LIVE: THESE NEW PURITANS – 13/07/2019

-HOME, MANCHESTER- Tonight, a film director is curating a concert in a theatre. It must be Manchester International Festival time! This year’s programme sees the great David Lynch putting on a series of three gigs as part of his takeover of HOME. Yesterday, Anna Calvi topped the bill, while tomorrow Oliver Coates is headlining, but […]
-CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER- It’s Friday in Manchester, two boys arrive from Liverpool canned up via a perilous train journey through Widnes and Warrington, it’s time to party. The venue… Castlefield Bowl. The entertainment… Silent Alarm… But backwards! Finding out through musical wizard Dan Saleh that the London four piece would be performing their seminal debut […]

LIVE: BLOC PARTY – 05/07/2019

REVIEW: LOGAN & MANLEY ‘ORPHEUS VIBRATIONS EP’

West Yorkshire is home to many winding valleys, roving hills and pretty market towns; a place where one might find a peaceful life. It has an unspoken force that invites a certain demographic of people, who gravitate to this serene part of the country. One such town, Hebden Bridge, is a testament to this energy. […]
-FUEL CAFE, MANCHESTER- Furrowed Brow A live debut serves as the opening for this overbearingly heated evening; their approach of using a bipedal drummer, much like how I would envision a stationary marching band, is a noted distinction from your run of the mill sit-and-hit methodology. The synthesiser’s mimicry of archaic instruments (flute, accordion), the […]

LIVE: TINFOILS / SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY / GIANT BOYS / FURROWED BROW – 29/06/2019

EP REVIEW: HELLO COSMOS – RUN FOR PRESIDENT

It sounds as if Hello Cosmos have thrown everything into this debut EP. By that, I mean it’s an amusement park of sounds and genres, first couple of tracks in rock territory along the lines of Rage Against The Machine, The Cribs, or The Fall with the next few tracks more electro, along the lines […]
-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Belle and Sebastian have always had a devoted, loyal fanbase and they’ve turned up in their droves tonight. It’s so packed and steamy in the Albert Hall, we overhear people next to us mention that some fans can’t even get into the room, and are almost on the stairs outside, luckily we […]

LIVE: BELLE AND SEBASTIAN – 03/07/2019

LIVE: MAKING MANCHESTER – 27/06/2019

-NIAMOS RADICAL CULTURAL ARTS CENTRE, MANCHESTER- (5:30PM) “What’s this thing you’re going seeing tonight then?” “It’s called Making Manchester” Clare’s eyes widen. “Ooh that sounds really interesting, what is it?” “It’s sort of like… I dunno what to call it really, it’s like a collaboration between a load of schoolkids, and musicians, and a sound […]
-CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER- Janelle Monáe is an absolute, proper-off-the-scale pop star. She’s untouchable, standing there oozing pop star-ness as we all look up to her, basking in the glory of someone who’s one role in life is to be an absolute fucking mega star, and we love her for it. In the age of ‘relatable’ […]

LIVE: JANELLE MONÁE – 04/07/2019

LIVE: METZ / USA NAILS – 27/06/2019

-YES, MANCHESTER- USA Nails Awkwardly emerging from the backstage curtain-thing, the opening act favours a fast tempo, ‘angry’ guitar rock that is somewhat let down by Yes’ sound system; they might as well have put their socks in their mouths for the duration of the performance. The format of having everything excessively loud alongside enough […]
Sounding like a cross between Gang Of Four, Wire and Shellac, Egyptian Blue’s debut EP may sound like it’s full of familiar noises, but it’s an EP which reveals itself to have heaps more intrigue. Signed to YALA Records, the label founded by Felix White formerly of The Maccabees, this Brighton bunch manage to create […]

EP REVIEW: EGYPTIAN BLUE – COLLATERAL DAMAGE EP