Tuesday 31 October 2017

TRACK OF THE DAY : Scarlet Fever - You Really Don't Know


You Really Don't Know is the debut single by Stockport's Scarlet Fever. They've already gathered a significant local following and this first release, full of brooding menace, is sure to put them on the radar of promoters further afield

Monday 30 October 2017

James To Play Manchester Fundraiser At Albert Hall


James have announced a one-off fundraiser for the Manchester Arena bomb appeal on Monday 18th December. Tickets for the sure to be sought after show go on sale on Tuesday morning at 10am..

Sunday 29 October 2017

Shed Seven - Instant Pleasures


Shed Seven return with their first album since 2001's Truth Be Told. For a band that's made a success out of the reforming and biennial celebratory sold-out tour cycle for the past few years, it's a brave step to put new music out in the world when their audience might not be receptive to it. Instant Pleasures is classic Shed Seven though and dispels any such worries as it takes over where they left off so long ago.

Déjà Vega - Manchester Night And Day - 28th October 2017


Déjà Vega livened up a dark wet Manchester Saturday night with a barnstorming six-song half-hour set at the Night And Day Cafe. Starting with a new song that doesn't feature on their forthcoming debut album and finishing with Jack crowdsurfing, their raw power simply blew away the audience.

Saturday 28 October 2017

TRACK OF THE DAY : Denise Johnson - I'm Not In Love


I'm Not In Love, a cover of 10cc's 1975 classic, is the first single to be taken from Denise Johnson's forthcoming solo album. Having worked previously with Primal Scream, New Order, Ian Brown and A Certain Ratio amongst others, she's releasing an album under her own name for the first time.

The Lovely Eggs / Seazoo - Manchester Gorilla - 27th October 2017


The Lovely Eggs are out on the road ahead of the release of their fifth album early next year and on Friday night called into Manchester Gorilla, the biggest date on the tour and full to the rafters, for a raucous run through of some of the best moments from their spiky back catalogue in front of an up-for-it crowd. Support came from Wrexham's rather excellent Seazoo.

Friday 27 October 2017

The Rainkings - Good Times and Interview


The Rainkings today released a new single Good Times with all the proceeds going to the British Tinnitus Association. Front man Stephen Holt became an ambassador for the Association following the death of his Inspiral Carpets band mate Craig Gill last year who suffered from the condition. We caught up with Stephen to find a little more about the organisation, his role in it and the single itself.

Ist Ist - Live


Ist Ist are releasing a live album of their recent Gorilla headline show when they filled the 600 capacity venue and delivered an explosive set the likes of which the venue could hardly have witnessed before. Unbeknownst to them their set was caught on a single recorder and microphone in the audience, but the tape was so powerful and captured the raw explosive energy of the performance more traditional methods of recording a live album ever could that they had to release it.

Thursday 26 October 2017

Trampolene - Swansea To Hornsey


It's been a long wait for Swansea To Hornsey as Trampolene have bided their time until the moment was right to release an album, satisfying their growing fan base with a series of weird, wonderful and varied EPs and we're delighted to say that diversity is also present and correct on their debut album.

Tuesday 24 October 2017

REWS - Interview


Rews release their debut album Pyro next Friday (November 3) before embarking on a UK tour. We caught up with one of the most exciting new bands to emerge ahead of that to find out a little more about them, the writing and recording of the album and why they're the happiest band around

Gathering Of Strangers - Gathering Of Strangers EP


Gathering Of Strangers’ debut EP is released this week with a launch gig at Jimmy’s on Friday. Building on the back of some ambitious expansive live shows they seek to do to the same in recorded format and hit the mark.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Island - Try


Island have announced the release of their debut album Feels Like Air on April 6 next year ahead of their UK tour which starts next week. The album is introduced by their new single Try.

Monday 23 October 2017

The Slow Readers Club / Slow Riot - Dublin Button Factory - 21st October 2017


The Slow Readers Club opened up their Through The Shadows tour in Dublin at the wonderful Button Club venue revealing two new songs for the first time and mixing tracks from their self-titled debut and 2015's Cavalcade to a rapturous response from a lively Irish crowd. Support came from the young up-and-coming Limerick band Slow Riot.

Friday 20 October 2017

Dream Wife / Pearl City - Manchester Band On The Wall - 19th October 2017


Dream Wife's long-awaited Manchester return at Band On The Wall threatened at times to descend into chaos after two stage invasions and a ten minute FUU, but their control of their crowd and the incredibly positive vibes that they create meant that there was never any danger of things getting out of control and the gig became a celebration. Support came from Pearl City playing their first ever show.

