Sapho - Interview

At last year’s When In Manchester festival, I came across a band called Sapho for the very first time. If you saw them on the street, you would just think they were a young group of friends, there’s certainly nothing ostentatious or obvious about them, but on stage, they come alive in very powerful way. Only a simple three-piece, Sapho are school friends from St. Helens, and relatively new on the Rock scene. Having done their very first interview last year, I wanted to catch up with them a year on, to see what was new, what their plans were and how their performance compared to this time last year.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Echo Ladies - Bedroom

Bedroom is the lead track from Swedish trio Echo Ladies' forthcoming album Pink Noise, released through Sonic Cathedral at the start of June. Building on the success of their self-titled debut EP, Matilda, Joar and Mattis return with a gloriously modern-day take on fuzzy shoegaze.

When In Manchester Festival (Nimuah / Humbar / Gardenback / Sapho / Bedroom High Club / Cabezudos / Scarlet / The Big Peach / Nova Twins) - Manchester Northern Quarter - 14th April 2018

When In Manchester, one of the country's most exciting and diverse multi-venue urban festivals once again took over the Northern Quarter for the fourth instalment of the event that's now become a fixture on the Manchester music calendar. We caught Nimuah, Humbar, Gardenback, Sapho, Bedroom High Club, Cabezudos, Scarlet, The Big Peach and Nova Twins whilst rueing a list of clashes the length of our arm.

Humbar - Interview

Having done a bit of reading in the music press recently, about the lack of female representation within the music industry, imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to see several bands at this year’s When In Manchester festival featuring female musicians. One band in particular, Humbar of Sheffield, caught my attention for their unique blend of soul, jazz, funk and R & B coupled with sassy, confident female vocals.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Lowes - Here We Are

Lowes hail from Lancaster and have just released their second single Here We Are, the follow up to last year's hypnotic Awake At Night. It's the lead track from their Elements EP that will be released in the next few months.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Finola - Losing Value

Finola has released her new single Losing Value, her first new material since last year's Waterworks EP. One of the stand out tracks from her live shows, it's a deeply personal tale of heartbreak and the aftermath and is played by Finola in the video as she lives out the song.

Hey Bulldog / Déjà Vega / Freakout Honey / Savannah - Manchester Night People - 13th April 2018

Hey Bulldog launched their Al Lupo single with a band-packed evening at Manchester's Night People last night. Supported by Savannah, Freakout Honey and Déjà Vega, they celebrated their latest release with a forty-minute set that allowed them room to play tracks not usually aired and demonstrate why they're one of the most technically proficient bands in town.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Juanita Stein - Forgiver

Forgiver is the lead track from Juanita Stein's forthcoming second album Until The Lights Fade, due for release on August 31st, the follow-up to last year's America, which reached number fifteen on our end of year albums list. This track was written with The Killers' Brandon Flowers whilst they were on tour together last year.

October Drift / Jekyll - Manchester Night And Day - 12th April 2018

In between their UK and European dates with Editors, October Drift finished off a short run of shows of their own with a packed out show at the Night And Day Cafe in Manchester on Thursday night with a set including their recent single All Broken Down, some old favourites and a cover of one of the city's favourite sons.

The Big Peach - The Big Peach

The Big Peach have created a stir on the Manchester scene over the past six months with an endless appetite for gigging and for their energetic live shows and ability to craft their influences into something that is unmistakably them. As they prepare to headline this year's When In Manchester Festival, we take a closer listen to their self-titled debut album.

TRACK OF THE DAY : The Maitlands - Few Choice Words

The enigmatic The Maitlands return with a new(ish) line-up and their first single of the year Few Choice Words which is released today. The unmistakable voice of front man Carl Ingram remains though.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Déjà Vega - Eyes Of Steel

Déjà Vega return with a new single and video Eyes Of Steel. Already a live favourite, the song demonstrates the raw power of the band and the video shows the almost demonic nature of front man Jack Fearon's delivery.

Rory Wynne / The Mysterines - Manchester Jimmy's - 10th April 2018

Rory Wynne launched his self-titled debut album which launched at midnight with an intimate show at Jimmy's in Manchester, performing the album in full as well as his What Would Rory Wynne Do? and three other tracks. Support came from the mysterious The Mysterines.

