LIVE: TIM HECKER – 16/05/2016

 – ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – The last time I saw Tim Hecker was just after he’d released the incredible Ravedeath, 1972, when he played in the beautiful surroundings of St. Phillips Church in Salford as part of the Future Everything festival. What set this apart from any other gig I saw that year was that […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE/AATMA, MANCHESTER – Sunny Saturday afternoon in Manchester (yes!) and it’s so tempting to leave everything behind and have a healthy sunbath. Duty calls however and when I get to Aatma, it feels like joining a vampires’ meeting. A nice crowd dances to the temperamental Psyblings. Sweet young insanity comes in […]

LIVE: MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST IV – 14/05/2016

LIVE: CHASTITY BELT – 12/05/2016

– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – “Are they all girls?” asks a girl next to me, clearly shocked by the four women standing before us. Ironically it is this sort of cloaked sexism that the band take aim at with their lo-fi, stagnant guitar music. Their guitarist does not shave her armpits, they hail […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The usually refined Deaf Institute with its animal print wallpaper and red cushioned seats has tonight been transformed into something much more in line with the euphoric electronics of Tourist. Huge lights stand tall and form an arch around Tourist’s impressive array of production equipment that consists of a […]

LIVE: TOURIST – 10/05/2016

LIVE: THE HOTELIER – 10/05/2016

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Let’s begin with an undeniable truth that will set the tone for this review: The Hotelier are fucking awesome. Don’t let the ‘emo’ tag they get tarred with put you off, they are so much more than that. The label comes from their incredible second album Home Like Noplace There […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – “You Fat Bastard!” Bad Manners’ war-cry will be constantly chorused all the gig long, both by the crowd and the larger-than-life, charismatic frontman Buster Bloodvessel. After struggling a little bit so as to get in the venue, by the time I’m in, support band Max Splodge is filling the thick […]

LIVE: BAD MANNERS – 07/05/2016

LIVE: FALSE ADVERTISING / ILSER – 06/05/2016

– AATMA, MANCHESTER – In the hidden attic of a side alley in the Northern Quarter, roughly a hundred people are assembled on this Friday night for something fairly special. There may be no marquee outside with a band’s name in neon letters – hell, there isn’t even a sign outside saying the name of […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – It seems disingenuous to mention the former band of someone who has re-emerged anew but WU LYF were an act of such influence they simply cannot be ignored. Ellery Roberts, now part of the duo LUH (Lost Under Heaven) formed with his partner Ebony Hoorn, was once the frontman […]

LIVE: LUH – 06/05/2016

LIVE: SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY – 01/05/2016

– VARIOUS VENUES, SALFORD – Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) is in it’s twelfth glorious year now. Every May bank holiday, Chapel Street and the surrounding area is turned into a wonder of new music and arts performances, with everyone from the pubs and local community centres to the Cathedral (for the first time […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – This Will Destroy You are a post rock band (although they don’t like to be referred to as a ‘post rock’ band, instead favouring ‘doom metal and shoegaze’, which suits them pretty well to be fair) from Texas who pretty much do one thing and one thing only: play quietly […]

LIVE: THIS WILL DESTROY YOU – 30/04/2016