Friday 31 March 2017

Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens


Kelly Lee Owens’ debut has been a few years in the making, however the long wait has been worth it as the self-titled album delivers on all the sultry mysterious promise of early singles Lucid and Arthur.

PINS - Bad Thing EP


PINS latest five track EP Bad Thing, their first release since last year's RSD single Trouble and 2015's Wild Nights album, is a diverse set of songs, featuring Iggy Pop on one song and a cover of Joy Division's Dead Souls as another as well as three further songs that see PINS take various routes at reinventing their sound.

Thursday 30 March 2017

Grandaddy / Amber Arcades - Manchester Albert Hall - 28th March 2017


Grandaddy's first Manchester show for five years was in support of their first album in eleven Last Place and they took the packed Albert Hall crowd on a nostalgic trip through their back catalogue as well as showcasing four tracks from the new record. Support came from Amber Arcades.

Cupids - Interview


Cupids return with a new single, one of their live favourites Good Things (Come To Those Who Wait), released tomorrow ahead of a sold-out launch gig at Jimmy's in Manchester and then an extensive UK tour. We caught up with Jake from the band to find out more about the song and its video and their plans for 2017.

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Cuecliché - Liverpool Zanzibar - 25th March 2017


Cuecliché played their first gig since the launch of their One Last Chance EP at Liverpool's legendary Zanzibar Club on Saturday night. The London-based three-piece post-punk outfit played the EP in full to a rowdy local crowd as co-vocalist Terry was making a return back to his native Liverpool.

Monday 27 March 2017

Maddy Storm - Interview


Maddy Storm is one of the most exciting new artists in Manchester at present, having won over live audiences with her captivating performances and the stunning range of her voice. She's launching her debut single To The Sun with a launch show at Jimmy's on April 2nd. We spoke to her to find out more about her, her music, her influences and her plans.

EVEN THE STARS PLAYLIST 5


Welcome to the fifth of our playlists of ten songs that we've been listening to all week.

Sunday 26 March 2017

Depeche Mode - Glasgow Barrowland - 26th March 2017


Depeche Mode's twelve-song set at the legendary Barrowland venue finished this year's 6 Music Festival with a real bang as they mixed songs from their recent album Spirit in with classics from Violator and other post-1990 albums on a night that will prove to be unforgettable for Depeche Mode fans who had made the pilgrimage from across the world to view this most intimate of shows.

The Slow Readers Club / Skies - Liverpool Arts Club - 25th March 2017


The Slow Readers Club began their first major headline tour with a packed out show at Liverpool's beautiful Arts Club supported by Folkestone's finest Skies. An hour-long set made up primarily of tracks from their last album Cavalcade with the addition of two great new songs and highlights of their self-titled debut sent a happy crowd out into the night singing the now compulsory READERS chant.

Friday 24 March 2017

The Jesus And Mary Chain - Damage And Joy


Incredibly, it has been almost twenty years since their last album. The long wait is over as The Jesus and Mary Chain return with their 7th album, cementing their reputation as leaders and pioneers of their field.

Otherkin / Kashmere / Sapho - Manchester Jimmy's - 22nd March 2017



Jimmy's was host to Otherkin's second ever Manchester show on Wednesday night as the Dublin band toured in support of their new single Bad Advice. Support came from Stockport's Kashmere and St Helens' Sapho.

Thursday 23 March 2017

Phoebe Green : 02:00am


Phoebe Green's debut self-released album 02:00am is one of those records that come out of nowhere, full of an unique individuality and style of its own, unnerving in parts due to its DIY nature, but astonishing in the simple intuitive nature of the songs and the potential that oozes from every note and word.

Déjà Vega - Manchester Gullivers - 21st March 2017


Fresh from being hailed as one of the six bands to save rock and roll, Déjà Vega took to the Gullivers' stage to demonstrate just why there's a small but growing band of people who believe that to be the case.

