Preview: Extra Love Album Launch gig @ Band on the Wall, 26.02.16

Building on the success of their EP, Big Man, Extra Love serve up more helpings of feelgood, conscious music with their debut album, Out Of The Dark.

With their signature brand high on energy and positivity, they bring their unique flavour to create a fresh style of reggae.


Highlights of the album include the easy, atmospheric sprawl of 'Rubadub Soldier', the soaring vocals and jazzy horns of 'Freedom', and the infectious bounciness of 'Be Ready'. 'Ruff Out There' has a slightly darker edge, but still boasts a nice, laidback swagger.


The deep tones of singer Angelos, coupled with the rhythmic chants of Kuntriranks is the perfect vehicle to express the band's message.


Out Of The Dark brings a touch of sunshine to the rainy Manchester streets, makes your body get up and puts a great big smile on your face.

Words: Anna Tuck

COMPETITION: Fear of Men @ The Castle Hotel

Brighton trio Fear of Men make the trip up to Manchester's Oldham Street on Sunday 28 September on a wave of melodic indie pop.

With debut album Loom still hot off the press earlier this year, this show finds them in the intimate climes of the Castle Hotel's back room. Following a spate of 7" singles and EPs, the band now has a body of recorded repertoire fitting with their headlining billing and subsequent European tour.

We’ve teamed up with Northern Noise to give away a pair of tickets to their show at The Castle Hotel on Sunday 28 September. All you need to do to enter is like and share the image at the other end of this link (making sure it’s set to ‘public’ so we can see that you’ve entered).

We'll announce the winner on Friday 26 September.

Good luck!

COMPETITION: Silverclub EP Launch gig

Manchester electronic band Silverclub may have slipped from the radar of sonic adventures lately, but their next recorded output is imminent, in the form of an EP and launch show this month.

The lead single, 'Back to the Start' is a chugging train of minimalism indicating their wheels are firmly back on the tracks, while sating your deepest desire for more cow bell with your synths.

We’ve teamed up with Deaf Institute to give away a pair of tickets to their EP launch show on Friday 26 September. All you need to do to enter is like and share the image at the other end of this link (making sure it’s set to ‘public’ so we can see that you’ve entered).

We'll announce the winner on Wednesday 24 September.

Good luck!

PINS @ Soup Kitchen, 19.04.14

The eight-song set list is apparently a “short” one as the band has to get to an evening gig in Sheffield. The bright sunlight outside is not a distraction for vocalist and guitarist Faith Holgate, who alludes that the subterranean venue, Soup Kitchen, is quite effective in creating a night-time ambience.

PINS have even arranged for black balloons to be strategically placed around the stage area, and Holgate has black balloon shapes crayoned onto her knees. For this Record Store Day appearance, the venue is almost packed for the 3pm start.

Inserting two new songs, ‘Curse These Dreams’ and ‘House of Love’, into the opening three numbers, rather than slipping them into the middle of the set, could be seen as a brave move by the band. It reflects the overflowing confidence, exemplified when Anna Donigan wanders out into the crowd, guitar in hand, steely glare in her eyes.

A straw poll of (three) people’s opinions afterwards is that their seemingly constant gigging resulted in a taut, well-disciplined and executed performance.

With the balloons packed away in the van the band departs for Sheffield with appreciative applause in their ears.

Words and photos: Ged Camera

Competition: Project Mooncircle label showcase @ Soup Kitchen

The Project Mooncircle label has been making waves beyond its Berlin basecamp for a while now and has gained keen admirers in the shape of Manchester's Mind On Fire Collective, whose previous bookings include Shigeto, fLako, Fingathing and Mount Kimbie.

So, given the chance by FutureEverything festival to put on a show synchronous with its avant garde vision for music arts and technology, Mind On Fire wasted no time in contacting PMC label boss Gordon Gieseking to assemble some of the label's finest producers of deftly structured electronica and abstract hip hop.

