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 […]
-NIGHT PEOPLE, MANCHESTER- Woman You Stole Curiously we start with the strongest (my opinion, don’t axe me) of the support acts, a local 3 piece that is dominated by overpowering (Ship of the Line about to commence firing vibe) drums and a robust lead vocal (a soaring, Siouxsie Sioux-esque quality) that binds tastefully with a […]

LIVE: WARM DRAG / FRUIT TONES / SLOWHANDCLAP / WOMAN YOU STOLE – 22/01/2019

LIVE: ADRIANNE LENKER – 17/01/2019

-YES, MANCHESTER- It’s officially the coldest night of winter so far, there are ice rinks on the pavements and the big coats are out. I’m in a borrowed coat and gloves due to a personal admin error (thanks Sam), yet in the Pink Room at Yes (are all gigs in Manchester at Yes these days?!), […]
-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Saintts: The evening opens with what sounds like a badly-maintained theme park ride (a selection of cymbals precariously strapped on in addition) acting as the beat, while its more subdued rhythm partner watches on in despair as the guitar repeatedly bashes their circuitry into increasingly questionable territory. And of course, the […]

LIVE: THE GOA EXPRESS / GARDENBACK / SAINTTS – 12/01/2019

LIVE: LORELLE MEETS THE OBSOLETE / SILVER VIALS – 10/01/2019

-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- 2019 is upon us and it’s the first gig of the year for your reviewer, and there are genuinely not many better ways to kick off than with tonight’s line up. Opening we have Silver Vials, a psych-tinged electronic duo whose changing line up and set up keeps fans and novices guessing […]
-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- Back from late 2000s mega success, MGMT provide tonight the Albert Hall mandem a chance to relive honking hot summers of 08-09, FIFA soundtracks and Made In Chelsea “coming next” segments. Braving the Northern chill, I venture to Manchester full of excitement. Although back in the day I didn’t immediately latch on […]

LIVE: MGMT – 17/12/2018

LIVE: AIDAN MOFFAT & RM HUBBERT – 14/12/2018

-SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER- As far as well respected Scottish artists go, you can’t get more loved than Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert, so the news of the two collaborating together for an album brought joy to the ears of many. And as it happens, the album did the same thing. Released through Rock Action Records […]
-ALBERT HALL, MANCHESTER- When indie-rock mavericks The Maccabees played their final shows last summer, I did wonder if we’d hear from any of them again. But it was only a matter of months before frontman Orlando Weeks announced a project he’d been working on for quite some time, The Gritterman. Starting life from a song, […]

LIVE: ORLANDO WEEKS – 12/12/2018

LIVE: PURPLE HEART PARADE / BLANKETMAN – 08/12/2018

-NIGHT PEOPLE, MANCHESTER- More often than not, when a band attempts to surgically graft differing influences together, the difficulty in pulling it off can present a scenario of grave inconsistency. Typically, the final product emerges as a badly rearranged skeletal entity, the kind of which would be best left in some remote, poorly lit cave […]
-GORILLA, MANCHESTER- Julia Holter is incredible. The LA-based musician is just 33 years of age, and she released her fifth (5th!) astonishing album Aviary to much acclaim last month, a 90 minute magnum opus that dazzles with its range of styles from atonal experimental noise to some of the best pop songs she’s composed so […]

LIVE: JULIA HOLTER – 06/12/2018