SINGLE: Crystal Castles – Baptism

Baptism not Celestica was the obvious choice of début single from Crystal Castles part deux. It serves up the elements of Crystal Castles we already know and love. Namely, Alice shrieking unforgettably, Morse code verse bleeps that are as hooky as Leatherface‘s larder, and something new in the pounding trance overtones that are more  grievous bodily harm […]
Only a robot could claim that these made-on-a-coffee-break remixes (almost certainly, with use of a laptop) are capable of arousing emotion. Exhibiting all the range of Belgian duo Mustang’s barely-there reworking to the equally Belgian Surfing Leons’ 8-bit ‘afternoon’ mix, these uninspiring cuts succeed only in the sense of being instantly forgettable. This is no […]

SINGLE: Morcheeba – Even Though Remixes

SINGLE: GORILLAZ – ON MELANCHOLY HILL

I’m going to get a lot of flak for this. Right, I know that Damon Albarn is a musical rainman, a rarified walking, talking lump of prodigious talent and anti-establishment cool. I realise that criticising the man is tantamount to drawing cocks on a bible. I also accept that under the guise of Gorillaz he […]
– THE LOWRY THEATRE, SALFORD – Liverpool troubadour Neville Skelly is like a speck on the horizon as he takes to the stage of The Lowry’s Lyric Theatre. Bagging last-minute tickets to The Coral’s sell-out gig was a bonus, but it’s a bit of a strain on the old 20/20 from the back row of […]

LIVE: NEVILLE SKELLY – 17/07/2010

LIVE: LUCY ROSE/MELODICA MELODY & ME – 14/07/2010

– ST. PHILIP’S CHURCH, SALFORD – I was having a conversation the other day with a friend about why the Church of England has lost favour. My argument was that the C of E blows in the wind too much, adapting itself too readily to modern trends thus debasing its integrity as a moral authority. […]
– ST. PHILIP’S CHURCH, SALFORD – Bombay Bicycle Club embark on their latest tour, fresh off the successes of their first record ‘I had the blues but shook them loose’ released summer 2009. The four piece guitar band from Crouch End have come a long way in the past four years. They shot to fame […]

LIVE: BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB – 12/07/2010

SINGLE: Pendulum – Witchcraft

I reckon it’s fair to say that the various incarnations of Pendulum are arguably so different in style and content that it makes little sense to compare and contrast them. Of course there are core elements that resonate throughout their music, but their evolution from underground drum and bass to radio-friendly beats and guitar thrashery […]
– CASTLEFIELD, MANCHESTER – “How do you get 5p off your mum? Go to the shop, buy a tin of beans and change the 23p on the label to 28p. Bingo!” – Damon Gough quotes Frank Sidebottom. Considering I’m at Frank Sidebottom’s Fantastic Farewell – the last goodbye to alter ego of Timperley’s most famous […]

LIVE: FRANK’S FANTASTIC FAREWELL – 08/07/2010

LIVE: HOLY GHOST – 08/07/2010

– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – My knowledge of Holy Ghost, before I went to see them, could best be described as ‘cursory’ but those with their ears to the ground at club nights in Manchester such as Homoelectric and Now Wave, have been singing the praises of Holy Ghost for a while, so it […]
Taken from the excellent album Welcome To Mali, released over 18 months ago, it’s hard not to be cynical about the timing of this release. I appreciate that Amadou & Mariam played Africa at the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony, but it seems the song’s release so long after the album’s release is something of […]

SINGLE: Amadou & Mariam – Africa