#563: The Coathangers - Nosebleed Weekend

Though it comes across with all the energy and urgency of a debut record, stick with it and 'Nosebleed Weekend' gently reveals the ten-year career which has preceded it. Formed as a four-piece in Atlanta in 2006, The Coathangers' ambitions went little further than having fun with friends, something which was manifest in the irreverent and angular garage-punk of the band's early releases, and can still be felt in their records even now.

This review was originally written for Clash. Click here to read in full.

#562: RM Hubbert - Telling the Trees

With his collaborative Scottish Album of the Year winner Thirteen Lost & Found, RM Hubbert, or Hubby as he’s more affectionately known, reconnected with old musician friends, holing themselves “in a room for 6 hours, as we tried to capture our reconnection”. With Telling the Trees, Hubby not only revisits that format, but turns it on its head.

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

#561: Introducing...RedRooms

Though RedRooms certainly seem to occupy some of the darkest corners of Manchester’s indie scene, such darkness rarely extends further than their imagery. And though love and death are prevalent themes, the music itself is built around a strong emphasis on melody, resulting in a rich juxtaposition that belies the band’s relatively young years.

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

#560: Slow Riot - Trophy Wife (single review)

“Nice to meet you in the morning, when you greet me with a fist” begins guitarist/vocalist Niall Clancy, instantaneously setting the prevailing tone for single. A track about being in a relationship for all the wrong reasons, Trophy Wife exhibits the same, familiar darkness as their debut EP Cathedral, bringing to mind such post-punk royalty as Wire and Television whilst retaining an air of contemporary acts such as Eagulls.

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

#559: Weezer, Manchester Academy

That it's been ten years since Weezer last graced Manchester is a fact not lost on tonight's crowd; the anticipation that bristles through the venue as the house lights dim is palpable. That this is only one of two shows the band are playing in the UK is a further fact not lost, with people coming from afar afield as Hamburg to see them, something which not just adds to tonight's expectations, but is also a testament to the devotion Weezer fans harbour.

This review was originally written for Musos' Guide. Click here to read in full.

#558: The Joy Formidable - Hitch

When The Joy Formidable released The Big Roar back in 2011, it was a record that lived up to its name. Huge walls of noise mixed effortlessly with pop sensibilities to make an album that was quite literally made for the arenas and festival stages it inevitably took them to. Its follow up, 2013’s Wolf’s Law, felt similar. Backed this time with a larger budget, the band’s music palette grew along with their ambitions, resulting in a record of monolithic, if not more polished, proportions.

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

#557: Introducing...Tacocat

Subscribing to a similar brand of party pop as fellow Seattleites Chastity Belt, Tacocat harbour a sound upbeat and sugary, whilst retaining enough bite and bitterness to prevent it boiling over in to total twee territory. Making art about experiences in which gender is both foregrounded and neutralized, the band highlight the fact that ‘Women’s Issues’ are just issues, and they do so by ironically drawing very little attention to them.

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