LIVE: OFF THE RECORD FESTIVAL 2019

-VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER- ‘New Music Festival and Conference’ Off The Record is returning to Manchester for its fourth edition this Friday. It’s a one day event (apart from the networking drinks on Thursday), taking place over different venues across the Northern Quarter, such as Jimmy’s, Night and Day Café and Soup Kitchen. During the day, […]

LIVE: EZRA FURMAN – 12/11/2019

-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Ezra Furman played the Albert Hall on 12th November and I can confirm myself that it was an excellent show that was well worth watching. The American frontman helped to play a bunch of recognisable songs from his numerous albums over the last few years. The disabled facilities must be praised at […]

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LIVE: EARTH – 11/11/2019

-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Having witnessed Dylan Carlson as a solo act earlier in the year, observing the limitations he had in many respects (one man – one guitar), I had great anticipation for the Drone-Master-General’s return, this time with both a band at his disposal and material that would hopefully be the best in his present […]

LIVE: METRONOMY – 09/11/2019

-ACADEMY, MANCHESTER- Devonshire’s Metronomy have released a whopping six albums. One steady string running throughout is their eccentric, envelope-pushing electric pop. What has changed however is their relationship with music. Their latest release, Metronomy Forever, has hints of the previous decades, the colossal 17 tracker adding whole song instrumentals for good measure. Metronomy’s recent blurring of identity […]

ALBUM REVIEW: HAPPY MONDAYS -THE EARLY EPS

Originally released in the late 1980s, ‘The Early EPs’ include ‘Freaky Dancin’ and ‘The Egg’- both released from the Factory/London Records vault. In 2019, the songs may no longer be relevant in popular culture but the tracks are re-introduced to a new generation of people. Also with their ‘Greatest Hits’ tour happening as we speak, […]

TICKET GIVEAWAY: !!! (CHK CHK CHK) AT MANCHESTER’S GORILLA

V FEST 97 – LEEDS 2019: A LOOK AT FESTIVALS THEN AND NOW

LIVE: OMD – 01/11/2019

– The Apollo, Manchester – There’s a giddy atmosphere from the moment you step into the Apollo tonight, a sense that there’s a party about to unfold, but OMD celebrating forty years of being a band is much more than just a nostalgia trip. Make no mistake, this is a band that are still capable […]

LIVE REVIEW: MOON DUO – 29/10/2019

– The Dancehouse Theatre, Manchester – Meeting my friend for pre gig pizzas and drinks, thinking we had plenty of time for a natter, our pizzas have to be hastily chomped down upon reading an intriguing message about the gig – ‘the band were on early, no support due to the massive light show’. A […]

INTERVIEW: FURROWED BROW

MANCHESTER FOUR-PIECE HOT SHORTS REMINISCE ON ‘SUMMER OF 2012’

JEHNNY BETH REVEALS NEW SINGLE ‘I’M THE MAN’ FROM PEAKY BLINDERS SOUNDTRACK

SPEEDY WUNDERGROUND ANNOUNCE NEW 7″ SINGLE BY PYNCH

JEFFREY LEWIS & THE VOLTAGE SHARE ‘DEPRESSION! DESPAIR!’

LIVE: MUSH / SPRINGFIELD ELEMENTARY – 30/10/2019

– Yes, Manchester – Having only ever played two gigs in my entire 23 years I’m not best qualified to dish out advice to aspiring bands but there are a few musical truisms that even I’m aware of. One of these is that if your drummer counts in by shouting ‘1 2 3 4!’ and […]

KEELEY FORSYTH ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM ‘DEBRIS’ & SHARES TITLE-TRACK VIDEO DIRECTED BY MAXINE PEAKE

THE LOUDER THAN WORDS FESTIVAL LINE UP ADDITIONS: THE LOVELY EGGS AND EVIL BLIZZARD

HEAR THE FIRST TRACK IN FIVE YEARS FROM CARIBOU + UK TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

BRAND NEW TRACK FROM PLEASURE CRAFT ‘WORK IT OUT’ FEAT. MINGIJA

LIVE: LIFE – 27/10/2019

-Yes, Manchester – Young people matter, young people matter, young people matter… Walking into the pink room tonight at Yes, I look around and the place is full of them, young people. Leather jackets, dungarees and even a couple of mullets, LIFE have a voice for our generation and it’s relentless. Straight off the back […]

LIVE: WEYES BLOOD – 29/10/2019

– Club Academy, Manchester – Natalie Mering, commonly known as Weyes Blood, has made one of the very best albums of the year in Titanic Rising. On the cover of this extraordinary album, Mering floats underwater in a what looks like her teenage bedroom, an otherworldly, slightly unsettling image as she looks directly at us […]

PODS UP NORTH – SPOTIFY REVEALED AS HEADLINE SPONSOR FOR THE NORTH’S FIRST PODCAST CONFERENCE

ISOBEL CAMPBELL ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM WITH RELEASE OF LEAD SINGLE ‘ANT LIFE’

ALDO RELEASE NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO ‘PAPERMAZE’

AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS RELEASE NEW VIDEO FOR SOME MUTTS (CAN’T BE MUZZLED)

SPEEDY WUNDERGROUND ANNOUNCE NEW 7″ SINGLE BY SINEAD O’BRIEN

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INTERVIEW: FRANCIS LUNG