ALBUM REVIEW – THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: THROUGH THIS FIRE ACROSS FROM PETER BALKAN

Conceptually the most elaborate of their 23 albums, ‘Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan’ sees The Mountain Goats embark on a full-blown musical. It tells of a small crew consisting of Captain Peter Balkan, Adam and an unnamed narrator who are stranded on a desert island. Their struggle for survival amidst declining resources and […]
“Everything’s connected, the fibres intertwine.” For three decades now, Neil Hannon, performing under the name The Divine Comedy, has serenaded the world with his baroque, orchestrated pop, as well as his bespoke outlook on not just life itself, but himself too. But, as the old saying goes, time is of the essence. It had been […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE DIVINE COMEDY: RAINY SUNDAY AFTERNOON

ALBUM REVIEW – OMNIUM GATHERUM: MAY THE BRIDGES WE BURN LIGHT THE WAY

Melodic death metal is a subgenre within death metal that tends to explore the uniqueness of what a musician is able to produce, whether it is melodies or guitar solos. Omnium Gatherum pull this off to perfection. Despite the harsh vocals of frontman Jukka Pelkonen, which are absolutely brutal, where this band shines is in […]
Noura Mint Seymali’s third album and her first in nine years is a highly focused and impressive blast of desert psych. ‘Yenbett’ is a successful blending of tradition with innovation. A Mauritanian griot, Seymali comes from a significant musical family: her father, Seymali Ould Ahmed Vall, was a renowned composer and scholar; and her stepmother, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – NOURA MINT SEYMALI: YENBETT

GIG GUIDE – NOVEMBER 2025

With Winter in full swing, November is looking to be an incredibly exciting month in Manchester, with iconic acts such as Mac DeMarco and Lorde, to the sheer brilliance in more intimate venues such as Sunday (1994) and Model/Actriz. if there is one way of escaping the oncoming rush of Christmas, going to see some […]
For some reason, I can’t pinpoint how I first discovered Luvcat, the persona conjured by Liverpudlian musician Sophie Morgan. Somehow, “Dinner @ Brasserie Zédel” made its way to my headphones with this sprawl, a message of longing and image conjuring an opulent night in Soho, and I was promptly hooked. A quick delve into what […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LUVCAT: VICIOUS DELICIOUS

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 31 OCTOBER 2025

Anna Von Hausswolff                 Iconoclasts      Artist taking the pipe organ as her instrument of choice. On Iconoclasts, her sound evolves again, bringing a poppier and more vibrant element to her moving songs. Micah P Hinson              The Tomorrow Man      Americana/folk singer-songwriter presents a set of all new compositions beyond the long-lost country classic ‘The Last Train […]
FaT OuT Festival returns to Salford this November. They self-describe as a passionate champion of the underground, dedicated to discovering new music to produce captivating live shows for both artists and audience alike, aiming to promote a combination of challenging, intense, experimental, queer and downright rowdy music. FaT OuT Festival is their flagship event that […]

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ALBUM REVIEW – HILARY WOODS: NIGHT CRIU

Following two densely atmospheric instrumental albums, her latest record sees Hilary Woods making a welcome return to a song-based structure and giving primacy to her voice. ‘Night CRIÚ’ takes as its stated influences Czech and early Italian cinema, processions and parades, early music, indigenous language, the joy in dance, the immediacy of sound and the […]
Combining music genres in alternative music is very rare and, when it is done correctly, the results can be mind-blowing. Witch Fever, in their short career thus far, have always been aiming to push the boundaries of alternative music, by combining shoegaze esque soundscapes with heavier guttural vocals at times which sound like yells. Fevereaten […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WITCH FEVER: FEVEREATEN