Tonight is part two. The sandwich filler, if you will. And my, look what Ma’s put on our butties today. Our favourites, Kong, with tasty Brew Records garnishings in the form of Castrovalva and These Monsters, and some other bits that we’re not too sure what they are, but we’ll trust the chef.

It’s a little after 6pm when things kick off. The Heebie Jeebies are onstage by the sounds of things, so it’s time to head upstairs to the treat that is the Deaf Institute’s Music Hall. Man, I love this venue.

Taking a seat in the staggered cinema-style viewing section, the rest of the room is pretty empty and bright. Of course, it’s barely evening in the middle of summer, so the daylight shines through and illuminates us all. First on the bill, the Rotherham/Swinton-based trio seem happy to open. And their jangly waves of guitar pop with smearings of Americana are a pleasant start to proceedings.

With a hoppety bassist and obvious camaraderie within the group, the good vibes are flowing. It is a festival after all. Tribal percussion and an off-kilter bass detract from the Libertines-like vocals and guitar to form something else. Good, raw indie-pop songs – such as forthcoming single ‘Misery Guts’.

Holy State are on next, and I’ll say it now, they’re my new favourite band. The Leeds troubadours have an EP out on the ever-great Dance To The Radio, and on this offering, it’s well worth a purchase.

Playing a fuzzy, Fugazi-influenced blend of energetic post-rock, the quartet have toe-tappers aplenty. With throaty vocals and punk rhythms, it’s a less raucous Fucked Up and perhaps more akin to the garage style of Hot Snakes.

The band are clearly honed in unison, thrashing out with confidence and enjoying themselves doing so. A performance at last year’s Leeds Festival and previous splits with Pulled Apart By Horses and Brontide on Holy Roar Records show that something’s been building for a while. Thankfully the close proximity of Yorkshire means they’re likely to be back sooner rather than later.

Third up are Cumbrian post-rockers Crane – another new one for yours truly. These guys are actually on Hairy Wolf Records (the label behind Wolves Fest), with a single and EP doing the rounds. Having heard their riff-filled antics on record, I’m left slightly disappointed by them live. I’m not sure why – I fear I may be succumbing to tiredness after a long day – but it’s not quite on par with expectations.

Make no mistake, they’re damn tight and the riffs are definitely still there. I was probably just wanting them to take over from fellow noisy Lake District-ers, Arficeden, who I miss greatly. Don’t let me put you off though, their instrumentals flow with determination and collide like drugged-up kayakers in river rapids. New Olympic sport, right there.

To the floor for Castrovalva next, and the most energetic performance of the day. When I play them to people at home, they divide opinion more than that soddin’ meerkat advert. But if you don’t like Blood Brothers mic skills over Lightning Bolt bass and drums, then don’t listen. Cymbals!

Frontman Leemun Smith’s vocal style does have to be heard to be understood, but in layman’s terms it’s shouty rap, high-range wails and tongue-in-cheek grime. All at full exertion so as not to get lost beneath the loud and rampant bass/percussion combo. A combo that stood alone until last year, but thankfully Castrovalva took the step to add another man to the firing line.

Echoes of nu-metal can certainly be heard, what with the hip-hop lyrics and powerful breakdowns as evident in ‘Better Make That Money’ and the stupendous ‘Donut’. All bandying across and below the stage, ‘Valva put on a grand, sweaty show. Brutally bonkers.

These Monsters are a polite bunch. Noting that things are running slightly behind schedule, they opt to blast through their set without much ado. It’s good to see them again after so many missed opportunities, and my, how they’ve grown. Their awesome debut album ‘Call Me Dragon’ has been out since March on Brew Records, but These Monsters are very much a live band.

Think avant-rock at its furthest parameter; truly barnstorming riffs, terrifying yelps and narration, pulsating moments of swirling madness… Scared yet? Well, throw a saxophone into the mix and it all makes for exquisite chaos. Fear ye not, brass-haters; the sax lurks amidst the madness, aiding not distracting.

