Tallies / Hup - Manchester Gullivers - 28th October 2022

Tallies brought their recently-released second album Patina all the way from Toronto in Canada to the ballroom above Gullivers in Manchester on Thursday night for an intimate show supported by the unpredictable and litigious Hup.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Ist Ist - Stamp You Out

Ist Ist return with Stamp You Out, the first track from their third album Protagonists that they have also announced today. Already a live favourite, and recollecting the raw energy of their early singles combined with the power and control of their more recent work, the song is a thrilling return for one of Manchester's successful but often overlooked bands.

Thousand Yard Stare - Earthanasia

Slough five piece and Even The Stars favourites Thousand Yard Stare deliver another album - Earthanasia - their fourth from the studio - and it’s everything we have to come expect and love about them. 

Inhaler / Stone - Manchester Academy - 15th October 2022

Inhaler are celebrating the announcement of their second album Cuts And Bruises with a short run of their biggest UK headline shows to date. A sold-out audience packed into an expectant Manchester Academy on Saturday night to witness a band on the ascendancy to much bigger things. Support came from Liverpool's Stone.

Cold Water Swimmers / Urban Theory / Soul Shayka - Manchester Lions Den - 14th October 2022

Cold Water Swimmers headlined their latest DIY-Or-Die night at the Lions Den on Deansgate on Friday night playing their debut album Holiday At The Secret Lake in full followed by a couple of new songs from the follow-up that they're in the process of writing and recording. Support came from Bury's Urban Theory and Liverpool's Soul Shayka.

The Orielles - Manchester Stoller Hall - 7th October 2022

To celebrate the release of their breathtaking third album Tableau, The Orielles performed a special set of tracks taken from the album and a couple of older favourites featuring strings from the Northern Session Collective to a reverential audience in the imposing surroundings of the Stoller Hall in Manchester.

Life / Pleasure Centre - Manchester Deaf Institute - 6th October 2022

Life brought their tour for their third album North East Coastal Town to the Deaf Institute on Thursday night, mixing most of the album with a few select older favourites from their first two albums in a passionate exciting performance. Support came from Pleasure Centre.

Neighbourhood Festival (The Murder Capital / Egyptian Blue / Venbee / Tom A Smith / Rianne Downey / The Covasettes / Pastel / Corella / Rosellas) - Manchester Various Venues - 1st October 2022

Neighbourhood Festival returned to venues situated across the Oxford Road corridor in Manchester on Saturday boasting an impressive line-up of up and coming talents. We swerved the biggest venues and names on the bill to catch nine sets by The Murder Capital, Egyptian Blue, Venbee, Tom A Smith, Rianne Downey, The Covasettes, Pastel, Corella and Rosellas.

Seb Lowe / Springfield Elementary / The Lanks - Stockport Bask - 29th September 2022

Seb Lowe headed to Stockport's new venue Bask for its first ever full-band show on Thursday night as part of his tour of venues in the south of Greater Manchester. An eleven-song set confirmed the growing belief that he's on his way to much bigger venues in the not too distant future. Support came from Springfield Elementary and The Lanks.

Ian Brown / Dermo - Edinburgh O2 Academy - 27th September 2022

“Do you like me band?” The third night of the Ian Brown tour rolls into town with the added attraction of a set from former Northside frontman Dermo. Stuart Ralston went along. 

The Big Moon / Gently Tender / Arxx - Manchester Academy 2 - 25th September 2022

A pandemic and a pregnancy pushed back The Big Moon's biggest Manchester headline show by two years but finally, ahead of the release of their third album Here Is Everything, Juliette, Celia, Soph and Fern played this sold-out show on Sunday night. Support came from Gently Tender, with a familiar face in the band, and Arxx.

Just Mustard / White Flowers - Glasgow Broadcast - 25th September 2022

Just Mustard brought their mesmerising new album Heart Under to a fanatical sell out crowd at Glasgow’s Broadcast with stellar support from White Flowers. Stuart Ralston was there.

The Charlatans - Manchester New Century Hall - 22nd September 2022

As part of the opening celebrations for Manchester's newest old venue New Century Hall, The Charlatans performed their second album Between 10th And 11th in full on Thursday night before finishing with a mini-greatest hits set.

TRACK OF THE DAY : The Murder Capital - A Thousand Lives

The Murder Capital continue their long-awaited return with a new single A Thousand Lives and the announcement of their second album Gigi's Recovery and a UK and European tour for February 2023.

Wyldest / Mui Zyu / Lass - Manchester Gullivers - 21st September 2022

Wyldest brought their third album Feed The Flowers Nightmares to Gullivers ballroom in Manchester on Wednesday night, performing the album in full with support from Mui Zyu and Lass.

