For a festival dedicated by name to the confines of one sub-genre, an attendee could be forgiven without question for the anxieties provoked by a line-up lacking in eclecticism or an audience exclusive and ostracising of the outsider. Manchester Psych Fest 2018 annihilated these fears.
Returning for its sixth year, it is once again the turn of Manchester Psych Fest to sway musical attentions in the direction of the dizzying colour-culture of the Manchester psychedelic scene.
Following years of formative experience and creative progression, Manchester artist and songwriter Caoilfhionn Rose is ready to release her debut album. The song to introduce Rose, is title track Awaken: a languid folk daydreamer of rhythmic psychedelia.
When you are a creator of stunning sonic soundscapes – it can be difficult to build on an already strong back catalogue without falling into the same patterns. Josey Marina, a musician alternating between Manchester and Brighton, has already gained much acclaim from earlier material, including the majestic Violet Desires EP. It’s refreshing to realise […]
Imagine a cover version of the iconic Madness track ‘Baggy Trousers,’ but brought to a new emotional level with soaring female vocals, keys with an almost visceral quality and emphatic cello. Well, imagination is no longer required – as Little Sparrow’s latest, much anticipated EP ‘Just 3’ (released 13 July) stars a strikingly powerful and […]
‘Remembering In Colour’ is one of those rare tracks which enters, occupies and expresses a state of mind so much more evocatively than a string of words could ever convey. This is the latest track from Manchester-based musical project Stray One – consisting of Jay Plent and Benjamin Harris.
Last time Wolf Alice played in Manchester – only a couple of months prior – they were playing to a sold out crowd, admittedly inside a 600-capacity club space in the heart of the city centre. Nevertheless, this show was a rare sighting of the London four in intimate surroundings; small shows are increasingly becoming […]
Over the past month the Etihad has seen a host of global stars build a home inside its oval dome, each ushering in a different shade of commercial and the mainstream, and showing what they can do; the one man show of Ed Sheeran, the pop masterclass of Taylor Swift and the inimitable joint billing […]
A Manchester musician known for his captivating songcraft and innately downcast ballads. Dom Major writes evocative music from a very personal place, his first release of the year—’Cigarettes & Beer‘—airs first below.
Australia’s Holly Rankin (better known under the nom de plume Jack River) is a warrior, her music is testament to a determination to triumph over the impossible. The songs which make up debut album Sugar Mountain are in no way frivolous pop offshoots of a young artist hungry to find relevance, but beacons of bravery: […]
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.
Megan Dixon Hood’s music lingers, not in a flimsy or feeble way, but in the way a moment can sometimes, last forever. Through ethereal passages and wild absorptions of choral range, Hood’s presence is felt and honed. Her artistry is an extension of her creative interests and fascination with the natural world, reflecting the vast […]
Fenne Lily’s work is subtle but impactful. Her words rise and fall with a weight of emotional sincerity. Her voice exchanges gritty, hushed, supple caresses with pitch-perfect feathery highs. Delivering lyrics of articulate observation and lived understanding, Lily is one of those artists that once witnessed can’t be forgotten or unheard.
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 […]
Fuzzy Sun have just released their debut EP and have the not inconsiderable weight of Blossoms giving their nascent career a good shove.
Built on reputable foundations of 2017 shows at Gorilla, O2 Ritz, and Head For The Hills Festival, Ist Ist release their debut EP, Spinning Rooms, as their first recorded statement beyond the confinements of a single-play or stage.
Manchester five-piece Bowery are back with their sophomore single, ‘Psychotic Man.’ Stirring the pot further into dirty, hard rock hedonism, get ready for a riff-packed psychy juggernaut that punches just as hard as their debut single.
If you’ve got a hankering for the kind of guitar-led indie pop/rock that was prevalent in the late ’90s/early ’00s, then you won’t go far wrong giving this a few plays.
Following the intrepid rhythms of last year’s ‘Down the Slopes,’ Manchester’s most-exciting underground revellers return. This time turning up the kitsch of the ’60s and beaming in the rays, ‘Slipping Away‘ is a bold blaze of confidence. After the ubiquitous single unveiling last week, Bitter Sweet Symphonies is pleased to reveal the first play of […]
Indoor Pets are great. Indoor Pets are conveniently familiar. Indoor Pets are super friendly, if you ignore the spiky guitar lines. Oh sorry, did we lose you there? Yes, in fact the indoor pets we speak of are a musical band, not house-dwelling animals. Welcoming in a new chapter for 2018, the Sittingbourne band sped […]