Headlining the resulting show at Soup Kitchen is KRTS, whose knack for finding melodies in medleys of samples and minimally layered clicks, clacks and shimmers is no mean feat. His latest EP, The Foreigner, bridges tubular bells with percussive stoicism and synthesised ambient progressions to tell the conceptual story of a newly landed alien's view of earth.

In support, London-based beatsmith submerse brings his carefully crafted digital soundscapes up north, while Rain Dog returns to perform tracks from his new album Two Words, following a debut Manchester show at last year's Sounds From The Other City.

We have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky Now Then Manchester reader. All you have to do is like and share the image via this link (making sure it's set to 'public' so that we can see that you've entered).

We'll notify the winner on Saturday 29 March. Good luck!

Bombay Bicycle Club @ Albert Hall, 20.03.14

Following the enormous hype from their new chart-topping album So Long, See You Tomorrow, Bombay Bicycle Club chose to end their tour in Manchester’s newly opened, Grade II-listed Albert Hall to an energetic and enthralled crowd, and they did not disappoint.

Easily woven together, the band played an excellent and well-considered set list that aptly highlighted the band’s popularity. A sincerely captivating array of euphorically playful and upbeat crescendos included opening number ‘Overdone’ and the Bollywood themed ‘Feel.’ The odd slower-paced song revealed the softer substratum of the album, such as ‘Eyes Off You’ – a song that lead vocalist Jack Steadman played effortlessly centre stage under a singular spotlight. Ironically, no eye in the room was looking elsewhere.

Following the evolution of the band, they seem to have cut loose. The desire to reinvent themselves with every album has worked in their favour. After a couple of years away from the scene, this album feels like a natural progression of their sound, safely forsaking their past influences for an energetic, world-heavy electronica and dance with an excitable ease and a definite confidence.

Rae Morris had earlier provided great support as the warm-up act and even joined them on stage for a dreamy collaboration of ‘Luna’ along with another vocalist, Liz Lawrence.

Venue-wise, Albert Hall provided the perfect backdrop to the gig, with Steadman professing his pleasure to be closing the tour at such a good venue, saying: “Let’s tear this beautiful, ornate building down”. The crowd responded in kind, with a floor-shaking and inevitable encore of the catchy ‘What If’ and the somewhat ravey first single of the new album, ‘Carry Me’.

For a band of 20-somethings, they’ve made a surprisingly brooding and impressive comeback with the once-shy Steadman taking an impressive lead and surpassing all expectations, making for a great live experience throughout.

Words and photos: Becki Clarke

Competition: Fingathing @ Sound Control

Combining an MPC and turntables with live double bass and unique cartoon visuals, Peter Parker, Sneaky and Chris Drury have built up a strong reputation within the field of leftfield live hip hop under the banner of Fingathing.

They bring their legendary live show to Manchester's Sound Control this Saturday 22 March as part of a spring tour of the UK.

Support comes from local drum and bass band Red Sky Noise and Hoya:Hoya resident Jonny Dub.



We've teamed up with Sound Control to offer Now Then Manchester readers a pair of tickets to the show, so for your chance to see some astoundingly dexterous live hip hop, like and share the image via this link (making sure it's public).

We will notify the winners on the evening of Friday 21 March. Good luck!

Not A Summer Festival @ Gullivers and The Castle Hotel, 08.02.14

It sounds like one. It appears like one, so surely it must be one. Well, it is a festival but, as the headline states, it's not a summer festival which is technically true as we are being deluged with water in February. That does compare well with Glastonbury in June or July though.

The positive part is that the music, spread over the Castle Hotel and Gullivers, will go ahead regardless of how wet it is outside. With a diversely engrossing line-up of styles and attitude available, it’s good to see that the Castle is three quarters full at 3.30, with more people queuing to purchase wristbands.

Crywank. It's one thing to have a name that will stand out, court controversy and attention, but is the talent there to support it? On this performance, James Clayton, subtlety supported by Dan Watson, who has the packed crowd entranced, does have the magnetism to draw people around him. He might just be able to reach the escape velocity beyond merely being potential.

