LIVE: SOUND CONTROL LAUNCH PARTY – 26/01/2010

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Emerging out of the recession with more false starts than Great Britain is the grand opening of Sound Control Manchester. You may have heard it had launched a couple of times back last year, but as these openings either didn’t go to plan or were not quite as spectacular as […]
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – If there was a world record for squeezing-as-many-discordant-riffs-as-possible-into-a-Mini, the ghost of Norris McWhirter would be straight on the spectral blower to Shapes. Drummer Gavin Filmer has a tough time staying in his seat, such is the voracity with which he sets about destroying each and every corner of his kit, […]

LIVE: GLASSJAW/PULLED APART BY HORSES/SHAPES – 24/01/2010

SINGLE: DVA – Natty/Ganja

I’d go so far to say, Hyperdub is one of my top labels of all time, alongside Moving Shadows, Offkey Recordings, Tempa and a handful more. It’s a label that to me truly pushes boundaries, and isn’t afraid to bring you something new. To clarify, by new I don’t just mean a new artist, I […]
Three small, stupidly juxtaposed words used in connection with Musée Méchanique sent my blood pressure soaring with near fatal consequence. They are Neutral Milk Hotel – the finest band with the stupidest name of all time. Is this an appropriate comparison, or were the promoters raising my hopes only to dash them with crushing force? […]

SINGLE: Musée Méchanique – Like Home

LIVE: RIDING THE LOW – 22/01/2010

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – I’m a little dubious about tonight’s gig, as it is not the first time I’ve been to see a band that is fronted by an actor. My last experience of this was a couple of years ago, when I chanced upon The Peth playing at a club in Wigan. […]
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – Despite their name, there are only five people in Sonic Boom Six. The female-fronted Mancunians explode into action, the whole sound penetrating and aggressive like only girls from northern England can be. ‘Six’ become eight when the brass section from Big D And The Kids’ Table join them for a […]

LIVE: REEL BIG FISH/SONIC BOOM SIX – 22/01/2010

LIVE: ZICO CHAIN/TO THE BONES – 24/01/2010

– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – Although I’ve already seen three bands (all of whom failed to introduce themselves), the most interesting part of the evening so far has been finding out that my girlfriend ties her shoelaces differently than I do. I’m hoping to be rescued by To The Bones, and they up the game […]
– 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 […]

LIVE: LAURA VEIRS – 19/01/2010

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

– 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 […]
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 […]

SINGLE: Quail Lungs – Dumb Dadadum