TRACK BY TRACK : Altar Flowers - Performance EP

Altar Flowers recently released their Performance EP, the first new material since their debut album i.d.s.t and also since some line-up changes. Jay kindly took time out to talk us through the five songs on the EP and tell us a little more about what they're about and how they recorded them.

Gardenback - Interview

Ahead of their appearance at this weekend's When In Manchester, we caught up with one of the more local bands on the bill, Gardenback. They've built a strong reputation with some great live performances as well as a couple of singles over the last year or so. We had a chat about their past, their favourite gigs and their plans for the future.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Average Sex - Ugly Strangers

Ugly Strangers is the first track on Average Sex's debut EP Ice Cream which came out on Tim Burgess's O Genesis label late last year. They've now released a video for the track using home movie footage of their time on the road with The Charlatans last year.

Arcade Fire - Manchester Arena - 8th April 2018

Arcade Fire brought their Infinite Content tour back to Manchester for an "in the round" performance in the cavernous Manchester Arena. Mixing songs from last year's Everything Now with highlights going all the way back to their debut self-titled EP, they thrilled the crowd with an interactive set, full of the invention and anthemic power that has made them one of the biggest bands in the world.

Hey Bulldog - Interview

With the imminent release of a new single Al Lupo (April 20) and a headline show at Night People in Manchester this Friday (13), we caught up with Hey Bulldog's front man Rob Manton for a chat about the single and the Italian connection, their new material and plans for the rest of the year.

Rory Wynne - Rory Wynne

Rory Wynne’s eponymous debut album is released tomorrow, an eight song hit and run attack that never seemingly pauses for breath. Overflowing with hooks and riffs that’ll pierce your defences and leave you involuntarily humming them, it’s an almost perfect indie-pop statement delivered with a strutting confidence bordering on knowing arrogance.

October Drift - Interview

It's been an exciting few months for October Drift so far in 2018. Apart from the release of their new single All Broken Down, available to buy on May 4th, they've supported Editors on their Violence album preview tour and after a few headline dates of their own this week are then out into Europe for two weeks to support them. We caught up with them for a chat ahead of their Night and Day headline show in Manchester this Thursday.

The Wonder Stuff / Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Manchester Ritz - 7th April 2018

With Love From Stourbridge, the joint tour of The Wonder Stuff and Ned's Atomic Dustbin, hit Manchester Ritz on Saturday night. The rotating headline tour saw each band play a twenty-song set of songs that took much of the audience back to their youthful days when the two bands were a permanent fixture in the charts.

The Lucid Dream / Three Dimensional Tanx / Pale Rider - Manchester Band On The Wall - 6th April 2018

The Lucid Dream are one of the country's most challenging bands, operating under the radar with a dedicated fan base and a belligerent self-belief in what they're creating. With a fourth album almost ready to go with a radical evolution of their sound that extends boundaries and broadens the palette of their inspirations into an acid house inspired musical haze. As a preview of what's to come they've played two shows, at Dalston Victoria and their biggest headline show to date at Manchester's Band On The Wall. Support came from Three Dimensional Tanx and Pale Rider.

The RPMs - Interview

The RPMs from Brighton are one of the most promising young bands in the country. We caught up with them as they prepare to head to Manchester for the fourth When In Manchester Festival on Saturday.

Barricades - Volume 2 EP

Barricades are a London duo featuring Nick Mackay on drums and Jordan Laughlin on guitars and vocals. Volume 2 is their second set of songs and sees them channeling their social conscience

James Hey Ma - Ten Years On

Whilst Manchester celebrates the tenth anniversary of the release of St Jude, it's often forgotten that on the same day James released their comeback album Hey Ma, their first for six and a half years, and which also hit the top ten. We take a look back at the album and reproduce our review at the time from the One Of The Three James archive site that we run.

TRACK OF THE DAY 4 : Hannah Scott - Signs Of Life

Hannah Scott today releases her new single Signs Of Life, taken from her forthcoming album Pieces Of The Night that is set for release in June. Described by Hannah as "a song about not giving up hope even in the darkest moments," it's a powerful, emotional and dramatic track.