Meanwhile, a snippet of the closing number from The Ferals’ set is inviting enough to try to catch them from the start next time. A more precise, considered musical range is displayed by MyLyricalMind.

The simplicity in structure provides a useful counterpoint to the more upfront urgings of Waltz.

A lot to encounter for the first event but hopefully the promoters will be around again, passing out the cakes along the way.

Words & photos: Ged Camera.

Vessels @ Sound Control, 07.11.13

Overcoming the winter sickness that seems to have been enveloping the North West in recent months, From the Kites of San Quentin presented their trademark, harmonious yet unnerving juxtaposition of sounds. With their sub-bass rattling all fixtures and fittings of Sound Control, they fuse end of the world rave sirens with the delicately manipulated vocals of Alison Carney.

There is an undeniable humanism to their music and a ludicrous level of mechanical dexterity from their primary beat-maker Blood Boy. That said, there’s plenty of headroom for progression for a band that could perhaps progress their sound even further and benefit from stripping things back to their bare minimum. Following a few singles and EPs, From the Kites of San Quentin have a debut LP due out on the new Victoria Warehouse Records imprint next year, so we’ll find out what direction their sound takes for that.

Having previously become acquainted with the music of Vessels through their superb cover of Nathan Fake’s ‘The Sky Was Pink’, their evolution from a synthesized post-rock ensemble to something resembling a live, contemporary techno sound was confirmed when faced with a back line resembling the deck of the Starship Enterprise, truly a synthesiser enthusiast’s wet dream. Shades of early Vitalic and Modeselektor were at times present, but Vessels really come into their own when they exceed all contemporary influences, like a house band on Mars riffing out alien love songs.

In a world where techno producers seem to spend more and more of their lives striving for the most organic, human principles of sound, Vessels have superbly embodied these elements of live bass, drums and shakers into their performance with ease and poise, and for this reason they remain as exciting a live prospect as you will come across, this year or next.

Words: Dan Coultas

Shauna Mackin, Chris Young and Lauren Housley @ Dulcimer, 19.09.13.

Lauren Housley stands on one side of the stage while her accompanying guitarist sits across to her right. They haven’t had a fight – someone will in a few minutes – but perhaps the distance is to allow them both to demonstrate their abilities without each other’s shadow. Lauren shows off the rich, deep fullness of her voice, flitting through her catalogue that varies from the aggressive up-tempo type of number through to the more subtle, hushed variety. Thomas Dibb, on guitar, plucks though the blues-tinged, lively numbers, skipping across to a reggae-tinged element that even caught Lauren by surprise.

As the last number begins – one of Housley’s “favourites” – so does the disruption. Barely a verse is completed before a clearly drunken fellow who has little interest in the performers, is ‘advised’ to leave the premises. “But I wanted you to hear this,” murmurs Lauren as everyone’s attention is drawn away from the stage. With the idiot ejected, heads turn back to the stage for some deserved applause.

Chris Young announces himself as a “stage virgin” – this being his debut appearance. Not backward in coming forward, he commences to direct the soundman through the different requirements of his set, from being aware of the pedal that “really blasts out at the top end” to “lowering everything in the monitors”.

The set-list composition shows that he’s spent a great deal of time preparing for the show. Mixing a set of covers with his own material, the wide variety of conjured sounds mean this isn’t a just man and a guitar. For someone who doesn’t like much of Radiohead’s output (eg. me), his cover version of one of theirs is sufficiently reworked to make non-believers accept them. He can layer the sounds with his foot pedal to create rich patterns that roll gently around the room. One of his own songs is even dedicated to the previously ejected person. “This one is called ‘Substance Abuse’.”

