2005 and The Like were a very different outfit. Looking like they had wafted in from the set of The Virgin Suicides, the Cali-London three-piece swooned their way through ‘Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?’, a veritable pick n’ mix of candy-coated angst and bittersweet choruses. They came, they saw, they hung out with er, Johnny Borrell before disappearing back across the Atlantic... Read More
LIVE: WOMEN/ZOLA JESUS/IDIOT GLEE – 02/09/2010
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Idiot Glee is on stage as I enter The Deaf Institute’s top floor live room. James Friley from Kentucky sits alone in his cardigan behind a school type desk that supports a keyboard and other electronic gadgets. His sound is reminiscent of the Animal Collective, his voice has been doubled to harmonise with himself and has been treated to plenty of reverb. The effect is a dreamlike calming soundscape, drawing images of early evening... Read More
SINGLE: BLACK MOUNTAIN – OLD FANGS
This track is a taster from the eagerly anticipated third album from Canada’s psyche/stoners Black Mountain. The album “Wilderness Heart” is due for UK release on the 13th of September 2010 and will be supported with a full UK tour in September and October . I must confess I didn’t get around to buying the last album “In the Future”, but I loved the track “Druganaut” off their debut long player. ”Old Fangs” is quite different from the older material by... Read More
LIVE: HER NAME IS CALLA – 30/08/2010
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – It’s a lazy bank holiday Monday and it seems like Manchester’s music fans are recovering from the excesses of the weekend, as there is only a small crowd to witness Her Name Is Calla promote their second album, The Quiet Lamb. Her Name Is Calla are obviously disappointed at this – there’s a few wry smiles and awkward comments which violinist Sophie winces at – but they needn’t worry as every audience member rushes to... Read More
LIVE REVIEW: Thomas Truax – 21/09/2009
– TROF, MANCHESTER – Not only is Thomas Truax a talented songwriter and musician, he is also an inventor of probably the most bizarre looking instruments you could possibly imagine. Now the tricky thing for me to do here is explain what each of them does, but I shall try my best. Apart from his guitar and loop pedals, the most used of these is Sister Spinster. She (as he likes to refer to her) is the percussion and back beats for a majority of his songs. As you can... Read More
