LIVE: THE WAR ON DRUGS – 12/11/2017

-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- “I know what it is, and I ride it out,” speaks Adam Granduciel, who records as The War on Drugs, of the slow-exploding anxiety that eventually led an already obsessive relationship with sound into an all-consuming crutch. Spear-headed by self-masochism, Granduciel’s wide-scope vision avoids preying on nostalgia – shamelessly pulling the past into […]
-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- Around forty years after they originally emerged, Blondie return with their latest album since 2014’s Ghost of Download; the all new Pollinator. Featuring tracks with guest vocals and co-writing from the likes of The Strokes’ Nick Valensi, Johnny Marr, Charlie XCX and many others, Blondie give the illusion that they have never aged. As someone […]

LIVE: BLONDIE – 11/11/2017

LIVE: ST. VINCENT – 18/10/2017

-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- Annie Clark (stage name St. Vincent) told Pitchfork earlier this month: “All human beings create their own mythologies, and I’m in the somewhat bizarre circumstance of creating a big mythology that gets shared with a lot of people. In some ways, doing the work that I do is about reinventing a value system. […]
-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- I first listened to The National’s music at my brother’s place in Leeds not long after the band’s third album Alligator had come out. Heading out afterwards into that Saturday afternoon’s bright sunlight I couldn’t stop singing the “sunglasses” line from the record’s opening track ‘Secret Meeting’. And that’s how it is with […]

LIVE: THE NATIONAL – 22/09/2017

LIVE: RYAN ADAMS – 14/09/2017

-APOLLO, MANCHESTER- WARNING: I am a Ryan Adams fan boy, so this review will mainly be a gushing fan letter to one of the greatest songwriters of the last 20 years. With that out the way, and you duly forewarned, let’s continue… I love Ryan Adams. There, I said it. He came into my life […]
– APOLLO, MANCHESTER – Time passes slowly when waiting in a queue for drinks at the Apollo’s Circle Bar with your favourite musical discovery of the year due to be on stage in five minutes. I’m starting to wonder whether everyone in line ahead of me is ordering extravagant cocktails. As I’m about to abort […]

LIVE: CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS – 04/11/2016

LIVE: RICHARD HAWLEY – 24/02/2016

– THE APOLLO, MANCHESTER – It’s only a short trip from from Sheffield to Manchester, but a gig anywhere here always feels like a home-from-home for Hawley. It was a quick return to the city for Hawley who played his “beloved Manchester” back in November. It was a set that borrowed heavily from his last […]
 – THE APOLLO, MANCHESTER – Generally I don’t know any of the music that is played before gigs – it’s just one of those things for me. The bands that I like all seem to play obscure indie that I have never heard of. But tonight is different; Rodrigo and Gabriela like rock music. The […]

LIVE: RODRIGO Y GABRIELA – 02/12/2014

NEWS: ALT-J NEW ALBUM AND TOUR DATES

alt-J will release their second album ‘This Is All Yours’ in September which is coincided by a full UK tour including two dates at Manchester O2 Apollo. ‘This Is All Yours’ is the highly anticipated follow-up to their million-selling Mercury Prize-winning debut record, An Awesome Wave. It’s available to pre-order in the UK immediately; the […]
– O2 APOLLO, MANCHESTER – By virtue of where I live, my trip to the Apollo this evening takes me past Manchester Arena. Swarming around the arena are many excited young faces. Often the popularity of pop groups irks me a little, but this evening I’m pleased. It was Little Mix that were to be […]

LIVE: THE FLAMING LIPS – 27/05/2014