LIVE: THE CORAL / SHE DREW THE GUN – 14/10/2018

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Arms flailing, dancing in a world of her own, going up to complete strangers and putting her face inches away from theirs, the woman in front of us is on a mission. Why do I always attract them? Harmless enough, but clearly off her rocker on whatever Saturday night substances have been […]
-RNCM, MANCHESTER- Either in his own name or as Sun Kil Moon, I count that Mark Kozelek has released ten albums since 2015’s Universal Themes, although I’m not here tonight because I have listened to any of them. Before the release of …Themes I wrote a review of the previewed song ‘Ali/Spinks 2’ in which […]

LIVE: MARK KOZELEK – 12/10/2018

LIVE: THE SHE STREET BAND – 11/10/2018

-ARTS CLUB, LIVERPOOL- I’ve made the trip 30 miles west from Manchester to catch The She Street Band at the Arts Club, the interior of which sometimes recalls a miniature Ritz. Gigging only since last year, the band describes itself as the world’s first and only all-female Bruce Springsteen cover band. I go back a […]
-NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER- As I make my way to the venue in the relative warmth of a freak 21 degree Manchester evening, coming straight after a run of cold nights, I’m not entirely sure if I’m off to see a solo artist with the surname Allum, or a group of people who are […]

LIVE: ANNABEL ALLUM / VINYL STAIRCASE / ANNA McLUCKIE – 10/10/2018

LIVE: MORCHEEBA / IRENA ZILIC – 08/10/2018

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- I’m immediately greeted with the haunting voice of Irena Zilic as I arrive at Manchester underground hot spot Gorilla. Bosnia and Herzegovina native Irena has a wonderful tone and fantastic stage presence, bouncing off her accompanying musician with ease as she opens up the night. It’s already quite busy when I arrive part […]
Songs can have many versions, throughout history people have always covered another person’s tunes, from the Victorian music halls to the bands of today, and sometimes it’s the cover version which ends up being just as appreciated as the original. From Jeff Buckley’s vs. Leonard Cohen’s versions of ‘Hallelujah’ to Jimi Hendrix’s vs Bob Dylan’s […]

ALBUM: JIM JAMES – UNIFORM CLARITY

ALBUM: SOBRENADAR – Y

Operating in a similar dream pop hazy world as Slowdive, Boards Of Canada and Four Tet, hailing from Argentina and singing in her native Spanish, Sobrenadar creates gentle soundscapes which waft out of the speakers and grab your attention in the most subtle way possible. She’s already had remixes from the likes of Gwenno, Xam […]
– Apollo, Manchester – With the three remaining members of Pink Floyd all doing their separate solo projects, the only way to capture any essence of Pink Floyd is by seeing either Roger Waters, David Gilmour or Nick Mason live. As Roger and Dave focus on the bigger hits from the expansive Floyd catalogue, drummer […]

LIVE: NICK MASON’S SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS – 27/09/2018

LIVE: THE MAGIC GANG – 27/09/2018

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Deep breath, eyes closed, take yourself back to the early 2000s. Indie music pulsing through your veins, the radios bleed Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, The White Stripes and Franz Ferdinand, the bands who defined indie rock. Now, snap back to 2018, radios have somewhat become something of the past, but indie music […]
-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Reader, I am hungover. I wish this were not the case, I only had two pints last night, but after waking up much too early, my head is humming, and I don’t know if drinking any more is a good idea oh but Tracy has bought me another pint so I guess […]

LIVE: JOSE GONZALEZ / JESCA HOOP – 22/09/2018