ALBUM REVIEW – GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR: NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, heralds of the ever-looming geopolitical apocalypse, have returned. Their latest (and eighth full-length) effort, NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD, sees them as envoys, detailing the simmering horror and outrage of the anarchist underground in reaction to current events. In 2002, GY!BE released their third LP Yanqui U.X.O., which featured the song ‘09-15-00’,  a reference to the second Palestinian intifada. With that in mind, it’s... Read More

ALBUM REVIEW – PHARMAKON: MAGGOT MASS

Maggot Mass is the first new piece of music by Pharmakon to burrow its way out into the world in five years. 2019’s Devour was 36 minutes of unrelenting power electronics and noise, but on this new record she produces songs that have been consumed and reconstituted by caustic noise, their structure only partly eaten away at. The result is some of Maragret Chardiet’s most immediate and accessible music, even if that is still highly corrosive. Opening track ‘WITHER AND WARP’... Read More

ALBUM REVIEW – FIELD MUSIC: LIMITS OF LANGUAGE

Cards on the table, if asked to select a continual favourite band over the past two decades, I would plump for Field Music. Their capacity to evolve, taking on different influences whilst retaining recognisable elements and consistently high-quality control is second-to-none. This was demonstrated to perfection on this year’s limited edition Record Store Day release, ‘Binding Time’, which managed to make their collaboration with the NASUWT Riverside brass band on a series... Read More

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 4 OCTOBER 2024

As Autumn develops its tentacles and the nights grow ever longer, there are plenty of new releases to keep us company on those lengthy evenings. Nice Biscuit   SOS     The nine-track album embodies the fuzzy groove-laden psych that Nice Biscuit is renowned for, while introducing new danceable feels influenced by their love of disco, jazz fusion and world music. Abstract Crimewave               The Longest Night     A duo consisting of Joakim Åhlund and... Read More

ALBUM REVIEW – WHITEY: MENTAL RADIO

It would be fair to describe NJ White’s, aka Whitey, latest release, ‘Mental Radio’, as sprawling. As a double album there is less need for tight focus and it allows the space for him to flit through a range of styles and moods. It is exemplary of his eclectic career that has seen him release a string of albums, while his music has featured in ground-breaking television shows (The Sopranos, Breaking Bad) and video games (Grand Theft Audio). ‘Mental Radio’ sees him ably... Read More

INTERVIEW: WRECKLESS ERIC – LEGENDARY SONGWRITER RETURNS TO MANCHESTER PLAYING GULLIVERS 2ND NOVEMBER 2023

Wreckless Eric has been one of the UK’s best songwriters for over forty years, with his wry, witty observations on everyday life, matched with a melodic charm, which has seen him storming the charts in the late 70s, and releasing nineteen albums over the last few decades. His latest release, the brilliantly nostalgic ‘Leisureland’ sees him combine his punk rock ferocity with folk blues to create an astounding album reflecting the quirkiness of the great British... Read More

NOVEMBER 2023

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. ************* NOVEMBER 2023 1 – Maria BC – Soup 2 – Forest... Read More

LIVE REVIEW – MANDY, INDIANA & SLAP RASH – THE WHITE HOTEL SALFORD 27/10/23

For my first visit to The White Hotel in Salford, it is fitting that both acts I witnessed are themselves Manchester bands – though not at all in the Madchester sense of the phrase. Not that there’s anything wrong with a bit of 90s nostalgia, mind you, but the descriptor comes nowhere close to encapsulating the punky inclinations of support act Slap Rash or the fresh experimentalism of headliners Mandy, Indiana. Comprised of singer/songwriter and producer Valentine Caulfield,... Read More

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 27 OCTOBER 2023

With an extra hour available this weekend, there is more time for catching up on this week’s releases. Mint Field           Aprender a Sur Excellent Mexico City band creating an enticing blend of avant dream pop and shoegaze with some touches of trip hop that explore the nostalgia and melancholy of daily life with complex rhythms, loud, shimmering guitars, and softly sighing vocals. Hinako Omori    stillness, softness…        Artist who blurs the... Read More

ALBUM REVIEW – LEO ROBINSON: THE TEMPLE

Leo Robinson’s ‘The Temple’ has been garnering understandable comparisons to Richard Dawson. While Dawson is an almost unique presence in the music scene, there are elements to Robinson’s work that justify the link. They both take elements of folk music, especially the mythology, and turn it into a whole that merges the past with contemporary and futuristic visions.  While they both have appealingly wonky voices, Robinson’s is less ragged than Dawson’s and his work... Read More