LIVE: MAC DEMARCO – 12/09/2015

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Sporting an Everton shirt and accompanied by a girl who had a fucking jewel glued to her forehead I venture to the ever eventful city of Manchester with great anticipation of who I’m going to witness this  evening. The effortlessly cool and entertaining Mac Demarco graces the stage of […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Tonight at Manchester’s Soup Kitchen, we are in for something special. Not only is it the last gig of the year for psych favourites The Lucid Dream, but we are being treated to an amalgamation act known only as The Boris Johnson Massacre. Taking to the dimly lit stage, The […]

LIVE: THE LUCID DREAM 11/09/2015

LIVE: WAND – 10/09/2015

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Our editor told me to use the word ‘magic’ in this review, so that’s that over with. Wand are a 4-piece from LA who are about to release their 3rd album in the space of 14 months. ‘Ganglion Reef’, on Ty Segall’s God? label, showcased an impressive, unique blend of psych, prog and […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Lights dance off the audience’s head, an ear piercing twang sounds from the guitar and Cate Le Bon stands to the side of Tim Presley, the White Denim bassist, with an unnerving presence. If this band didn’t consist of musicians of such pedigree, who knows if Soup Kitchen’s basement would […]

LIVE: DRINKS – 09/09/2015

LIVE: FUTURE ISLANDS – 08/09/2015

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – You just know the night’s going to be good when – even before you’ve stepped foot inside The Academy – someone undercharges you for a beer, Rooney beats Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring record and you bump into old, old friends, long lost, somehow having got away from you.  So I […]
– HALLE ST. PETER’S, MANCHESTER – I’m not a religious man, so I don’t know off the top of my head where the Halle St Peter’s church is. A cursory Google informs me it’s deep in the heart of Ancoats, outside the comfort blanket of the usual Northern Quarter gig stomping ground. As it happens, […]

LIVE: HAIKU SALUT – 08/09/2015

ALBUM REVIEW: BEIRUT – NO NO NO

Beirut band leader Zach Condon’s story is film-worthy – as a young jazz trumpeter, he was exposed to mariachi music while growing up in Sante Fé, New Mexico. At 17, he dropped out of school and ran away to Paris after working in an international film cinema, where Sicilian funeral brass music and Balkan folk had caught his […]
“Things can get out of a black hole, both to the outside, and possibly, to another universe. So, if you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up. There’s a way out” (*). This is Stephen Hawking’s encouraging reflection on the everlasting human concern about what’s on the other side(s). Spanish progressive post-rock […]

Album Review: Exxasens – Back To Earth

LIVE: CUZ – 03/09/2015

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER –  Cuz is a collaboration between Mike Watt of The Stooges and Sam Dook of The Go! Team. The pair met whilst with their respective bands at a festival in Australia in 2006, became friends and went on to release a full-length record as Cuz last year. I had initially […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Well summer’s over, the tent is packed away and the sun cream remains unused. Don’t shed a tear though, because dark nights drawing near ushers in months of fantastic gigs. Two days into September and we’re already under way, another stellar line up from prolific promoters Now Wave. Headliners […]

LIVE: OUGHT – 02/09/2015