ALBUM REVIEW – BANANAGUN: WHY IS THE COLOUR OF THE SKY?

A Bananagun is a surreal concept, like something visualised by Salvador Dali. It conjures brightly vivid images of sticky potassium being fired in a scattershot fashion while stumbling over discarded banana skins.  The name suits the Melbourne/Naarm group’s second album which creates a ramshackle blend of psych-garage, freakbeat experimentation and spiritual jazz. Compared with the […]
The answer to the album’s title is ‘yes’. It has been six years since their previous album, ‘Bringing The Backline’. In the intervening period, Trust Fund has shrunk from being a group into primarily Ellis Jones’ project. From a full band indie rock sound, they have made a welcome diversion into classical guitar and string […]

ALBUM REVIEW – TRUST FUND: HAS IT BEEN A WHILE?

ALBUM REVIEW – THE PAINTED CEILINGS: MAYBE THERE’S A DIFFERENCE

Collecting the last kisses of the sun, Maybe There’s A Difference transports us back to a warmer season. With an ear pressed to nature’s headphone, the spiralled form of a conch concocts wave-like vibrations of a nautical buzz. With the first pinches of strings, the sound of The Painted Ceilings coats you with the salt […]
With several of our writers having been part of our city’s previous music industry festival, In The City, which ran from 1992 – 2010, we were overjoyed when Beyond The Music picked up the baton and created what the music industry, and Manchester’s music scene has been missing – a festival devoted to honest discussions, […]

LIVE REVIEW: BEYOND THE MUSIC FESTIVAL: VARIOUS VENUES ACROSS MANCHESTER – 9-12 OCTOBER 2024

LOOKING AHEAD: BEYOND THE MUSIC FESTIVAL. 9 – 12TH OCTOBER 2024. VARIOUS MANCHESTER VENUES

Want to understand more about the current issues affecting the music industry and see tons of bands too? Then the second Beyond The Music Festival is the place to be between 9th – 12th October.  During the day there’s discussions on a wide range of music industry based topics with a host of renowned artists, […]
  We have trawled through the forthcoming gigs in and around Manchester so you don’t have to. We believe that if we are going to recommend a gig to you, then it should be exactly that, a recommendation. There’s always plenty of great gigs going on in Manchester, too many to cover them all, but […]

GIG GUIDE – OCTOBER 2024

LIVE REVIEW: JORDAN RAKEI – ALBERT HALL 26/09/24

The elegant, frayed decay of the Albert Hall gives it its charm, its chunky charisma. It is arguably our finest live venue, the balcony like a hug, the room something of an architectural cuddle. And if it’s not homely enough, tonight there are rugs on the stage, and lamps dotted about as well, so that […]
The Brian Wilson vocals announce the Twigs are about to twig their way onto the stage, and take the Academy 2 on a strange hour and a half of time-travelling, genre-bending, jangly retro Americana. Plus some Merseybeat. It’s 60s… at times it’s 70s… it’s a little discombobulating, which would be a problem were it not […]

LIVE REVIEW: THE LEMON TWIGS – ACADEMY 2 12/09/24

GIG GUIDE – SEPTEMBER 2024

We have trawled through the forthcoming gigs in and around Manchester so you don’t have to. We believe that if we are going to recommend a gig to you, then it should be exactly that, a recommendation. There’s always plenty of great gigs going on in Manchester, too many to cover them all, but here’s […]
We have trawled through the forthcoming gigs in and around Manchester so you don’t have to. We believe that if we are going to recommend a gig to you, then it should be exactly that, a recommendation. There’s always plenty of great gigs going on in Manchester, too many to cover them all, but here’s […]

GIG GUIDE: AUGUST 2024