LIVE: BRODY DALLE – 22/04/2014

 – ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Manchester’s Academy 2 welcomes with some anticipation the return of former Distillers and Spinerette anchor Brody Dalle as part of her short promotional tour to mark the release of her first solo album Dipoid Love (release date 28/04/14) The album has been a long time in the making, some 4 years since […]
– THE CORNERHOUSE, MANCHESTER – Tonight, it feels like we’re sat in a conservatory, beams run threateningly over our heads, and as Laura Stevenson sits at her stool plucking her first string, it feels like an invasion of privacy. She wears a tame blue polka dot dress and it feels like we are intruding on […]

LIVE: LAURA STEVENSON – 18/04/2014

LIVE: AUGUSTINES – 16/04/2014

– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Arriving at Academy 2 it is packed, with a slightly older crowd. It’s exciting to see an American band playing live as they always seem to contribute a slightly different energy on stage. When the band starts, the smoky tones of Billy echo through the building. They are also accompanied […]
– KRAAK,  MANCHESTER – Tie-dye enthusiasts rejoice: Psychedelia is back. Truth is, it never really went away and follows the same ebbs and flows of popularity as any genre. The key difference now is that the movement is celebrated. Since the first Austin Psych Fest in May 2008, music inspired (directly or indirectly) by mind-altering […]

LIVE: CARLTON MELTON – 17/04/2014

LIVE: CUT COPY – 15/04/2014

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Let’s get this out of the way right now: I am a Cut Copy fanboy. I’ve seen them about 5 times live already in various sized venues across the country and beyond; they are a band that hold a very special place in my heart. Their music is one of […]
– CLUB ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – “It’s nice to be back in our hometown”, are the first words we can hear from Manchester Orchestra after a couple of songs, in a marvellous night where the Atlanta-based quintet introduce their brand new album Cope. The indie-rock outfit grew out of songs that singer and songwriter Andy Hull […]

LIVE: MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA – 11/04/2014

LIVE: ARCANE ROOTS – 09/04/2014

– THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER – Arcane Roots are no strangers to the road, in fact this is about their third visit to Manchester in the past year. The Kingston-based trio have been working hard on the live circuit which is not a bad thing at all, but with the Manchester shows having been modestly attended, […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Choosing Peggy Sue as my first review for Silent Radio seemed like a safe bet having seen them a few years previously, and having followed their progress from their formation in Brighton way back in 2005. Numerous tweaks to the name, side projects, additions to the sparse line up  and […]

LIVE: PEGGY SUE – 09/04/2014

LIVE: DEPARTMENT M – 04/04/2014

– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – There’s nothing worse than when a really original, great band call it a day. But when certain members decide  to come back with a new band, it’s always wonderful. The band in question were Grammatics, an indie rock outfit from Leeds who just wrote melodic and dramatic pop […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Tonight at the Ruby Lounge I have a good idea of what to expect. Support comes from two bands I have already seen in 2014 and headline act Goldheart Assembly are to play their debut album Wolves and Thieves in full. There are one or two small surprises left […]

LIVE: GOLDHEART ASSEMBLY – 02/04/2014