#440: Lagwagon, Club Academy, Manchester

Gig Review: Lagwagon, Club Academy, Manchester

This review was originally written for Muso's Guide. Click the link above to read in full.

#439: Orphan Boy - Beats Like Distant Tides (single review)

That Orphan Boy’s new single Beats Like Distant Tides is interested in finding beauty in the mundane comes as little surprise. Moving from Cleethorpes, to Manchester then back again, theirs is hardly a story of glitz and glamour, but then such a story would never lend itself well to their gritty, self-styled ‘council pop’ anyway.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#438: Tim Vantol - If We Go Down We Will Go Together

Drawing comparisons to the likes of Frank Turner and Chuck Ragan, Tim Vantol is making the kind of country-inspired folk-punk that’s seen a rise in recent years, and much like his contemporaries, for this release does indeed lift Vantol to such heights, ‘If We Go Down…’ is a record of rousing solidarity, and whilst its narratives aren’t always the most positive, his uplifting attitude bleeds through in to each of them, making every track instantly relatable and refreshingly cathartic.

This review was originally written for Subba-Cultcha. Click here to read n full.

#437: Dropkick Murphys, Academy 1, Manchester

Live Review: Dropkick Murphys, Academy 1, Manchester

This review was originally written for Artrocker. Click the link above to read in full.

#436: Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The Most Important Place in the World

Album Review: Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - The Most Important Place In the World

This review was originally written for Artrocker. Click the link above to read in full.

#435: Orphan Boy, The Ruby Lounge, Manchester

Image: Katie Clare

Orphan Boy, The Ruby Lounge, Manchester

This review was originally written for Subba Cultcha. Click the link above to read in full.

#434: Acre Tarn - Dawn Faces (single review)

When Acre Tarn bludgeoned their way into our conscious with their hugely anthemic, yet paradoxically ambient debut single, they proclaimed, somewhat truthfully, that “we’re only young, this once”. An ode to not wasting what precious time we have, it confirmed the band as one of the most exciting acts, not just in Manchester, but in the UK as a whole.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#433: Catching Up With...Pocket Apocalypse

Catching Up With...Pocket Apocalypse

This feature was written for Shout4Music. Click the link above to read in full.

#432: Catching Up With...Patterns

Catching Up With...Patterns

This feature was originally written for Now Then Manchester. Click the link above to read in full.

#431: Milo's Planes - Aural Palate Cleaning Exercises

Detractors of fuzz need read no further:‘Aural Palate Cleaning Exercises’ is the second album from Bristol’s Milo’s Planes, and their first as three-piece. Much like the name suggests, it really is an album built around sonic catharsis, and whilst reaching the end of the record isn’t quite the same feat of endurance as reaching the end of the albums which influenced it, there’s no denying that by the time the closing notes of the album have rung out, and only the buzz from the barrage of feedback is left resonating in your ears, you feel completely cleansed.

This review was originally written for Subba-Cultcha. Click here to read in full.

#430: Charles Howl - Sir Vices

Charles Howl

Sir Vices

March 16 2015 (Ample Play)

7/10

Words: Dave Beech

Whilst never quite straying whole-heartedly in to the realms of pure psychedelic freak-outs (the band metaphorically preferring to nibble quizzically at mushrooms rather than embrace the shamanic intensity of other substances), Charles Howl manage to uphold enough of a trippy aesthetic to keep everyone but the most ardent of psychonauts in a state of blissed-out alternate conciousness. Not satisfied with inward journeys of introspection alone however, 'Sir Vices' sees the duo (a four-piece for recordings), taking transatlantic cues from West Coast surf rock as often as the brit-pop the band grew up with.

This review was originally written for little indie blogs. Click here to read in full.

#429: Acre Tarn, The Castle Hotel, Manchester

Photo: Dale Edwards

Live Review: Acre Tarn, The Castle Hotel, Manchester (21/2/2015)

This review was originally written for Artrocker. Click the link above to read in full.