Sunday 31 December 2017

Even The Stars Top Albums Of 2017 - 5 to 1


Our Top 25 albums of 2017 countdown concludes today with the Top Five albums (in our opinion) that were released this year. We also would give a very honourable mention to our most listened album of the year which is Live With Royal Northern Sinfonia, which topped our 2016 listing and received its first physical release on vinyl in November.  Feel free to tweet us your favourites and why you think our list is great / predictable / preposterous.

Tips For 2018 - The Top Four


Welcome to the final day of our tips of 2018 where we present the four acts that we have the highest hopes for next year to make an impact on the music scene, either in Manchester or further afield. Our final four are Kula Bay, Janileigh Cohen, Average Sex and MarthaGunn.

Saturday 30 December 2017

Even The Stars Top Albums Of 2017 - 10 to 6


Our Top 25 albums of 2017 countdown continues today with the albums that make up numbers 10 to 6 in our list. Feel free to tweet us your favourites and why you think our list is great / predictable / preposterous.

Tips For 2018 - Part Four


Welcome to Day Four of our tips of 2018 where we present twenty acts who we think will make an impact on the music scene next year. Today we have Bedroom High Club, Hannah Ashcroft, Maddy Storm and The Gallerys.

Friday 29 December 2017

Happy Mondays - Glasgow O2 Academy - 23rd December 2017


Rounding off their tour in Glasgow, a rejuvenated Happy Mondays bring the house down. Stuart Ralston headed down to the O2 Academy to catch the last night of Happy Mondays' 30th celebrations.

Even The Stars Top Albums Of 2017 - 15 to 11


Our Top 25 albums of 2017 countdown continues today with the albums we ranked 15 to 11 of those released this year. Feel free to tweet us your favourites and why you think our list is great / predictable / preposterous.

Tips For 2018 - Part Three


Every year we make some predictions of bands that we think are going to make an impact in the following year and beyond (we use that caveat as we're often a year ahead of some of these types of polls as we cover bands at the very grass roots level, particularly in Manchester). Last year our nominations included the likes of Cabbage, Carnival Club, Matter Of Mind, Dantevilles, Berries, Urban Theory and Peaness, all of whom had successful years.

Over this week, cumulating with our top four tips on Saturday, we'll run through 20 acts we think could make their mark in 2018.

Thursday 28 December 2017

Even The Stars Top Albums of 2017 - 20 to 16


Our Top 25 albums of 2017 countdown continues today with the albums that make up numbers 20 to 16 of our favourite records of the year. Feel free to tweet us your favourites and why you think our list is great / predictable / preposterous.

Tips For 2018 - Part Two


Welcome to Day Two of our tips of 2018 where we present twenty acts who we think will make an impact on the music scene next year. Today we have Purple Merlin, Pip Blom, The Goa Express and Pale Rider.

Wednesday 27 December 2017

Even The Stars Top Albums Of 2017 - 25 to 21


Our Top 25 albums of 2017 countdown starts today with numbers 25 to 21 in our list of thebest albums (in our opinion) that were released this year.  Feel free to tweet us your favourites and why you think our list is great / predictable / preposterous.

Tips For 2018 - Part One


Every year we make some predictions of bands that we think are going to make an impact in the following year and beyond (we use that caveat as we're often a year ahead of some of these types of polls as we cover bands at the very grass roots level, particularly in Manchester). Last year our nominations included the likes of Cabbage, Carnival Club, Matter Of Mind, Dantevilles, Berries, Urban Theory and Peaness, all of whom had successful years.

Over the next five days, cumulating with our top four tips on Saturday, we'll run through 20 acts we think could make their mark in 2018.

Tuesday 26 December 2017

Purple Heart Parade / The Goa Express - Manchester Aatma - 21st December 2017


Purple Heart Parade have been away for most of 2017 building up a not inconsiderable and growing fan base around the country including London where they came to the attention of one of the most adventurous psyche labels in the land AC30 with whom they promptly signed on the dotted line. Ahead of an EP release and more in 2018 they returned back to Manchester to one of their old haunts Aatma for a low-key homecoming. Support came from Burnley's The Goa Express.

Ist Ist - Bolton Blind Tiger - 23rd December 2017


Ist Ist finished off their most successful year to date with a low-key gig at Bolton's Blind Tiger. Despite being used to much bigger stages these days, they delivered possibly their best performance of the year in this intimate space. Shorn of all the big monitors and huge light shows they delivered an intense powerful performance that stunned a pre-Christmas Bolton crowd into silence and won over a few new admirers in the process.

Fuzzy Sun - Manchester Night And Day - 22nd December 2017


There's a lot of hype about Fuzzy Sun at the moment. They appeared in Blossoms' Christmas video and rumour has it that Tom Ogden is producing their forthcoming debut single and they've already booked in a four-night residency at Jimmy's for February through to April next year. All of this without having a single out in the public domain. Last Friday's show at Jimmy's was billed as their debut gig so we went along to see if they lived up to the billing.

