LIVE: HENRY ROLLINS: CHARMINGLY OBSTINATE TOUR – 12/01/2016

– THE BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER – Judging by the merchandise for sale at the desk in the concourse outside The Bridgewater Hall’s auditorium tonight, Henry Rollins continues to live by the ‘Search and Destroy’ philosophy that adorns the T-shirts and hoodies. No doubt inspired in part by the song by The Stooges, for Rollins the […]
December is a time of year when long-standing traditions are celebrated. A less heralded one, but a ritual that should be, is the annual release from Beans on Toast. The seventh album, Rolling Up the Hill, has continued the pattern of the first day of the month seeing a new album emerge. The significance of […]

Album Review: Beans on Toast – Rolling up the Hill

ALBUM REVIEW: RANCHO RELAXO – WHITE LIGHT FEVER

Wrong Way is a new independent record label specialising in psychedelia, shoegaze, spacerock, leftfield and krautrock emerging from the depths of Cornwall. This will be the labels first release and emerges into the world on 5th February 2016. Founded in 2003, Norway’s Rancho Relaxo are known for their talent to create compelling, absorbing sound that […]
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – What a difference a year makes. Or in this case two years. I remember seeing Manchester based quartet Horsebeach in 2013 play to a small crowd in Chorlton opening up for my band at the time and I remember thinking that there was definite promise in their jangly […]

LIVE: HORSEBEACH – 17/12/2015

LIVE: ORANGE GOBLIN – 16/12/2015

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – It’s been two decades since Orange Goblin swept the nation with their brand of heavy metal mania. Tonight, they’re back in Manchester for what promises to be one hell of a live show. 20 years of Blood, Metal and Beers, the band’s new slogan is already slapped on every second […]
 – ST PHILIP’S CHURCH, SALFORD – A Winged Victory For The Sullen (AWVFTS) are described as many things; an ambient/drone/modern classical duo made up of former (or is it dormant?) Stars of the Lid member Adam Wiltzie and pianist/composer Dustin O’Halloran. The music they make is ripe for words like ‘majestic’, ‘gorgeous’, ‘beautiful’, ‘soaring’, ‘wondrous’ and […]

LIVE: A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN – 14/12/2015

Francis Lung

LIVE: A FRANCIS LUNG CHRISTMAS – 13/12/2015

 – GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – A nearly annual event now, this night is a chance for former Wu Lyf man Francis Lung and others, selected by him, to come together to show us their individual musical gifts just in time for Christmas. Tonight’s feast is far better than your average Christmas dinner though, with indie rock […]
 – THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Cult hero Jeffrey Lewis returns to Manchester on a bitterly cold and wet night. The disposition he brings with him from across the pond is a warm and welcoming one, just what is needed for what is a restless, majorly male orientated crowd in attendance at The Deaf this […]

LIVE: JEFFREY LEWIS AND LOS BOLTS – 09/12/2015

LIVE: MARIACHI EL BRONX – 10/12/2015

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – What a treat this week for Manchester fans of The Bronx! Not only is the punk band from LA playing at The Ruby Lounge tomorrow, but we also get to see a performance tonight, at the same venue, by its alter-ego, mariachi band Mariachi El Bronx. Gig-goers could either […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – The Twilight Sad do not have a new album to flog, with Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave coming out back in 2014. Still, they are doing a few dates in the UK because, well they can, and with no new LP in tow it means they […]

LIVE: THE TWILIGHT SAD – 10/12/2015