ALBUM REVIEW – HARKIN: HONEYMOON SUITE

Although we are officially at the “living with Covid” stage of the pandemic, otherwise known as pretending it no longer exists, the backlog of vinyl releases means that streams of lockdown records are emerging bleary-eyed into daylight. Even if lockdown might not be the overwhelming subject matter of Harkin’s ‘Honeymoon Suite’, the recording process was […]
Peaches

LIVE: PEACHES – 14/06/2022

– Ritz, Manchester – In 2022, there’s something tiring about describing any kind of art as ‘feminist’. Yes, the word and the movement carried us to places we needed to be. And the battle to demolish damaging barriers, language and stereotypes is far from over. But the term ‘feminist’ has been hijacked, repurposed and distorted. […]

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St Vincent at Academy 1

ALBUM REVIEW – GIRLS AT OUR BEST!: PLEASURE (DELUXE EDITION)

The post-punk era was a time where the original punk wave had opened the floodgates for DIY bands that were happy to shine brilliantly but briefly before disappearing back into civilian life. Girls At Our Best! were a prime example, releasing three singles and an album in the early 1980s, surely never envisaging that 40 […]

LIVE REVIEW: AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS – ALBERT HALL

Every so often a band comes along that has everything your ears want in an album  and for me the two records released by Amyl And The Sniffers have all that in abundance. In front if a packed Albert Hall they take to the stage and blast through ‘Go F**k Yourself’ and ‘Freaks To The […]

ALBUM REVIEW – MONO: MY STORY, THE BURAKU STORY (AN ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)

Over the course of two decades, Japanese band Mono have been leading exponents of instrumental post-rock. Unjustly, they have not received the acclaim accorded to peers like Mogwai but have taken that quiet/loud dynamic which can be every bit formulaic as a verse/chorus pop song and made the journey from a whisper to ear-shattering volume […]

A QUICK CATCH UP WITH HUNNYBEES

Non-Ferrous Types of Metal Titles… of Quality

Indigo De Souza

LIVE: INDIGO DE SOUZA – 15/05/2022

– Soup, Manchester – Imagine one of those coming of age dramas beloved of streaming services delivering endless content to the kids. You know the ones, featuring an eclectic cast of misfits who over the course of eight episodes manage to steal your heart and really make you care about their trivial day to day […]

ALBUM REVIEW – KIKAGAKU MOYO: KUMOYO ISLAND

Psychedelia at its best is a kaleidoscopic delight that can transport fans to places deep within the imagination. Of course, often it proves little more than an excuse to grow your hair and indulge in interminable heavy guitar riffs or, at the opposite pole, excessive whimsy. Fortunately, while Kikagaku Moyo definitely fit the hirsute tendencies […]

INTERVIEW: THE TELESCOPES

LOUDER THAN WORDS FESTIVAL RETURNS TO MANCHESTER FOR 2021

LISSIE IS ON A VOYAGE OF REDISCOVERY SHARING THE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONG ‘ALL BE OKAY’

CHET FAKER GETS THE ROLLER BLADES OUT ON HIS LATEST SINGLE’S VIDEO TO MAKE PEOPLE ‘FEEL GOOD’

NICK WILSON PREVIEWS FORTHCOMING ‘NOW I’M FALLING’ ALBUM WITH LATEST SINGLE ‘YOURS TO TAKE’

ALBUM REVIEW: VERO – UNSOOTHING INTERIOR

When you hear that the album you’ll be listening to is called ‘Unsoothing Interior,’ it’s safe to say don’t expect an atmosphere akin to a chamomile tea and a sit-down. Vero has very different ideas on their debut project, which has a lot to say about the chaotic nature of their twenties and evokes the […]

THE SHADRACKS UNVEIL NEW SINGLE ‘YOU CAN’T LOSE’

HARTLEPOOL INDIE-POP TRIO MT. MISERY SHARE VIDEO FOR ‘TAKEN BY THE TIDE’

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING ANNOUNCE THEIR NEW ALBUM BRIGHT MAGIC AND SHARE NEW SINGLE/VIDEO ‘PEOPLE, LET’S DANCE’ FT. EERA

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE ANNOUNCES MANCHESTER YES HEADLINE FOR OCTOBER AND RELEASES ‘THE WALLS ARE WAY TOO THIN’

Mattiel

LIVE: MATTIEL / LE REN – 13/05/2022

– Gorilla, Manchester – I know a grand total of one Mattiel song, yet here am. At Gorilla, watching Mattiel. It’s exactly 15 minutes until the doors open and there’s one, two, three. Three of us in the queue. This initial lack of people makes me nervous but hey, at least I’ll be able to […]
Tomberlin

LIVE: TOMBERLIN – 02/05/2022

– Yes Basement, Manchester – “Does anyone have any questions or concerns?” Tomberlin, or Sarah Beth Tomberlin, to give her full name, asks us as she re-tunes her guitar for the umpteenth time this evening. A shy Monday night crowd in the Yes basement make some non-committal murmurs; “No? Ok, well I guess I should […]

“Psychedelic” Titles That Happen To Be Of Quality

RED RIBBON REVEALS NEWLY RELEASED ALBUM TITLE TRACK ‘PLANET X’

LONDON QUINTET SILVERTWIN RETURN WITH NEW TRACK ‘SAVIOUR’

DAS BEAT RELEASE FINAL SINGLE FROM DEBUT EP

‘PEAK BLEAK’ FOR LEEDS ART-ROCK OUTFIT MUSH WHO PURCHASE £100 EBOW TO RECORD THEIR LATEST TRACK

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