LIVE: ESPER SCOUT – 15/08/2015

– FALLOW CAFE, MANCHESTER – August in Fallowfield is the depths of tumbleweed season, with students having committed their post-graduation mass exodus a month previous and a new influx of freshers still several weeks away. Even Saturday night is quiet, with the closure of the once-prominent Baa Bar adding to the eeriness. However, one local […]
Monotony is the ‘evil twin’ of DIY crusaders Sauna Youth (Jen, Rich, Chris, and Lindsay forming both bands). Limited to 300 copies, this 12″ is delightful in its shouty A to B delivery, providing post-punk goods. Boasting a scuzzier sound compared to the SY side of the yin-yang of the two bands, this recording has […]

Album Review: Monotony – Monotony

LIVE: FRANK TURNER / PJ BOND – 10/08/2015

– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – These kinds of nights are usually a rarity from artists that have reached the stellar heights of Frank Turner. Not for him, this was a welcome return to the Night and Day Café, following his previous gig in January. There is no going through the motions and familiarity […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Tonight’s line up features two fantastic solo artists, Sobi and Elle Mary, and the headlining indie band, The Mynabirds. This line-up is sure to get many people off the couch and into The Castle, but the fact that it is free, yes free, has just served to nearly double […]
The Mynabirds

LIVE: THE MYNABIRDS – 06/08/2015

Album Review: Frank Turner – Positive Songs For Negative People

Frank turner is a man who seems to have hardly slept since he began this solo venture of his back in 2006.  If he’s not writing he’s in the studio, and if he’s not in the studio he’s on the road. Positive Songs For Negative People is Frank’s sixth album and follows up 2013’s Tape […]
– FOPP, MANCHESTER – Finding beauty amongst the daily grind is no easy task, yet Southern London’s guys Maccabees have managed to do so. Their brand new album, Marks To Prove It, seems an urban ode to their beloved London’s area Elephant and Castle. Some kind of crazy London’s B Side, I guess. They’ve chosen […]

LIVE: MACCABEES – 05/08/2015

LIVE: STEALING SHEEP – 05/08/2015

– THE OAST HOUSE, MANCHESTER – You’d be forgiven for not realising that Stealing Sheep were playing at The Oast House in Spinningfields tonight. Yes, there’s a stage set up but that’s been there for a few weeks now without any obvious action. There are no posters, there’s been no promotion. Google is coming up […]
Misissippi psych stomper ‘Pretty Pimpin’ is the lead track from the b’lieve I’m going down… album, Vile’s hotly anticipated fifth. It catches him in fine form but also in contemplative mood, and in the midst of an identity crisis. The whole ensemble reads like the rueful dregs of a drunken weekend, swilling at the bottom of […]

Single Review: Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin

ALBUM REVIEW: THE MACCABEES ‘MARKS TO PROVE IT’

The Maccabees in my opinion have always been an underrated outfit. When you’ve got groups like Kasabian and Kaiser Chiefs pissing around the industry like headless chickens desperately trying to reinvent themselves, it’s nice to see a band come along with a positive correlation rather than a disjointed ‘progression’ in accordance with fashion trends in […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – For some reason, now seems the right time to catch The Dandy Warhols live. Since being a fan of theirs when they were arguably at their peak, around the turn of the century, they have always remained in my thoughts largely due to the The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Ironically, The Dandy’s […]

LIVE: THE DANDY WARHOLS – 31/07/2015