ALBUM: YO LA TENGO – FADE

‘Fade’ is the 13th studio album to be released by Yo La Tengo since they formed in 1984. Hailing from America this three-piece band has worked on a multitude of projects, from charity singles, to soundtracks, to covers for compilation albums. Originally started by husband and wife duo Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, the band […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – After a quiet few weeks for gig goers, the Manchester based live music promoters Carefully Planned helped wreck our New Years resolutions of a sober January by hosting the 15th CP All Dayer at Oldham Street institution, The Castle Hotel. I’m eager to see what the day has in […]

LIVE: 15TH CAREFULLY PLANNED ALL-DAYER – 12/01/2013

OUTSIDE BROADCAST: EUROSONIC 2013 – DAY 2

– THURSDAY 10/01/2013 – Day 2 – Let’s see what we stumble across So as a Dutch resident myself, I’ve been bombarded with dozens of great sounding Belgian bands that make it across the border and invade our radio playlists. Therefore, whenever there is a Belgian neighbour, whose music is described to be inspired by The […]
– WEDNESDAY 09/01/2013 –  DAY 1 – Less is more and more is better Kicking off with a quick visit to the European Border Breakers Awards, which culminates in French DJ quartet C2C pick up the ‘EBBA Public Choice Award’, we are off into the cold northern night to crawl our way from venue to […]

OUTSIDE BROADCAST: EUROSONIC 2013 – DAY 1

Album Review: Ólöf Arnalds – Sudden Elevation

Sudden Elevation may be Icelander Ólöf Arnalds’ third album, but it remains a landmark, being her first sung wholly in English. For this I’m awkwardly grateful as reviewing it is my first encounter with her otherworldly brand of folk. However, as a latecomer I find myself trailing behind an influential admirer of Arnalds who has already hit […]
Look Inside is the second album from Norwegian artist Nils Bech. His first critically acclaimed album Look Back, released in 2010, catapulted him onto the world stage. His music is indefinable by any one genre. It is the coming together of art, performance and music, giving birth to the hauntingly beautiful, concept that Nils Bech […]

Album Review: Nils Bech – Look Inside

LIVE: CHAMELEONS VOX – 15/12/2012

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – My boss insists that I need to go and see a band called The Chameleons (I have to admit I have never heard of them) as part of my essential musical education.  A reformed 80’sManchesterband.  I am surprised that when we arrive at Sound Control at around 9pm a tout […]
– THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT, MANCHESTER – For those of you unfamiliar to the vast, maze-like cavern that is Manchester’s Warehouse Project circa 2012, it’s essentially 3 brutally undecorated rooms linked together by a series of equally bleak corridors. Throw in some monstrous sound systems, a mind blowing lighting rig and a few thousand (very) wide-eyed […]

LIVE: THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS – 08/12/2012

LIVE: Scroobius Pip, Kate Tempest and Polar Bear (ft. Thick Richard) – 04/12/2012

– The Ruby Lounge – Scroobius Pip (Scroob) ventures from his long time contender Dan le sac for his first spoken word tour, accompanied by the long anticipated re-release of his 2006 album No commercial breaks, of which only a 1000 copies were produced. Descending into The Ruby lounge, I’m struck with the feeling that left with me the […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Waves of hype often place bands at their crest and leave them floundering in the shallows once they die down. Such is the case with the Brooklyn-itis that thrust those such as the Dirty Projectors, MGMT and Das Racist into the spotlight in recent years, the latter having announced their split this week. The propensity for the more […]

LIVE: YEASAYER – 03/12/2012