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Cuecliché - One Last Chance EP


Cuecliché's debut EP One Last Chance is an adrenalin-fuelled headrush that takes no prisoners across its five tracks, but beneath which lurks intriguing melodies and real crossover potential.

Track Of The Day : Danny Mahon - Gimme Back My Time (demo)


For years Danny Mahon was one of the city's unsung musical heroes, always guaranteed to pack out venues with every gig an event with crowds singing back every word of his unreleased songs. He's taken a break for a while, but has made his first tentative steps back with the release of a home demo recording of a track called Gimme Back My Time.

Tom Hingley - Bathgate Dreadnought Club - 17th March 2017


Returning to Scotland after a marathon set up here a couple of weeks ago, Tom Hingley continues to delight the faithful and win over new fans too.

Tuesday 21 March 2017

Surfer Blood / Pip Blom / Control Of The Going - Manchester Soup Kitchen - 19th March 2017



Sunday night saw Surfer Blood bring their Snowdonia tour to Manchester's Soup Kitchen with Dutch band Pip Blom and local heroes Control Of The Going in tow.

Track Of The Day : Otherkin - Bad Advice


Otherkin's new single Bad Advice is the latest track from the Dublin four-piece's forthcoming debut album and is a ferocious two minute twenty second assault that pulls no punches and never takes its foot off the pedal from its riotous start to the moment it stops dead in its tracks at the end.

Monday 20 March 2017

Sunday 19 March 2017

Elbow - Manchester Apollo - 18th March 2017


Elbow's tour to support the release of their recent number 1 album Little Fictions made its way to their home town of (Greater) Manchester for the first of four sold out nights at the Apollo where they delighted the crowd with a set that spanned their last four albums.

Saturday 18 March 2017

Blossoms / Cabbage / Rory Wynne - Liverpool Olympia - 17th March 2017



The second night of the year's biggest triple-header bill - Blossoms, Cabbage and Rory Wynne - rolled into the spectacular surroundings of Liverpool's Olympia Theatre on Friday night. Three acts at different stages in their trajectory brought a mix of styles and approach to the night, but each one confirming that they're set for bigger things in 2017 and beyond.

Thursday 16 March 2017

Dutch Uncles - Manchester Dancehouse Theatre 15th March 2017


The Sold Out signs are up on the door of The Dancehouse for Dutch Uncles' triumphant end-of-tour homecoming celebration of the release of their fifth album Big Balloon as the initially seated and eventually stage-invading crowd flocked to pay homage to a band with an impressive following and a joyous live set despite their outsider status compared to Manchester's big boy bands.

Debunking The Ancoats Myth


There's a lot been written about Ancoats being one of the coolest and hippest neighbourhoods in Europe by local, national and international press. Well we live there, we think it's a great place to live but we think it's nothing of the sort.

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Bernard And Edith - Manchester Night And Day - 11th March 2017


Bernard And Edith performed a one-off show at Manchester's Night And Day Cafe on Saturday night to preview five of the new songs that they've been writing for the follow-up to 2015's debut album Jem plus revisiting four of the songs from that record. 

Bonfire Nights / Crimsons / DUSST / Maddy Storm - Manchester Castle - 12th March 2017



Sunday night saw the latest instalment of the Astral Elevator psyche-influenced gig night in Manchester. The twentieth show from the independent promoter was probably their finest yet, with four acts of the highest quality, each with their own diverse style which thrilled a packed out Castle Hotel music room in Manchester.

Monday 13 March 2017

EVEN THE STARS PLAYLIST 3


The third Even The Stars playlist features ten songs from artists we've been listening to recently and which we'd love to share with our readers. It features You Want Fox, Dream Wife, Heavy Heart, Annabel Allum, Caroline Lazar, Alica, Atella x Froder, Black Honey, Fickle Friends and La Bête Blooms.

