ALBUM REVIEW: PARSNIP – WHEN THE TREE BEARS FRUIT

It’s very rare that I start listening to something and immediately fall in love with it but that is exactly what happens when I get hold of Parsnip’s debut album ‘When the Tree Bears Fruit’ and hear the delightful opening track ‘Are You Taking Me For a Ride’. In the nicest possible way, it’s utterly […]
Watching Sleater Kinney at the Albert Hall in 2015 on their first tour since reforming, was a reminder of how much of a gap in my musical world there had been in the intervening years since they split. I was lucky enough to see them numerous times over the years, and even managed to grab […]

ALBUM REVIEW: SLEATER KINNEY – THE CENTER WON’T HOLD

ALBUM REVIEW: COMPILATION – OPTIMISM/REJECT (PUNK AND POST PUNK)

Whatever the history of punk, it’s impossible to deny the huge impact that this short-lived, intense burst of energy, ethos and political statement had on the music scene not just in the US and UK, but across the world. The striking substance-over-style aesthetic to the music, the boundary-pushing, taboo-breaking socially unacceptable behaviour, even the fashion […]
Bingo Records not only have one of the best record label names ever, but they also have a knack for snapping up really cool bands, Mr Ben and The Bens being a case in point. So when they say they’ve got a new EP out by someone we haven’t really covered before, well, it’s about […]

EP REVIEW: JOHN MYRTLE – HERE’S JOHN MYRTLE

EP REVIEW: HELLO COSMOS – RUN FOR PRESIDENT

It sounds as if Hello Cosmos have thrown everything into this debut EP. By that, I mean it’s an amusement park of sounds and genres, first couple of tracks in rock territory along the lines of Rage Against The Machine, The Cribs, or The Fall with the next few tracks more electro, along the lines […]
-NIAMOS RADICAL CULTURAL ARTS CENTRE, MANCHESTER- (5:30PM) “What’s this thing you’re going seeing tonight then?” “It’s called Making Manchester” Clare’s eyes widen. “Ooh that sounds really interesting, what is it?” “It’s sort of like… I dunno what to call it really, it’s like a collaboration between a load of schoolkids, and musicians, and a sound […]

LIVE: MAKING MANCHESTER – 27/06/2019

ALBUM REVIEW: BAD BREEDING – EXILED

In today’s swirling cesspit of politics, messed up societies and uncertain times, Bad Breeding could well be the huge stomping boot of anarchic musical expression that these times have been calling for. Loud, in-yer-face, punk rumblings mingling with lyrical themes from zero hour contracts, war, politics, the media, all delivered at a warp speed pace. […]
Amyl & The Sniffers: Amyl & The Sniffers With an absolutely snarling beast of an album, wrapped in melodic yet ferocious overtones, Amyl and The Sniffers are Australia’s brightest punk rock band to emerge in years. The self-titled debut album from this Melbourne lot is laden with melodically charged guitar riffs, feisty vocals from frontwoman […]

ALBUM REVIEWS ROUND UP – THE REST OF THE BEST NEW RELEASES FROM THE LAST MONTH

REVIEW: THE BOOK OF MORMON @ PALACE THEATRE, MANCHESTER

Musicals aren’t what they used to be – thank Heavenly Father! That’s why you find me here to see my first ever musical on press night for Manchester’s hottest show, mixing with the glitterati on the red carpet for The Book of Mormon. Well, to tell the truth, it’s me, some very attractive ladies and gents […]
Sheffield’s Richard Hawley is now in his twentieth year as a solo artist, and not one to re-tread old ground, his eighth album marks a turning point, as not only is this is the first album which doesn’t feature a Sheffield landmark but it’s one of his most full on rock records to date, finding […]

ALBUM REVIEW: RICHARD HAWLEY – FURTHER