The Slow Readers Club - Interview

We caught up with The Slow Readers Club last week in Liverpool as they prepared for the second night of their current UK tour to talk about being back on the road, the adjustments they've had to make since COVID stopped the momentum of their top ten The Joy Of The Return album and their next record. Today they've announced a UK and European tour for 2023.

Ist Ist / Pale Puma - Rotterdam V11 - 18th September 2022

Ist Ist opened their series of sold-out Dutch dates in Rotterdam on Sunday night in the hull of V11 in the port area of Rotterdam in front of an adoring fan base who'd snapped up the tickets for this show in under a minute when they went on sale. Support came from local Dutch act Pale Puma.

Dirty Laces - Manchester Academy 3 - 17th September 2022

Dirty Laces celebrated the release of their new single Midnight Mile on Saturday night at Manchester Academy 3. An hour plus set of old favourites and new material confirmed their transformation from an archetypal Manchester lads band to a much more powerful and compelling sound.

Ash / The Gulps - Manchester Ritz - 15th September 2022

Ash returned to Manchester on Thursday night for what feels like an annual tradition of a gig at The Ritz. Celebrating the reissue of their third album Free All Angels with a show performing the album in full with selected added tracks as an encore and with then-guitarist Charlotte Hatherley guesting on the tour, they delighted a packed crowd with a set full of their usual energy and memorable singalong tracks from one of Britpop's defining bands. Support came from The Gulps.

Loose Articles - Chaos EP

2022 has been the year where you can't move around Manchester without seeing Loose Articles somewhere. What's been missing so far is a full release and the Chaos EP has arrived to fill that gap, picking up this year's single releases and more.

Ist Ist - Interview

Ahead of their debut European tour that starts later this week with sold out shows in Berlin, Amsterdam and two in Rotterdam as well as a return visit to headline Porto's Post Punk Strikes Back Again Festival, we caught up with Ist Ist for a chat about success at home and further afield, their Manchester headline show at The Ritz and other plans for 2023.

The Slow Readers Club / Klangstof - Liverpool Academy - 11th September 2022

The Slow Readers Club headlined Liverpool O2 Academy on Sunday night in front of a devoted boisterous audience that sung along to every word of a set that featured a lot of deeper cuts from across their career as well as many of their best known songs. Support came from a slimmed-down Klangstof ahead of the release of their Godspeed To The Freaks album out on Friday.

Little Sparrow / Chris Flynn - Manchester Portico Library - 10th September 2022

The intimate and beautiful surroundings of the Portico Library, hidden away above The Bank pub on Mosley Street played host to a rare Manchester outing for Little Sparrow performing tracks from her debut album Wishing Tree as well as from her long-awaited follow-up supported by Chris Flynn.

Pale Blue Eyes / Modema - Manchester Retro - 7th September 2022

Pale Blue Eyes brought their highly-acclaimed debut album Souvenirs to the hot and humid basement of Retro Bar in Manchester on Wednesday night for an hour-long set that was rapturously received by a crowd that reveled in the trio's pure joy of playing live music. They were supported by an impressive debut performance by Modema.

Dream Wife / Bleach Lab - Hebden Bridge Trades Club - 2nd September 2022

Dream Wife headed to Hebden Bridge for an intimate warm-up for their appearance at Manchester Psych Fest on Friday night supported by Bleach Lab. Mixing new material that promises to be their strongest to date with crowd favourites from their first two albums they created a real sense of communal purpose and message whilst drawing everyone in the room into their joy of performance.

Liam Frost - Stockport Bask - 21st August 2022

As part of the celebration of the first vinyl issue of his second and third albums We Ain't Got No Money Honey But We Got Rain and The Latchkey Kid, Liam Frost held an intimate in conversation evening at Stockport's Bask in front of a respectful attentive audience, mixing interview questions from XS Manchester's Jim Salveson, a long-term fan of Liam, with chronological acoustic performances from across his career.

Seb Lowe / Cobain Jones / The Lanks - Hyde Pop - 19th August 2022

Seb Lowe continued his short series of dates around the southern and eastern outposts of the Greater Manchester music scene with a sold-out show at Hyde's intimate DIY space POP on Friday night. With the audience singing along to every word of his best-known songs and captivated by the stage presence of the teenager and his band we left with the sense we'd just watched a future star completing the last stages of his apprenticeship before moving to the much bigger rooms of the city centre. 