Spectres - Condition


A new release on the acclaimed Sonic Cathedral label can mean only one thing - a masterpiece. Stuart Ralston has a listen to the second long player from Spectres and isn't disappointed.

OLA - Manchester Castle - 11th March 2017


OLA (or One Little Atlas to give them their full name) have been around the Manchester scene for several years now, but this is the first time we've had chance to witness their clever fusion of live guitars and keyboards, computer wizardry and accompanying visuals which create a stunning audio-visual experience.

TRACKS OF THE DAY : Last Race Home - How Close / Cornbrook Station


Last Race Home released not one but two singles on Friday. And we couldn't choose between them for track of the day so we're going to have both. The Manchester-based six piece have created a sound that reflects the city from which they hail - open, honest, revelatory, descriptive and dealing with what life throws at them but with an optimistic romanticism shining through.

Saturday 11 March 2017

John Bramwell / Dave Fidler - Wigan Old Courts - 10th March 2017


Ahead of the release of his debut solo album Leave Alone The Empty Spaces this year, John Bramwell is back on the road in the delightful surroundings of Wigan Old Courts playing old favourites from the I Am Kloot back catalogue as well as road-testing new songs with the assistance of Dave and Andy Fidler on guitar, bass and cajon. Dave also played an opening set that featured songs from his debut album I'm Not Here and some new tracks from the follow-up that he's in the process of recording.

Friday 10 March 2017

Jennie Abrahamson - Reverseries


Reverseries is the fifth album by Swedish singer Jennie Abrahamson and her finest piece of work yet, an intoxicating mix of subtle electronic beats, a dash of pop and warm enveloping vocals that together form a collection that's both immediately satisfying but which reveals hidden depths and layers on further inspection.

Thursday 9 March 2017

Track Of The Day : Alica - Home


Home is the debut single from the 19 year old singer-songwriter Alica. We don't know much about her, other than this song is a self-penned, self-produced track from a forthcoming EP.

Peaness / Baby Brave / Campfire Social - Manchester Castle - 7th March 2017

 

Peaness's first Manchester headline show is also their first since signing to Alcopop Records earlier this year and the sold out signs on the door and the reception they get at the end of a boiling hot forty five minute set tell the story of a band on the rise, armed with three minute guitar pop gems with a hard underbody to them that stick to your brain and don't let go. Support came from Wrexham's loud and direct four-piece Baby Brave and Llangollen's Campfire Social.

Wednesday 8 March 2017

Findlay - Forgotten Pleasures


"They say I'm no good, but I've never been better"

Findlay's debut album Forgotten Pleasures has been a long time coming, but the thirteen track collection is more than worth the wait. It's crammed full of the bold, confident and self-assured songs you'd expect from her sporadic live shows and much more.

Monday 6 March 2017

EVEN THE STARS PLAYLIST 2


The second Even The Stars playlist features ten songs from artists we've been listening to recently and which we'd love to share with our readers. It features She Drew The Gun, Josh Kemp, Control Of The Going, Cosmo Calling, Jennie Abrahamson, Phoebe Green, Liv Dawson, Joe Dolman, Einar Vilberg and Mushy Callahan.

Matter Of Mind - Manchester Jimmy's - 5th March 2017


The second night of This Feeling's latest weekender at Jimmy's in Manchester saw Matter Of Mind blow away any lingering Sunday blues and doubts about their status as the best young band in Manchester with a fearsome performance that tested the tiny venue's sound capability to the very max.

Tom Hingley - Cowdenbeath Silver Birch - 4th March 2017


If Stuart Ralston ventures into Fife, it can mean only one thing. He's in search of Tom Hingley.

Sunday 5 March 2017

Control Of The Going - Manchester Gullivers - 4th March 2017


Control Of The Going celebrated the release of their stunning new single She with a gig at Gullivers in Manchester on Saturday night that revealed a set of songs that they're about to take into the studio to record their debut album, which on this basis could be one of the surprise highlights of 2017.