I certainly wasn’t in the mood for a gig that evening. I had been at a conference in Swansea all day, was knackered and had a monstrous hangover to boot. You can imagine the state of mind I was in when I arrived (late) at the Old Queen’s Head in Islington to see Genevieve Dawson’s […]
The London-formed foursome are no strangers when it comes to performing live – preparatory to their biggest headline show to date, ISLAND jumped back in the tour van, taking in shows across Europe and the UK. Fortunately for us, we were able to catch them in the intimate and atmospheric venue that is, Nottingham’s Bodega.
It takes a particular power for musicians to capture the mood outside on a sensuous summer evening and bring it in with them – but Jess Kemp and Dave Gorman, co-headlining Manchester’s Deaf Institute, with guest Thea Brooks, managed just that on Friday 18th May.
This May, Liverpool’s Sound City returned for an early Bank Holiday weekend of live music and arts-based action. Experiencing a creative and cultural rebirth, the festival moved its operations to the Baltic Triangle: an area renowned for its modernist takeover of the historic part of town. Spread across two days, the event gave attendees an […]
Oh Leeds, you charmer you. A city that weaves and unwinds like an immense tapestry, revealing a thousand hidden gems, a thousand nooks and crannies, a minefield of cultural brilliance waiting to explode from under you at any given moment. And there is no better day to exemplify those most tantalising of features better than […]
On a night which offers little to the imagination, Manchester’s gig calendar kindly bestows a pearl of contrast. The inspired alliance of Dream Wife and the Vaccines is one of those must-see moments that arrive oh so rarely – and in this case, ever so timely. Taking residence in the city’s largest Academy building, the […]
Ohio natives Walk the Moon have always possessed an uncanny proficiency for styling off-kilter but inescapable sonic vibrancy. Each studio installment provides its own developments, but there’s always a guarantee somewhere on the record that you’ll find some sort of uplift, or greater affinity which will travel with you ever-after. With the 2014 release of […]
Camden lies at the heart of any music lovers quest for melodious enlightenment, chocked full of venues and bars in which to see great live bands any day of the week, it truly is a sanctuary. Personally, the Lock Tavern is most certainly at the top of the list of venues/bars/places to lose your inhibitions, […]
With as yet no music released online from recently formed Talkboy, going to their debut gig – supporting Public Access T.V. at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club, I didn’t really know what to expect.
As part of a short UK tour, London-based Folk-Rock five-piece To Kill A King retraced Leeds links to promote their third album ‘The Spiritual Dark Age,’ which has garnered mixed reviews from national press with some interpreting its eclectic nature as sign of insecurity of style.
The word “weird” was thrown around a fair bit the night that ambient pop collective Cigarettes After Sex cast their spell of incredible stillness over Leeds University. “Surely they have a support band – it’d be weird not to,” said the barmaid, only to be proved wrong. Maybe this was because a support band would […]
PEAKES are a Leeds-based trio made up of Molly Puckering (vocals), Maxwell Shirley (keyboards & backing vocals) and Peter Redshaw (percussion). Bringing together a wide range of musical influences, their alternative electronic sound is well thought out and incredibly self-assured even in its most vulnerable moments.
As the home of an ever-growing crowd of misfits, art school dropouts and hip millennial urbanites, Hackney cries out to the youth as a safe haven for the now conventional nuances of ‘abnormality’. The area is the cultural equivalent of a toddler throwing their toys out of a pram, rallying against London norms in true […]
The day dawned to a sprinkling of snow on Friday 17th November, as if providing a blank canvas before the array of events ahead at M for Montreal.
Off The Record is the result of a collaboration between independent festivals Sound City, Kendal Calling, Bluedot and music blog Louder Than War. After a sellout first year, expectations were high with ticket holders travelling from all across the UK for the Manchester music conference and festival, but luckily it did not disappoint.
Julien Baker’s set at the Brudenell Social Club, unsurprisingly, proved itself to be one of the most intimate and powerful performances of recent times. Her new album ‘Turn Out the Lights’ is sparse in terms of its instrumentation and arrangements (mostly just Baker on guitar, vocals and keyboards) but densely powerful, and this is what […]
It’s always incredibly exciting getting to see a band who are on the cusp of stardom. They’ve already reached greatness, and it’s plainly obvious that they’re bound for bigger stages, playing to bigger audiences.
In North London lies what some might describe as the hub of music in London: the borough of Islington. Home to some of the best music venues in the capital for up-and-coming bands, from the O2 Academy to the Lexington – all situated within a few minutes’ walk of each other; you are spoilt for choice. […]
Neighbourhood Festival returned this October for its second extravaganza of musical assortment. Seeing in performances from big names like Peace, The View, and Rat Boy – and also lending a leg up to a new wave of exciting artistry, with acts including IDER, Indoor Pets, and Yonaka all making their own first impressions. The event […]
‘An Evening with…’ promised a night of closely-carried storytelling and meaningful connection, for fans of music that is of a quieter constitution. The superb billing offers a chance to witness a new wave of songwriting talent; four artists who each exhibit profound invigoration of style and a furore for performing live. Taking over Manchester’s famed […]