ALBUM REVIEW: SLEEPER – MODERN AGE

Listening to the new album it is clear Pixes are one of their main influences. The opening track Paradise Waiting has a very much late 80’s/early 90’s sound to it, with a youthful almost cliché’ chorus. It opens the album like a band starting in late teens would trying to break onto the scene. Yet […]
Here at Silent Radio, we don’t set store by stars or marks out of ten, but I would be surprised if Oozing Wound’s High Anxiety doesn’t turn out to be my “album of 2019”. I even love the front cover artwork and that hasn’t happened since 10,000 Days. I am going through some difficult times […]

ALBUM REVIEW: OOZING WOUND – HIGH ANXIETY

LIVE: SHARON VAN ETTEN – 22/03/2019

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- There’s a chance I’ve seen Sharon Van Etten play live once before. It’s 2014 and I’m in idyllic Wales. It’s the second day of Green Man and I’m riding high on that festival wave of ‘I haven’t showered in longer than is socially acceptable but my hair still looks quite good so […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- The Empty Page A late start (I hear an act pulled out?) affords me enough time to eat a quantity of waffles (potato) before venturing into the vaguely kitsch dwelling we all know as the Deaf Institute. Up first comes a 3-piece heavily rooted in 1990s ‘alternative’ rock, though sadly it doesn’t […]

LIVE: DESPERATE JOURNALIST – 15/03/2019

LIVE: RUTH THEODORE – 16/03/2019

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Supporting act Cupids Arrow deliver quite an eclectic mix for a cello duo. From the upbeat heights of the Tetris theme tune to haunting ravines of Hungarian folk. They are strong and interesting to watch. The set finishes with a great cover of Elbow’s ‘Grounds For Divorce’, one they say they […]
-NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER- I first met Matt Burr, the lead singer of The Black Delta Movement, nine years ago, just before he started the band. His original group, The 303’s, I had played with back in Hull, and from that day I always got a good vibe from Matt; he was always happy […]

LIVE: THE BLACK DELTA MOVEMENT – 15/03/2019

LIVE: SLEAFORD MODS – 15/03/2019

all photos courtesy of Ric Harris (aka @landwomble) -ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- What can we say about Sleaford Mods that hasn’t been said already? I think we’re all on the same page really. There’s no one quite like them and we bloody love them for it. The tenacious twosome from Nottingham haven’t really stopped since their formation […]
-YES, MANCHESTER- London’s own afro-funk party known as Ibibio Sound Machine have gained a passionate following from all walks of life, young and old. A likely reasoning is the way they sew West-African dance and funk music with the hyper-animated electro-punk heard over at labels like DFA Records. Tonight, they play at Yes in Manchester […]

LIVE: IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE / AADAE – 15/03/2019

LIVE: SELF ESTEEM – 14/03/2019

-YES, MANCHESTER- Self Esteem is the new solo project of former Slow Club member Rebecca Taylor, a band which I know very little about so that’s all the info you’re getting about them from me. Having never been a fan of said band, I came to Self Esteem on the back of hearing the wonderful […]
-GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER- Formed in 2011 and named after the news and culture show on BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour is made up of siblings Fiona and William Burgess and synth player Josh Hunnisett. Their 2014 debut album Conversations was received well by critics, receiving strong reviews across the board, but since that debut release, there […]

LIVE: WOMAN’S HOUR – 14/03/2019