LIVE: JAGWAR MA – 26/05/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Aussie psych-poppers-cum-Maaadchester students Jagwar Ma return to Manchester to a rapturous crowd, a sold-out crowd in fact. The parallels that are made between them and The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays etc…  are always talked about – songs like ‘Exercise’ with its bassy groove could easily be put on The Second Coming. […]
Gold Panda’s latest album takes it’s name from the parting words of a Japanese taxi driver, while visiting Hiroshima. This collection of tunes, made in Chelmsford, comprises samples and memories of his trip, along with accompanying photo’s from his travel companion, Laura Lewis. It’s been 6 years since his impressive debut ‘Lucky Shiner’, and his progression as […]

ALBUM – GOLD PANDA ‘GOOD LUCK AND DO YOUR BEST’

LIVE: CATE LE BON – 23/05/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Gorilla is one of those venues that feels ready made for a mosh pit, for a crowd of sweaty rock fans pogo-ing into one another. It’s a great little venue that provides intimacy for the audience, artists and bands. Tonight though, it’s unlikely that there’ll be any moshing as the venue […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Rowdy Black Lips enter the stage among chilly gusts and misty fog, perfect set for their opening track ‘Sea Of Blasphemy’. “Sea of vandal/Lost my candle…”. Pure classic garage, with broken bones, glass effects and everything. This gig at Manchester’s Gorilla is their only show in the North of the UK, […]

LIVE: BLACK LIPS – 20/05/2016

LIVE: PETE DOHERTY – 17/05/2016

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – The intricate carvings and delicate stained glass windows running along the balcony of the Albert Hall create a surprisingly peaceful atmosphere for a gig that is sure to be nothing of the sort. The crowd fills the old church building to breaking point and I decide that taking a […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – A golden rule that I have picked up about writing is: show, don’t tell. As in, if a character is rude don’t say ‘He’s rude,’ have him do something rude. This rule, ‘show, don’t tell’ can be applied to other art forms, namely music and one which Laura Mvula might want […]

LIVE: LAURA MVULA – 18/05/2016

LIVE: FLAMINGODS / ALDOUS RH – 19/05/2016

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Flamingods are first and foremost an intriguing band. With their roots in music from around the world and their passion for unusual instruments they find on their travels, they are the sort of band you go to see in order to experience something a little different. Upon arriving at Soup Kitchen […]
 – ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – The last time I saw Tim Hecker was just after he’d released the incredible Ravedeath, 1972, when he played in the beautiful surroundings of St. Phillips Church in Salford as part of the Future Everything festival. What set this apart from any other gig I saw that year was that […]

LIVE: TIM HECKER – 16/05/2016

LIVE: MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST IV – 14/05/2016

– NIGHT & DAY CAFE/AATMA, MANCHESTER – Sunny Saturday afternoon in Manchester (yes!) and it’s so tempting to leave everything behind and have a healthy sunbath. Duty calls however and when I get to Aatma, it feels like joining a vampires’ meeting. A nice crowd dances to the temperamental Psyblings. Sweet young insanity comes in […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – “Are they all girls?” asks a girl next to me, clearly shocked by the four women standing before us. Ironically it is this sort of cloaked sexism that the band take aim at with their lo-fi, stagnant guitar music. Their guitarist does not shave her armpits, they hail […]

LIVE: CHASTITY BELT – 12/05/2016