LIVE: TIFFANY PAGE – 07/05/2010

-ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – (HOLE SUPPORT) Tiffany Page is very pretty. She has lovely hair. She has a lovely voice….lovely. Is this what we want from our singers? For them to be lovely? Some people think Cheryl Cole, and puppies peeping out of the tops of stockings are lovely…some people are morons. I’m not really […]
– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, says the woman who’s just released the album, ‘Nobody’s Daughter’ which includes the song ‘Never go hungry’. Contradictory? Probably. Controversial? Of course, but when you’re dealing with Courtney Love these go with the territory, and what a messily magnificent territory it is… For […]

LIVE: HOLE – 07/05/2010

ALBUM: William Fitzsimmons – Derivatives

William Fitzsimmons has a remarkable story to tell. Born the youngest son of a blind couple in Pittsburgh, he grew up to be a psychotherapist. The eventual break up of his parents’ marriage proved so traumatic that he wrote an album, the recording of which proved so difficult that Fitzsimmons’ own marriage flew off the […]
There is a weight of expectation surrounding High Violet, the fifth album from Brooklyn based band The National.  After a couple of false starts, Alligator (2005) jolted the band out of obscurity, gaining them a cult following and critical adulation. Boxer (2007) was a much grander and better produced effort, which, whilst not quite hitting the same euphoric highs as Alligator, allowed the […]

ALBUM: The National – High Violet

ALBUM: Airship – Algebra EP

Manchester band Airship’s ‘Algebra EP’ sounds like it was made by taking the 90′s indie scene and putting it in a blender, but it’s clearly for the modern audience. It fits well alongside the new wave of Scottish bands like ‘Band of Horses’, ‘We Were Promised Jetpacks’ and ‘Twin Atlantic’ (whom Airship recently supported). ‘Algebra’ […]
In terms of respectability the 80s has made something of a comeback. Throughout the nineties and noughties the decade that spawned acts such as Flock of Seagulls, Van Halen and Wham was widely maligned as a vacuous, miserable period where egos and haircuts overshadowed meaningful memorable material. Now it’s in renaissance. But as bands like […]

ALBUM: Curry & Coco – Sex Is Fashion EP

LIVE: YOUNG KNIVES – 05/05/2010

– MOHO LIVE, MANCHESTER – The Young Knives are the definition of geek chic. But, behind the thick rimmed specs and bow ties is an equally original style of music. Eight months since their last gig, the band are embarking on a short tour of small intimate venues. My last encounter with them was at […]
– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – The Ritz is a great gig venue, despite having an interior that hasn’t changed for decades and carpet that clings to your shoes. The layout is ideal for live music with a substantial balcony running along the 3 sides that aren’t occupied by a stage. The area downstairs has a […]

LIVE: FOALS – 04/05/2010

SINGLE: Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster – Love Turns to Hate b/w Sushwep

On ‘Love Turns To Hate’, TEMBD could be describing their relationships with old record labels, ex-band members, ex-fans, ex-girlfriends, the weekly music inkies who dismissed them after their first LP, the end is listless. BUT, you should LOVE them. Why?,  because of their dogged determination to continue mining the dark, twisted depths of your soul, […]
– VARIOUS VENUES, CHAPEL STREET, SALFORD – I’ve queued up and got my wristband so I’m off to my first port of call for this mammoth day of live music. It’s now around four o’clock and I’m sat upstairs in The Old Pint Pot. It’s pretty quiet with just a handful of people hanging around, […]

LIVE: SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY – 02/05/2010