ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 27 FEBRUARY 2026

By far the busiest week of 2026 for new releases so far, plenty of high quality as well. Deathcrash       Somersaults     London-based slowcore quartet. Thematically, ‘Somersaults’ began to deal with a more discreet, more complicated, second “coming of age” period. Buck Meek       The Mirror         Conceptually, The Mirror emerged from the idea to combine Meek’s band’s live, […]
Willy Vlautin is a master world builder. Over the course of half a dozen albums with The Delines, he has created the equivalent of an intricate portmanteau movie with recurring themes and characters making return appearances. In his other career as an author, his most recent novel ‘The Horse’ was about an old musician riddled […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE DELINES: THE SET UP

ALBUM REVIEW – BIBI CLUB: AMARO

There is a strong thread of death running through Quebec duo Bibi Club’s third album. Rather than a self-indulgent, goth teenage wallowing in mortality, it is a heartfelt response to the passing of two loved ones in the past year. It is a recurrent theme throughout ‘Amaro’, many of the eleven songs including variations on […]
At long last! Nearly three years since I first went to see an act there – Manchester group Mandy, Indiana, who put on a rollicking show and who have a new album out that’s apparently well worth a listen – I returned to The White Hotel on Wednesday to catch a particularly dreamy double bill. […]

LIVE REVIEW – FINE, MARIA SOMERVILLE & NASHPAINTS: THE WHITE HOTEL – 18/02/2026

LIVE REVIEW – HOT WAX: MANCHESTER GORILLA – 12/02/2026

The first time I saw Hot Wax was at All Points East in 2023, I was 17 and they were opening the second stage. I immediately fell in love with them, and thought they were the coolest band I’d ever seen. Since then, I’ve seen them support bands like Deap Valley and The Libertines, so […]
The Sixties are back in, and The Dream Machine are navigating the waters on their third album ‘Fort Perch Rock.   New Brighton natives whose evocative lyricism is evident on every release, embody The Beach Boys on this album as insight is given by vocalist Zak McDonnell, “‘Things That Make Us Cry’ is me doing […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE DREAM MACHINE: FORT PERCH ROCK

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 20 FEBRUARY 2026

 Hen Ogledd      Discombobulated        Their most complex and emotionally charged record to date, involving meditations on political tumult, personal crisis and mental wellbeing in a world gone mad, yet also their most warmly inclusive and accessible. Charm School                Skadenfreude Ploy EP               Four tracks taking their influence from the underground Louisville scene together with a little […]
“It’s our job to make sure you leave feeling better than when you arrived” declared lead singer Oli Fox. Well, it is fair to say that Good Neighbours are sheer geniuses at their job. How many concerts have you been to where once you are in the venue you are greeted by a ring doorbell […]

LIVE REVIEW – GOOD NEIGHBOURS: NEW CENTURY HALL – 13/02/2026

ALBUM REVIEW – ALTIN GUN: GARIP

Altın Gün translates from Turkish as “Golden Day.” The Amsterdam-based band provide an impressive example in how to evolve a sound over the course of a career. Starting off as a predominantly Turkish psych groove band on their 2018 debut, ‘On’, they swiftly received recognition for its 2019 follow-up, ‘Gece’, which was nominated in the […]
Stemming from the fair city, Big Sleep are known as heavy hitters when it comes to a live show. Pulling off a show under the m50 to sold out tours. Created by vocalist Rónán Connolly and drummer Matteo Poli before a chance meeting at a rave brought bassist Aiden Gray and guitarist Naiara Clarke LaFuente into […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BIG SLEEP: HOLY SHOW