LIVE: JENS LEKMAN – 19/09/2012

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – “This album was a cycle that I had to go through.” That, explains Jens Lekman before the final song of an emotionally resonant night, is the most satisfying way to describe this confusing point in his career. Having built up a passionate following from his first two albums proper, […]
– THE KINGS ARMS, SALFORD – Well there’s tension in the air. Something of a first is happening to me tonight, I’ve bagsied the chance to see one of my musical heroes. He maybe an unlikely candidate for many, but Euros Childs was lead singer in one of my favourite bands, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Let […]

LIVE: EUROS CHILDS – 05/09/2012

LIVE: ALLO DARLIN / BUTCHER THE BAR – 07/09/2012

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I really like the Deaf Institute.  To me it’s a nice intimate little venue and I want all its quirky decorations in my house.  Whilst having a drink downstairs I am surprised to hear that this gig has sold 200 tickets already, and that’s not even a sell out.  […]
Googling Toy was a fruitless task at the start of the year. There was a certain buzz around the band after a successful support slot with The Horrors, but internet presence was otherwise non-existent. Their headline tour in spring attracted many curious enthusiasts who had their ear to the ground, and they were very much rewarded […]

ALBUM REVIEW: TOY – ‘TOY’

Album Review: DJ Shadow – Reconstructed: The Best of DJ Shadow

He sounds like a dark superhero nemesis haunting the alleys and sidewalks of some fictional North American future city. Or perhaps the murky pools that lie within the darker recesses of our psyches. In fact, he is Josh Davis, ironically from the Northern Californian town of… Davis, and for the last 20 years he has […]
It has taken 3 years for ‘Chan’ Marshall to write, produce and play all that you hear on this new Cat Power album. An impressive undertaking indeed. The result must prove to be her most personal release to date, I assume that was the intention. Her talents with various instruments will be scrutinised due to […]

ALBUM: CAT POWER – ‘SUN’

LIVE: ESBEN AND THE WITCH – 30/08/2012

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Haunting and spellbinding songs  in a basement as it draws close to midnight.   The Brighton trio’s band name acts like a book title, alluring to its contents, which stray uncompromisingly away from anything mainstream. Grimes are playing a sell-out gig at The Ritz tonight across town, and so I […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – On arrival at the Ritz, I‘m quite puzzled by the apparent appeal of the ‘Vagina Rings’ on sale at the merch desk – replicas of Grimes’ very own lady parts [“one size fits all” but it’s a bit tight for me, natch!]. I feel a little bit uncomfortable just browsing, […]

LIVE: GRIMES – 30/08/2012

Calexico – Algiers

“We were talking about wanting to go to Europe and record,” Burns says, “but we never get our shit together in time to make plans that far in advance. So where do you go…? New Orleans.” Collaborator, Producer – Craig Schumacher Algiers is the sixth studio album from Calexico, recorded in and titled after the […]
It’s almost thirty years since the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller – now the best-selling album of all time. It’s hard to forget the saddening procession of Jackson’s life after the success of the videos and (seven!) singles from Thriller propelled him into mega-stardom, through circus sideshow, disgrace and eventually to an untimely end, the […]

Album Review: Easy Star All-Stars – Thrillah