Wednesday 20 December 2017

John Bramwell / Dave Fidler - Manchester Royal Northern College Of Music - 15th December 2017


The big room at the Royal Northern College Of Music is the glorious setting for the final date on John Bramwell's tour to launch his album Leave Alone The Empty Spaces. A seated crowd was treated both to favourites from his I Am Kloot back catalogue, but also a sizable selection of songs from the album and its as-yet-unreleased follow-up. Support came from Dave Fidler, who also performed later as part of John's band during his set.

Tuesday 19 December 2017

James / James Allan / The Slow Readers Club - Manchester Albert Hall - 18th December 2017


In the wake of May's bombing at Manchester Arena that claimed the lives of 22 Ariane Grande fans, James sought to arrange a benefit concert or participate in the Arena reopening show headlined by Noel Gallagher, but the end result was this intimate concert at the imposing Wesleyan chapel that is the Albert Hall where they improvised a new song, revealed two new songs from their forthcoming album with composer Joe Duddell as well as playing a carefully mixed set of hits from across their career as well as fan favourite album tracks. Support came from a stunning acoustic set from Manchester's own The Slow Readers Club and a solo set from Glasvegas' James Allan.

Sunday 17 December 2017

Kula Bay / Heir - Manchester Night And Day - 16th December 2017


For a band just six months into their existence Kula Bay are making the sort of buzz that bands have taken years to generate. Already favourites of BBC Introducing in both Manchester and Liverpool due to them coming from Warrington, often a musical desert until recently smack bang between the two, with their debut single 7 Hours, they can still count the number of shows they've played on a pair of hands yet they've headlined Academy 3 and tonight The Night And Day Cafe. Reassuringly they prove again that they've got the songs to back up their growing groundswell behind them.

Ist Ist - Manchester Ritz - 14th December 2017


Sacred Trinity, Peer Hat, their debut London show, Head For The Hills second stage headline and their own packed Gorilla show have made it quite the year for Ist Ist and for their final Manchester show of the year, they top the bill at the iconic Ritz for Scruff Of The Neck's Christmas Blow Out party.

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Findlay / MarthaGunn / Baby Taylah - Glasgow King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - 10th December 2017



Findlay brought what felt like her first UK tour in an eternity to a close on Sunday night at Glasgow's King Tut's Wah Wah Hut supported by Brighton's MarthaGunn and local Baby Taylah. Playing the majority of songs from her debut album Forgotten Pleasures, Findlay and her band delivered a set that warmed up the audience and left us scratching our heads as to why she's still playing venues of this size.

Monday 11 December 2017

The Gallerys - Manchester Club Academy - 6th December 2017


One of the most promising new bands in the country, The Gallerys, made a prompt return to Manchester following a couple of shows in October with a support slot for The King Blues at Club Academy. Playing to a crowd unfamiliar to the three-piece's cheeky brand of indie guitar music that sees all three of them taking on lead vocals during the set, they won over the audience with an ease that suggests that big things may be on the horizon for them in 2018.

John Bramwell / Dave Fidler - Gateshead The Sage 2 - 7th December 2017


With the soft release of his new album Leave Alone The Empty Spaces John Bramwell has been touring the UK and the Netherlands for the past few weeks presenting the songs from it and its follow-up as well as tried and tested I Am Kloot favourites. We caught the train up to the splendid Sage 2 in Gateshead to witness the rejuvenation of one of the country's favourite songwriters.

Average Sex - Ice Cream EP


Average Sex's debut EP Ice Cream is a collection of four songs produced with a refreshing approach to their art. Like their live shows, it's remarkably playful in its approach, particularly lyrically. It doesn't strive for musical perfection, because quite frankly that would be boring. It's the musical equipment of letting someone dig you in the ribs and then tickle your sides, but you don't care because instead of irritating you, you secretly love it and don't want it to stop.

Sunday 10 December 2017

The Slow Readers Club - Glasgow King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - 9th December 2017


The Slow Readers Club's triumphant sell out UK tour came to an end in Glasgow last night in the hot, sweaty and celebratory confines of King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, a gig that sold out four months ago with weeks of being announced. It felt like an end of tour celebration and a party at the end of a year where they've capitalised on the success they enjoyed following the James tour in 2016 by filling rooms they'd have only dreamt about two years ago.

Friday 8 December 2017

TRACK OF THE DAY : Little Sparrow featuring Robin Dewhurst - Tender


Tender is the first song taken from Little Sparrow's new EP Just 3, a collaboration with classical pianist Robin Dewhurst and her first new material since her acclaimed album Wishing Tree. The accompanying video is made up of photographic memories of some of her fans that she sourced through a Facebook request.

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Hater - Red Blinders EP


Having only released their debut LP You Tried earlier this year, Hater’s EP Red Blinders, four new songs, might well have them marked down as prolific. As on the LP, Hater have delivered a set of dreamy upbeat songs that subtly disarm and charm the listener into submission rather than bowl them over with power or volume.

