ALBUM: Liars – Proud Evolution

If Liars are, “…interested in the alternate spaces people create in order to maintain identity in a city like L.A. Environments where outcasts and loners celebrate a skewered relationship to society,” then Proud Evolution marks the point where a dysfunctional relationship with society becomes pathological. Amidst the extended (and demented) periods of ambient wastelands, inhabited with single repetitive notes, […]
Remember when Jamiroquai was cool?  Like, really… incontrovertibly….Antarctic chilly?  I remember the time of the first album, when those initial tracks began seeping through the PAs of the nightclubs I frequented in Sydney, where I was living at the time.  Those tunes sounded fresh – with great vocals, funky beds, an ecological sensibility and – well OK, admittedly, […]

ALBUM: Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star

ALBUM: Cradle of Filth – Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa

In an age of dwindling profits and piracy so rampant one would imagine half of all under-30s wore eye-patches and wooden legs, it’s quite understandable that record labels don’t let untrustworthy oiks like me get our slippery hands on copies of precious, precious copyrighted music. Unfortunately, it makes it a little awkward for me to […]
Reading-based band A Genuine Freakshow is not a genuine freakshow. There are no superfluous third nipples to be found here (that I know of), no hairy babies and no gnomes or elephant men among their ranks. If anything, like putting a 5’10” Caucasian man in a cage at said freakshow, A Genuine Freakshow are disappointingly […]

ALBUM: A Genuine Freakshow – Oftentimes

LIVE: GRINDERMAN – 29/09/2010

– THE ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – This is Grinderman’s first outing to Manchester as a separate entity from their ‘Bad Seeds’ line up. Promoting only their second album to date; ‘Grinderman 2’, the place is packed with young ‘emo’ kids and old punks alike, highlighting Grinderman’s versatility and transcendence against the restrictions of age and fashion. […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – The Strange Death Of Liberal England brought out their debut album ‘Forward March’, almost 3 years ago and made their mark for being an experimental pop/folk band. Having taken themselves out of view for a good 18 months they have been busy recording their new album, ‘Drown your Hearts […]

LIVE: THE STRANGE DEATH OF LIBERAL ENGLAND – 28/10/2010

LIVE: I BLAME COCO – 26/10/2010

– THE ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – Nepotism. Sounds like your little brothers’ favourite Goth-metal band, but the official line is ‘patronage bestowed on the basis of family relationship’. It’s a theory that’s been banded about a fair bit with tonight’s headliners, but when your dad is Sting, it’d be hard not to grab hold of a […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – I’ll confess, having not heard of this band before I’d asked a few friends if they’d heard of them, to which I was surprised to find they’ve actually released 2 albums to date and have been the Guardian’s ‘Band of the Day’ back in April. ‘You’ll like them Steph, […]

LIVE: TWEAK BIRD – 26/10/2010

LIVE: BEACH FOSSILS/THREE BLIND WOLVES – 25/10/2010

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Three Blind Wolves are a trodden jingle jangle sound with warm brandy brushed harmonies. The band mix the sounds of traditional folk and shanty sounds and work them through a modern day filter. Singer, Ross Clark’s voice was rather impressive. It mirrored the sounds of Robin Pecknold’s from Fleet […]
Carefully written in a seamless fashion, ‘Lighthouse’ plays its colours dark grey colours well. It has a deeply brooding feel. The recorded space between the instruments gives it a chance to swell and reserve its layers, and allows the little charming snippets of its orchestration to chime through, giving an extra spangle to the song. […]

SINGLE: The Strange Death of Liberal England – Lighthouse