ALBUM: WIRE – SILVER/LEAD

Forty years after stepping onto the musical battlefield with one of the best albums of the late seventies in ‘Pink Flag’, WIRE return with an album that can be summed up with one phrase: more of the same. It’s better than their last release, the weirdly titled ‘Nocturnal Koreans’, but the plodding nature of many […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – The winter bite has recently left the Manchester air and the newfound glow of spring is still a novelty tonight. Ideally, the visit of Ibibio Sound Machine, one of the country’s most vibrant and buoyant bands, would have been a great excuse to cash in on the seasonal […]

LIVE: IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE – 28/03/2017

LIVE: FRANCOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS – 29/03/2017

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – On the day the UK formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the EU, Manchester is out in force at Soup Kitchen for Frenchman François Marry’s show with his pop band Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains. Like for many of us, the events of the day have […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – It seems no coincidence that on one of the hottest days of the year to date, one of the hottest bands currently around hit Manchester. The Moonlandingz, a super band featuring members of Fat White Family, Slow Club and Eccentronic Research Council, have arrived fresh from the recent release of their […]

LIVE: THE MOONLANDINGZ / GOAT GIRL – 30/03/2017

LIVE: THE LEMON TWIGS – 28/03/2017

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – The Lemon Twigs are a New York band fronted by brothers Brian D’Addario and Michael D’Addario, and for their tours at least, joined by Megan Zeankowski on bass and Danny Ayala on keys and backing vox. Although their debut album Do Hollywood was released back in October 2016, it’s difficult to […]
I fell hard for Future Islands when I heard ‘Seasons (Waiting For You)’ from their last album – 2014’s Singles.  To be more accurate I fell in love when I saw them play the track on Jools Holland – that lush, buxom electronic backdrop and lead singer Samuel T. Herring’s impassioned vocals.  Actually to be […]

ALBUM: FUTURE ISLANDS – THE FAR FIELD

LIVE: GRANDADDY – 28/03/2017

– ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Let’s get a couple of things out of the way right up front here guys: 1) I am a massive Grandaddy fan-boy who has been waiting to see them for around 15 years, and 2) I cry a lot. I cry at things I find joyous, I cry at things […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Will Toledo and the rest of Car Seat Headrest have quite the following in Manchester, if I’m honest it was totally unexpected. I know they’re a great young band with two fantastic albums under their belt, Teens of Style (2015) and Teens of Denial (2016), but I had no idea how […]

LIVE: CAR SEAT HEADREST – 24/03/2017

LIVE: THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN – 25/03/2017

– ACADEMY, MANCHESTER – The Jesus and Mary Chain became a household name in 1985 when they released their critically acclaimed debut album Psychocandy. The East Kilbride outfit, formed by brothers Jim and William Reid in 1983, recorded a series of six studio albums before disbanding in 1999. The band briefly reformed in 2007 to […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – It’s a special day for Formation before they even step on the jam-packed-full of equipment corner stage at the Night and Day Cafe. It’s the release day of their debut album, Look at the Powerful People. The five-piece, founded by twins Will and Matt Ritson, walk on stage […]

LIVE: FORMATION – 24/03/2017