The line-up, put together by Longevity Records, is completed with Shauna Mackin and three seated musicians. Pleased with the amount of airplay that her song, ‘Go Your Way’, has been achieving on the BBC Radio Introducing show, she is full of confidence and enthusiasm, even to the point of congratulating Lauren on how she dealt with the earlier disturbance. She keeps to what she knows, with one song about her granny – still going strong at 94 years of age. The trio supporting her, Jonny Lewis (guitar), James Hattersley (guitar) and Alex Hill (percussion), provide the lush, languid sounds allowing Mackin’s voice to glide.

Words & photos: Ged Camera.

No Soft Option @ 3MT, 25.07.13

Crime doesn’t pay, but does it play? The evidence, your honour, suggests that it does – the justice system is a repeat offender as a setting for drama. Whether this is catching the criminals in Lewis, sentencing them with Judge Judy or watching them behind bars in Bad Girls, we’re used to seeing the law laid down for our amusement. But one facet that doesn’t get covered is community service. The words ‘community’ and ‘service’ don’t exactly set the pulse racing, but actually it’s a great setup: it throws together people with different personalities from all sides of the social spectrum, united in a common task that they don’t want to do. It is this maelstrom into which No Soft Option takes us, written by Brian Marchbank and showing at 3MT as part of the 24:7 theatre festival.

Under the supervision of newbie social worker Emma (played by Katie McArdle), a ragtag bunch assemble to carry out a seemingly simple task: painting a room in a community centre. How hard could that be? As the story unfolds, with personalities clashing, managers ranting and tools being downed, it seems the answer is: very hard indeed. There are some strong characters on display, particularly the neurotic Karen (Jane Allighan), who reveals her man isn’t actually her man but just a neighbour she is secretly filming, and Abby (Kimberly Hart-Simpson) who has recently had some not-so-successful anger management training. The relationship between Emma and her manager Viv (Penny McDonald) is also good value, with Viv providing an outward pressure on the whole group.

However, a problem for No Soft Option is believability – it is hard to imagine it all really happening, even in exaggerated form. Some of the writing comes across as slightly too stereotyped, especially for the two younger protagonists and the oldest member of the group, Malcolm (Leo Atkin). The evolving of the various relationships comes across as a touch forced, with unexpected reconciliations undermining what had gone before. Laughs come at regular intervals, with lots of good one-liners, but perhaps fewer jokes would have meant bigger laughs, and also given more space for the emotional side of the story to develop.

The above does not detract from the performances of the actors, who worked well together and added some nice touches, such as Abby’s dead-eyed stare and Karen’s ‘talk to the hand’ blocking of anything she didn’t want to hear. Jeff Butler’s directing was clear and uncomplicated, which suited the production, and keeping manager Viv as a constant menacing presence at the front of the stage added tension. The verdict? While not perfect, No Soft Option was entertaining, with lots of good jokes, and by the end I had definitely been won over. Watching paint dry might be considered boring, but seeing it not painted at all is actually quite fun.

Words: Andrew Anderson.
Images: courtesy of 24:7.

Daniel Bachman @ The Castle Hotel, 19.06.13

A good example of the appeal of this all-seater affair at The Castle Hotel is when, during headliner Daniel Bachman’s set, attendees without chairs were filling in all the nooks and crannies by crouching, kneeling, reclining and resting behind and betwixt the furniture and in the aisle.

It was a busy, yet attentive, one from the start, as a pair of Manchester’s most active musicians, Tom Settle and Dan Bridgewood-Hill – aka dbh – set the scene in the Oldham Street alehouse’s back room. The former, a soft spoken finger picking guitarist whose strings collection extends tonight to a mandolin, compiles a collection comprising his own work and Jefferson Airplane’s ‘My Best Friend’, evoking the spirit of that 60s psyche band’s ballad by inviting the latter to join him to perform a rendition of Shirley Collins and Davy Graham’s ‘Hares on the Mountain’. Underneath the spotlights of a web of fairy lights that dangles overhead, dbh carries the appearance of an Eisenberg-Cera hybrid, with the pair’s gently strummed songs resembling Juno’s final scene.

