SINGLE: FOREVER CULT – CODEINE

The angular, Leeds-based plague that is Forever Cult set broken horses free on the wire-wrapped ‘Codeine’ – surfing the fine line between melody and cacophony. Singer Kieran Clarke barks through fuzz and blurs the razor-sharp edges of the unpredictable 2-minutes of hyper-death – cutting any kind of complacency in half and hanging it from the […]
Bournemouth-based heart-breakers Honeymoons extend their hands to the warmth of the sun just as much as they shield their eyes from the blinding rays – embracing love’s anchorage as much as they question it. Moving with the careful patience of post-dawn waves, the coastal trio have been drip-feeding doses of uplifting heartache that skirt a […]

SINGLE: HONEYMOONS – TRYING

SINGLE: CIGARETTES AFTER SEX – EACH TIME YOU FALL IN LOVE

Sweeping sheets of sonic blue swallow the chaser – painting a picture of devotion that’s guarded within Cigarettes After Sex’s world of ‘her’, but where Greg Gonzalez has previously found himself celebrating the euphoria of romance, ‘Each Time You Fall in Love’ sees the front-man leaving thumb-printed glass behind as he wanders down a palm-flanked […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- The Haxan Cloak, or Bobby Krlic to his friends, is performing as part of the Mary Ann Hobbs curated Dark Matter strand of the Manchester International Festival, “eight immersive shows from pioneering national, international and Manchester-based musicians…with a light show that will transform Gorilla and the Ritz, creating new universes for each artist”, according […]

LIVE: THE HAXAN CLOAK – 07/07/2017

James

LIVE: JAMES / THE SLOW READERS CLUB – 07/07/2017

-CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER- Castlefield Bowl is a phenomenal venue, regardless of who is playing there. It is not used for concerts very often but every year Sounds of the City takes full advantage of the outdoor performance space that is surrounded by the buildings of Deansgate and Castlefield in the city centre. It turns the […]
– MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL, MANCHESTER – Bonobo at Manchester Cathedral was nothing short of an absolutely stunning show. The Manchester Cathedral was an extremely interesting choice of venue but it was the perfect place for the Manchester International Festival to showcase the electronic sensation that is Bonobo. The combination of music and light made this a […]

LIVE: BONOBO / SANDUNES – 04/07/2017

LIVE: HOOKWORMS/CARLA DAL FORNO – 02/07/2017

– PAVILION THEATRE, MANCHESTER – Loud doesn’t really cut it. According to Twitter someone in the crowd clocked Hookworms playing at 124.8 decibels tonight, which Google describes as “tinnitus inducing, ringing in the ears, permanent hearing loss”. It’s an absolute fucking blast. Hookworms play as part of the Manchester International Festival at the Pavilion Theatre […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Before I talk about Manchester’s new favourite sons and their Cabbage Patch Kids, I want to briefly mention how good The Blinders and Strange Bones were as support acts tonight. It’s not easy supporting one of the most exciting live bands in the UK but both clearly knew what the […]

LIVE: CABBAGE – 01/07/2017

LIVE: SAMPHA / PAULI – 05/07/2017

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- When you’re a well blogged about, up and coming artist, it’s very easy to get carried away in a whirlwind of hype, but singer/songwriter Sampha hasn’t let any of this consume him. Forever humble and always focused, the South London based musician delivered an outstanding debut at the start of the year […]
-CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER- The Levellers transported their own-curated festival North and to quote another band they brought the weather with them. The good sort that is. It was Beautiful Days meets Sounds of the City in the perfect surroundings of Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl. The Irish folk band, Beoga get the day’s proceedings under way and […]

LIVE: LEVELLERS / THE WATERBOYS / BILLY BRAGG / DREADZONE – 02/07/2017