LIVE: AXEL FLOVENT – 11/06/2019

-CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Just a quick missive from the front line, as I find myself rolling out of the award-winning Cocktail Beer Ramen Bun into the Castle Hotel and happen upon a gig from an Icelandic singer songwriter called Axel Flóvent and his troupe (well, his two accompanists). It is lovely, gentle, chilled music and […]
Sheffield’s Richard Hawley is now in his twentieth year as a solo artist, and not one to re-tread old ground, his eighth album marks a turning point, as not only is this is the first album which doesn’t feature a Sheffield landmark but it’s one of his most full on rock records to date, finding […]

ALBUM REVIEW: RICHARD HAWLEY – FURTHER

LIVE: FEMI KUTI & POSITIVE FORCE – 09/06/2019

-BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER- It’s Sunday night and the Positive Force are warming us all up for the incredible, inimitable Femi Kuti and as the groove swells and the brass punches in and Femi starts dancing, we all start dancing too, and all the cares in the world melt away and a huge grin […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Support Acts Taking the opportunity to cover an all-dayer is a measure designed to challenge both myself as a journalist and the battery life of my ageing iPhone; to my horror I am to discover that the real challenge is not showing solidarity with my departing friends and staying behind to cover […]

LIVE: MEMBRANES ALL-DAYER – 08/06/2019

SINGLE REVIEW: YAMMERER – POISONOUS REPTILIAN COLLEAGUES & CO

It’s safe to say that Chester’s music scene is just a shadow of its big brother Manchester.  It might have something to do with the lack of venues, or maybe just the lack of interest from the ageing demographic of the city, but for somewhere that doesn’t stop fucking raining it is miraculously dry. However, not […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – If one has been paying attention to the indie music sphere over the past 365 days, you will have definitely come across the name ‘Snail Mail’, the solo project of classically-trained guitarist Lindsey Jordan. Much like preceding Habit EP did in 2016, her debut album Lush has raided review sites and […]

LIVE: SNAIL MAIL – 04/06/2019

ALBUM REVIEW: IRAH – DIAMOND GRID

IRAH, named for an entity that Danish vocalist Stine Grøn encountered during meditation, is a collaboration between Grøn and respected pianist, Adi Zukanović, a Bosnian refugee who came to Denmark as a four-year-old when his family fled Sarajevo when war broke out in the early 1990’s. Their collaboration has resulted in an evocative and generally […]
-YES, MANCHESTER- For YES Fest on this bank holiday Sunday, thirteen artists and bands are invited to play gigs in the Basement and Pink Room at YES. The two bars and the roof terrace are open as usual, so there are a lot of people in the multi floor venue. The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets from […]

LIVE: YES FEST – 26/05/2019

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK MOUNTAIN – DESTROYER

Learning to drive is never easy at any age, so fair play to Black Mountain’s frontman Stephen McBean, who’s passed aged 47. Proving it’s never too late to learn, the freedom of the open road and the first adrenalin rush of being behind the wheel have fed into the album. The album is apparently named […]
-VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER- For this bank holiday Friday, Dot To Dot is back in Manchester to celebrate its 15th anniversary. In 19 venues over Manchester city centre, several dozens of artists of different genres are performing. The first gig I decide to see is Northern indie rock band Broke Casino at The Venue. So far, […]

LIVE: DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL – 24/05/2019