Indie pop
Live Review: Belle and Sebastian – Manchester Cathedral 28.10.2014
Manchester Cathedral is a magnificently historic, Gothic edifice. On paper at least, giving a band like Belle & Sebastian the opportunity to play its hallowed nave appears both inspired and a mite sacrilegious, in a naughty-but-nice way. Is this not the band that sings about getting a “dose of thrush from licking railings” amidst other …
Album Review: St. Christopher – Evermore Starts Here 1984-2000
This is weird. Me and St Christopher have history. I bought, direct from Sarah Records, that beacon of all things indie and (in some cases) twee, All of a tremble, and fairly shortly afterwards stole one of their other singles for the label from my brother, Say Yes To Everything. Fast forward a long time …
New Music: Light Club – Youth Is Fading
In amongst the days and places that I’ve been listening to this, the debut from Portland, Oregon’s Light Club, I think I’ve found the perfect accompaniment: bright early autumn sunshine augmented by a strong, fresh breeze. I’m sat in my back garden, watching fragments of cloud cruising across the heart-stirringly blue sky, with washing snapping …
Premiere: Nervous Nellie release video for Cat Like Figure
Swedish quartet Nervous Nellie have a dream. Several actually, and a few nightmares thrown in as well. The two sets of brothers have documented them, as best they can, in a new album, When The Nightmare Gets In, which drops in December. The album, which is divided into three chapters based on the bands nightmares …
Single Release: Screaming Maldini – Confidence
If you don’t know what I’m talking about by now then, quite frankly, you haven’t been paying attention. Screaming Maldini are a progressive pop group from Sheffield that specialise in bright, happy music with intelligent lyrics and delightful melodies. They’ve vowed to gift fans with a free single every month for 2014 and tease them …
News: Ben Watt Trio announce tour news
For the best part of twenty years he was one half of Everything But The Girl, he then spent another ten years exploring the world as a DJ whilst running his own record label Buzzin’ Fly. In April this year he returned to his roots and set about re-creating the singer/songwriter success with the release …
Track: Martin Carr – The Santa Fe Skyway
You might recognise the name. Former Boo Radley and BraveCaptain Martin Carr has never really stopped writing brilliant songs, its just that now he’s doing it under his own name. He’s releasing a new single, The Santa Fe Skyway on September 1st, ahead of a new album The Breaks, which follows on September 29th, both …
Track: High Hazels release new single, Misbehave
Named after a local park, the High Hazels have set about to make Sheffield proud, releasing rich, golden songs that’ll fill your head and melt your heart. I first saw these boys at Tramlines 2013, lost in Weston Park, with only the melodic notes of the High Hazels to guide my way. Since then I’ve seen this …
Track: Gold-Bears release new indie pop anthem, ‘For You’
Dalliance, The second album from Atlanta, Georgia’s Gold-Bears, is described as a record about regret. On For You, the band have emerged from the other side of regret and into a firm defiance. Opening lines ‘You’re a mistake/ You said on the phone last night’ lead into a tale of a broken relationship that has …
Live Review: The Heartbreaks at the Harley, Sheffield, 20th May 2014.
Do you remember The Heartbreaks? These four boys from Morecambe have been quiet in recent months, performing infrequent shows in London and Manchester but staying under the radar for quite some time. It was not their intention to stay so quiet – their second album was recorded over a year ago but it’s their label …