After five years on the scene, October Drift released their largest body of work yet, with January’s drop of long-awaited debut album, Forever Whatever. A high octane melange of grunge, hard rock, pop hooks and shoegaze; the songs enclosed offer a focussed lens on the band’s career to date: from the revelrous ‘Oh the Silence’ […]
Tag: Live review
LIVE REVIEW: IDER + Art School Girlfriend at Band on the Wall, Manchester
Meg Markwick and Lily Somerville met at University in the early 2010s, it was there that pair formed a kindred alliance that would later transpire into a musical project called IDER. Soulful sensations of R&B and electronic pop serpentine to create a scintillating burst of new wave pop, contemporary and current but also reminiscent of […]
LIVE REVIEW: MF Tomlinson at MOTH Club, London
Live music on the small band circuit can be a real mixed bag. Many people who don’t regularly attend small gigs often get dragged by friends to see burgeoning bands in sweaty venues with expensive drinks prices and questionable sound quality, and come away from the whole experience with a profoundly negative view of the […]
LIVE REVIEW: Sŵn Festival 2019
Even in the middle of what might well be the wettest Autumn Wales has seen in a long time, the sun shone on the 2019 edition of Sŵn Festival, both literally and figuratively. In its long history, the festival has rarely attempted to fit within its programme not only such a number of quality acts […]
LIVE REVIEW: Neighbourhood Festival 2019
What to say about this year’s round of Neighbourhood Festival? It was eclectic. The programming was focused on a few particular styles of music, yet the acts and what they brought in their live shows ranged from highly conceptualised spectacle, cathartic solitude, breathtaking precision, to beautifully collective uproar – as well as steadily providing entertaining […]
LIVE REVIEW: Park Hotel + Shame at Goose Island’s Hop Party
Having hosted numerous music events across the UK such as Goose Island LDN Block Party and more, I was so excited to get the chance to go to their Hop Party with the likes of Shame and Park Hotel performing as well as the fantastic Rockaoke – a live act in itself.
LIVE REVIEW: Calva Louise at Band On The Wall, Manchester
Live music is like food. It can be one of three things: 1) totally unpalatable, 2) necessary stodge that fills you up but leaves you empty, or 3) joy-inducing combinations of flavours that leave you fulfilled, but wanting more later. Calva Louise fall into the third category. They are at once a familiar ride through […]
LIVE PREVIEW: Y Not Festival 2019
Summer festival season is gearing back up, it’s that time of year where we abandon city skyscrapers and trek to the countryside for an extended weekend of partying in the fields and singing our lungs out to our favourite bands, gathered with our nearest and dearest. In July, Derbyshire’s idyllic Y Not Festival returns – […]
LIVE REVIEW: Neighbourhood Weekender 2019
Occupying the second Bank Holiday weekend in May, Neighbourhood Weekender returned for its sophomore run with a packed schedule of live music, performance and fairground fun. The festival benefits from its central location and easily accessible site, taking place in Warrington’s expansive Victoria Park the event is uniquely staged and administered. Covering all forms of […]
FESTIVAL REVIEW: Live at Leeds 2019
As new music festivals go, Live at Leeds is the premier league – a metropolitan wurlitzer of entertainment and culture pinpointing talent from all corners of the globe then bringing them together for one blistering day. The great Northern city offers a playground for escapism, adventure and pilgrimage, spanning miles of terrain the venues are […]
In Conversation With… JOEL BAKER
We’ve all heard the prescribed notions of what a singer-songwriter is and should be, but basics are basics and it is time to clear the slate. Every artist deserves to be heard fairly, few find success and few are successful but many have talent. Joel Baker is one of the latter. A pure talent. His […]
LIVE REVIEW: Frankie Cosmos + Ian Sweet at EartH, London
A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to catch a double-bill, featuring artists from the legendary Sub-Pop label. Bedroom rock breakout star((s)? – it’s left somewhat ambiguous as to whether the project is a band or a persona…) Frankie Cosmos, and experimental noise musician, Ian Sweet (who had ditched her bandmates and gone […]
LIVE REVIEW: Luke Sital-Singh at Deaf Institute, Manchester
Following the release last week of his third studio album A Golden State, singer-songwriter Luke Sital-Singh returns to Manchester’s Deaf Institute on the latest stretch of a ten-date U.K tour. This follows a packed year for Luke, who last year migrated from Bristol out to L.A. alongside his artist wife Hannah Cousins, who’s stunning work […]
LIVE REVIEW: Another Sky + Talkboy at YES, Manchester
Both Talkboy and Another Sky delivered fantastic, captivating, and highly varied sets. If you don’t feel remotely curious about the details, best clock out now, because really anything else I write is gonna be elaboration on how excellent the gig was. However, if your eyelids are still twitching for more detail, follow me into this […]
LIVE REVIEW: Ferris & Sylvester at Cavern, Exeter
I came across Ferris & Sylvester back in December. I took my first ever trip to the Cavern to see Jade Bird. She was mega, but I knew that she would be. I didn’t expect the support act to be just as good. The day after, I checked out their social media. They’d just announced […]
LIVE REVIEW: Jade Bird at The Cavern, Exeter
No doubt about it, the Cavern is an old school venue. A perfect setting then for a new artist with an old school vibe glowing in her work. After a dozen or so dates throughout her UK tour, Jade Bird delayed her show in Exeter in order to work on her album. I can tell […]
LIVE REVIEW: Off The Record 2018
2018’s edition of Off The Record underlined the festival’s fast-growing reputation as a key catalyst for spreading the awareness of and celebrating new music, with the conference taking place throughout the day on Friday 16th November and artists performing way into the night.
LIVE REVIEW: Palace at Hoxton Hall, London
Walking into the intimate venue that is Hoxton Hall, we were met with a wave of excitement and anticipation as Palace were about to take to the stage.
LIVE REVIEW: Neighbourhood Festival 2018
This year’s Neighbourhood gathering brought epic highs and communal revelry to Manchester’s city streets and venues. The third edition of the festival installs Neighbourhood as a burgeoning institution, the music day out raises the bar with each consecutive outing defining a savvy brand, strongly engineered and thoughtfully delivered.
In Conversation with… SPECTOR
The name Spector lives on, the band has coined many great one liners and in turn has spawned many great conversations, songs like Chevy Thunder and All the Sad Young Men are conquering anthems that reflect back the fleeting permanence of youth. Since their second album ‘Moth Boys’ in 2015, the only bit of music the […]