Songs such as the album’s title track or ‘Harry Patton’ (see what they did there?) would likely lift the roof were it not already raised. Musical experimentation with grand vigor, the quartet could easily steal the night on any other line-up, and they don’t come up much short tonight. Sam Pryor at the helm as they march through further album tracks, lucidly at place on the stage. Super duper stuff.

I’m told as Brontide are setting up that their drummer is also the tub-thumper for La Roux. He does have a quiff to add weight to that story, but I figure a version of ‘Bulletproof’ isn’t going to happen either way. Instead, let’s have some heavy melodies. Yeah!

A gentle start with trepidation turns out to be a red herring, as we’re soon cast into relentless territory. That point in a song where you know something’s about to go down, and it’s going to be good. Brontide bring the beauty of meandering and teasing shoegaze, but also know how to kick up a fuss.

They’ve toured with Oceansize (hey, there’s Mike Vennart in attendance) and are on Holy Roar Records. I’ll have to pick up some of their music, as I can’t decipher if they’re just playing tracks or jamming a bit here and there. It’s all gravy though. Sort of like Battles meeting Mars Volta for a coffee and a chinwag. How’s things? Not bad, not bad at all.

So it’s left to see how Kong will wrap the evening up. And it’s predictably unpredictable.

Three men dressed in red, with masks that look like they’d be used in a bank robbery. Only Kong wouldn’t be after your money, they’d merely want to raid your fridge and kidnap your dog. Led by lead vocalist and guitarist Magpie, the warped delinquents tear into material from last year’s ‘Snake Magnet’ in front of suitably the largest crowd of the day.

‘Leather Penny’ and ‘Blood Of A Dove’ both get a welcome airing, with their feverent jarring prangs and manic incoherent warblings. The stage glows red throughout, with Magpie trying to rile the crowd in comedic fashion. As scary as those masks are, you can’t take someone seriously when they’re stripping down to Y-fronts. Song gaps are thus filled with nonsense statements, provoking laughter and smiles from the crowd. (For evidence of their bizarre personas, check the video of their time in Amsterdam below).

Bassist Lulu (now also in Future of the Left) teeters on the edge of the stage, rocking back and forth as the Shellac-style blasts of ‘Sport’ kick in. Drummer Krem works to a sweat behind the kit, and although no new material is on offer, this timely reminder of how good their first album was leaves us salivating for their August tour and promises of a near-future release.

Leaving the stage to universal applause, Kong pull the curtain down on a splendid half-day of alternative music. We’ve had a bit of everything, and of a consistently high quality too. Some of the North’s best noisemakers, and a few newer to our happy ears. If the other two nights run as well as Manchester, that’ll be three crowds going home well fed.

Wolves Festival had the idea and the desire to do something daring. And although he who dares doesn’t always win, let’s hope there’s more to come from HWR & co. Because this was ace.

http://www.hairywolfrecords.co.uk

I get down much later than anticipated due to a delayed screening of Inception (believe the hype), and enter the main room of Moho to catch the last few songs from South Manchester ensemble Motion Theory.

It’s nostalgically quite late 90s alt-rock; the funk sensibilities of Red Hot Chili Peppers mashed with ‘Make Yourself’-era Incubus. Frontman Dom Main even has vocal comparisons to Brandon Boyd, and it fits quite well amidst the slow tempo moments. Yet when the band let loose, with clear musical accomplishment I might add, it at times sounds dated.

Don’t get me wrong, the 90s is one of my favourite decades for music, but there’s something within the bass and guitar set-up that stops the band sounding like they’re from this side of the millennium. I’ll save further judgement for a full viewing, but here’s a video.

Tiger Please are up next, but with all the local bands having played, they face a dwindling crowd of friends and family. There are a few people here to see what the co-headliners are made of though, and the prominent afterthought about these South Wales gents is that they possess a singer with a fantastic voice.

Somewhere between the projected tones of Caleb Followill and the trodden crooning of Eddie Vedder, Leon Stanford commands the stage with minimal effort. Musically, the quintet emit big-sounding modern-rock songs, somewhat as if The Gaslight Anthem grew up on U2 rather than Springsteen. There’s familiar but defined build-ups and interludes, and they manage to sound as powerful as they most likely intended through the oft-derided sound system.