TRACK OF THE DAY : The Slow Readers Club - Lunatic


It's two and a half year since The Slow Readers Club last released new music with their album Cavalcade. Since then their world has changed dramatically, going from the small venues of the Northern Quarter to selling out The Ritz and The Albert Hall months in advance, supporting James at the likes of Manchester Arena, Brixton Academy and Castlefield Bowl and being possibly the most sought after unsigned band in the country. As they prepare to embark on their Through The Shadows tour of the UK and Ireland they release the first single, Lunatic, from the sessions for their third album.

Thursday 19 October 2017

Delights - Delights EP


Delights are the latest band off a seemingly endless conveyor belt of great new music coming out of Manchester. Their debut self-titled EP might be the work of a band just starting their journey but it’s brimming with confidence and an assured knowledge of their own sound.

Phoebe Bridgers - Manchester Soup Kitchen - 18th October 2017


"This is my first headline show over here" announces Phoebe Bridgers as she comes towards the end of her ten song set at Manchester's Soup Kitchen to rapturous applause. For just over forty five minutes she holds an audience, most of them witnessing her for the first time, captivated with just a guitar, her accomplice Woody, her voice and a between song chat that grows in confidence and humour as the set progresses.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Milagres - Are You Lonely?


Are You Lonely? is the first new material from Milagres in three years. With three albums - Seven Summits, Glowing Mouth and Violent Light under their belt by 2014, they disappeared off the radar, seemingly lost. However, a show in New York's Rough Trade store has coincided with the release of this first track of a batch of new ones that will form an as-yet-unannounced new release.

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Trampolene - Interview


Welsh trio Trampolene release their long-awaited debut LP Swansea To Hornsey via Pledge Music next week ahead of a This Feeling tour in November and a series of Liam Gallagher support slots in December. We caught up with front man Jack Jones to talk about what took them so long, how they chose the tracklisting after multiple EPs, his poetry and supporting the likes of The Libertines and Liam Gallagher.

The Breeders / PINS - Manchester Academy 2 - 17th October 2017


The Breeders are back on the road in support of new single Wait In The Car and a set comprising of tracks from across their four albums, three songs from The Amps' 1995 album Pacer, a Pixies favourite and a number of covers in a lengthy twenty-six song set. Support came from Manchester's own PINS with a set of mostly new material that hints at a new direction.

Tuesday 17 October 2017

Belly - Interview (Tanya Donelly)


After a series of triumphant comeback shows in Europe and the US in 2016, Belly recently announced that they would be releasing their long-awaited third album, and their first since 1995's King, in April 2018 via Pledge Music. We spoke to Tanya Donelly about the recording process, the comeback to date and she revealed some exciting news about UK dates for the summer of 2018.

Nadine Shah - Manchester Band On The Wall - 16th October 2017


Nadine Shah's third album Holiday Destination is a highly charged album whose main theme is the immigration crises around the world and society's reaction to them. Performing the whole of the album plus selected cuts from her first two to a packed sold-out Band On The Wall, her passionate commitment to defend those that can't help themselves and to make sure the issue stays on the page shone through like a beacon.

Monday 16 October 2017

TRACK OF THE DAY : Ailbhe Reddy - The Tube


Ailbhe Reddy's latest single The Tube precedes the Dublin-based singer's headline Irish and UK tour starting this week. It's the follow up to Relent which was released earlier this year and along with some well-received festival performances over the summer, her ability to combine both folk and rock influences into her songs suggests that she's got a big future ahead of her.

Maddy Storm / DUSST / The Mothers Earth Experiment - Manchester Gullivers - 15th October 2017



Sunday night saw A Night Of Total Psych at Gullivers, a seven act line-up headlined by Maddy Storm. We caught her headline set as well as those by Liverpool's DUSST and Birmingham's The Mothers Earth Experiment.

Sunday 15 October 2017

Cabbage - Dunfermline PJ Molloys - 12th October 2017


Cabbage's Healing Brexit Towns Tour storms into Dunfermline for an explosive show. Stuart Ralston and a buoyant Fife crowd have a ball.

Ist Ist / Urban Theory / Control Of The Going - Manchester Gorilla - 14th October 2017



Tonight is Ist Ist's night. Their biggest headline show to date under the railway arches at Gorilla and they deliver their best ever set, forty-five minutes long, eleven songs of brutal raw power mixed with moments of sublime subtlety in front of a packed house. It's also support bands Control Of The Going and Urban Theory's biggest gigs to date and both won themselves a whole new batch of admirers with sets that felt right at home in this venue.

Friday 13 October 2017

The Big Peach - Manchester Night And Day Cafe - 12th October 2017


The Big Peach are one of our favourite new discoveries of 2017. Unashamedly declaring that they want to bring “rock and roll to the masses” at the start of their Night And Day set, they’re on course to do just that.

