ALBUM: JESCA HOOP – HUNTING MY DRESS

Plucked from obscurity over in the US by Elbow, a band recently and famously plucked from the gallows by last gasp blaster The Seldom Seen Kid, Jesca Hoop has come to our shores backed by Britain’s newest favourite band. But it seems to me that she’s been plucked from somewhere far less familiar than the […]
– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – Thankfully for me on this stereotypical rainy and windswept Salfordian lunchtime, the venue I’m attending is literally on my doorstep. As I leave the front door of the block of flats I live in, I barely have time to light my cigarette, look both ways before crossing the road and […]

LIVE: SALFORD FILM FESTIVAL MUSIC DAY/ELBOW – 21/11/2009

SINGLE: Alberta Cross – Taking Control

Treacherous band Alberta Cross hails from London but jumped our sinking island to go to New York and get famous. It seems to be working out for them as ‘Taking Control’, first single from debut album Broken Side of Time, is a bit of a treat. It’s bluesy, gushing indie squirting from the vein of […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The indie fashionista are out in full force as Brooklyn based act, The Antlers, roll into Manchester on the back of a wave of hype and critical acclaim for their current album ‘Hospice’. It’s a beautiful and haunting record, which masterfully explores themes of guilt, grief and isolation, with […]

LIVE: THE ANTLERS – 18/11/2009

SINGLE REVIEWS: Marina and the Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road

Let’s get this straight. Marina sounds like the demented offspring of Siouxsie Sioux and Kate Bush, both insane and insanely talented. Mowgli’s Road might be the first track released since her signing to major label Atlantic  Records, but you’ll be happy to know there’s no sense that she’s toned down the many demented aspects of […]
– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – 6pm is any self-respecting gentleman’s favourite time of day. Tea time shows off the remnants of hunter-gatherer in the male psyche, and although I hadn’t gone out and clubbed anything to death, a Grade A spicy chicken broth had been defrosting on the kitchen top all afternoon, its inert heat […]

LIVE: JAPANDROIDS – 14/11/2009

LIVE: ALICE IN CHAINS – 14/11/2009

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Manchester Academy feels different since its refurbishment in 2008; cleaner, brighter, with a shiny new frontispiece. Alice in Chains re-formed in 2005 with new frontman William DuVall, after the death of lead vocalist Layne Staley. I’m looking forward to watching them, but like the new Academy, I’m prepared for the […]
– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – It’s Thursday night. It’s November and it’s The Ritz. Technicians potter about on the stage. Pow! They’re not techies – its the band with attention grabbing start! It’s a welcome sucker punch, and they slide effortlessly into the first number before we can recover. Looks like its going to […]

LIVE: WHITE BELT YELLOW TAG – 12/11/2009

LIVE: JAY REATARD – 12/11/2009

– THE ROADHOUSE, MANCHESTER – BY ANTHONY THORPE So then, what to say about Memphis born singer songwriter Jay Lindsay, otherwise known as Jay Reatard? Well the first thing is, his set tonight started way too early! Being onstage at 7.45pm until 8.30, when advertised for an 8 o’clock start is not preferred for starters! […]
– THE RITZ BALLROOM, MANCHESTER – No, not a euphemism for a trouser trump, the name of this band actually refers to a section of the novel White Noise by Don DeLillo. And as such, it underpins the literary intent of the band, and specifically singer Mikel Jollett, himself a writer who was in the […]

LIVE: AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT – 12/11/2009