Album Review: Errors – New Relics
As someone who loves music, but isn’t a musician, I often wonder what inspires musicians to make music, and what they aim to achieve from making it. Errors always seem ambitious, yet understated, making music that sounds vast and sprawling, but with meticulous attention to detail. As a dance music fan, I love the range of sounds within the genre and I am drawn towards tracks that could, as horrid as it sounds, be described as ‘spicy’ – although this conjures... Read More
LIVE: DAN DEACON – 28/09/2012
– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – Here in this intimate Salford venue, with a tangled mess of wires and boxes on the table in front of him and two live drummers either side of him, stands the husky frame of Dan Deacon, a man, who from behind his jam jar glasses, seems to have a permanent twinkle in his eye. Tonight, Dan’s incredible personality ensures that everyone in the crowd is prepared to dance and to join in the party. He’s the sort of guy who makes it his personal... Read More
LIVE: NOW NOW – 30/09/2012
– THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER – It’s the typical Mancunian night. The rain is unremitting and miserly, the drains are kicking up a stink outside One Piccadilly, and to make matters worse, we’re off to The Roadhouse. It’s slipped down the pecking order of the city’s gig venues, and thanks to the rise of the Ruby Lounge and Soup Kitchen, it can’t even claim to be the best subterranean one any more. But what’s this? The snooker club beer... Read More
NEWS: SCROOBIUS PIP – SPOKEN WORD TOUR DATES
At Latitude 2012 Scroobius Pip headlined the spoken word tent on a Saturday night to a crowd of, to his surprise, over 4000 festival goers. All of whom stood in silence during each piece and engaged like a good drunk festival crowd should in between. It was this overwhelming show that made Pip decide to end the year on a special spoken word tour. Having toured the globe with either Dan Le Sac for throbbing electronic accompaniment or his Distraction Pieces band for powering impact... Read More
LIVE: THOMAS TRUAX / SONGS FOR WALTER / SILVER – 28/09/2012
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – I’m not really sure what support would be fitting for a Thomas Truax gig when I think about it, but for some reason I am quite surprised to see this shy, sad seeming girl with purple hair and a red top playing some sort of ultra reverb guitar with 2 microphones. SILVER kind of creates the effect of being underwater. My friend says it’s “just a big noise” but I really like the sound she is creating and everyone is agreed... Read More
LIVE: JOSHUA RADIN – 27/09/2012
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – “You can hear a pin drop…….” Joshua Radin is a talented man. That’s a fact. In times gone by he made his way as an artist, a teacher and a screenwriter. Then he picked up a guitar and began to write songs that capture the mind, body and soul. If ever a personality matched the songs they sing then Joshua is that definition. He may appear shy at times on stage however he sings and plays with a confidence of a man who has done this... Read More
LIVE: VENETIAN SNARES – 25/09/2012
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – If you see the name Venetian Snares in print somewhere, you usually won’t have to look very far before you start seeing words like ‘God’ and ‘Legend’ being thrown about. Aaron Funk’s long standing commitment to putting out records and his dedication to experimenting with his sound has garnered him a huge deal of respect from critics and fans alike. Yet this wide eyed reverence from the Breakcore scene somehow doesn’t quite... Read More
LIVE: ALICE COOPER/NEW YORK DOLLS – 30/10/2011
– THE APOLLO, MANCHESTER – It’s a gloomy Sunday evening in Manchester, but for the hundreds of fans queuing at the O2 Apollo, who’ve waited over a year for this night to arrive, they couldn’t be happier. Following last year’s outstanding Halloween gigs at London’s Roundhouse, Alice Cooper finally brings his Halloween Night Of Fear to Manchester and if the reputation which precedes him is anything to go by, then we’re all in for one hell of a show. Supporting... Read More
LIVE: OTHER LIVES & YOUNG GALAXY – 30/10/2011
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Oklahoma five piece Other Lives have arrived in Manchester once more in what frontman Jesse Tabish describes as ‘one of his favourite places to play’. Promoters Now Wave and Hey Manchester have worked together on this one, spoiling the close to capacity crowd with the bonus of an extended support slot from Canadians Young Galaxy. The venue is hot, temperature wise. Any evidence of Halloween has been left in the street... Read More
LIVE: THE HYMEK MANOEUVRE – 28/10/2011 (with free download)
– LLOYDS HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Lesson one on how to light up a place – get The Hymek Manoeuvre playing live. The last time I saw them they were playing at Beech Road Music Festival to upwards of 4000 people, spreading their feel good sounds from a large stage across a full field of mainly young punters who couldn’t keep their hands and feet still. Last night they were in Lloyds Bar charming a wide age range audience with two one hour slots of upbeat indie/rock and... Read More
