LIVE: ELIZA AND THE BEAR – 28/02/2013

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – As someone who has spent the winter months living on a diet of dubstep and dark electronic beats, this evening definitely offers me a change in tempo. We’re at an evening at The Castle Hotel (ace pub, great wine) entitled Thank Folk For That.  The evening’s genre needs no […]
Joe Banfi’s Nomads is the second EP to come after 2012’s Iron EP and it is evidence of how far he has come since then. Banfi is a relatively new artist, but this is in no way clear – the production (Ian Grimble of Communion) and feel of this EP is outstanding. “Please don’t let […]

EP Review: Joe Banfi – Nomads

LIVE: REEL BIG FISH – 27/02/2013

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – “A little faith goes a long way” It only seems like 5 minutes since Reel Big Fish played Manchester. They are a band that tours and tours and tours yet still entertain, changing their set list to suit, yet still providing a night of smiles, skankin’ and high quality musical […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – So, It’s a bitterly cold Monday night and I’m keeping out of the cold in the lush surroundings of The Ruby Lounge, hoping to be uplifted and warmed by Glasgow based outfit Chvrches. Having only formed in 2011, Chvrches have caused quite a stir with their retro electro tones, […]

LIVE: CHVRCHES – 25/02/2013

LIVE: EVERYTHING EVERYTHING – 22/02/2013

– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Everything Everything are one of the great success stories to emerge from Manchester since the turn of the century. The band themselves reflect on their earliest days as fledgling art-rockers in and around the city a few times during the night, and here they are riding high on the wave […]
I always had a bit of a gripe with the TV series 24 – which claims to be a drama screened “in real time”. Fair play, one hour after it has started, the story has moved on by an hour – but you have actually only watched 42 minutes of action. In fact, a bit […]

Single Review: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jubilee Street

Album Review: Kavinsky – OutRun

The end is so often embedded in the beginning – so it is with Kavinsky. Clocking up 30 million views on Youtube thus far due to the song’s Drive cameo, ‘Nightcall’ has propelled this French 80s cinematic throwback act into a very modern overnight sensation (a cross between the Terminator and Beverly Hills Cop soundtracks […]
– TROF FALLOWFIELD, MANCHESTER – It’s my first time at Trof in Fallowfield and I’m not quite sure what to expect. Here to catch North London’s garage pop-four piece Wolf Alice on tour in our fair city, I stumble up the awkwardly narrow staircase into a room full of well-dressed music enthusiasts decked in their […]

LIVE: WOLF ALICE – 21/02/2013

LIVE: MAZES – 19/02/2013

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Flannel shirts, member only jackets and Levi jeans bring back distant memories of the 90s and I am expecting more of the same tonight with London’s shoe gaze specialists Mazes stopping off at Soup Kitchen before continuing along on their nation wide tour. I’m pleasantly surprised to find Pierre Hall’s […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – As you are all aware, today is the trashy commercial day often called Valentines, so I thought there would be no better time to lose my Soup Kitchen virginity and head to the venue for the first time. Good beer on tap, fun toilets and an eclectic mix of a […]

LIVE: COSMO JARVIS/RUBY-ANN PATTERSON – 14/02/2013