When he takes centre stage, dbh can be seen in better light, showing the Eisenberg-Cera fusion to be no more than whimsical myopia on my part. His set is more forceful, with each note immaculately considered despite being short-lived amidst the fluid arpeggios of flamenco and Americanised acid-folk. While often searching and introspective, his closing tune, ‘Fix’, hits the major notes to offer a happy ending.

The main attraction – the touring American Daniel Bachman – sits just as the other two before him: quietly and politely in voice, but the most intensively of the three in sonic terms. This time launching in with his lapsteel guitar and a bottleneck slide before reverting to type with an acoustic guitar, whose open low-E string shudders in discord with other elegantly selected notes, the whole set is turned up a notch on the speedometer.

Between songs, he re-tunes, red-faced in concentration.

Then liftoff, again, with a style that isn’t quite strumming, and is far from finger picking; notes that often seem to be merged, yet are audibly separate. The catch, if there is one, is in the divergence from the core technique; beyond the opening bottleneck slider, there’s little to differentiate his songs, and a set continuing any longer would merit another direction the break up his favoured style. His chord shapes are no more inventive than anyone else’s, but with a playing technique so vigorous there’s enough to mesmerise the gathered audience.

Words & photos: Ian Pennington.
Poster design: Fliss Horrocks.

The next Crowfoot Records gig is scheduled for tomorrow, 24th July, at Kro Bar on Oxford Road, and will feature L’Etrangleuse, McWatt, Irma Vep and David M Birchall.

Van der Graaf Generator @ RNCM, 28.06.13

Sturm und drang, crash and bang; Van der Graaf Generator collide with the RNCM in Manchester and fashion a nerve tingling victory. This trio of distinguished looking elder gents simply do not conform and on a weekend when the Stones slickly karaoke their way around a field in Somerset, it's a pleasure to see a band nearly of their vintage splinter and twist their catalogue into a new whole.

The band is now a trio of Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans and they began their career at the University of Manchester in 1967. They have always embodied the shifting definition of art rock and have somehow managed the Tony Benn trick of getting more radical as they get older. This show has two poles: a version of the instrumental ‘Flight’ and a semi-improvised, semi-lunatic version of 'A Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers' from their 1971 album Pawn Hearts, and between them there is much improvisational messing to enjoy.

The greatest joy for me and the capacity love-struck, middle-aged crowd is the interplay between the musicians. Evans has a drumming suppleness and casual swing that just doesn't seem right and his empathy with vocalist Hammill is a wonder to behold. Peter Hammill's singing is intriguing as he often seems to reach the limit of his range then push past it, and then push past it again. Special mention goes to Hugh Banton, a Cheshire based builder of organs who plays keyboards, triggers special effects and negotiates a bewildering range of bass pedals, while looking to all like a vicar in a BBC daytime drama.

Van der Graaf are simultaneously prog and punk, witty and frightening. Their leader wears the ‘shuffling to the paper shop’ uniform of tracksuit bottoms and smart shoes, whilst singing with a voice that sounds like Brian Ferry being prodded by hot pokers in hell, blasting forth from his tiny frame. Stunningly wonderful.

Words: John Wigley.
Live photograph: Monique Devic.
Press photo: courtesy of vandergraafgenerator.co.uk

Holy Esque @ Dulcimer, 13.06.13

“I heard them during the sound check and they blew me away,” says one of tonight’s promoters, Tru Luv, about Holy Esque. Preceding their show at Glastonbury this year, they prepared by making an appearance at Dulcimer in Chorlton.

The seemingly hermetically sealed, completely blacked out, compact room upstairs hardly seems to be an ideal preparation for a forthcoming gig in the large naturally aerated tent in a field but for those not at Glasto we can take solace in thinking this could be a more fitting venue to witness Holy Esque in.

Veladrome launch tonight’s proceedings. A couple of weeks ago they opened an all day event in Fallowfield and their vibrant, intense sounds were only witnessed by a handful of people.

