LIVE: ELLIE GOULDING – 10/12/2009

– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Being named in the BBC Sounds of 2010 Longlist (actually it’s not that long, as it only contains a grand total of 15 acts) is most certainly an accolade that anyone trying to make their name in the music world would love to have bestowed upon them. Last year’s list […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Silhouetted shapes with hoodies move across the stage like a scene from a poorly lit budget horror film. It’s anything but horrifying though, it’s Little Boots and her gang. The first number is deliberately slow and is set mostly in darkness. It’s intriguing and slightly unsettling. Then, bang! The stage […]

LIVE: LITTLE BOOTS – 10/12/2009

LIVE: NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION – 10/12/2009

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Was there ever a time when bands had sensible, meaningful names? The question torments me on my journey to watch Porcupine Tree and North Atlantic Oscillation. N.A.O. are a Scottish three-piece – although their bassist/keyboardist does his best to ensure they sound bigger. Plenty of retro noise-making, loops and atmospheric […]
I can safely predict that there will be very few singles released this year titled after a first century ecclesiastical heroine.  For those who skipped RE in school, Damaris was a wealthy Athenian who converted after watching a sermon delivered by Paul of Tarsus in front of the Areopagus.  Her conversion was seen as important […]

SINGLE: Patrick Wolf – Damaris

LIVE: XFM WINTER WONDERLAND 2009 – 08/12/2009

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Compared to last year’s raucous festive bash, XFM’s 2009 Winter Wonderland proved to be a bit of a bland affair. The presence of three acoustic acts on the bill was definitely a contributory factor to this, as the Academy crowd struggled to get out of first gear. Local electro-rock outfit […]
– Deaf Institute, Manchester – This is my first visit to Manchester’s Deaf Institute, in the heart of studentsville, near The BBC. It’s a beautifully converted grade II listed neo gothic building with 3 floors to function as a café, bar and music hall. I walk into the full to capacity space just as the […]

LIVE: BROADCAST – 08/12/2009

LIVE: J. MASCIS & THE FOG/DEAD CONFEDERATE – 07/12/2009

– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – Dead Confederate make a mountainous racket. The Georgian quintet, resplendent in their gas pump attendant chic, stay rooted to the spot while dry ice as choking as their riffs floods the venue, the only flickers of movement on stage coming where guitars and drums meet in perfect torrents of noise, […]
The boast on the CD is that this debut EP is produced by Steve Albini (of Pixies fame) and my immediate reaction is a cynical one. If the band is any good, why is it that the producer is the main pulling point? It makes me think that there’s a quality deficit somewhere, and that […]

EP: The Marder – Men’s Ruin

LIVE: ‘A’/THIS CITY – 05/12/2009

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – It’s difficult to fight indifference, just ask This City frontman, Chris Purr, whose repeated pleas for the audience to edge closer to the stage fall on reluctant ears, and the foolproof clap-your-hand-above-your-head gambit is cruelly greeted with an audible titter. In truth, the Brighton quintet’s happy post-hardcore is ruined by […]
I was slightly pessimistic about the prospect of Depeche Mode’s new tune. Recently there has been a mass of long-running bands releasing disappointing new music. Bands such as Muse, The Cure, and Bruce Springsteen to name a few, and I thought Fragile Tension would fall straight into this category…but it doesn’t! They have created something […]

SINGLE: DEPECHE MODE – FRAGILE TENSION