Liverpool Sound City 2012

  “Art and commerce, creativity and commerciality, performance and production, music and money. All from one of the most hedonistic cities on earth.”   Wow – it's massive! It really is massive.... no innuendos, it's all about Sound City, they're taking over. The last few years has seen Liverpool, home to many a musical meandering, grow it's fledgling music showcase into one of the biggest events the UK has ever seen. And the world is seeing it now too...

more

The Latest Tracks in Real Time

Utilising primitive chat technology, Darkwulf and Darren Bibby discuss the latest single releases as they hear them, trying their best to synchronise hitting their 'Play' buttons in Glasgow and Lancashire.   Ninetails – Blue Bottle Flu (Superstar Destroyer Records) Darkwulf: Hmmm Darren Bibby: Very 'current' guitar sound DW: Sounds a bit like the Police. Problem is, they were SHIT. Vocals guy sounds like he should be playing the drums, confidence of a hedgehog. No...

more

Sounds From The Other City - Salford

With a plethora of art exhibitions, installations and venues across (lower) Salford taking part, SFTOC 2012 has been another day-long venture of discovery and delight. I've picked out the musical highlights of our whistle-stop tour.   Nashville is generally home to country music and jazz, not young women posing as grimy blues-playing witches. And Salford definitely isn't used to such a thing. But Nashville witches The Black Belles seem to be the hottest ticket (for their music,...

more

Manchester: Beyond Oasis - Taking note of the unnoticed

“Manchester, meet Manchester!”   A brief and bold introduction by Writer/Director, Brett Gregory to his latest work in the Beyond Series: “documentaries exploring the world of independent music at the beginning of the 21st century”.   Whichever city you are in, whichever country you are from and whichever decade you refer to, there are groups of musicians, writers and artists seeking to find the new, the alternative and the uninvented. Sometimes through luck,...

more

Greg Haines and the orchestration of my life

I'm going to open as I mean to close. This album is the greatest thing I've ever listened to and I shall now explain why. It's going to be hard to be concise.   Greg Haines is a British born, now Berlin-residing, neo-classical composer. He started his named career with Slumber Tides (2006). A truly magnificent début that gleams with insight into the young mind of Haines and, in-turn, challenged the neo-classical and ambient trend at the time. It brought upon organic...

more

Throwing England to the dogs

I'm writing this as a sort of explanation to the people who see The Cribs as just another landfill indie band, a justification of why I think that the reality is different; that the Jarmans are really special. If you love them already, some of it might be teaching your granny to suck eggs.  In a way, I can understand why some might make these judgments based on limited exposure to the group: the hair, the jaunty, shoutalong singles sung in a regional accent, seemingly telling tales of...

more

SWN festival Highlights.

Perhaps the festival most worthy of UK SXSW comparisons, the 4-day long citywide party, Swn Festival, is a hotbed for emerging musical talent. Nestled in the Welsh capital, swn (pronounced ‘soon’) festival takes over the city from the 20th to the 23rd of October. It’s an event that lets London officially take a break from being the most ‘in’ city in Britain and allows Cardiff to wield the torch for a bit. This is a challenge the city seems more than prepared to...

more

Nevermind...the bollocks?

20 years on, we debate the greatness of Nirvana's 'Nevermind'. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Nevermind hater Jason Shuttleworth: On 24th September 1991, an album was released that changed the face of music forever. An album that would forever be spoken of as a classic to rival the likes of Led Zeppelin 4, Dark Side Of Moon, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, Transformer, Moving Pictures, Sgt Pepper and Goodbye Yellowbrick Road. An album that captured the...

more

Bloodstock Open Air Festival

So, 'The Bloodstock Experience' has ended for another year, and I sit here in the sudden stillness of everyday life, bleary-eyed in fatigue and withdrawal from the ritual poisoning so lovingly observed by thousands of Britons in the summer months. I'm asking myself what the purpose of this dispatch is. Does anyone really want to hear whether I thought Nunstabber had an off-day or that I preferred Goatbastard's earlier stuff? And even if either of these bands existed (which...

more

FatOut Fest

For some reason, this little Salford gathering had almost gone under my radar; the weekend's lineup promised to be well worth a visit and if it wasn't for my friend the little Doormouse I may not have even turned up at all. As it ended up we got there at about 5pm on the Sunday, stinking drunk and earplugless. Stinking drunk is probably the best state to walk into a Barbaros gig. Three quite clearly talented young beings dressed in faceless, sheer fitting lycra...

more