LIVE: LAURA VEIRS – 19/01/2010

– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – In a performance which draws mainly from new album, July Flame, Laura Veirs lulls listeners along on a barely lit journey through songs of the seasons. A glow of contentment surrounds Veirs which is particularly visible during I Can See Your Tracks, and there is something near spiritual about the […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Intense, heavy rock can often be a po-faced affair with little room for humour or playfulness, so what better way to obliterate any lingering post-Christmas blues than a couple of hours in the company of Kong and Future Of The Left, two bands who are fully capable of creating […]

LIVE: FUTURE OF THE LEFT – 19//01/2010

SINGLE: Quail Lungs – Dumb Dadadum

In a recent interview, Travis Bonilla, pseudonym Quail Lungs, tells of a New Year bender which left him with a two day hangover not even weed could cure.  From the quality of the recordings which range from near inaudible to a whining assault on your senses you figure these tracks were made the wrong end of […]
Charlotte Gainsbourg may very nearly share a surname with a hill-town in darkest Lincolnshire, but in fact she shares more in common with Jared Leto than arable land and sausages. This is because she an actress (a good one, best actress at Cannes Film Festival 2009 anyone?) and also a musician. So not like Jared […]

ALBUM: Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM

ALBUM: First Aid Kit – The Big Black And The Blue

It’s always strange when hype focuses its attention on the young age of the artists in question: the press, the industry, need musicians to be young. They need to believe in youth, to keep the hype – the legend – alive. If The Big Black And The Blue had been made by two middle-aged, rather […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Bassless wonders, Waiters, are an utter shambles. It’s conceivable that they all got given their first instruments this Xmas, formed a band, booked a gig, and thought to Hell with the consequences. The frontman somehow has a voice like a baby crying, the drummer impassive as he taps out […]

LIVE: ROLO TOMASSI – 18/01/2010

SINGLE: Ash – Space Shot

‘Space Shot’ is another by-the-numbers offering from the Northern Irish pop-rockers. A perfect pop song in many respects, it never deviates from the tried and trusted production values that dominate the singles chart nowadays: quirky intro, verse-chorus-verse, weird synth solo and all the trimmings. It also sounds like it was written by a computer program […]
– Band On The Wall, Manchester – Walking around Band On The Wall, it’s not difficult to see where the multi-million pound investment money has gone. Visitors are treated to plush white carpets and decorative plasterwork that make the entire venue feel like a VIP section. If you squint, the sound desk (in front of […]

LIVE: DENIS JONES – 16/01/2010

SINGLE: Othello Woolf – Stand

A funky little disco tune, Stand, is a tricky little track which urges us repeatedly to Stand Up for our minds.  It sounds like a meaningless but pleasantly familiar lyric ideal for dancing; but as the song ends you realise Woolf was issuing an early warning to us to beware of a tune which leaves you […]
Bullion is a genius. I whole heartedly state this. This release was my first encounter with the man and after doing some research, he is now elevated to god status in my eyes. His production style is phenomenal, his beats are some of the crispest I’ve heard, and his tracks spit in the face of […]

SINGLE: Bullion – Say Goodbye To What/Crazy Over You