Good Morning - Barnyard

ALBUM REVIEW: GOOD MORNING – BARNYARD

Good Morning is a two piece band from Melbourne, who are part of the indie rock revival movement occuring with other bands like Boy Pablo, Crumb and Yellow Days just to name a few. Their latest release ‘Barnyard’ is a laidback album, which feels as if you are listening to an intimate live session instead […]
Combining delicate pop harmonies with Americana style guitars, La Luz are the missing link between floaty, dreamy indie and cosmic country, with plenty of vocal harmonies and reverb drenched guitar sounds throughout the album. There’s the twangy opener ‘In The Country’ then the surf rock blast of ‘The Pines’ with its gentle vocal harmonies. ‘Metal […]

ALBUM REVIEW: LA LUZ – LA LUZ

ALBUM REVIEW: THINK I’M GOING WEIRD – ORIGINAL ARTEFACTS FROM THE BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC SCENE 1966-1968

Ah, the sixties, a time of Beatlemania, rock n’ roll rebellion, pop dominating the charts, three tv channels, and space exploration. While the world was fascinated by what lay beyond our own planet, in the late 1960s music fans around the world were discovering other ways to get ‘far out’ and ‘go cosmic man’ thanks […]
– Castle Hotel, Manchester – It’s a later than expected start tonight, scheduled support act Loose Articles are sadly unable to perform, here’s wishing a speedy recovery. It means I arrive barely ten minutes before the main event, just in time to hear Black Flag then Black Sabbath playing as background music, as though the […]
Sprints

LIVE: SPRINTS – 28/10/2021

Lyra Pramuk

LIVE: LYRA PRAMUK – 26/10/2021

– Soup, Manchester – Spoiler: this is, hands down, the most extraordinary vocal performance I’ve witnessed live. Lyra Pramuk, the American producer and composer, constructs songs from just her vocals in the most remarkable way. Her debut album ‘Fountain’, released in 2020, sounds like little else released last year (or since, tbf), and when you […]
– Castle Hotel, Manchester – I’d forgotten, after all this time, just how intimate the back room at The Castle is, and what a wonderfully evocative room it is too. It’s like being in someone’s front room, albeit a front room with a stage. It also has a slight vicarage vibe about it, with its […]
Just Mustard

LIVE: JUST MUSTARD – 25/10/2021

Villagers

LIVE: VILLAGERS – 15/10/2021

– Albert Hall, Manchester – The band are playing so softly, the loudest thing you can hear during the introduction of opening song ‘Song In Seven’ are drummer Gwion Llewelyn’s cymbals. The vocals come in after a few moments and take the crown of the loudest sound source, but everything remains gentle. Not that any […]
– YES Pink Room, Manchester – Nothing says ‘ready for action’ like a frontman strolling on stage a good two minutes after his bandmates clutching two cans of Guinness. Chris Bailey, singer in Nottingham band Do Nothing, cuts a suave presence: nicely fitted suit, a couple of buttons undone on his crisp white shirt, hair […]
Do Nothing

LIVE: DO NOTHING – 13/10/2021

ALBUM REVIEW: FAUST – 1971-1974 50 JAHRE FAUST BOXSET

Celebrating fifty years since they formed, German experimental pioneers Faust have released a seven album compilation of their recordings between 1971-74. This includes the mythical long lost fifth album ‘Punkt’ recorded in 1971 but never released until this box set. They were recording it for Virgin Records but having not consulted the label first, spent […]
– RNCM, Manchester – Let’s get it out of the way up front. Yes, this is my first ‘proper’ post-covid-restrictions gig back in a full capacity venue (Squid at a sparsely populated, socially distanced Stoller Hall in Summer does not count), and yes it feels absolutely thrilling to be sharing a communal experience with actual […]
Rival Consoles

LIVE: RIVAL CONSOLES – 10/10/2021