NEWS: BEACONS FESTIVAL – FIRST ACTS ANNOUNCED

Following a hugely successful 2013 which featured Django Django, Bonobo, Local Natives and more, Beacons Festival returns for 2014 over the weekend of 7th August to 10th August. Beacons Festival is pleased to reveal the first acts for 2014. New York opulent disco / astral funk duo Darkside, ethereal and intimate yet mountain-range massive sounding […]
At the moment, the DIY ethic that is so essential for exciting new bands is as abundant in the underground music scene as it ever was. With the likes of Manchester band PINS and Leeds groups Menace Beach and Department M – amongst others – all creating their own merchandise, cultivating their own distinct image […]

Album Review: Breton – War Room Stories

LIVE: ALGIERS – 31/01/2014

– FALLOW CAFE, MANCHESTER – Fallow Cafe is the venue for this evening’s gig headlined by Sheffield duo Algiers. This is my first visit to the venue, opened after the people behind the The Ruby Lounge took over and rebranded what was the original Trof site in Fallowfield. I arrived to learn technical difficulties would […]
Liverpool Sound City has unveiled the first wave of acts for its seventh festival: an exciting and eclectic live bill including Kodaline, Gruff Rhys, Fuck Buttons and Clean Bandit who yesterday achieved their first UK number one single with ‘Rather Be’. The bill also features a host of breakthrough artists including Jungle, Wolf Alice, Darlia, […]

NEWS: LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY 2014 – FIRST NAMES ANNOUNCED

LIVE: JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW – 24/01/2014

– MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL, MANCHESTER – One of the first things that catches my attention and makes an impression is the name of a band or an artist. And James Vincent McMorrow’s name is among the loveliest ones I’ve heard. The singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland released his second album, Post Tropical just this month. He kicked […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – On arrival at the Students’ Union, I’m greeted by the sight of tonight’s headliner’s Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip manning their own merch stand. I would guess that it’s partly born out of necessity, but I admire the personal touch; it is nice to see a hip-hop act who […]

LIVE: DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP – 19/01/2014

NEWS: TWISTED WHEEL – THE KRAAK SESSIONS

Twisted Wheel are hell bent on selling out Kraak for five days straight next month, and with all tickets now gone for all but the first night, it seems like they’re well on their way to achieving their goal. From Wednesday 5th February to Sunday 9th February, Twisted Wheel will take over the city’s Kraak […]
Department M shoot a large portion of intriguing sounds straight to your ears as soon as ‘Miscellany’ graces your speakers. The industrial electro-synth tones partnered with a cleverly syncopated hard-hitting drum beat combine to create a sound that leaves you wanting more. The instruments initially jar, but as the track progresses it all makes sense. […]

Single Review: Department M – Miscellany

LIVE: CASS MCCOMBS – 10/01/2014

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – I rarely ever mention support acts in a review, but only one man has led me to break that mould – Frank Fairfield. With a barely comprehensible Southern American accent, baggy trousers and a belt buckle which would take Alex Turner’s belt buckle efforts to town, he sits on […]
Genre-busting pioneers, John Cale and Thurston Moore formed two of the most influential bands of the twentieth century in The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth, reinventing music and spawning thousands of bands in their wakes. Continuing to influence and impact on the industry, John has since recorded 15 solo studio albums including his best-known, the […]

NEWS: LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY 2014 – FESTIVAL REVEALS LEGENDARY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS