LIVE: SUEDE – 09/02/2016

 – THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Thunder rolls over Manchester’s Albert Hall from behind a sky sized silver-screen. The whirring thrashes and builds until the sounds of post-millennial paranoia are greeted with silence. The floor-to-ceiling sheet is finally filled with oceanic endlessness, and from behind the separation an incredible otherness cuts through the waves in […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – No matter what genres of music you like to think you are generally affiliated to, some bands are just so good at what they do, it’s impossible to ignore them. I admit that the world of Indie folk isn’t something that I’ve been delving into of late, so I […]

LIVE: DAUGHTER – 21/01/2016

LIVE: THE MACCABEES – 18/01/2016

 – THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – The Maccabees are an all too rare band in this world of chew-them-up-spit-them-out hype blogs; a band who have been allowed to breathe and develop over a number of years and four good to brilliant albums. I dare say such a band wouldn’t be able to exist if they […]
with his new album Grey Tickles, Black Pressure riding high in the end of year lists, John Grant has today unveiled an irresistible video for new single ‘Down Here‘. Directed by the very talented Lisa Gunning (Seven Psychopaths, Nowhere Boy) and set in London suburbia, the video features a teenager who dreams of becoming a synchronised swimmer. But will […]

JOHN GRANT UNVEILS VIDEO TO NEW SINGLE ‘DOWN HERE’

LIVE: DJANGO DJANGO – 06/12/2015

 – THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – I saw (and reviewed) Django Django live in Manchester earlier this year at the Manchester Cathedral and the risk of repeating myself is high, so I’ll make a conscious effort to avoid that. The ‘problem’ is that they are simply brilliant, and at The Albert Hall – if possible […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – It’s been over 8 years since The Cinematic Orchestra played in Manchester. Suitably, this fantastic, ornate music hall is full to the rafters with nu-jazz fans of all ages, who are eager to welcome them back. Jason Swinscoe’s pioneering band, since the turn of the century, have helped to breath life back […]

LIVE: THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA – 27/11/2015

LIVE: MAXIMO PARK – 18/11/2015

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER –  This year has marked the tenth year anniversary for a lot of records that shaped my youth. 2005 saw me in my mid-teens, old enough to go to some gigs without a dad and finally earning a few more bob than the paper round so I could go and […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – “Is Johnny Marr still in the band? No? Good.” It’s true that the Johnny Jarman period split Cribs fans. It’s a long way behind them now, but Marr’s reputation lives on, certainly in the mind of my mate Danny who asked me this. The fact that Ryan Jarman will […]

LIVE: THE CRIBS – 21/10/2015

LIVE: MAC DEMARCO – 12/09/2015

– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Sporting an Everton shirt and accompanied by a girl who had a fucking jewel glued to her forehead I venture to the ever eventful city of Manchester with great anticipation of who I’m going to witness this  evening. The effortlessly cool and entertaining Mac Demarco graces the stage of […]
– THE ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER – Musical collaborations are often viewed with scepticism and fraught with the apprehension that it’s the band that are getting more out of the project than the audience. The overall feeling is that something isn’t quite right and the sooner things return to normal the better. FFS must have had […]

LIVE: FFS – 25/08/2015