LIVE: LOLA COLT – 14/07/2016

 – SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Hot on the heels of their second album release Twist Through The Fire Lola Colt cram themselves into the shabby chic surrounding of Manchester’s Soup Kitchen.  I have had the good fortune of watching Lola Colt twice at both Cosmosis and Liverpool Psych Fest and was impressed by their widescreen […]
The Cult of Dom Keller are a four-piece from the Midlands who offer up their third LP Goodbye to the Light via Fuzz Club Records on 21st July 2016. Having grown in depth and intensity since their foundation in 2008, they are now a tour de force. They have pushed themselves to the sonic limits […]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE CULT OF DOM KELLER – GOODBYE TO THE LIGHT

LIVE: THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS – 10/07/2016

– CASTLEFIELD BOWL, MANCHESTER – Castlefield Bowl is erected temporarily for the summer season. A stage over the waterway, set in the amphitheatre in the shadow of the YMCA leisure centre.  The atmosphere is of a festival that you’ve been at for a couple of days. A much needed buzz and cheer of a warm […]
– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – It’s quiet tonight. There’s a slight lull. Whether Wales Euro 2016 related (they won). Pay day week related (another four more weeks to go). Weather related (typically British). Or Friday night ‘I’m in the mood to party’ related. Who knows. I know for sure people are missing out. Little Scream really […]

LIVE: LITTLE SCREAM – 01/07/2016

LIVE: ED HARCOURT – 29/06/2016

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The world certainly seems to be on fire, as Ed Harcourt warns a lurking crowd. He and his band – with silent John J Presley guest starring, are warmly welcomed. There’s a misty atmosphere surrounding this track, ‘The World Is On Fire’, from his brand new album Furnaces, produced by […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – It’s a suspiciously warm evening on the eve of the so-called ‘Independence Day’. The storm, in every single sense, is dangerously approaching. After a proper warm up courtesy of Proto Idiot and Nine Black Alps, Baby Lemonade comes full of love, with a very special guest star: Love’s original […]

LIVE: LOVE REVISITED – 23/06/2016

LIVE: TY SEGALL & THE MUGGERS – 23/06/2016

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Ty Segall is a name that I’d heard a lot over the years but never investigated until recently. The incredibly prolific multi-instrumentalist released his eighth album in eight years at the start of the year and was the first time I had embraced the genius of this man. Emotional Mugger […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Car Seat Headrest (let’s do CSH from now on for the sake of my fingers) are what one would call ‘quite prolific’. Starting off as the solo project of Will Toledo (apparently called CSH due to recording the vocals for his first album in the back seat of his […]

LIVE: CAR SEAT HEADREST – 22/06/2016

LIVE: TVAM – 21/06/2016

– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – On Record Store Day I witnessed TVAM hand over a tape to Mary Anne Hobbs. Whether that was the pivotal moment in Lauren Laverne naming him as her BBC 6Music recommendation of the week I’m unsure. Like The Cocteau Twins, the Wigan-based solo musician buries his voice under his distinctive brand […]
– EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – Day two is welcomed in by Statue, a Dutch six piece who offer up four guitars alongside bass and drums. They present numerous references to symphonic rock and hints of influences such as Sonic Youth shine through. It’s clear that they are really pleased to be here as they rock along […]

LIVE: EINDHOVEN PSYCH LAB DAY 2 – 11/06/2016