LIVE: SMOKE FAIRIES/SEA OF BEES – 26/01/2011

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Julie Baenziger AKA Sea of Bees has just brought out her album ‘Song for Ravens’, which has been received rather well. The album is made up of songs crafted with emotional expression, highly beautiful and rather twee. Clad in a knitted jumper with a hair cut that reminds you […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Tonight’s gig is Sold Out with a capital Hype. Bodies jostle for non-existent dancing space, condensation drips from the windows and it takes so long to push your way to the smoking area, it might as well be on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Probably just as well for […]

LIVE: SLEIGH BELLS – 21/01/2011

ALBUM – THE DARK SKY SINGERS

– LIKE NO ENGLISH – Unusually in these times saturated with the minutiae of celebrity life, there is no superlative press release issued with this EP and little information available on the internet. This paucity of background detail is a predicament faced by those reviewing this EP before me, if the scant online critiques are […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Tonight is the first night of Metronomy’s tour and downstairs bar at The Deaf Institute is jam packed with people from an hour before the gig. Upstairs the first support act, Get People, are filled with good intentions. Their poppy tropical disco songs are full of drum fills that […]

LIVE: METRONOMY – 19/01/2011

LIVE: THE BURNS UNIT – 19/01/2011

– CLUB ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – The Raconteurs, Audioslave, the Good, the Bad and the Queen – supergroups are generally looked upon with a critical eye. This is because listeners suspect, sometimes rightly, that the artists involved are stuck for cash, trying to sell something we’ve all seen before in different packaging. It’s like being handed […]
– CENTRAL METHODIST HALL, MANCHESTER – Many consider a visit to Manchester as a musically religious experience. The Walkmen must have that feeling too but for a different reason. The last time I saw them was in St. Philips Church in November. The old, ornate spiritual venue had made no special dispensation for housing a […]

LIVE: THE WALKMEN – 20/01/2011

ALBUM: The Chemistry Set – This Day Will Never Happen Again

The UK has a long, illustrious line of gently psychedelic guitar pop bands going right back to the likes of The Moody Blues (you better believe it), through XTC, Shack and The Coral, proponents all of sweet, sweet melodies and lush, pastoral arrangements. The Chemistry Set can – and should – count themselves as part […]
– THE NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – An amusing game to play before any gig at the city’s smaller venues is to try to guess which individuals in the crowd are members of the headlining band. When, for example, post-rock is on offer, this can present hours of fun. With his distinctly un-Mancunian drawl […]

LIVE: MY JERUSALEM – 17/01/2011

LIVE: THE CORAL (ACOUSTIC) – 15/01/2011

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – First off, props to the Ruby Lounge, celebrating their relaunch tonight – the whiff of fresh paint and newness is heavy in the air. Nice job too, guys – that über quirky ambience is all present and correct, but the removal of those pillars down the side of the […]
FEAT. SAM CARTER/LIAM BAILEY/NANCY ELIZABETH/AIDAN SMITH/CORTINA DELUXX – BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Being quite a newbie to Manchester I’d heard of the folk night Hedge, but never had the pleasure of experiencing it.  Tonight Hedge in collaboration with Humble Soul Records returns to the Manchester scene after a fairly long break with a […]

LIVE: HEDGE – 15/01/2011