James reached the half way point in their Lasted fortieth anniversary celebration tour with Orca 22 and the Manchester Inspirational Voices Gospel Choir with another sold out show in the imposing surroundings of Birmingham's Symphony Hall. Once again playing with the setlist to keep the show fresh and improvising within the framework of a thirty-nine person set-up, they delighted the crowd with a mix of old favourites from the start of their career right up to new material.
The James Lasted tour headed back into England on Tuesday night for a sold-out show at Newcastle City Hall with the nine-piece James augmented by Orca 22 and the Manchester Inspirational Voices Gospel Choir. A radically restructured set on the smallest stage and venue of the tour made for an intimate experience.
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Inspiral Carpets play their first Scottish date of 2023 to a packed and adoring audience. Stuart Ralston popped home to join the celebrations.
Smile is the latest single from Portsmouth-based songwriter Bella Estelle. A beautiful love song with a very personal meaning to her, the song is uplifting and emotional, building imposingly and impressively.
Remember Anteros? Their one and only album When We Land was one of the greatest indie pop albums of our time. Then they disappeared. Now their front woman Laura Hayden is back, under the not so secretive pseudonym of Lala Hayden with Slice, the first track taken from an EP Girl Becomes that is out in May.
Lanterns On The Lake have today released String Theory, the second track to be taken from their forthcoming album Versions Of Us. Accompanied by a lyric video, the song muses over the existence of alternative versions of yourself in another world where fate dealt you a better hand and you made different life choices.
No one ever said it was going to be easy. When a good friend messaged me last autumn with the news that Inspiral Carpets would be touring this year, it came as a lovely surprise. It was unexpected, but welcome news and the prospect of seeing my favourite band again helped sustain me through a long winter.
Since the release of her Mercury Prize-nominated second album, Prioritise Pleasure, things have been nonstop for Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem). Having spent the majority of 2021 impressing on the live music and festival circuit, with career defining sets at Tramlines and Glastonbury, fan demand recently saw the Sheffield born singer-songwriter add a run of extra dates to her ’I Tour This All The Time’ tour – including a third night at Manchester’s Albert Hall, which made her the first artist not only to play, but to sell out three nights at the picturesque venue.
SKIES returned to Manchester for the first time in over a year for a sold out headline show at 33 Oldham Street, giving us a teasing first view of their forthcoming debut album as well as delighting the crowd with a set rammed full of old favourites. Support came from a solo slot from Daisy Valentine.
Hit The Ground is the third single from Manchester via Doncaster punk quarter The Strangerz. Describing themselves as "alternative, shouty feminist and punky with a modern twist", the single deals in the relatable urge to lie in bed and never move again.
The Slow Readers Club finished off their UK tour in support of their sixth album Knowledge Freedom Power with a sold-out hometown show at Manchester's Albert Hall, their first big Manchester show for three years. Playing a career-spanning set they reminded the city why they're one of the most important bands to emerge from here in recent times as an adoring audience hung on every word and note for an hour and a half.
To accompany their massive tour Inspiral Carpets release the most definitive and complete collection of their singles on a remastered double vinyl album and a 3 CD set with a whole host of classic and new remixes.
In support of exceptional new album Knowledge Freedom Power, Manchester’s The Slow Readers Club visited Scotland earlier in the week for a double header, turning cold nights into massed celebrations. Stuart Ralston braved the snow and cold to report back from Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Inspiral Carpets are back after an eight year hiatus following the tragic death of drummer Craig Gill to promote a career-spanning The Complete Singles collection with a series of dates across the UK, Australia and New Zealand including a full festival season. We caught up with organ player Clint Boon for a chat about how the comeback came together, finding a replacement for Craig and excitement at pulling together a new full career retrospective with both front men.