Moulettes - Manchester Band On The Wall - 5th December 2017


Moulettes returned to Manchester as part of their extensive UK tour supporting their last album Preternatural. The four-piece transformed the concept album into a chameleon-like live set that fused rock and folk and points in between without ever going off piste as the dual vocals and on-stage interaction of Hannah and Raevennan made for a visually as well as aurally exciting hour and a half.

Tuesday 5 December 2017

Matter Of Mind - Dead Apologies EP


Matter Of Mind’s new EP Dead Apologies sees them broadening their horizons on a number of fronts. Featuring a rerecorded version of their single Far Too Wrong and their most recent Stay, it’s their most confident and assured release yet with a sound that’s tailor made for venues much bigger than they’re currently inhabiting.

Monday 4 December 2017

The Charlatans / Brix & The Extricated / Average Sex - Manchester Apollo - 2nd December 2017



The Charlatans returned to their spiritual home of Manchester on Saturday night for a celebratory show at the Apollo. Whilst pleasing the crowd with a selection of their biggest hits, they also sought to challenge a beer-fuelled audience at times with lesser known tracks from their recent album Different Days. Support came from the evergreen and ever-energetic Brix & The Extricated and the devil-may-care attitude of brilliant newcomers Average Sex.

Sunday 3 December 2017

Pip Blom / Phoebe Green - Manchester The Peer Hat - 29th November 2017


Pip Blom returned to Manchester for a final show of the year to build on her and her band's burgeoning reputation as an exciting live band at The Peer Hat on Wednesday night. Support came from another rising star, this time from much closer to home, in Phoebe Green.

The Twang / The Assist / Ivory Wave - Manchester Ritz - 1st December 2017


The Twang are one of the most maligned bands of the last decade, unfairly dismissed as a lads' band by a sneering music press as the initial hype surrounding their debut album Love It When I Feel Like This subsided. They've continued now for ten years with diminishing returns commercially, but retaining a genuine humility and honesty in their work that often got overlooked. The Ritz was sold out months in advance for this nostalgic look back at that debut and selected highlights of the rest of their career and the audience spent the hour and a half bouncing around to songs that meant, and still mean, something to them. Support came from The Assist and Ivory Wave.

The Slow Readers Club - Manchester Fred Perry Store - 2nd December 2017


Just over a week after their triumphant Albert Hall sell out show a few hundred metres away, The Slow Readers Club played a seven-song acoustic set that is likely to be more intimate than anything they ever play again. Aaron, Kurtis and Jim treated a crowd packed into Fred Perry's bijou Manchester store to a stripped down performance of favourites from across their two albums as well as recent single Lunatic.

Saturday 2 December 2017

U2 - Songs Of Experience


One of the running topics of conversation amongst our friends group in Manchester is U2. Some hate, some love, without such differences of opinion music would be the sort of bland nonsense that Cowell and his ilk want to push upon us. In the spirit of democracy and free speech, we asked U2 superfan Jason Wynne to give us his views on their new album Songs Of Experience.

Wednesday 29 November 2017

TRACK OF THE DAY : Kula Bay - 7 Hours


7 Hours is the debut single from Warrington four-piece Kula Bay. The band only formed in June so 7 Hours is a very impressive opening gambit from a band that's already attracted the attention of BBC Introducing Manchester who have played them two weeks running with deserved rave reviews of the song.

Tuesday 28 November 2017

James To Reissue Five Albums On Vinyl




James have announced the reissue of five of their albums on vinyl, two for the first time and the other three for the first time in over twenty years. Following on from 2015's Laid / Wah Wah deluxe, super deluxe and vinyl packages, Gold Mother, Seven, Whiplash, Millionaires and Pleased To Meet You all get the double heavy 180g vinyl plus download card treatment for a December 15th release.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Pip Blom - School


School is the latest single from Dutch teenager Pip Blom and her band, released ahead of their show at the Peer Hat in Manchester on Wednesday night as part of a short UK tour.

Monday 27 November 2017

Nelson Can / LIINES - Manchester Peer Hat - 26th November 2017


Sunday night down in the bowels after the longest weekend known to man isn’t the sort of place you’d expect to have your flagging spirits lifted, your feet compelled to once last (dad) dance and performances as intense as they are fun. But that’s exactly what Nelson Can and LIINES achieved.

Saturday 25 November 2017

The Slow Readers Club - Manchester Albert Hall - 24th November 2017


Two thousand plus people have come to pay homage to The Slow Readers Club, a band that's come from the streets of this town to the grand surroundings of this resurrected Wesleyan chapel through their own hard work and perseverance, the never-say-die spirit that makes Manchester so special and a belief in a set of songs, old and new, that somehow sum up feelings that sit deep down within us all and wrest them out and into the world for all to see.

Sunday 19 November 2017

Kula Bay - Manchester Academy 3 - 18th November 2017


Having heard Kula Bay's new single 7 Hours on BBC Introducing an hour before, the notification they were playing Academy 3 the same night on Facebook was too much of a coincidence to turn down, to see whether the good impression that song gave on first listen would be replicated by their live show.