LIVE: MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA / KEVIN DEVINE – 01/10/2014
Manchester Orchestra – THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Since this tour was announced I’ve been super excited. Firstly the fact that Atlanta rock band Manchester Orchestra are headlining The Ritz is a triumph in itself, but with Brooklyn songwriting maverick Kevin Devine in main support with his GodDamn Band backing him up? Thats pretty sweet! And then opening the show we have Bad Books, which is basically Manchester Orchestra with Kevin Devine. Unreal. It’s quite... Read More
LIVE: THE JIM JONES REVUE – 28/09/2014
The Jim Jones Revue – SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – In an era when music is increasingly subjugated to seamless production, studio chicanery and the pursuit of a flawless product, it is refreshing to find a band who still celebrate the raw ebullience of a live performance, and find their triumph with the masses and not behind a studio mixing desk.The Jim Jones Revue, who are now on the final set of shows on their ‘last hurrah’ tour, have spent the past... Read More
LIVE: LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA – 26-27/09/2014
Liverpool Psych Fest 2014 -CAMP & FURNACE / BLADE FACTORY , LIVERPOOL – Where better to hold a celebration of psychedelia than Liverpool? As a major port city, Liverpool was the gateway to the new world for so long, the hub through which new ideas flowed and the unknown arrived. Not only that, events like this are unlikely to exist without two sons of the city, George Harrison and John Peel, who (amongst others) brought psychedelic music into the lives of many ordinary... Read More
SLEAFORD MODS ANNOUNCE NEW ‘TISWAS’ EP
Sleaford Mods It’s been an utterly insane year for Sleaford Mods. Once dismissed around their native Nottingham as “two skip rats with a laptop”, their last two albums, ‘Austerity Dogs’ in 2013 and this year’s ‘Divide And Exit’, both on Harbinger Sound, have achieved the kind of critical acclaim that less inspired bands could only dream of. Equally, their live gigs have become rapid-fire, explosive, cathartic performances, drawing in endless sold-out crowds... Read More
MAZES RELEASE VIDEO FOR TRACK ‘SALFORD’
Sam Adler, the bloke behind the Eagulls’ decomposing pigs head video has turned his hands to the stand out track on Mazes’ new record, ‘Salford’. No rotting bodies though, this one is tripped out boozing in a North West pub rocking out to heavy metal and smashing pints…Sam Adler on making the video… “We wanted the video to represent Salford in a way that wasn’t clichéd and tired and we loved the idea of filming a proper local... Read More
LIVE: THE BESNARD LAKES – 30/09/2014
The Besnard Lakes – THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – ‘Are you guys the leftovers who missed Psych Fest?’ (referring to last weekend’s event in Liverpool) teases Jace Lasek from the stage at the modestly assembled crowd in front of him at the Ruby Lounge. Amongst the yeahs and whoops someone from the back of the crowd replies ‘you look like Ian Hunter!’ (the Mott The Hoople frontman) to which Lasek breaks out into a huge grin and laughs ‘well... Read More
LIVE: WOMAN’S HOUR – 27/09/2014
Woman’s Hour – THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Arc lights pick out silhouettes as Woman’s Hour take the stage, pick out the edges of the pyramids that front the album, angular, scattered around the stage, pick out the softer edges of Fiona James, who fronts the band. It’s a look that mirrors the pared back, silhouette sound of Conversations, an artful monochrome which finds siblings in the music of The XX, Jessie Ware, and their other sparse bedfellows.... Read More
NEWS: INTRODUCING VINCENT VOCODER VOICE + ‘THE UNBEARABLE HEAVINESS OF HAVING’
Vincent Vocoder Voice’ s self-titled debut album is a waking nightmare waiting to consume the UK on 18th November via Sonic Anhedonic. An experimental exploration of the solitary hell of the individual’s psyche, there is a sick and twisted humour to be found in the music. However, those looking for catharsis would do well to look elsewhere – Vincent Vocoder Voice has no answers. With screeching guitars punctuating lyrics ripped from the depths of a sick mind,... Read More
NEWS: ODONIS ODONIS – PREMIERE VIDEO FOR ‘ARE WE FRIENDS’
Odonis Odonis are Dean Tzenos, Denholm Whale and Jarod Gibson. When it came time to perform Odonis Odonis’ 2011 debut, Hollandaze, Tzenos recruited the help of Whale and Gibson, local musicians who he knew he could trust to bring a live intensity and craft to his songs. The band supported the record all over North America and Europe with the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, The Soft Moon, Ty Segall, and Chelsea Wolfe, as well as fellow Torontonians Metz. ‘Are We... Read More
LIVE: LOCAL NATIVES – 26/10/2013
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – I missed Local Natives before. I promised myself never again. So imagine my excitement as I stand in The Ritz, proper chuffed with my splendid view of the stage. The only downside is that I am wearing a sweater. Outside, it’s sweater weather. Cold, chilly and icy. But inside, it’s far from that. The only thing cold is a beer in your hand. No matter, no matter, for the lights have gone down, which can only mean one thing. Five figures trudge... Read More
