LIVE: YEASAYER/JAVELIN – 21/02/2010

– ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER – Javelin’s bizarre intro – which I can only describe as ‘cosmic’ – segues straight into the main body of their set, which is stuck somewhere between very chilled and very dancy – with fat beats, floaty synths and falsetto vocals. The slightly everyday-sounding, yet ambitious lyrics mark this apart from […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Right from the start, from hearing the opening bars of ‘Obsessions’, I have been hooked on Marina And The Diamonds. It’s always been clear to me that her appeal is multifaceted. Crucially she combines exemplary song writing skills, with the vastly under-appreciated but essential quirk of being an eccentric. […]

LIVE: MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS – 21/02/2010

ALBUM: The Internal Tulips – Mislead into A Field By A Deformed Deer

From past experience we all knowPlanet Mu delivers the goods. Since its conception it’s yet to bring you anything your ears didn’t want to hear and has always been a merchant of the new and experimental. The Internal Tulipsare no exception to the rule, and with a LP entitled “Mislead into A Field By A Deformed Deer”, […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – So it’s a Saturday night, I’m heading towards the Deaf Institute, the bars are filling up and leading up to a yet another busy weekend evening. Having only recently discovered this band I am quite excited to see them and if the music is anything to go by, their […]

LIVE: SO SO MODERN – 20/02/2010

LIVE: JONATHA BROOKE – 20/02/2010

– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – It’s started early tonight and the small yet loyal clan of followers are seated at tables. The audience consists mainly of men, the majority of which are bespectacled and lacking in hair. Jonatha knows two members of the crowd, the second not well enough to remember his name: […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – It’s a golden rule that the best gems are always those stumbled upon. Bands are the same. I arrive at The Ruby Lounge a little early, in search of liquid refreshment, only to be reeled in by London-based duo Banjo or Freakout. Frontman Alessio Natalizia and his sidekick drummer […]

LIVE: BANJO OR FREAKOUT – 19/02/2010

LIVE: THE SOFT PACK – 19/02/2010

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – There is a buzz about The Ruby Lounge as The Soft Pack take to the stage. The bar empties and the dance floor fills with an odd assortment of young indie types and older-looking mods. This sudden surge pricks my anticipation, expecting bigger and bigger things from this four-piece […]
Every now and again I go through the releases I haven’t had a chance to listen to, just in case I’ve missed something. Undercover Martyn is just such a release. Now, I’m not a massive fan of indie. The vast majority of releases sent to me, especially in 2008, were by God-awful Libertines clones that […]

SINGLE: Two Door Cinema Club – Undercover Martyn

SINGLE: Table – Songs You Can Sing

Table is not a particularly autoerotic name, but “Songs You Can Sing” is a small little gem of a song – not one turn to turn you on perhaps, but one that will squeeze deep pangs of emotion from the hardest heart. Hailing from Manchester, the guitarist plays in another very good act named Petty […]
As one listens to A Rumour In Africa, it is not the coming world cup, the political turmoil within, or the vast plains of the African nations which come to mind.  What one thinks of is jumping out of an aeroplane in Australia or New Zealand or some other god awful backpacker occupied island. Not, […]

SINGLE: Errors – A Rumour In Africa