LIVE: JESCA HOOP – 28/06/2012

– LEAF TEA SHOP, LIVERPOOL – As you arrive at the venue for this much anticipated show you can sense, even at the bar that something big is going to happen. There is an aura about Leaf this evening and that is clearly down to the queue building up well before doors. First to the […]
The debut single from The Wild Eyes “I Look Good On You b/w Too Much” features Huw Robert’s (vocals, guitars), Sam Gill (drums) and Neal Johnson (bass), who were nurtured and stifled in equal measure by the small towns of their youth.  They now reside in Liverpool and the trio have recently earned a fierce […]

SINGLE: THE WILD EYES – I LOOK GOOD ON YOU

LIVE: EASTER – 22/06/2012

– KRAAK, MANCHESTER – This is my second night in succession at Kraak, the schedule here this month isn’t all that busy but quality seems guaranteed. Hey! Manchester have put together tonight’s lineup to celebrate the launch  of Easter‘s debut album ‘Innocence Man’, which was released a few weeks ago through White Box recordings. Gladly, it’s […]
– KRAAK, MANCHESTER – One of my favourite scene’s in cinema history: Fight Club – Tyler and Co. walk through the bar down to the hidden, dark and dingy basement where grown men choose to punch each other for fun… Tom Waits ‘Goin’ Out West’ is on the jukebox. Entering Kraak when a rock band […]

LIVE: GHXST – 21/06/2012

LIVE: BEST COAST – 17/06/2012

THE HMZ RITZ, MANCHESTER Now Wave gigs regularly promise plenty of bands and no fillers, as with tonight’s quadruple bill. The thankfully renovated Ritz is starting to get a little sticky underfoot again, due to spilt beer. At £4.35 for a pint of Guinness, I’m not wasting a drop. Psychedelic dark punk pop rock band […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – I had the pleasure of catching Brighton based outfit Fear of Men as part of the wonderful Sounds From The Other City Festival which took place in Salford last month, and it was their simplistic indie pop melodies that won over my heart and have refused to leave my head […]

LIVE: FEAR OF MEN – 17/06/2012

ALBUM: TY SEGALL BAND ‘SLAUGHTERHOUSE’

There’s no stopping Ty; releasing singles and EPs under various names, playing in numerous bands, and hopping from record label to record label as if they were bars on a pub crawl – He started in 2005 with Epsilons, then joined Party Fowl as well as The Traditional Fools, The Perverts and Sic Alps as a […]
Grab your fiddles and dust off your digeridoos, folk-rock veterans Levellers are back with their tenth studio album Static on the Airwaves – their most polished but traditional album to date. Opening with white noise reminiscent of our very own Silent Radio, and an electro sequence Gary Numan would envy, you could be forgiven for […]

Album Review: Levellers – Static on the Airwaves

Single Review: The Lucid Dream – Hits Me Like I’m Stoned

What’s not to like about the crazy kids* at Fruits de Mer records? They are a small, independent UK label; they only release on limited edition vinyl; they have a sister label called ‘Regal Crabomophone’ (whatever that’s supposed to mean); they even send their press releases on shiny silver 200gsm paper… Fruits de Mer are […]
The signs of Smoke Fairies’ newfound maturity are there from the very start of second album, Blood Speaks. As muscular drum crackles join moody guitar, the trademark dual vocals of Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies announce their presence with a heavy confidence: “You got the power to bring me down, but I’ve got some sense, […]

Album Review: Smoke Fairies – Blood Speaks