Thursday 12 October 2017

Placebo - Manchester Albert Hall - 11th October 2017


Placebo’s 20th anniversary tour rolled into Manchester on Wednesday night for an intimate hastily-arranged show at the Albert Hall, a replacement for Blackpool Empress Ballroom that is undergoing repairs. Making a stance on the use of mobile phones and cameras and running through a career spanning set, Placebo celebrated their birthday in style.

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Slowdive - Manchester Albert Hall - 10th October 2017


Twenty four years since they last graced a Manchester stage, Slowdive make a long-awaited return, armed with their self-titled and strongest yet comeback album and playing their biggest headline show in the city in the revered setting of the Albert Hall.

Urban Theory - Interview


Urban Theory are new kids on the block, less than eighteen months into their existence as a band, but already creating waves around Manchester with their direct no-nonsense live shows and a couple of singles under their belt which confirmed the positive first impressions of their gigs. This weekend, they play their biggest show to date at Gorilla with Ist Ist and Control Of The Going. We caught up with them for a chat about how they came together, plans for the future and the excitement around Saturday's show.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Ist Ist - Right Before Your Eyes


Right Before Your Eyes is the new single from Ist Ist, released today ahead of their biggest headline show to date at Manchester's Gorilla on Saturday night. Accompanying it is a black and white video shot by the band's bass player Andy Keating in New York earlier this year.

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Tori Amos / Bell X1 - Manchester Palace Theatre - 5th October 2017


Tori Amos's first Manchester show for three and a half years took in the fading splendour of The Palace Theatre with Bell X1 in support. With a new album Native Invader out and her insistence on switching around the setlist each and every night incorporating fan requests into the evening, a packed expectant crowd waited for one of the most engaging and intriguing artists in the world to entertain them.

Monday 9 October 2017

The Shimmer Band / Bang Bang Romeo / Black Waters / Proletariat - Manchester Academy 2 - 8th October 2017



This Feeling's Alive tour hit Manchester Club Academy on Sunday night with three bands - The Shimmer Band, Bang Bang Romeo and Black Waters - touring the country with a local band opening up proceedings each night. Manchester saw the turn of Proletariat to kick things off on a night of four very contrasting but impressive bands.

Jekyll - Manchester Castle Hotel - 7th October 2017


To celebrate the release of new single Mania, Jekyll headlined The Castle Hotel on Saturday night with a seven-song set brimming with sonic ambition more suited to much bigger rooms.

Scarlet - Manchester Castle Hotel - 6th October 2017


Scarlet returned to Manchester on Friday night to The Castle Hotel as part of their UK tour and delivered an energetic fun-filled half hour set that got the crowd going and also reminded us what a great set of songs they've put together over the past couple of years.

Sunday 8 October 2017

LIINES - Manchester Soup Kitchen - 6th October 2017


LIINES returned to Manchester for a set opening for Desperate Journalist at Soup Kitchen on Friday night. With their debut album in the bag ready for release next year, their half hour set covered most of the record with a raw, intense set that felt at home in the basement venue.

Neighbourhood Festival (The Howl And The Hum / Blossoms / Pip Blom / Neon Waltz / Billie Marten / Black Honey / Rory Wynne) - Manchester Various Venues - 7th October 2017


The second Neighbourhood Festival took place on Saturday across a dozen venues in the Oxford Road area of Manchester with a line-up that covered nationally acclaimed bands in big venues such as The Ritz and The Albert Hall to lesser-known up-and-coming bands in more intimate surroundings. It also saw the second performance of Blossoms' collaboration with composer Joe Duddell accompanied by the Royal Northern College Of Music ensemble.

Friday 6 October 2017

Wolf Alice - Manchester HMV - 5th October 2017


With their second album Visions Of A Life challenging for the number one spot and enjoying the patronage of Jeremy Corbyn en route, Wolf Alice are also on a whistle-stop tour of record shops to promote the record and perform tracks acoustically. We caught up with their set at Manchester HMV on Thursday evening.

The Charlatans - Manchester Albert Square - 5th October 2017


As part of this year's Manchester Food And Drink Festival, Tim and Mark from The Charlatans performed a short acoustic set in the tent on Albert Square preceded by an interview with the editor of the hosts' City Life Simon Binns.

The Latchkey Kids / Liam Frost - Interview


One of our favourite artists Liam Frost is back with a new project The Latchkey Kids with an album and a Pledge Music campaign in the offing too. We caught up with him for a chat about it all.

Monday 2 October 2017

The Gallerys - Manchester Academy 3 / Trafford Centre Lambretta Store - 30th September / 1st October 2017


The Gallerys made their Manchester debut on Saturday and Sunday with two contrasting sets in very different venues. On Saturday night they opened up for Pinked Floyd at Academy 3 before a more stripped-back semi-acoustic set in the Lambretta Store in the Trafford Centre on Sunday.