Liverpool’s The Vryll Society have played the long game. In 2015 they released their debut single Deep Blue Skies on the Deltasonic label (run by the late Alan Wills who discovered the Coral). They have […]
“You begin to hyperventilate, within seconds your heart begins to race and your blood pressure spikes….” Cold Water Swimmers were formed in Manchester in February 2018 when the winter seemed to have gone on forever. They […]
Since their formation in 1981 in the Welsh town of Rhyl the Alarm has sold six million albums and managed to clock up 17 Top Fifty singles in the UK. The original members of Mike […]
Polar States release their new single Roads alongside their music video this month (24th May). This is their first release with Larry Hibbitt producer for Sundara Karma and Nothing But Thieves. This is another slice […]
The first time I came across Dunstan Doodles’ work (aka Dunstan Carter) was last March when I reviewed the Grafters OV Denton EP for XS Noize. The cover featured a picture of a boy with […]
Just before the Manics took to the stage at Manchester’s Arena last Saturday night large neon words were lit up: “The artist must train not only his eye but also his soul” which led to […]
Having formed in 2011 Manchester’s The Slow Readers Club could be renamed The Slow Burners Club as their candle has burned brightly but stealthily over the years. With a word-of-mouth reputation and always funding themselves […]
After over 30 years together the Manics are back with their 13th album Resistance Is Futile. There were some delays and obstacles getting started on the album, but once they did they really put a lot […]
I’ve always had a soft spot for Eels ever since Susan’s House blasted out from the radio back in 1996. Taken from the wonderfully quirky and plaintive album Beautiful Freak I’ve loved their off-beat, emotionally […]
POLAR STATES will be releasing Lost, the first of 4 new EP’s on the 8th December. This will be their first release after disappearing offline earlier this year. The band formed in 2015 demoing over […]
Cindy Wilson is best known publicly for her work in the New Wave band The B52s whose career has spanned 40 years. She was one of the founding members of the innovative band contributing as […]
This month R.E.M. reissue Automatic for the People, their landmark album to celebrate its 25thAnniversary. The album will be available in a variety of formats, the most extensive of which is the Deluxe Anniversary Edition, […]
What can you write about Robert Plant that hasn’t already been said? His career has spanned an impressive almost 50 years beginning life as rock icon in Led Zeppelin. Carry Fire is his 11th solo […]
As Lou Reed wrote about his native New York, so Sugarmen pay tribute to the city of Liverpool to create a storyboard narrative of their hometown. Liverpool has an impressive back catalogue of bands throughout […]
American Brix Smith-Start is something of an iconic figure in the world of rock and to women in general. She released a best-selling autobiography in 2016 The Rise, The Fall and the Rise about her […]
Ex-lead singer of 90s cult band Mansun, Paul Draper is due on stage. It’s his second gig in fourteen years and the air is charged. Last night it was Leeds, tonight Manchester. The crowd are […]
The Verve have just released a remastered version of one of the definitive albums of 1997, Urban Hymns, and they still sound just as majestic. On hearing that beautifully orchestrated introduction on Bitter Sweet Symphony, […]
God I’m feeling old. There seems to be a spate of albums being reissued lately that I loved 20 years ago. Like Fun Lovin Criminals Come Find Yourself (last year), Radiohead’s OK Computer and now […]
The Hightown Pirates’ formed by Simon Mason release their debut album Dry and High this month. The conception began through Mason’s friendship with Mick Head (Pale Fountains and Shack) in Liverpool and also a tour […]
The lovable pop trio are back: Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell with here their ninth album. St. Etienne began life in 1990 with Wiggs and Stanley originally just wanting guest singers. But in […]