Annie Dressner - Interview

Cambridge via New York singer-songwriter Annie Dressner is about to go out on tour belatedly in support of her 2020 album Coffee At The Corner Bar and previewing new material. We caught up with her for a chat about her background and influences, songwriting and lyrical content and working with David Ford. She releases a new single I've Always Been Like This on September 2.

Mold / Yossari Baby / Wondrous Planet / The Entertainment Club - Salford Kings Arms - 5th August 2022

Advertised as their "first final reunion show" Mold made a one-off return to the live stage on Friday night headlining the monthly Entertainment Club "Multi-Genre Hell Cabaret" event in the beautiful theatre of the Kings Arms in Salford.

Pixies / The Slow Readers Club - Glasgow Kelvingrove Bandstand - 4th August 2022

The Kelvingrove Bandstand is a stunning outdoor arena in Glasgow. Tonight’s show is one in a series of fourteen concerts. Billed as The Summer Sessions and featuring acts as diverse as Van Morrison and Belinda Carlisle, as well as local legends such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Edwin Collins. Ahead of their Bingley festival slots on Sunday, The Pixies have embarked on a short warm up tour of the north (Edinburgh, Glasgow then Newcastle) inviting The Slow Readers Club along too. 

Daisy Valentine / SKIES / The A.V. Club - Stockport Bask - 4th August 2022

Thursday night saw our first visit to the new venue / bar Bask in Stockport for the launch of Daisy Valentine's Tabula Rasa EP with her performing a headline set supported by acoustic performances from SKIES and The AV Club, both who put on impressive shows despite an audience that felt their conversation was more important than the music.

Liam Frost - Manchester Piccadilly Records - 31st July 2022

To celebrate the first ever vinyl issue of his second and third albums We Ain't Got No Money Honey But We Got Rain and The Latchkey Kid, Liam Frost played a solo acoustic set at Piccadilly Records on Sunday afternoon featuring tracks from both albums as well as a couple from his debut Show Me How The Spectres Dance.

Desperate Journalist / The Empty Page - Manchester Night And Day - 30th July 2022

It's an impressive feat that Desperate Journalist and The Empty Page have sold out Night And Day in an environment where gig attendances are through the floor and a significant element of the Manchester gig going community are on their annual pilgrimage to the Lakes for Kendal Calling where Desperate Journalist are playing the following day. The Night And Day is consequently a sweat box with a fan on stage for the headliner to keep it barely manageable for them, but once the music started people were oblivious to it.

The House Of Love - Burn Down The World (8 CD boxset)

Formed in London in 1986, The House of Love were one of the most respected and revered bands of the late 80s and early 90s. Starting their career on Creation, at a time when the label wasn’t really big enough to take bands like The House of Love into the charts, they signed to a major in 1989 and chart success soon followed. This impressive box set takes us through that period and leaves no stone unturned. This is a mightily impressive collection and fans new and old should cherish it. Starting with their self titled 1990 album before moving on to Babe Rainbow (1992), Audience With The Mind (1993) and a whole host of studio and live extras across eight discs, with over 130 tracks included.

John Bramwell - Atherton The Snug - 27th July 2022

John Bramwell's never-ending tour of some of the locations that are often left off other artist tour schedules arrived in Atherton for a return visit on Wednesday night to one of Greater Manchester's hidden gems The Snug. A career-spanning set liberally sprinkled with wit and often self-deprecating humour delighted an attentive appreciative audience.

Charm Of Finches / Megan Dixon-Hood - Manchester Gullivers - 24th July 2022

Melbourne sisters Charm Of Finches' long European tour is drawing to a close and Sunday night saw them pay their first ever visit to Manchester for a ninety-minute set in the ballroom above Gullivers pub in the Northern Quarter where Mabel and Ivy held an audience's attention captive for an hour and a half. Support came from closer to home in the form of Megan Dixon-Hood.

James / Orla Gartland / Coach Party / Lime Garden / Baby Queen - Sheffield Tramlines - 22nd July 2022

We headed across to Sheffield in the rain for the first day of 2022's Tramlines Festival in Hillsborough Park. Moving between the three main stages we caught sets from Baby Queen, Lime Garden, Coach Party, Orla Gartland and James.

Scarlet - Manchester Night And Day Cafe - 21st July 2022

Scarlet kicked off their UK tour at Manchester's Night And Day Cafe on Thursday night. Seven years on since their debut EP, they still have the passion to deliver an energetic ten-song set featuring a mix of older material and new songs.

Little Sparrow - Sale Waterside Refract Festival - 21st July 2022

Little Sparrow headlined the first night of Sale Waterside's fifth Refract Festival playing a fifty-minute set accompanied by Robbie Cavanagh and Robin Dewhurst to a cabaret-seating set up in the venue's main theatre on Thursday night.

