Album Review: Anna Calvi – One Breath

I recall a pub conversation with a friend at Christmas time. I believe the year was 2011, and we were each naming our favourite gig of the year and attempting to explain what it was that we liked so much about it. I think I used the words “hands down” in declaring that Calvi’s gig […]
– FRIDAY – Liverpool’s third eye opened for the 2nd annual International Festival of Psychedelia over the weekend of September 27-28, drawing in crowds from countries as far as Mexico and as close as Europe, to interconnect in all things psych-otic. Over 2,000 committed ‘PZYKonauts’ gathered in Liverpool’s most cultural quarter, The Baltic Triangle, to […]

LIVE: LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA – 27/09/2013 – 28/09/2013

LIVE: SKY LARKIN / BAD GRAMMAR – 30/09/2013

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – “Do you know who the support act are tonight?” “Radstewart.” “ROD STEWART?!” “No, Radstewart.” I can’t pretend I’m not slightly disappointed that the support act for tonight’s gig isn’t Rod Stewart. Sadly he’s headlining arenas in Glasgow for fifty quid this week, not playing the support slot at Manchester’s […]
The Fratellis are back with a much awaited new album ‘We Need Medicine’. The guys have a string of tour dates planned around North America, UK and some of Europe. I spoke to Lead Jon Fratelli about how the band feel about uniting back on stage and playing to a crowd again after a five […]

INTERVIEW: JON FRATELLI

EP REVIEW: STUBBORN HEART ‘PENETRATE 12”’

A batch of remixes normally act as a subtle reminder that ‘THIS BAND STILL EXIST’ ahead of a more important release, and tellingly on the day Stubborn Heart’s ‘Penetrate EP’ is released, announcements have been made about the release of a new 27-track deluxe edition of their well-received debut. I am not suspicious. Deluxe editions […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – I love a good story me, and boy, does Brian Christinzio aka BC Camplight, come laden with a whole heap of baggage. Namely the few the suitcases he packed in 2011, when he upped sticks from Philadelphia to set up home here, in Manchester. “Someday the press will awake to […]

LIVE: BC CAMPLIGHT – 28/09/2013

Album Review: Haim – Days Are Gone

The three Californian sisters that seem to be everywhere right now have finally dropped their long awaited debut album Days Are Gone. They already have a string of hit singles, massive tours and a Glastonbury main stage set under their belt, and since their debut three-track EP, Forever, Haim has been the word on everyone’s […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Wire are one of those bands that you discover through reading reviews of other bands. For me it happened in the earlier 2000’s, when ‘art-rock’ was making big waves through bands such as Franz Ferdinand and The Futureheads, and every review seemed to reference these bands from days of yore called […]

LIVE: WIRE – 26/09/2013

LIVE: JON HOPKINS – 24/09/2013

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I’m a little dubious about tonight’s gig at Gorilla, the main reason being that Jon Hopkins’ recent Mercury Prize nominated album ‘Immunity’ has been played to death since I got hold of it a few months ago and I’ve never listened to it with anyone else around. For me the whole […]
For a pianist to adopt a chillwave sound for her sophomore album, a form of music often associated with amateur bedroom musicians, would seem like a dumbed-down shot at accessibility, and ultimately this album follows that lead, with sprinklings of beautiful musicianship along the way, just increasing the frustration of what could have been. To put […]

Album Review: Cuushe – Butterfly Case