LIVE: Beirut – 06/09/2011

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Waltz With Bashir. Ever seen it? It’s an animated film that centres on the Israel/Lebanon war of 1982. At the film’s culmination, Israeli troops move in onBeirut. At night they fire flares into the night sky so that the Christian Phalangists can massacre Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee […]
While primal guitar and catchy lyrics may be desired at a gig or during a night on the town, at home many people are more than partial to something delicate and enigmatic. Sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting, panoramic, but never anything less than beautiful, they will find A Winged Victory for the Sullen to be just […]

Album Review: A Winged Victory For The Sullen – A Winged Victory For The Sullen

LIVE: KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS – 05/09/2011

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Kurt Vile and the Violators: it’s a great name isn’t it? On hearing it I was convinced that latest album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, was the work of some fuck-witted thrash metaler, but its dreamy acoustic psychedelia and Leonard Cohen-esque enunciation quickly insinuated itself into my best of 2011 […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Support band ‘New Hips’ are a tech-rock four-piece based around young music graduates with all sorts of equipment – two guitars, bass, two keyboards, trumpet, one-and-a-half drumkits, and effects boards all over the place. It’s quite a surprise that they manage to use it all. It’s quite challenging, very […]

LIVE: TREEFIGHT FOR SUNLIGHT – 06/09/2011

Single Review: Seasick Steve – It’s A Long Long Way

‘It’s A Long Long Way’ is the latest release from Seasick Steve’s new album, You Can’t Teach A Dog Old Tricks.  In the typical Seasick style, ‘It’s A Long, Long Way’ has great lyrics while Steve’s delivery make it incisive and poignant. It is a very versatile effort which I could image being played both […]
My Chemical Romance: They are the first headliners of the weekend, and boy do they kick things off in style. Now many people often slate My Chemical Romance, be it because they are secretly trying to mask their forbidden love for them, or that they really just hate them, but whether you like it or […]

LIVE: My Reading Festival -26-28/08/2011

Album Review: Cranium Pie – Mechanisms Part 1

I used to go to music college with this guy: http://youtu.be/6eehugX2zOI *. I occasionally went to his house to listen to mind-bending music, look at his (insane) art and borrow books like Robert Sheckley’s ‘Dimension of Miracles’. He has an amazing collection of 60s garage and psychedelia as well as obscure gold, like The Residents’ […]
It’s always nice to see an email come through from Hyperdub, even more so when it contains the debut EP from a hometowner. On this latest release, Sam Walton brings us four interesting and original tracks, pulling influences from House, UK Funky and grime whilst keeping the energy levels high. ‘Aggy’ starts proceedings. Hard kicks […]

EP Review: Walton – Walton EP

LIVE: JESCA HOOP – 27/08/2011

– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – If you are to be judged by the company you keep, then Jesca Hoop is in some pretty esteemed company. Beatnik Bard Tom Waits is already somewhat out there… so imagine what his nanny might look like.  Jesca Hoop was that gal, nanny to his three children and […]
Beirut (aka Zack Condon) is quite the peculiarity.  His song writing technique is tantamount to musical colonialism (with all the positive and negative connotations involved) as he claims and manipulates great swathes of sovereign musical territory, and bedecks them with layers of semi-operatic baritone. On Gulag Orkestar he gobbled up much of Eastern Europe; on […]

Album Review: Beirut – The Rip Tide