Tonight, with the room approaching capacity, disaster struck. On that day in May, it was a fascinating contrast between the sharp, cutting, vocals of Lisa and the aggressive guitar and effects attack from Tom. With a barely perceptible, croaky, utterance, Lisa tries to confirm the all too obvious fact that her voice has ceased to function. The duo will give it a go though. First song, ‘Seeger (Part 1)’, is a deeply resonating, threatening instrumental affair, so it’s so far so good.

For the second number, ‘Violent Deer’, Lisa gives the vocals a go. The musical mood lightens a touch with this song, but the strain is too much and it signals the inevitable conclusion to this brief yet warmly received set.

“Come closer. Let’s make this interesting,” utters Pat Hynes, vocalist and guitarist with aforementioned Holy Esque. Interesting for whom?

Hynes has a set of vocal chords designed for the type of powerhouse rock that the band generates. His, bruising, gritty, exhortations fill the nooks and crannies of the venue, before spilling out into the surrounding streets and bars. It can make you wonder if paying the entrance fee to be inside the venue is necessary at one of their gigs as the sound quality is still pretty respectable outside.

Helping construct the platform for Hynes’s performance are guitarist Keir Reid, drummer Ralph McClure and guitarist Hugo McGinley. Most bands that play loud, aggressive music and have a Glaswegian connection such as Holy Esque will inevitably be tagged as having been reared on a Jesus And Mary Chain diet. If so, then this quartet has melded on a muscular framework that sweeps out in front of them.

Hynes wants the crowd to enjoy the gig as much as the band appear to, repeatedly enticing the audience forward, which, in a slightly uncertain but knowingly enjoyable fashion, they do.

Well, now that I’ve seen them, perhaps Glastonbury was the ideal place after all.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

Steve Howe @ Bury Met, 21.06.13

Prog rock: so often a bucket for music critics to fill with bile (even post-Muse) is really a genre where influences from all points clash and intertwine. Yes, for example, have over their 45 years been a broad enough church to welcome everything from icy Icelandic classical sounds to 80s disco rock and make the resulting hymns sound like nothing other than themselves.



It was intriguing to see Steve Howe filter that breadth back through the prism of his formative influences of jazz and particularly flamenco. Shorn of the current origin story/tribute act version of Yes, he did cut a slightly lonely figure on stage. In addition, his bold attempts to express the many, many layers of early Yes tunes through just a simple and unadorned acoustic guitar led to the odd fret buzz and timing issue. But there was a glory to it, occasionally ragged, but definitely glorious. His own tune 'Surface Tension' was especially lovely and the piece written for his wife – selling CDs like a charismatic market trader out in the foyer – had a sentiment and not sentimentality. He also somehow imparted something new to Mason Williams’ whiskery, brown flared corduroy 'Classical Gas'. The best moment was the excerpt from Tales from Topographic Oceans, so often a big stick used to beat his group. Here it was lovely and jazzy and on which Mr H displayed a model singing voice; a surprise to many, perhaps even him.

Words: John Wigley.

Competition: XXYYXX @ NQ Live, 17.05.13

XXYYXX (aka Marcel Everett) may have only turned 17 on Hallowe'en last year, but since the turn of the year has seen more of the world than many would have done by the age of 70. Having already trodden venues in Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand in 2013, he's currently plotting a path across Europe.



In equal parts Bibio, Nicolas Jaar and Lapalux, Everett sits comfortably alongside some of the world's best beat-makers. His knack for kneading together subtly crafted samples has led to compiling a full album along with shorter EPs and remixes, selling out shows in his Orlando hometown and beyond, with the ensuing global attention, all while still being able to see daylight between his late teens and 20s.

His is an often breathy, rustic distortion permeated by glitchy minimalism and shot in shadowy sepia, but with occasional deft nods to anyone from Flying Lotus to James Blake, Shlohmo to Shigeto. Most like fellow production prodigy Jaar, though, his default synthetic lilts often glide through the downtempo realm; music to drift to rather than dance to (see 'About You'), but can equally raise the bpm to Boiler Room level.



