LIVE: SLOTHRUST – 23/01/2019

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Slothrust, pronounced sloth-rust (a fact that, embarrassingly, I only find out tonight, even with the band being four albums deep) arrive on stage to an eager crowd at Deaf Institute. Their name is not the only aspect that has eluded being pinned down correctly, their sound can also be hard to articulate […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- It’s rare I go to watch a band whose back catalogue I have almost no knowledge of whatsoever, but when the chance to see Wand came up I was intrigued. Having only ever heard ‘Reaper Invert’ from 2015’s Golem and ‘Pure Romance’ from the Perfume EP released this year, I was intrigued […]

LIVE: WAND – 11/11/2018

STAY FRESH FEST RETURNS TO DEAF INSTITUTE

Keeping on top of the mountains of new bands is a full-time job, and even here at Silent Radio we need a hand every now and then to find the diamonds in the rough. Thankfully, the good folks at the Deaf Institute are as committed to new music as we are, and on 29 September, […]
– The Deaf Institute, Manchester – Entry number 48 in the series ‘How Much Are Young Women With Guitars Kicking Ass Right Now?’ featuring Sophie Allison aka Soccer Mommy. You may have read number 47 in this series a couple of weeks back after I went to see the brilliant Phoebe Bridgers, and I’ll probably […]

LIVE: SOCCER MOMMY – 05/09/2018

LIVE: OMNI – 13/06/2017

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- It’s unusual for the lingering impression you are left with from a gig by a three-piece in a small music hall to be regarding the light and smoke settings. Entering the Deaf Institute tonight you are hit initially by the smell and then the choking intensity of synthetic smoke which makes it […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, has made two albums of immaculate American indie that could soundtrack the very best films from the golden age of teen movies, which everyone knows ran from the late 90s to the early 00s and included such masterpieces as 10 Thing I Hate About You, She’s All […]

LIVE: JAPANESE BREAKFAST – 22/05/2018

LIVE: WYE OAK – 04/05/2018

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner tells us that she and her fellow American bandmates started their day in London, completing a radio session at a BBC studio for Lauren Laverne’s 6 Music show. Departing for Manchester in the van at around 2pm, for reasons of Bank Holiday traffic it was only by the […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Aaron Maine’s Porches project has been one of my favourite acts of the last few tears. When his album Pool came out in 2016 I was in Miami alone and spent the balmy evenings wandering the neon streets listening to his brand of downbeat, sad-boy synth pop, songs like ‘Be Apart’ and […]

LIVE: PORCHES – 13/04/2018

LIVE: LET’S EAT GRANDMA – 09/04/2018

-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- Tonight is an odd night. I’ve just played football, and after a heavy fall in which I landed fully on my left wrist, I have quite the shooting pain in my arm. Thinking it’s just sprained, I play on for the final 45 mins, including a stint in goal, and then I […]
-DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER- The first band on tonight are WhenYoung, a three-piece hailing from London. Throughout their performance, guitarist Niall Burns bounces around the stage with youthful exuberance, emitting grins and vibes of glee that you can’t help but soak up. This is exactly what is called for from a warm up and I’m glad […]

LIVE: DREAM WIFE / WHENYOUNG – 24/03/2018