LIVE: SHARON VAN ETTEN – 17/05/2012

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I first heard of Sharon Van Etten though a press-release, back in December. It was one of those moments where it became apparent this artist was going to be a regular feature on my MP3 player for the foreseeable future. Names dropped into that news item such as The […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – When I hear word that FAWN SPOTS are coming to Manchester I cancel plans and jump at the chance to go see them.  Fawn Spots are Lee Bowden and Jonathan Meager; based in York where they are proactive in the music scene being heavily involved in truly great projects such […]

LIVE: DZ DEATHRAYS / EMBERS / FAWN SPOTS – 16/05/2012

LIVE: TRAILER TRASH TRACYS – 10/05/2012

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I haven’t been upstairs at the Deaf Institute before and I’m struck by the glamour of the place.  For some reason it’s really unexpected and I like it!  It’s got big steps going up at the back for sitting on that creates a theatre kind of feel and a […]
“Good Girl” is the debut single from Wildeflower, a six piece folk-rock band from Englefield Green. This single release offers a modern folk style with close three-part harmonies as well as coupling rich layered instrumentation with lo-fi production. Led by Max Kinghorn-Mills, the psychedelic folk group marries influences from rivals/progressives Nick Drake, Bert Jansch and […]

Single Review: Wildeflower – Good Girl/Amazing Discovery

Single Review: Django Django – Storm/Skies Over Cairo

After the release of their self-titled début album, Django Django, the Scottish art-rock band, have released a perky little ditty titled ‘Storm’. Although some bands take inspiration from the headline names of the past, Django Django take theirs from the now defunct Scottish indie “semi-legends”, The Beta Band. The rigid drum beat, metronomic in style, keeps the track […]
The Wire, widely regarded as the best TV series of all time, is particulalry celebrated for its complex story lines, slowly coiling plot, use of authentic slang (only understandable via subtitles), and the way it mercilessly dissects a self-annhilating society from the bottom, with its petty drug dealers and tenement tower blocks, all the way […]

Album Review: Beach House – Bloom

LIVE: PERFUME GENIUS / CATE LE BON – 09/05/2012

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The buzz of a full-bodied Deaf Institute is never anything less than thrilling, but tonight is special. We are blessed with a venerable safe pair of hands to open proceedings – Cate Le Bon is such an established and cherished figure in the national music scene that she actually […]
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – Disco. It’s a dirty word. People are scared to be associated with it, and I often find myself breaking down the locked doors of people’s closets, and saying, “you don’t have to hide!” Now is the best time for disco, it is a burst of decadence without the calories or […]

LIVE: FRIENDS / ALUNAGEORGE – 08/05/2012

LIVE: JAMES BLACKSHAW – 04/05/2012

– SACRED TRINITY, SALFORD – There are two possible reactions to the suggestion of spending a Friday night in a small Salford church watching a prodigious, virtuoso acoustic guitarist perform a number of solo, instrumental pieces. Sure, it may sound a little on the arduous side to some. Indeed, more often than not, it would […]
– ST. MARGARET’S CHURCH, MANCHESTER – I read an article on The Guardian website this week about a venue in London called Cafe Oto which puts on experimental music, free-jazz etc. There was the option to comment after the article and there were lots of disparaging remarks about this kind of place being for ‘hipsters’ […]

LIVE: NHAM QUARTET / HELMUT LEMKE / BRIDGET HAYDEN – 04/05/2012