He's being joined on this European leg of the tour by fellow US soundwave-makers Giraffage, Beat Culture and Slow Magic - all with promising recordings to their name, including Giraffage's collaborative jam with XXYYXX, 'Even Though', and the Slow Magic / Beat Culture combo effort, 'Once'.

Words: Ian Pennington.

We have a pair of tickets for the Manchester show on 17th May at NQ Live, Tib Street. To enter the competition, just like and share this gig poster that we've shared via our Facebook page.

Here is the event info, and here is the ticket link.

Team Ghost @ Soup Kitchen, 11.04.13

Well turned out for a mid-month Thursday in a disappointingly dismal April, Soup Kitchen laid host to the Manchester's Mount Fabric supporting their Parisian counterparts Team Ghost.



A relative stranger to both bands and almost duped by an erroneous set times poster, it was all the more pleasing to see a support band capitalising early on their slot with such poise and confidence. As Mount Fabric's opener came to a ferocious conclusion, with yelping vocals reminiscent of The Faint and a well balanced sucker punch of reverb crashing against the audience, complimentary murmurs could be heard seeping through the crowd.

Throughout their five song set there was a noticeable stylistic shift in their new material, from the typically explosive, driving post-rock of 'Curves and Corners' to latest single 'Heuristic Fits', which lacks quite the same angular nature, ending up like a Horrors B-side, but without the hook.



The tendency to drench the vocals of the new material in layers of effects actually does somewhat of an injustice to the outrageously good, falsetto voice of frontman Alex Marczak, his natural soaring tones having a much more euphoric impact when not distorted beyond recognition. The dreamier, electronic tinged, mid-set tracks were proficient enough, but it was the moody, combustible moments of the finale which brought back the rapturous applause and animated discussion we had first heard amongst the audience.

Team Ghost were swift to follow suit. Buoyed by some home support in the crowd, they rifled through a number of tracks from last year's Dead Film Star EP; psychedelic-pop worn on a synthesized sleeve. Former M83 man Nicolas Fromageau's lyrics full of woe, tragedy and passion, intertwined with Placebo-esque sonic distortions and noisy brooding chords. The songs are tightly bound bringing a visceral, unpretentious alt-pop punch embodied by 'Dead Film Star' itself, but at other times it can come across relentless and draining.



Although the improvised mid-track harmonisations between Nicolas and keyboard player Benoit de Villeneuve showed an intimate relationship and a cocksure confidence and swagger, Fromageau's limited vocal timbre was at times lost in the mix; his dulcet Parisian tones drowned out by those of his arguably stronger fellow musicians with a regularity suggesting this is not accidental.

There is undoubted potential here – the oblique, droning 'Curtains' hurtled towards a wonderfully violent conclusion but it seems that Fromageau and Co are still finding the perfect balance and structure to truly reap the benefits of their respective talents.

Words: Dan Coultas.
Team Ghost photo, top: Emma Le Doyen.

Galoshins @ Gulliver's, 13.04.13

Tonight we embark on a twisted voyage through the warped psyche of Scottish peculiarists Galoshins.

It’s jazz, but not as we know it. No laboriously self-absorbed solos or needlessly fidgety fretboard twiddlery, but a wonderfully involving and upbeat rampage across the realms of funk, rock and electro, with a delightful and disorientating dash of glitch to melt what remains of your fleeting sanity.



Backstage the befuddlingly talented drummer can be seen giving lessons to supporting acts - dressed appropriately as an African priest - whilst onstage their chemistry burbles with the madness of a shamanic vision quest, the wide-eyed keyboard/vocalist egging on an enraptured and boisterous audience.

It ought be mentioned that never before have I been hit with such simultaneous bouts of dancing and laughter, as the comic undertones of the three-piece’s performance lift them leagues above most of their jazz contemporaries.

