Album Review: Rinse:016 – Ben UFO

What can you write when it comes to Rinse? Anyone who has ears and a half decent taste in music will have stumbled across these boys at some point. Starting out as an online radio station, Rinse FM has proved its worth dozens of times over the past couple of years, constantly evolving and keeping […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – On a typical early autumn evening (28 degrees, hello?) I wait for my sister outside Sand Bar enjoying a cold pint, almost dreading the prospect of a static folk gig in a warm, crowded club. I know little about Stealing Sheep and Beth Jean Houghton so that is the […]

LIVE: BETH JEANS HOUGHTON/STEALING SHEEP – 01/10/2011

SINGLE: Pritch & Trim – Stereotype/Kiss My Arse

The man of many names and countless brilliant tracks, Mark Pritchard, takes to the studio with one of Grime best-est, MC Trim. The single comes with two tracks from the pair and instrumentals to boot. Mark lays down a swaggering, light-hearted beat on ‘Stereotype’ with hooks redolent of a soundtrack to a 1970s comedy skit. […]
Numbers For Street Names, the second EP from the Manchester based foursome, reeks of nostalgic alternative rock, familiar with the likes of Oasis, Nine Black Alps and Joy Division – all great bands to emerge from the depths of the northern city. The record oozes light anthemic rock with complex layerings of rustic vocals, fiery […]

EP Review: City Reign – Numbers For Street Names

LIVE: SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA – 03/10/2011

– HMV RITZ, MANCHESTER – With night organisers Hit & Run proclaiming that they refuse to be “pigeon-holed and categorised”, tonight’s headliners Submotion Orchestra offer a diverse enough spectrum of influences to uphold their ethos. The Monday ‘Quality Bass Music’ night, now in it’s 5th year, has moved on from it’s Mint Lounge residency to spend […]
– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – Sssshhhhh! It’s Get Cape Wear Cape Fly! Apart from hearing like Jack and Vera’s cheeky little son, Sam Duckworth aka Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly also manages to mix it across a million genres indie/emo/ folk/ electronic/ techno, dancy dance, with a touch of rave, the lot.  A little birdie […]

LIVE: GET CAPE WEAR CAPE FLY – 30/09/2011

LIVE: MALE BONDING – 28/09/2011

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – I’m back at the Ruby Lounge again and it seems to be turning in to a bit of a ritual.  The place has definitely pulled its finger out of late and is getting some top bands through its doors and down its stairs into its gloomy embrace. It’s certainly […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The musical landscape created by Connan Mockasin is full of childlike innocence and a sense of wide-eyed wonder. It’s a world inhabited by Unicorns, Dolphins and Snats (a snake/rat hybrid in case you were wondering) all pitched against a backdrop of perfectly constructed, off kilter psychedelic pop. You would […]

LIVE: CONNAN MOCKASIN – 26/09/2011

Single Review: The Rifles – Tangled Up In Love

Don’t mistake The Rifles for just another indie band. Their new track is catchy, and has a really vintage feel about it. Team that with a serious string section and guitar solo and you have a very strong song from their new album Freedom Run. Chris Potter, who really has brought his experience to the […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I saw Sparrow and The Workshop at The Roadhouse back in May. My enthusiastic review concluded with me wrongly predicting that their return to the city would be greeted by a much larger audience. Unfortunately, the majority of the crowd tonight is comprised of the support bands and staff. The […]
Sparrow and The Workshop

LIVE: SPARROW AND THE WORKSHOP – 18/09/11