ALBUM REVIEW – DITZ: NEVER EXHALE

DITZ’s Never Exhale is a difficult album to categorise. I’d lean toward calling it a noise rock or post punk record, but that would undersell the sometimes unexpected range of influences that bubble up throughout the album. As a band who weren’t on my radar until very recently, I was super excited as every song […]
Number one albums weren’t on the agenda when Glasgow post rock pioneers Mogwai launched their epic tunes back in 1995. Yet following on from 2023’s album ‘As The Love Continues’ going to number one in the album charts, Mogwai have released its follow up, the brilliant new album ‘The Bad Fire’. It’s an album that […]

INTERVIEW: MOGWAI – Stuart Braithwaite discusses their new album, film and touring

ALBUM REVIEW – HELEN GANYA: SHARE YOUR CARE

On her previous album, 2022’s ‘Polish The Machine’ the Brighton-based musician Helen Ganya had begun with the words “I had a fear of the ordinary.” That was apparent in a style that contained echoes of Kate Bush, The Cocteau Twins and Bjork. However, her new album, ‘Share Your Care’, marks a progression into extraordinary realms. […]
While it may be the shortest month of the year, February always feels like a slog to get through! Whilst the weather is slowly getting hotter, the night still comes way too early, what’s better than to hide away inside a venue and listen to some amazing live music, here’s what’s coming up in Manchester […]

GIG GUIDE – FEBRUARY 2025

INTERVIEW – Getting to Know WTSN: Redefining UK Jazz and Hip-Hop While Dreaming of a Grammy

Dev (WTSN) didn’t start his journey as an artist in the traditional sense. In fact in the beginning, he might not have called himself an artist at all. There was no moment of stepping into the spotlight, no attachment of his name, face, or persona to the music he was creating. Instead, he found solace […]
January ends with a flurry of new releases. Here is our guide. Eddie Chacon               Lay Low             Best known for the Charles and Eddie mega hit ‘Would I Lie To You’, his third solo album is a thoughtful strain of R&B that muses on intimate themes like mortality, failure and experience. Geologist & D.S.         A Shaw […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 31 JANUARY 2025

INTERVIEW – GETTING TO KNOW TOM B: LETTING GO OF CONTROL WITH THE REMIX OF ‘LAVENDER WATER’

When I first heard the demo that Tom b sent to me, I whacked the volume up to 100 on my headphones and began to pace around my flat. I had no idea what to expect. What I heard was a cacophony of electronic sounds and samples, beautifully interwoven into this musical tapestry that Tom […]
Gnonnas Pedro and His Dadjes Band sometimes became known as ‘The Band That Speaks All African Languages’ for their ability to sing in Fon, Mina, Yoruba, French, English and Spanish. Combined with their masterful blend of Agbadja, Cuban fon, jerk, highlife, and other African rhythms, it gives the sixteen tracks on the latest release from […]

ALBUM REVIEW – GNONNAS PEDRO & HIS DADJES BAND: ROI DE ‘LAGBADJA MODERNE 1974-1983

ALBUM REVIEW – HEARTWORMS: GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT

Two years after her melting EP A comforting notion, Heartworms (the solo project of Jojo Orme) releases Glutton For Punishment, under the production of Dan Carey and his Speedy Wunderground label (Black Country, New Road, Tiña, Lazarus Kane among many others). So many times I listened to the record, that the promotional album I was […]
Alestorm are currently one of the busiest bands on the road. It has not even been a year since they last toured the UK, and so despite this, when they were announced as the headliners for the returning Pagan Fest tour, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. I have been following the lads on tour vlogs […]

LIVE REVIEW: PAGAN FEST – VICTORIA WAREHOUSE – 18/01/2025