LIVE: MUSH / HOLIDAY GHOSTS – 22/09/2018

-YES, MANCHESTER- Having visited the promoter Now Wave’s new venue YES two days in a row, before I comment on tonight’s action here’s a brief digression regarding what I saw of opening night on Friday. Entering just before Dutch Uncles are due to play on YES’s third floor venue known as The Pink Room, the […]
-CLUB ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- The lively shuffle dance rousing from the first track, ‘The Vowels Part 2′, sends a static current through the Academy. The energy and verve magnifies and emits from the crowd, hollering each phrase as an echo machine back to the stage. It is crazy that frontman Jonathon Yoni Wolf’s monotone delivery, distinctive […]

LIVE: WHY? – 16/09/2018

LIVE: THE VACCINES – 20/09/2018

-VICTORIA BATHHOUSE, MANCHESTER- The term ‘bevs and boogies’ is possibly the most impeccable way to summarise the event that unfolded at Victoria Bathhouse on Thursday, a venue that couldn’t have been more fitting to Jack Daniel’s relationship with music dating back to 1892, wherein Mr. Jack himself created The Silver Cornet Band. The Bathhouse was […]
-DANCEHOUSE THEATRE, MANCHESTER- Moses Sumney is otherworldly. From the moment he strides on stage with his impossible height, incredibly high waisted trousers, a kind of robe adoring his arms, it’s impossible to remove your eyes from him for the next hour or so. He is magnetic, enthralling, magical. He commands the stage, flanked by a […]

LIVE: MOSES SUMNEY – 19/09/2018

SINGLE: TALL SHAVES – WAKING ME UP

The North East-based folk duo Tall Shaves began writing their forthcoming single, ‘Waking Me Up’ whilst living the life of working musicians. Their upbeat folk-pop encapsulates the ambling thoughts that accompany the rootless 9-5 and subsequently the rest of the creative day. ‘Waking Me Up’ takes those concerns to a higher place, examining a current […]
-GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER- Tonight Gulliver’s has been taken over by Lancastrian label, Bingo Records for their first year anniversary, a birthday bash! The record label consists of a menagerie of interwoven bands, with label mates performing under a number of different guises and playing multiple instruments. The room is filled with affiliates, friends, family (a lovely […]

LIVE: MR. BEN & THE BENS – 14/09/2018

LIVE: KIRAN LEONARD/CULT PARTY – 08/09/2018

– Partisan, Manchester – When I arrive, Partisan offers us a quarter circle of sofas for viewing. Behind that, more chairs of plush and non-plush kinds. Though there’s a sizeable free space on the floor, with people clustering around the edges. I’m admittedly entering with some bias and expectation. I saw Cult Party (the collective […]
– Gulliver’s, Manchester – Debuting the UK and Europe in a manner that can only be described as storming are Perth’s Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. Selling out almost every show on a tour that is witnessing the band for the first time is a fantastic achievement but one that is worth every penny. Gulliver’s is a […]

LIVE: PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS – 13/09/2018

ALBUM: SPIRITUALIZED – AND NOTHING HURT

Apparently this was going to be the last album Jason Pierce (J Spaceman) was ever going to make as Spiritualized, such was the sheer effort involved, both mentally and physically. Six long years in the making, ‘And Nothing Hurt’ is the sound of the spaceman coming to terms with life as a middle aged family […]
– Gorilla, Manchester – Let’s get this out of the way upfront: I have the biggest man crush on Iceage front man Elias Bender Rønnenfelt. He’s possibly the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in real life, and his brooding, pouting, strong silent type stage persona (and off stage persona if his interviews are anything […]

LIVE: ICEAGE – 09/09/2018