LIVE: BLOSSOMS – 07/05/2015

– THE BUNGALOW CLUB, STOCKPORT – The Bungalow Club in Stockport is the stuff music video dreams are made of. You know the sort, sticky floors, tiny stage flooded with huge illuminated Christmas decoration style moons and a Stockport local drinking too many pints and dancing Bez style at the back. It seems a custom […]
Shoegaze is back! Grow that fringe (I only wish I could)! Not everyone will be doing cartwheels at the return of the ‘scene that celebrates itself’, but I have to admit to becoming quite giddy at the prospect of seeing Ride later this month at the beautiful Albert Hall. Club AC30 are no strangers to the […]

EP Review: Flyying Colours – ROYGBIV

LIVE: PRETTY VICIOUS – 08/05/2015

– FALLOW CAFE, MANCHESTER – These 4 indie rock lads from Merthyr Tydfil are blazing a trail into the bright lights, having received Radio 1 and XFM airtime, with just 5 months of gigging under their belts. They’ll be appearing at some of the major UK festivals this summer, plus, they’ve signed a record deal with mighty Virgin […]
– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – Wire is a one-way journey, as singer and guitarist Colin Newman says. A deep, disturbing, not necessarily pleasant but always unique and meaningful one. As soon as the band enters the stage at Manchester Academy 3, the atmosphere gets thicker and they take the audience deep into a frenetic hypnosis. […]

LIVE: WIRE – 29/04/2015

LIVE: CALEXICO – 30/04/2015

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – When I reach the Albert Hall, the Barr Brothers, who are supporting Calexico tonight, have just ended their set. The venue is not full yet, and the atmosphere is quite relaxed. No VIP areas and a mature crowd that slowly spreads around the beautiful balconies of the former chapel. […]
It is hard to be objective about a band’s long (three years is far too much) awaited upcoming release, when you personally feel they were robbed with their début. It was the boffin rock intro-spectacles that eclipsed their début’s success. Alt-J’s Mercury win with An Awesome Wave led to headline slots at Leeds and platinum […]

Album Review: Django Django – Born Under Saturn

LIVE: SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY – 03/05/2015

– VARIOUS VENUES, SALFORD – With 13 stages and over 100 acts playing during 12 chaotic hours along Salford’s Chapel Street, each reveller is likely to have a very different experience on this bank holiday weekend. All music genre’s are covered, including dance, rock, classical… there’s comedy and art on display, a variety of food […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – Danish punk upstarts Iceage have only been around since 2011, but already have three brilliant albums to their name. With a reputation for raucous (and sometimes controversial) live shows, they’ve come to Manchester institution Night & Day in support of their latest album, last years brilliant Plowing Into […]

LIVE: ICEAGE – 02/05/2015

Album Review: Bernard + Edith – Jem

Bernard + Edith are distinct, first and foremost, in that they buck that trend completely. The latest in an eclectic line of bands affiliated with Salford label SWAYS RECORDS to sign with independent stalwart Bella Union, Bernard + Edith, like predecessors PINS and MONEY, prove that the minds at work behind both labels have real […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER –  I love hip-hop shows. I wouldn’t say I go to many, and I don’t have much of a grasp on the current hip-hop scene (how old do I sound?), but whenever an old school hip-hop group is in town, I’ll try to make it to the show. One of […]

LIVE: UGLY DUCKLING – 30/04/2015