Gasping and perspiring, they finally succumb to the rambunctious demand for an encore, and we’re plunged into yet another wormhole of majestic sonic turbulence; the cacophonic clamour of keys, strings and drumskins bombinating the skeletons of all within range.

It’s a mind-bending ruckus, sometimes soaring, sometimes bewildering, but always fun. And that’s what we came here for, right?

Words: Tom Richardson.

Simon Joyner @ Kraak, 06.04.13

Simon Joyner is someone who has been critically acclaimed by the likes of John Peel and Conor Oberst, yet has a relatively low profile in the UK. Within the US – in particular his hometown area of Omaha, Nebraska – he has been known to organise tours on the basis of playing a gig in someone’s house in return for a bed for the night. That type of approach will have prepared him for the intimate surroundings of Kraak.



He has also taken a similarly unorthodox, and some may say financially limiting, approach to releasing his new record, Ghosts, which is in the vinyl format only. He announces proudly on his website that, “No digital technology was used in making this record,” although digital downloads are available.

There’s just about enough space for all six members of the band on the Kraak stage, with the drummer standing to one side whilst the pedal steel guitarist, Mike Friedman, has to be heard rather than seen, but it’s the sound that counts and it is a rather glorious.



Supplemented on some numbers by Megan Siebe, who plays agreeably violent violin, the style is very much located within the Americana genre, comprising of slow burning stories that develop and build to carefully created climaxes.

Wearing what appears to be a Stetson hat, Joyner leads from the front and that may be the one area in need of attention, as his occasionally flat and dry delivery, in the manner of a low-key Nick Cave, can seem at odds with the pristine sound. There are a lot of biblical references (“When you’re in pain / sing Hallelujah”) along with some intriguing word play (“I can barely carry / never mind bury / the past”).



When the rousing choruses are reached it almost seems like summer is around the corner. Almost.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

Letters To Fiesta @ Roadhouse, 29.03.13

Just as a flame seems to flicker more brightly towards the end and the wick folds into the remnants of the wax, the club event that Underachievers Please Try Harder has used to light up both the live music and club night atmosphere of Manchester is slowly drawing to a much regretted close. Like George Best, you might as well go out leaving fond memories, and the best wishes of those who have taken part in the event, behind.



So let’s enjoy the fare that Dave and Kirsty have laid on for us. First up is Letters To Fiesta, who feature the pure, clear voice of Anna-Louisa Etherington. Her performance resembles an intelligible version of Liz Frazer, who fronted the Cocteau Twins. Strong yet delicate, the vocals seem to frame how their set is delivered.

Whilst her voice is the first thing that grabs attentions, the musical detail supplied by Tom Brydon (guitar), Andy Fletcher (bass) and Daniel Houghton (drums) provides a splendid platform to work from. Ethereal in tone and subtle in delivery, they could be Sigur Ros on steroids.



The band is being hailed as the latest in a long line of outfits to emerge from Manchester, and as the next band that must be twittered about. Yet, like the other band on the bill, they've been making music for several years – albeit with slightly differing line-ups. This overnight recognition of abilities seems to take several years. On tonight’s performance that opinion seems justified. Let’s hope they are allowed the time and space to flourish.



So it's onto to the very danceable tunes of Kid Canaveral who have travelled down from Scotland. I hope they weren't swayed by the fact that Manchester is closer to the equator and as a result it will be warmer than their nominal home base of Edinburgh. It’s a pity that the weather outside cannot match the warmth of their sounds.



By now there's now a large crowd in the Roadhouse some of whom are waiting for the club night to start rather than catching the bands. It could have been a challenging occasion for Kid Canaveral, but it wasn't. From the front David MacGregor guides the four-piece through a merry romp, armed with a repertoire of instantly catchy songs. Quickly they have a core of dancers in front of them and the smiles on people’s faces are enough indication of how well they’ve been received.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.