Album Review: Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down…

Within the first 30 seconds of b’lieve I’m goin down… we are once again fully acquainted with the languid, finger-pickin-on-the-ranch, meandering tendencies of Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile. After a brief spell as member of The War on Drugs, he has been releasing solo albums for seven years, peaking commercially with 2011’s Smoke Ring for My Halo and […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Blanck Mass is in a good mood tonight. He takes to the Deaf Institute stage to the sound of the hulking main sample of ‘Loam’, the opening track of this year’s stunning album Dumb Flesh. It’s stretched out to hypnotic length, a powerful, throbbing sound that fills the room […]

LIVE: BLANCK MASS – 24/09/2015

LIVE: SLEAFORD MODS / STEVE IGNORANT’S SLICE OF LIFE – 23/09/2015

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – So, why after two years (-1 day) have I decided to dust off my writing pad and make the time to review tonight’s gig? The simple answer, Sleaford Mods have excited me more than any other band in the last twenty plus years. As it happens, tonight’s support comes from […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – As I arrive at The Ruby Lounge, I’m given a golden wristband as well as the standard stamp on the hand. I think nothing of it. I go down to the bar and get ID’d; “I know you’ve got a wristband, but we still have to check” says the […]

LIVE: RAT BOY / FLESH – 21/09/2015

LIVE: FALSE ADVERTISING – 19/09/2015

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – False Advertising are my favourite band in Manchester at the moment. This three piece took their time crafting their fuzzed up brand of grunge pop and got us all excited when they dropped their stunner of a debut single ‘Wasted Away’ back in March. Since then the band have only […]
– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – As a Manchester based website it would be rude to ignore Mother. The last time we saw this act, there were just two of them and their broth was slightly under-cooked. Tonight though Mother have added two members to make a quartet, and their witches brew is thicker and leaves a […]
The Weather Station

LIVE: THE WEATHER STATION – 18/09/2015

LIVE: JOANNA GRUESOME – 18/09/2015

– FAT OUT’S BURROW (AKA ISLINGTON MILL), SALFORD – In Islington Mill’s small but perfectly formed space, Welsh noise-popper Joanna Gruesome can’t even all fit on the stage. All dressed in black turtlenecks (a couple of which will be discarded along the way…’stupid turtlenecks’) a bassist and a guitarist are forced to stand off stage, […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – You know it’s going to be a good night when you’re greeted by friends with a free pint – the best kind of pint there is  – even if it’s infused with ham as this one was. Thankfully I’m not here for the pork beer, I am here to sample […]

LIVE: FOXTALES – 17/09/2015

LIVE: THE COMPUTERS – 17/09/2015

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Tonight is about one band. The Computers. A London based outfit who have wowed crowds all over the land with their sharp stage wear, energetic live shows and razor sharp rockabilly pop songs complete with a punkish snarl. Today we’ve all packed into the delightful sweat box that is The […]
La Di Da Di is an interesting choice of name for Battles’ third album. Where Mirrored had those weird, indecipherable, pitch-shifted syllables and Gloss Drop had fairly traditional guest vocalists, La Di Da Di is wholly instrumental and all the better for it. If anything the vocals were distracting on Gloss Drop. This record feels […]

Album Review: Battles – La Di Da Di