LIVE: THE RUMOUR SAID FIRE – 13/03/2012

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – I normally like to go into gigs ‘blind’, so to speak, to have no preconceptions, but as I planned to review this one I thought I ought to do some research.  My research brought up some mellow, yet lively sounding songs sung in English that suggested they were written with […]
– THE CONTINENTAL, PRESTON – Boldly venturing north tonight to experience some premier psych-drone-folk direct from France. After last year’s appearance at the Tusk Festival in Newcastle (supposedly only the duo’s second gig in the UK), Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte of Natural Snow Buildings must have caught the live performance bug as they are in […]

LIVE: NATURAL SNOW BUILDINGS – 08/03/2012

NEWS: BETH JEANS HOUGHTON & THE HOOVES OF DESTINY – NEW SINGLE ‘ATLAS’ + VIDEO

Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny have announced details of their new single ‘Atlas’. Set for release on Mute on 23 April 2012, the single will also have a special Record Store Day release on 21 April. The brilliant, black-and-white video was directed and produced by Beth’s friend Juan Iglesias in Los Angeles, where Beth has […]
Django Django are a bunch of genre-flouting, clever buggers. The Django’s, Dave Maclean (drums), Vinny Neff (vocals/guitar), Tommy Grace (keys) and Jimmy Dixon (bass), have been at it since 2009, but only this January they released their debut, self-titled album ‘Django Django’. It’s been giving all the new- music aficionados out there big, fizzy knickers. The […]

INTERVIEW: DJANGO DJANGO

LIVE: MAYER HAWTHORNE – 09/03/2012

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Well this guy has been on my radar for quite some time now. I first stumbled onto Mayer Hawthorne when he was due to play at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium last summer. Unfortunately, there was the quite apocalyptical storm that destroyed the festival site on the first day […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – As I saunter into The Deaf Institute tonight I hear a unique electro sound, and as I make my way to the bar (priorities) I then also hear a familiar voice. When I look up I see Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip on stage filling this evening’s support slot for New […]

LIVE: NEW BUILD – 09/03/2012

NEWS: BEACH HOUSE – NEW ALBUM DETAILS ‘BLOOM’ + HEAR A TRACK IN FULL

Beach House are pleased to share details of their fourth album, Bloom. Like their previous releases it further develops their distinctive sound and stands apart as a new piece of work. The landscape of Bloom was largely designed on the road, between the countless sound checks and myriad experiences of two years of touring. These ideas were later gathered and developed in […]
– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Gang Colours (Will Ozanne) falls under my personal classification of dark, underground, glitchy beat, mood music. The shoegazing electronic Southampton lad was brought to the attention of Gilles Peterson and his Brownswood label by Ghostpoet, resulting in the February release of his debut album ‘The Keychain Collection’. Heavyweight endorsements […]

LIVE: GANG COLOURS – 07/03/2012

NEWS: WU LYF – ANNOUNCE SUPPORT ACTS FOR UK, EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN TOURS

WU LYF are pleased to announce the support acts for their forthcoming tours of the UK, Europe and North America. The band will be joined by a host of artists across the 24 headline dates including Willis Earl Beal, Dreams, Apes & Horses, Herb Diamante, Dark Times, Holy Esque, Young Montana? and Shinies. In addition to these headline […]
North London’s finest, Bombay Bicycle Club, have sold out of more than 10,000 tickets to their local homecoming gig at Alexandra Palace on Saturday April 28 2012. In recent years the legendary venue has become famous for hosting notable shows by the likes of Jay-Z, Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys while their date follows on […]

NEWS: BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – UK TOUR SUPPORTS ANNOUNCED + FREE REMIX BY TOM VEK