Album Review: Beach House – Bloom

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 […]
– 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 […]

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

LIVE: FRIENDS / ALUNAGEORGE – 08/05/2012

– 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 […]
– 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 […]

LIVE: JAMES BLACKSHAW – 04/05/2012

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

– 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’ […]
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – In less than two months since a shimmering set in the Night & Day Cafe, We Are Augustines have returned home from their first European tour, galvanised neutrals at South By Southwest and Coachella, delivered headline sets from Hollywood to native New York, and released their debut album, Rise Ye […]

LIVE: WE ARE AUGUSTINES / MY GOODNESS – 02/05/2012

LIVE: NEDRY – 28/04/2012

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Catching a band for the last gig of a tour is a good idea. They’ve had a chance to perfect their setlist, they know exactly what they’re doing, they’re (I would presume) keen to go out on a high note, and there’s a chance of scooping up some of […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Tonight I find myself skipping down the steps in to what feels like a musical cave that is The Ruby Lounge. Personally I have never seen it heaving in here, (tonight is no exception) which I can’t understand as it has a decent sound system, and good gig listings. […]

LIVE: VARIOUS CRUELTIES – 25/04/2012

Album Review: Billy Vincent – She

Building on the country-folk-rock template laid down in their King Island Coyote and Once on the Grand Union EPs, London quintet Billy Vincent are set to launch their debut album, She. A vivid, well-observed collection of songs, the five-piece capably bring together a range of big-hearted influences on this lively LP. One of the more […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Ahhhh. You know that feeling you get when you’ve been at work early, taken an afternoon nap, and wake up to find you resent the effort of going next door to fix yourself a coffee, let alone getting dressed, stepping out your front door and trudging to a gig? The […]

LIVE: OF MONTREAL – 22/04/2012