ALBUM REVIEW – LAURA LORIGA: VEVER

The organ is an instrument with a rich and varied quality used in settings as diverse as churches and horror films, both in differing ways conjuring a spectral quality. In pop music, it enriched the bounciest 1960s sounds and garage rock. Laura Loriga’s debut album, ‘Vever’, foregrounds the organ, augmented by instruments such as nyckelharpa […]
‘I Came From Love’ is a massively ambitious record. In its attempt to map the Black experience through ancestry, the legacy of slavery, the impact of living in an unjust society and Dave Okumu’s family history, its scope is similar to Steve McQueen’s magisterial ‘Small Axe’ collection of films. A novelistic ambition is illustrated in […]

ALBUM REVIEW – DAVE OKUMU & THE 7 GENERATIONS: I CAME FROM LOVE

ALBUM REVIEW: THE HOLD STEADY – THE PRICE OF PROGRESS

The Hold Steady may have emerged in the early 2000’s yet what set them apart from the other (also amazing) bands which emerged from NY in that era, was that their sound seemed to come from a different inspirational source completely, less spiky garage rock, preferring instead to drink from a similar well as Springsteen […]
Sometimes a voice leaps out as mind-blowing. From the moment Desire Marea opens his mouth on opening track ‘Ezulwini’, revealing a voice which seduces and soars into the outer stratosphere, it is clear that this is wow and flutter territory. Aptly, he is repeating the mantra “I wanna see you levitate”.  Marea’s 2020 debut album […]

ALBUM REVIEW – DESIRE MAREA: ON THE ROMANCE OF BEING

ALBUM REVIEW: BOYGENIUS – THE RECORD

Boygenius: the band in full control of your emotions. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus formed the supergroup only five years ago in 2018, and have been storming their way to the top of the indie-rock scene ever since. Their first EP, ‘boygenius’, released when the group first formed, blessing us with the masterpieces […]
With a packed-out schedule and the entering of a new electronic era DMA’S are ready to impress. Embarking out to festivals such as Y Not, Live at Leeds and Tramlines festival this summer, as well as a run of tour dates across the UK in April. The album couldn’t have come at a better time.  The Australian trio consisting of Tommy O’Dell (vocals), Matthew Mason (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Johnny Took (acoustic guitar), blending seamlessly together to […]

ALBUM REVIEW: DMA’S – HOW MANY DREAMS?

Channel Tres

LIVE: CHANNEL TRES – 28/03/2023

– Gorilla, Manchester – How on earth is someone this effortlessly cool? Dressed in a white vest with ripped off sleeves, dripping in pearls, Channel Tres is elevated above the audience and his two dancers on a podium on stage, oozing nonchalant chic, and it’s magnetic. Here to support his latest EP Real Cultural Shit, […]
At its best, music can be a balm that sees all stresses evaporate. That is certainly the feeling generated by the opening track of ‘Les Egarés’, ‘Ta Nye’, each note a carefully placed finger on the temple, massaging away anxiety. ‘Les Egarés’ is the work of a quartet consisting of Ballaké Sissoko (kora), Vincent Segal […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SISSOKO SEGAL PARISIEN PEIRANI: LES EGARES

ALBUM REVIEW – KATIE GATELY: FAWN / BRUTE

Katie Gately mines the seismic events in her life for musical inspiration. In her 2020 album, ‘Loom’, she channelled the loss of her mother through sampled sounds sourced from coffins closing, meat smacking, elephant trumpets, cantaloupe stabs and earthquakes. Her latest release, ‘Fawn / Brute’, sees her exploring the flipsides of childhood energy following the […]
– Yes Pink Room, Manchester – To describe this Anna B Savage show as eagerly awaited would be a major understatement. The searing intensity of her first album, ‘A Common Turn’, became one of my soundtracks to 2021’s winter lockdown while her more nuanced follow-up, ‘in/FLUX,’ has already established itself as a leading contender for […]
Anna B Savage

LIVE: ANNA B SAVAGE – 22/03/2023