TRACK OF THE DAY : The Murder Capital - Only Good Things

The Murder Capital have released Only Good Things, the first taste of their forthcoming second album. The song represents a significant departure from the dark sound of their debut When I Have Fears focusing on celebrating those that are still with us rather than those we have lost. 

TRACK OF THE DAY : Thousand Yard Stare - Isadora

Thousand Yard Stare continue their most unlikely of comebacks with a new single Isadora, the third in a series of four releases this year that will both remind longer-term fans of their infinitely catchy hooks yet still sound like a band exploring new elements of their sound.

Pixies - Manchester Band On The Wall - 19th July 2022

Pixies' shows in Manchester in the late 1980s at the International and International II are the stuff of legend and we never believed we'd see them in such intimate surroundings again. However, a 9am Monday morning alert set up their smallest show anywhere in years on the hottest day of the year in the five-hundred capacity Band On The Wall packed with devotees who reveled in a forty-one song two-hour career spanning set that will be talked about for years.

The John Hall Foundation Launch (Déjà Vega / The Goa Express / Yellow Brain / The Red Stains / Peacock Method / Maddy Storm / James Holt) - Manchester Band On The Wall / Rose And Monkey - 16th July 2022

John Hall was one of the most recognisable faces on the Manchester music scene, an omnipresent champion of new bands, unwavering in his support of those who got up on stage to perform and a will to only see the positive in artists. We sadly lost this magnificent man and friend last year to cancer, but before he passed he set up the John Hall Foundation to support the creation of safe working and rehearsal spaces for musicians in Manchester so that his legacy would never be forgotten, not that anyone who'd ever crossed his path would be able to forget him. Across two stages at Band On The Wall and the Rose And Monkey, artists and friends came together to raise funds and pay tribute on Saturday to a one-of-a-kind man whose loss has made the city's music scene a far poorer place.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Needle - Manual Breathing

Manual Breathing is the debut single from Manchester artist Needle, a fully independent and self-contained project where they write, record, produce and mix everything themselves. It's an impressive first offering, ambitious and very much displaying a desire to express themselves in a natural manner rather than conforming.

Ist Ist / The Jade Assembly / The Empty Page / Cowtown - Bolton Right To Roam Festival - 9th July 2022

Saturday saw the second day of the Right To Roam Festival around four venues in Bolton, a brave festival that is attempting to bring live music back to the streets of a town that's had many of its live venues shut down over the years. We caught four bands - Cowtown, The Empty Page, The Jade Assembly and Ist Ist - across two of the venues.

Pixies / The Slow Readers Club / Klangstof - Manchester Castlefield Bowl - 5th July 2022

Pixies headlined the latest in the Summer In The City series of gigs in Manchester's Castlefield Bowl on Tuesday night supported by local heroes The Slow Readers Club and Klangstof. A thirty-song set provided a perfect reminder of why they are one of the most important and influential bands of our generation.

James - Manchester Castlefield Bowl - 2nd July 2022

One of the things that separates James from other bands is that we, the audience, never ever know what we are going to get when we go and see them. To celebrate their 40th year, James announced two special gigs; last month’s Edinburgh show was a celebration of a Barrowland "Best Of" era gig (from 1998) and then at the wonderful Castlefield Bowl tonight. We  knew exactly what we were going to get - twenty-two songs from the massive 1992 Alton Towers show that made for a curious evening. The band pulled out all the stops, truly testing themselves by revisiting some songs they haven’t played in decades.  What followed was a truly stunning performance. 

TRACK OF THE DAY : SKIES - Deconstruction

SKIES today release Deconstruction, their first new material since last year's It's Not The End Of The World EP. Full of their distinctive hooks and pulsating beats the single will delight their loyal army of fans whose participation in garden shows as lockdown eased helped to fund the recording as well as hopefully win them new admirers.

James / Seb Lowe - Warrington Parr Hall - 29th June 2022

James warmed up for their Castlefield Bowl Alton Towers 30th anniversary show on Saturday with an intimate warm-up show for War Child at Warrington Parr Hall. Revisiting rarely-played songs from that momentous 1992 show as well as more recent tracks . Support came from up-and-coming Seb Lowe.

The Blinders / Uninvited - Hebden Bridge Trades Club - 17th June 2022

The Blinders headed to the Trades Club on Friday night for a sweltering opening night to their three-date mini-tour to support the release of their double EP Electric Kool Aid. Supported by Glaswegians The Uninvited they delivered a set that featured almost all of the new material plus a series of old favourites from their debut Columbia and its follow-up Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath.