LIVE: DELAYS – 08/10/2010
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – In a city that sets its watch by the academic season and where fads come and go with the next uni term, it’s hard for all but the most stalwart bands to hold a place in Manchester’s psyche. That’s why, to some extent, it’s quite a feat that Delays, whose debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ was many a fresher’s soundtrack in 2004, are six years later taking the stage at the student union’s Academy 3. On the other hand however,... Read More
LIVE: JUNIP – 07/10/2010
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – For those of you who don’t already know, Junip is the new / old band of Jose Gonzalez. Originally formed in 2000 with Tobias Winterkorn (Moog and Keys) and Elias Araya (Drums), however, Junip’s plans for world domination got firmly put on the backburner when Gonzalez’s solo career took off in a rather big way. His unique acoustic reinterpretation of electro band The Knife’s ‘Heartbeats’ propelled him into a semi mainstream... Read More
LIVE: SUBLIME WITH ROME – 07/10/2010
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Do the over-25′s save up all their energy to release in controlled bursts? Although this is an old crowd, they are keen – half of them are wearing the t-shirts they bought in 1997 – and everyone is going crazy: screaming, pogoing, skanking and chucking pints. I bump in to a few people, and it’s like the good old days, except everyone is old. The first songs are all oldies too, and well received, but the vocals are quiet and don’t... Read More
LIVE: OF MONTREAL – 05/10/2010
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Who shot streams of sparkle and strangeness through the Tuesday night sky? Who bastardised performance art with camp disco flamboyance, only to nurture this bastard child and let it grow into a fabulous monster? Of Montreal did, oh yes, and nanas would cry out in terror or thrill at the sight of their frontmans colourful crotch, and married men would question everything, suddenly desirous of all that they could never have, and religious folk... Read More
LIVE: CROCODILES – 04/10/2010
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – San Diego residents, Crocodiles, visit the Deaf Institute in support of their second album ‘Sleep Forever’ which was released over here on September 10th. They’re a band who clearly wear their influences on their collective sleeves. Jesus and Mary Chain, Spacemen 3 and Echo and The Bunnymen are all in evidence on Sleep Forever. It’s an auspicious night that Crocodiles arrive in Manchester as it is exactly 30 years since the... Read More
ALBUM: Denis Jones – Red + Yellow =
I’ve seen Denis Jones live thrice – once was with a full band, and it was the least effective of the three. The other shows gained a lot from the fact that Denis does everything himself (mostly with a loop pedal) – and it’s genuinely fascinating to watch him do it. I’m worried that this album won’t quite capture the uniqueness of the one-man show.The first song is one that I have seen live, and it’s an interesting tune called ‘Clap Hands’. It borrows lyrics... Read More
ALBUM: Hauschka – Foreign Landscapes
Scrolling through FatCat’s recent and upcoming releases, it is abundantly clear that they set thebenchmark for fascinating, challenging alternative music of a standard that other record labels could only dream of. Few, though, are more challenging or fascinating than Hauschka, and no one takes as long to set up for a show. Until recently it took Hauschka, real name Volker Bertelmann, over two hours to set up his piano, the preparation of which is crucial to his reputation as... Read More
SINGLE REVIEW: Badly Drawn Boy – Too Many Miracles
You’d struggle to find a more down to earth, northern, quirky songwriter than Badly Drawn Boy. With his trademark woolly hat and delightfully Mancunian vocals, Damon Gough is the epitome of the North. After three years of producing soundtracks, the hat clad, lyrical genius is finally back and releasing “too many miracles,” the first single from his forthcoming CD trilogy “What I‘m Thinking Pt 1: Photographing Snowflakes”. Though the track’s blueprint is clearly... Read More
SINGLE REVIEWS: Orphan Boy – Some Frontier
Britain’s leading exponents of “council-pop” – Britain’s only exponents of council-pop – are back with a new single, ‘Some Frontier’. The track comes from Orphan Boy’s second album Passion, Pain and Loyalty, which was released in August. It’s got radio-friendly-hit written all over it, in that it’s catchy but there’s a slight air of blandness to it. It captures the more commercial elements of 80s post-punk, and sparks early memories of bored, wet,... Read More
LIVE:MARK RONSON & THE BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL – 02/10/2010
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Uniqueclectlic. That’s the word for a Mark Ronson gig. Ok I made it it up. But this experience was unique and electric as the throbbing crowd at The Apollo get taken on tour de force ride consisting of 80s electro through to indie rock via hip hop. Kick off begins with a Radiohead cover, slipping into the Kaiser Chiefs booting the room into life. This is the great thing about seeing Ronson live you’ll hear songs you know and love but the... Read More
