LIVE: BEN FROST – 14/11/2014

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – I think Ben Frost has change my basic constitution tonight. The Iceland-dwelling-Aussie delivers a show that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go of you until the very last shaking note. It’s quite the experience, and throughout the evening I’m never really sure whether I’m enjoying it or not, […]
– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – Shamefully, this is only my first gig at Gullivers. The 1st floor room above a pub offers kitsch decor, with heavy gold curtains surrounding the low stage. The walls and ceiling are deep red, with small chandeliers hanging from bosses, giving the room a vampiric quality. Shuffling to the front is essential […]

LIVE: SHE KEEPS BEES – 13/11/2014

LIVE: ADULT JAZZ – 12/11/2014

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Adult Jazz have made one of the best debut albums of the year in ‘Gist Is’ (if not one of the best albums of the year full stop) and despite it being somewhat overlooked compared to terrible British bands like Alt-J this year, the Deaf Institute is pretty busy […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Although I didn’t feel as though it was the strongest of lists, this years Mercury Music Prize certainly switched me on to records by artists I had previously overlooked. One of these records was Everybody Down, the superb debut album from writer, poet, rapper Kate Tempest. Kate has been […]

LIVE: KATE TEMPEST – 09/11/2014

LIVE: TURIN BRAKES – 08/11/2014

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – When my gig buddy and I arrive at the Academy, we are welcomed by a metal storm produced by the SikTh + Idiom gig happening in Academy 2. Like Dante in his Divine Comedy, we ascend to the upper floor, hoping for the heavenly experience normally guaranteed by a Turin […]
San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls’ second album A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye recorded live to tape by Sonny Smith (Sonny and the Sunsets) and mixed and mastered by Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring) captures a band enthralled to the heady sound of late sixties ‘Nuggets’ era garage and the loud guitars […]

Album Review: Cool Ghouls – A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye

ALBUM REVIEW: 2:54 – The Other I

2:54’s ‘Scarlet’ EP instantly caught my attention a couple of years ago, prompting me to sign up for their 2012 Deaf Institute gig. The London based alternative rock band’s self titled debut long player shortly followed, and didn’t disappoint – their broody, understated, infectious melodies hit all the right spots. Sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow front the four-piece, […]
– THE BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER – There’s nothing better than feeling a bit flash. Tonight I’m at The Bridgewater Hall with the missus for a bit of ‘culture.’ As we soon find out we’re only 10 rows from the front of stage, I’m feeling flash – like a slightly under-dressed (though still smart) Patrick Bateman. […]

LIVE: PINK MARTINI – 03/11/2014

LIVE: BELLE AND SEBASTIAN – 28/10/2014

– MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL – A couple of tracks into the set and it strikes me there are many intriguing things about watching a gig in a cathedral, this breezy, boxed-in assemblage of air in the heart of Manchester. Firstly, when attempting to order a drink at the impromptu bar in the corner (even if it’s […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Tonight is a special occasion for Manchester gig-goers. Royal Blood are in town, whose debut album was the fastest selling rock album since ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’, selling over 40,000 copies in its first week. It’s their first headline tour and with their album success, they are here to […]

LIVE: ROYAL BLOOD – 02/11/2014