Tuesday nights headline show from Songhoy Blues was easily the liveliest crowd I've seen at the Concorde 2 in a long time. It was only as far back as May this year that Songhoy Blues were supporting Tinariwen (and giving them a run for their money) but a summer of…
It's been a few years since I last saw the Octopuses live, having last seen them at The Blind Tiger before it closed. They did not really do it for me back then so when I was asked to review the album launch gig it was with some trepidation. The…
You just knew that this would be a thunderously loud gig having watched the very promising young hopefuls Asylums in support. My friend then informed me that apparently there was a meeting coming up with the council and Concorde 2 over its future, revolving around the problems of the wonderful…
One of the breakthrough acts of the year, Hooton Tennis Club, came to Brighton for what was set to be a fun evening at the Green Door Store. The four piece from Mersyside started when they caught the ear of an Edge Hill University lecturer who ended up releasing ‘Kathleen…
Jane Weaver’s 2014 album The Silver Globe was surprisingly overlooked on its release. Maybe it was just unlucky scheduling but thankfully with the release of the deluxe edition (which also featured The Amber Light LP) in early 2015, was given the publicity and critical acclaim her fantastic galactic-psych-kraut-pop sound truly…
Bella Spinks opened up the show with mournful piano ballads, full of classical sounding arpeggios. She has a vocal tone that has more than a hint of Kate Bush and interesting song structures but at times it felt like she could have done with a drummer or other accompaniment to…
I approach Real Lies’ music with some trepidation. Assimilated by a certain broadsheet into the slightly cringing phenomenon of ‘nu-lad’, their Madchester indebted sound can initially feel like just another example of pop eating itself, as the nostalgia cycle comes back round again in seemingly faster and faster revolutions.
Local lads The Magic Gang describe themselves as music for your mind, body, spirit and soul, you could tell they had definitely come back to their spiritual home town tonight. Their nice blend of bubblegum pop and distorted guitars certainly is very easy to get into and they have built…
The audience is spilling out onto the streets and this evening’s show at Bleach has a lively atmosphere, thick with chatter and anticipation. Birdskulls have never failed to impress me live, but it’s always been in the subordinate roll of the support act. As tonight’s headliners I’m hoping for the…
There is a lot of love for Oli Bayston and his Boxed In outfit – he is an all-round nice bloke, as we found out in the New Music Q&A we did with him recently, and his music is pretty amazing. Having previously been involved with releases for Franz Ferdinand,…