LIVE REVIEW: FONTAINES D.C. – MANCHESTER AVIVA STUDIOS: 29/11/24

Wild and ferocious, the boys from the better land carved ‘Dublin City’ into the heart of Manchester as they debuted their three-night residency. Fans venture from every inch of the map as the capacity of Aviva Studio reaches its limit. Feeding the 5,000, this crowd came with an appetite starving for a show. It’s clear […]
“There’s something in the water, you can’t deny it.” Swimming in admiration, Stephen Ng, lead singer and backing guitarist, dives into the depths of musical inspirations. That very same Mersey water rose and poured down over the rehearsal rooms in which The Kowloons reside. His brother and drummer Anthony goes on to say, “the richness […]

INTERVIEW – THE KOWLOONS

ALBUM REVIEW – FULL OF HELL + ANDREW NOLAN: SCRAPING THE DEVINE

If there’s one thing you know going into a Full of Hell record, it’s that the bar has been set high for extremity. As one of the most formidable extreme metal outfits out there, the band has consistently been the standard bearers for putrid, gnarly extremity for the better part of 15 years. Scraping The […]
The Crying Out of Things is the newest offspring of experimental metal/noise rock outfit The Body’s mammoth catalogue. It’s their eighth studio LP, though that’s not counting sixteen collaborative albums, nine EPs, four splits and two standalone singles, bringing their total number of releases to 39 since 2004. Through these releases they have toured various […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE BODY: THE CRYING OUT OF THINGS

ALBUM REVIEW – THULCANDRA: LIVE DEMISE

A live album is usually a special occasion, often marking a milestone. This is what Thulcandra initially set out to do, by releasing this live album, which has been recorded in Germany in 2011 and which features the original Thulcandra lineup, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band. This ultimately did not end up […]
Five years after reports of Covid emerged from China, the pandemic is still having an impact upon a significant number of albums being released now. The twelfth long player from White Denim, appropriately enough called ‘12’, containing twelve tracks and being released in the twelfth month, has been shaped by different working conditions. As has […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WHITE DENIM: 12

EP REVIEW – THE HOLY GRAIL: BILL CALLAHAN’S “SMOG” DEC. 10, 2001 PEEL SESSION

“So we gave them something to show them who WE were—Dale Coopers with our black coffees.” This is how Bill Callahan describes this December 10, 2001, Peel session. While I write this, I see the light sneaking in the horizon of Moss Side. It’s early, cold, and my coffee is not black because I always […]
As we head towards December, there are fewer releases this week but here we collate those that warrant a listen. OCS     Live at Permanent Records                Brigid Dawson and John Peter Dwyer, the duo known together as OCS, got together at JPD’s house in Los Angeles and started transcribing a nice list of songs. “Some new, […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 29 NOVEMBER 2024

GIG GUIDE – DECEMBER 2024

We have trawled through the gigs for this month and are pleased to offer our recommendations of shows in a variety of genres. There should be something for everyone here. December 1st 2024 Villagers – New Century Hall Villagers have been a prominent force in the indie scene for over a decade and have been […]
There is often a sense of cheap cash-in to Christmas albums, a quick fix. Throw together a few familiar cover versions and the odd original, garnish with tinsel and sleigh bells for a quota, quickie package, a good way of fulfilling contractual obligations. Thankfully, The Unthanks’ ‘In Winter’ is a far more satisfying proposition. As […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE UNTHANKS: IN WINTER