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

LIVE: TOURIST – 10/05/2016

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The usually refined Deaf Institute with its animal print wallpaper and red cushioned seats has tonight been transformed into something much more in line with the euphoric electronics of Tourist. Huge lights stand tall and form an arch around Tourist’s impressive array of production equipment that consists of a […]
– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – Let’s begin with an undeniable truth that will set the tone for this review: The Hotelier are fucking awesome. Don’t let the ‘emo’ tag they get tarred with put you off, they are so much more than that. The label comes from their incredible second album Home Like Noplace There […]

LIVE: THE HOTELIER – 10/05/2016

LIVE: BAD MANNERS – 07/05/2016

– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – “You Fat Bastard!” Bad Manners’ war-cry will be constantly chorused all the gig long, both by the crowd and the larger-than-life, charismatic frontman Buster Bloodvessel. After struggling a little bit so as to get in the venue, by the time I’m in, support band Max Splodge is filling the thick […]
– AATMA, MANCHESTER – In the hidden attic of a side alley in the Northern Quarter, roughly a hundred people are assembled on this Friday night for something fairly special. There may be no marquee outside with a band’s name in neon letters – hell, there isn’t even a sign outside saying the name of […]

LIVE: FALSE ADVERTISING / ILSER – 06/05/2016

LIVE: LUH – 06/05/2016

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – It seems disingenuous to mention the former band of someone who has re-emerged anew but WU LYF were an act of such influence they simply cannot be ignored. Ellery Roberts, now part of the duo LUH (Lost Under Heaven) formed with his partner Ebony Hoorn, was once the frontman […]
– VARIOUS VENUES, SALFORD – Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) is in it’s twelfth glorious year now. Every May bank holiday, Chapel Street and the surrounding area is turned into a wonder of new music and arts performances, with everyone from the pubs and local community centres to the Cathedral (for the first time […]

LIVE: SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY – 01/05/2016

LIVE: THIS WILL DESTROY YOU – 30/04/2016

– SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER – This Will Destroy You are a post rock band (although they don’t like to be referred to as a ‘post rock’ band, instead favouring ‘doom metal and shoegaze’, which suits them pretty well to be fair) from Texas who pretty much do one thing and one thing only: play quietly […]
– THE BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER – As introductions go, telling the crowd to “Take the bullshit, turn it in to good shit (then roll it up and smoke it)” is a pretty good start. Coincidentally, tonight’s opening act, Fantastic Negrito is also a pretty good start. Musically, Fantastic Negrito seems to blend gospel and blues […]

LIVE: CHRIS CORNELL / FANTASTIC NEGRITO – 27/04/2016