TRACK OF THE DAY 3 : Kashmere - Tokyo

Kashmere return today with their new single Tokyo. Already an established live favourite, it's been marked out as a future single for some time now and the band have responded by releasing it to support a series of April shows across the North of England.

TRACK OF THE DAY 2 : Matter Of Mind - Sanity

Matter Of Mind are back with a new single Sanity. The Stockport four-piece follow up their Dead Apologies with a track from their next EP due later in the year. It's a huge progression in sound for the band who've been making waves with their bold ambitious guitar-heavy sound in the past couple of years.

TRACK OF THE DAY 1 : SKIES - Pills

SKIES reveal the new single Pills today from their forthcoming EP X, set for release in June. As ever with SKIES, the single's accompanied by a colourful video, featuring thousands and thousands of yellow pills, that plays out the words of the song.

The Slow Readers Club Reveal Festival No 6 Collaboration

The Slow Readers Club have revealed Block Out The Sun as the second track from their Festival No 6 collaboration with Joe Duddell where they performed six songs with a string quartet. The full performance will be released on CD and vinyl on May 4 to coincide with the release of their third album Build A Tower.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Bugeye - I'm Not The One

I'm Not The One is the new single from Croydon three-piece Bugeye, following in the footsteps of their previous single Wake Up in heading straight for the disco dancefloor, capturing a whole range of influences and distilling them into something unique.

Carousel Clouds / The Mantells - Manchester Peer Hat - 3rd April 2018

Carousel Clouds launched their Tales Of Coincidence album with an intimate show in the Peer Hat basement in Manchester on Tuesday night. An eight-song set transformed the songs from CD to the live environment and also included a new song written since the album's completion. Support came from the last-minute stand-in The Mantells.

Section 25 - Glasgow Hug And Pint - 2nd April 2018

The word "legends" is used too often in music. Stuart Ralston has no hesitation however in using it to describe Blackpool's Section 25, the Factory Records greats as they grace a Glasgow stage for the first time in six years.

TRACK OF THE DAY : James - Better Than That

James have announced the release of a four-track 10" EP entitled Better Than That on May 18th to coincide with the tour of the same name of seven small UK venues. The EP comes ahead of the release of their 15th studio album later in the year.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Rory Wynne - Little Miss Edgy

Little Miss Edgy is the second track to be revealed via a lyric video from Rory Wynne's self-titled debut album that's released next week via Blossoms' label Very Clever Records. Like previous single Friends, it's got a huge hook running through it making it an instant earworm.

An Evening Of Motown And Northern Soul - Manchester Camerata / Joe Duddell - Manchester Bridgewater Hall - 30th March 2018

Over the past few years, orchestral tours by bands have become a commonplace occurrence. Manchester's experimental Camerata orchestra and celebrated composer Joe Duddell came up with a different idea - to recreate the magic of Motown and Northern Soul with an orchestra and live band in a seated venue. Manchester's Bridgewater Hall was the setting as they attempted to recreate the magic of Motown, Wigan Casino and The Twisted Wheel in more lavish surroundings.

The Secret Sisters / Danni Nicholls - Bury The Met - 1st April 2018

The Secret Sisters brought their Grammy-nominated album You Don’t Own Me Anymore to the reverential surroundings of Bury Met’s newly-refurbished Derby Hall for an intimate and at times amusing evening of song and story-telling with support from Bedford-born but Tennessee-obsessed songwriter Danni Nicholls.

ALBUM TRACK BY TRACK : Carousel Clouds - Tales Of Coincidence

Carousel Clouds launch their debut album Tales Of Coincidence on Friday and preview it with a launch show at the Peer Hat in Manchester tomorrow, April 3rd.  We had a chat with Neil from the band and he walked us through the album track-by-track.

SOFIAAH / Tremors / Lynchs - Salford Eagle Inn - 31st March 2018

SOFIAHH brought their intense live experience to the intimate surroundings of the Eagle Inn on Saturday night and left us questioning whether we'd see them ever again at the end of the set. Support came from Tremors and Lynchs.

TRACK OF THE DAY : Belly - Stars Align

Stars Align is the second track to be revealed from Belly's comeback album Dove, due for release on May 4th.