LIVE: THE RUMOUR SAID FIRE – 13/03/2012

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – I normally like to go into gigs ‘blind’, so to speak, to have no preconceptions, but as I planned to review this one I thought I ought to do some research.  My research brought up some mellow, yet lively sounding songs sung in English that suggested they were written with […]
Following the success of his award-winning, hugely acclaimed 2009 album ‘Truelove’s Gutter’, Richard Hawley will release his sixth studio album, ‘Standing At The Sky’s Edge’ – his first for new label Parlophone – on 7th May. Recorded at Sheffield’s Yellow Arch Studio in 2011, ‘Standing At The Sky’s Edge’ marks a seismic shift in direction for Hawley. The album is a euphoric, […]

NEWS: RICHARD HAWLEY – NEW ALBUM DETAILS

LIVE: NATURAL SNOW BUILDINGS – 08/03/2012

– THE CONTINENTAL, PRESTON – Boldly venturing north tonight to experience some premier psych-drone-folk direct from France. After last year’s appearance at the Tusk Festival in Newcastle (supposedly only the duo’s second gig in the UK), Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte of Natural Snow Buildings must have caught the live performance bug as they are in […]
Rarely do you find a band that makes you want to take the singer to the best indie disco in town for a drink and a proper chat and then dance like an idiot for the next ten hours. This is that band. By all accounts Performance have been through the wringer: record label misdemeanours, […]

Album Review: Performance – Red Brick Heart

LIVE: MAYER HAWTHORNE – 09/03/2012

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Well this guy has been on my radar for quite some time now. I first stumbled onto Mayer Hawthorne when he was due to play at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium last summer. Unfortunately, there was the quite apocalyptical storm that destroyed the festival site on the first day […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – As I saunter into The Deaf Institute tonight I hear a unique electro sound, and as I make my way to the bar (priorities) I then also hear a familiar voice. When I look up I see Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip on stage filling this evening’s support slot for New […]

LIVE: NEW BUILD – 09/03/2012

LIVE: GANG COLOURS – 07/03/2012

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Gang Colours (Will Ozanne) falls under my personal classification of dark, underground, glitchy beat, mood music. The shoegazing electronic Southampton lad was brought to the attention of Gilles Peterson and his Brownswood label by Ghostpoet, resulting in the February release of his debut album ‘The Keychain Collection’. Heavyweight endorsements […]
It’s a tricky thing coming at a band that you’re not entirely familiar with, that also ride on a wave of critical praise. It’s as if you have to like them, and if you don’t, your opinion is somehow defective. Nothing forces a person into their shell further than the feeling of being forced to […]

Album Review: Efterklang – Magic Chairs

Album Review: Arch Garrison – King Of The Down

Warm, evocative and quintessentially English, the press release’s claim that King Of The Down was recorded in pastoral Wiltshire before a crackling fire rings true here. Craig Fortnam (usually of North Sea Radio Orchestra semi-fame) weaves textured tapestries of dazzling intricacy from his guitar, fusing classical and folk stylings via nylon and steel strings, with […]
The beauty of the music industry is that, just when you feel that you’ve heard it all, and that you’re about to be buried under a welcome wave of apathy, some wide-eyed Turks slap your face, twist your nipples and wake you to its latent vibrancy. Marina and her spangly Diamonds are those Turks, and they’re […]

Album Review: Marina & The Diamonds – The Family Jewels