ALBUM: INSECURE MEN – INSECURE MEN

Formed out of dark times, but with melodies to lift the heaviest of hearts, welcome to the bizarre world of the Insecure Men. They’re another band comprising members of the Fat White Family, either current or ex members (it’s often hard to tell with that lot, who’s in and who’s out!), but all maintaining the […]
-MANCHESTER ARENA- It’s not often that support bands appeal so accurately to the main act’s crowd, but many have made the extra effort to get in early tonight to see John Grant. It’s easy to see why he appeals to Elbow fans, as his songs have a certain depth to them; whether it’s the slow […]

LIVE: ELBOW / JOHN GRANT – 04/03/2018

LIVE: SOCCER MOMMY – 04/03/2018

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Soccer Mommy is the alias for 20-year-old musician and singer-songwriter Sophie Allison from Nashville, Tennessee. After having released two records in the last 2 years, one of which was produced in her very own bedroom, March 2018 has seen the release of her debut full-length studio album, Clean. A few months […]
-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- I wasn’t sure I’d ever see this to be honest. Paul Draper, former lead singer of britpop heroes Mansun, on stage, not only armed with some solo material but also ready to deploy the entirety of Mansun’s debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern (AOTGL) for the first time after a it […]

LIVE: PAUL DRAPER – 01/03/2018

LIVE: OH SEES / ONCE & FUTURE BAND / MALE GAZE / FLAT WORMS / KELLEY STOLTZ – 01/03/2018

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- It’s an intensely grim evening in Manchester tonight, but despite that fans are out in force, descending on the Albert Hall for Castlemania: a Castle Face Records showcase event offering five live bands. Opening we have Kelley Stoltz, current San Francisco resident who has been releasing music since 1999 and has been […]
-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- It’s Friday, it’s cold and I’ve got a last minute gig: Manchester outfit Douga at the warm and old school boozer The Castle; happy days. I love live music in pubs. Before the trendy bars and O2 academies became the staple arenas for every kind of music imaginable, the local watering […]

LIVE: DOUGA / CHEW MAGNA – 23/02/2018

LIVE: SAINT AGNES / HEY BULLDOG – 28/02/2018

-NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER- It’s a hell of a wild evening out there, but that hasn’t stopped people from finding their way to Night and Day Café to watch Hey Bulldog and Saint Agnes. Hey Bulldog have been around for a number of years now, quietly building their fan base and strengthening their repertoire. […]
-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- Two promotional entities, The Beauty Witch and Grey Lantern, have joined forces to bring California’s Carlton Melton to Soup Kitchen tonight for a hotly anticipated showing following the release of their latest album, Mind Minerals, which came out last week – the band’s first since 2015. The band Carlton Melton were formed […]

LIVE: CARLTON MELTON – 23/02/2018

LIVE: BAXTER DURY – 21/02/2018

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – It’s just gone nine, the band are on stage. They launch into ‘Isabel’ from the 2011 album Happy Soup, but there’s someone missing from the stage. Just in time and to a big cheer from the crowd our host for the night Baxter Dury enters stage right looking rather dapper. The […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Indoor Pets, formally known as Get Inuit, put on an energetic and loving display at Manchester’s Deaf Institute proving it doesn’t really matter what your band is called. If the tunes come from a place of sincerity and passion you’re onto a winner. But first, there were two top notch performances from […]

LIVE: INDOOR PETS / PEANESS – 20/02/2018