– 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 […]
– Manchester Cathedral – Are Low a noise band now? Based on this astonishing showing tonight, they’re not too far off the label, which has seen them evolve over a wonderful 25-year career from slowcore beauty to fractured, disintegrating noise, with just enough of the aforementioned beauty still around to connect them to their past. […]
– Albert Hall, Manchester – How does a band who haven’t released a record in nearly a decade until very recently, haven’t toured for nearly as long, and no longer have their OG frontman who performed some of their most beloved songs, mount a credible comeback that people will be bothered about? The answer lies […]
– Cathedral, Manchester – It’s hard not to be seduced by Dead Can Dance. A look at one of the band’s pretty record sleeves, or a read-through of an intriguing list of track titles seemingly drawn from the same well of thought as ex-4AD label mates Cocteau Twins, and resistance becomes futile. The desire to […]
– The White Hotel, Manchester – I’ve somehow gotten this far without ever seeing LoneLady (aka Julie Campbell) live, and I’m not sure how this happened. I’ve been a fan since her superb second album ‘Hinterland’ from 2015, a brooding, funky, post-punk masterpiece that seemed to reflect the stark, post industrial wastelands still found in […]
– Deaf Institute, Manchester – “This one combines my love of the 70s with my love of bastards…” deadpans Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson with a nod and a wink, as she introduces her next song ‘Peter Bogdanovich’ (“I like you Peter, I wish you were a wife-leaver”), taking to a stool clutching some kind of 80s […]
– Gorilla, Manchester – Tamara Lindeman, front woman and driving force behind the Canadian band The Weather Station, stops for a chat with the crowd towards the end of their excellent gig here at Gorilla. Looking longingly towards the corrugated roof of the venue, she tells us “we look at the stars and dream, but […]
I can clearly remember where I was when I first heard The Coral, at home tuned into the radio in 2002, the magnificent ‘Skeleton Key’ blasted out with all its frantic rhythms and psychedelic induced melodies, and so began my musical love affair with the scouse musical magicians. They created the kind of melodies and […]
– Academy, Manchester – Magical bands do not come along that often. To be a magical band, you have to have an alchemy that is almost undefinable, a mysterious quality that’s all but impossible to put your finger on, something that no other combination of people could achieve, something not even an infinite amount of […]
– Manchester Arena – James’ gig on Friday 3rd December 2021 at the AO arena in Manchester was phenomenal. There are very few words to describe it. A lot of people were drunk on alcohol and live music. Being my first gig after lockdown, I honestly cannot tell if my judgement was clouded or it […]
GIG GUIDE
Our gig guide is handpicked and every act has been listened to before making it onto the list.
See this month's guide
ALBUM REVIEW - LONG FLING: LONG FLING
ALBUM REVIEW - FLOCK OF DIMES: THE LIFE YOU SAVE
ALBUM REVIEW- GUITAR: WE'RE HEADED TO THE LAKE
GIG GUIDE - OCTOBER 2025
EP REVIEW - SPARKS: MADDER!
EP REVIEW - HOLYBONES: I GOT A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 3 OCTOBER 2025
ALBUM REVIEW - THE ANTLERS: BLIGHT
LIVE REVIEW - SELF ESTEEM: MANCHESTER ACADEMY - 29/09/2025
ALBUM REVIEW - CATE LE BON: MICHELANGELO DYING
