Reviews
Firstly a brief, pre-ramble preface free from prejudice. I need to say this, but each time I have checked recently nothing has changed. I am still male through and through. These, therefore, are the views of a thoroughly male man who is not a woman and has no plans to become one. I do, however, have a deep-seated appreciation for women, and especially for...
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Reviews
Live at Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool. Sunday 24th April, 2016. The Magic Gang, self-titled “melody makers and vibe crafters” from Brighton can make your breaking heart crack a smile, even when that’s the last thing you want to do. In fact, they could probably make you feel upbeat if they were singing about the Texas Chainsaw massacre. Their melodies are catchy, pure, “wind-down-the-car-window” summer...
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Reviews
Some place at some time in the distant past a certain unknown band called Oasis played their first gig. Well ok it was 18 August 1991 at the Boardwalk Club in Manchester. Another quirky little band played for the first time in June 2003 at the Grapes in Sheffield. Ever heard of the Arctic Monkeys? Did anybody know at that time the dizzy heights to...
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Reviews
The Tyde is High and I’m moving on. It is common logic that when the tide is high you have to move on, leave the beach and move inland or you stand a pretty good chance of getting washed away. Last night, the tide was at its highest at 8.24 pm and, thanks to winning a guest list retweet competition I moved inland from the...
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Reviews
Imagine being the class teacher of four seriously hyperactive kids who chain drink energy drinks and then get their hands on something they shouldn’t have their hands on. And I’m not just talking about their song Wet Dream Fanzine. You only have four kids but you have your hands full. The lead singer, Luke Branch, is Art Garfunkel in a Denver Broncos tee, on amphetamine...
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Reviews
The Orielles- live for the Flying Vinyl Festival at Shapes Warehouse, Hackney, April 2016 The Orielles from Halifax have single-handedly demolished the dark, satanic mills, and the grim, urban landscape of their home town. In its place they have built a virtual paradise resort in sun-soaked Californifax, where growing audiences check in for an idyllic break. Like Viola Beach, tragically killed in Sweden in February, and who were...
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Reviews
Live in Southend, April 8th, 2016 Expectations have reached almost fever pitch and a palpable tension holds you at knife-point. It is so close you can almost touch it and so far away that you stricken with grief. Fans of the lids are like rabid alligators biting their tails off to get their claws on their second album. Teasers of each song leaked online have...
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Reviews
Just pause for a moment. Picture that well known image of a snowball being pushed off the top of a hill. It’s gaining momentum. It rolls on down, faster and faster, gathering more and more snow to itself. Finally it knocks everything out of its path as it goes hurtling on and on into the distance. The Blossoms journey is that snowball. The snow is...
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