EP REVIEW: KIM CHURCHILL – I AM

If you were born anywhere before or around 2003, you’ll probably remember the transformation Taylor Swift went through when she converted from country queen to modern pop phenomenon. Not to in anyway compare how I feel about Taylor to Kim Churchill, the example of her moving on to a different genre is the only thing […]
-BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER- Tonight is special for BC Camplight. He’s too cool ever to say so, but it is clear. After everything he’s been through over the last decade, to have an intimate solo show like this in the city that has become his home and has offered him the opportunities that he […]

LIVE: BC CAMPLIGHT – SOLO SHOW & Q&A – 30/04/2019

LIVE: CABBAGE – 25/04/2019

-YES, MANCHESTER- After listening to Cabbage over the past couple of years or so, I knew there was something I was personally missing. Certain music press were raving about them being the band we needed, pushing a political mess into people’s faces. For myself, just hearing their recordings, I wasn’t completely on board the “Cabbage […]
To use one of Craig Finn’s favourite lyrical phrases, much of the music world considered The Hold Steady singer-songwriter’s last solo album to be “pretty sweet”, especially the spoken-word track ‘God in Chicago’, which got buried by avalanches of praise from all angles and tells a tale of two people making a return road trip […]

ALBUM: CRAIG FINN – I NEED A NEW WAR

ALBUM REVIEW: COMPILATION: BIRTH OF A NATION – INEVITABLE RECORDS – AN INDEPENDENT LIVERPOOL 1979-1986

In the late 70’s and early 80’s it seems most cities had one or two indie labels, releasing a mixture of punk, new wave and what would be termed “indie” in years to come.  In Liverpool’s case, this was Inevitable Records. They captured the sound of Liverpool during this period, and this three CD boxset […]
Having supported the likes of Elbow in the past, C Duncan returns – this time with his debut album ‘Health’. One of the reasons why this little gem of the music industry has not yet been fully discovered, is perhaps because Elbow’s demographic is maybe people who are above the teenage/twenties group. C Duncan is […]

ALBUM REVIEW: C DUNCAN – HEALTH

LIVE: THE ANTLERS – 20/04/2019

-THE DANCEHOUSE THEATRE, MANCHESTER- Of the many venues that an indie-folk band could play, one that doesn’t immediately come to mind is the Dancehouse. Plain and simple, it’s a theatre, but perhaps the setting of the gig reveals intention – to bring something different, to celebrate the album in question by placing it in the […]
-GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER- Here’s the thing….Manchester is very proud of its music scene (and rightly so), not to mention intent on giving burgeoning artists the opportunity to showcase their talents, to the extent that it will squeeze a gig in anywhere it can! Tonight proves to be no exception when Gullivers plays host to the fantastically […]

LIVE: HEIR / HAYES & Y – 17/04/2019

LIVE: DAUGHTERS – 17/04/2019

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Chaos. Total and utter chaos. That is what unfolds tonight at Deaf (an absolutely apt name for a venue where this band is concerned, sweet Jesus it’s LOUD tonight), the mayhem orchestrated by Daughters’ extraordinary frontman Alexis S.F. Marshall who is quite unlike anyone I’ve seen perform. An absolute whirling dervish of […]
-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Best known as leader of Britpop heroes Blur and virtual pop superstars Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has never been one to stick to one project and for that has become the most forward thinking and prolific artist of his generation. The Good, The Bad & The Queen is a project he launched back […]

LIVE: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN – 16/04/2019