It’s a formula that has seen two EP releases on Walnut Tree Records and slots at both Download and Sonisphere this summer. They’re clearly doing something right on that front; it’s just a shame that there’s not that many people here to represent it. Maybe that’s due to an £8 door charge – who knows?

Stand out tracks ‘Light And Sound’ and ‘Without Tomorrow’ (which I later realise I’ve heard before via this free compilation) are just personal picks amongst a set that may point towards another future Welsh success story. With the right guidance, there’s every chance.

Top of the bill tonight are Eaststrikewest, but sadly they play to a crowd befitting of a wedding that neither partners’ side gave their blessing to. Hopefully the rest of the tour won’t be as demoralising for the London six-piece.

A much-tipped new name on the British rock front, their debut full-length ‘Wolvves’ makes for great listening when the summer weather is betraying itself. Atmospheric, searching and mind-shifting, with blustery crashes of emotion.

But does it match up live and in-person? Well, this is their first jaunt up to Manchester – Dry Bar cancelled their April gig without explanation – and it’s no disappointment. Tom Clark works the mic at the front of the stage, his voice soaring like a gentler Matt Bellamy. Behind him, the band craft patiently and steadily, evoking Explosions In The Sky comparisons with added keyboard-backed grandeur.

Beneath the beauty of the music, the band are quite politically-opinionated. They did a blog for Rock Sound’s website around the general elections, and it’s their music of cinematic hope that will have got them on the rather tasty-looking Hevy Festival next month.

The superb ‘Stumble’ gets the biggest cheer of the set tonight; a truly inspirational and uplifting number. Well for me at least, if not themselves. The band do give it their all, but with a crowd of few faces, talk is kept to an absolute minimum and smiles rarely emerge.

Please don’t judge Manchester’s alternative scene on first impressions, guys. We’re better than that.

http://www.myspace.com/eaststrikewestband

http://www.myspace.com/tigerplease

http://www.myspace.com/motiontheoryband

Manchester Jazz Festival : July 23rd-31st 2010

In its 15th year, Manchester Jazz Festival takes over more of the city centre than ever before, boasting 80+ bands across 9 days and nights.

With a good percentage of the events open to the public free of charge, the Festival Pavilion can seat up to 600 people in front of the town hall. Bars and food outlets will serve international cuisine catering to hunger and thirst, while equally widespread talent grace the stage to please the ears.

Of course, Matt & Phred’s Jazz Club gets involved with evening proceedings, but so too do Band On The Wall and Royal Northern College of Music. Other venues include The Bridgewater Hall and the slap-bang in shop central St. Anne’s Square. All corners covered.

I’m no jazz expert (my knowledge admittedly doesn’t stretch much further than Miles Davis and Glenn Miller), but looking at the programme of festivities, highlights would appear to be Kid Creole & The Coconuts (edit – now cancelled until September 13th), Asaf Sirkis Trio, BBC’s Jazz on 3 sessions, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and Huw Jacob.

So for the last week or so of July, expect to hear saxophones blaring, double basses rumbling, the odd bit of scat… and all that jazz.

http://www.manchesterjazz.com/

WTK have been one of our favourite local bands for some time now. The Salford-formed quintet have been making noises on the underground for a few years, but it is with the installment of their third bassist that things seem to be gathering pace at long last. The first evidence of such is this two-pronged downloadable single.

Their songs are as busy as the cluttered floor artwork above would suggest. From the jarring stutter that opens ‘This Place, A Thousand Times’, you’re in for a ride of twists and turns. Slowly and delicately the song creeps into life with Minus The Bear-esque probing, before lead singer Owen Barratt’s vocals whip up some tempo. With southern clarity and confidence, its hard, if not a tad lazy, for a Northerner like myself to not draw comparisons to Kele Bloc Party.

Add to the party strings of notes as delicate and enchanting as current Kitsuné heroes Two Door Cinema Club, layered with all the math-rock indulgences of Foals. Then, there’s just the fact that these guys clearly like things as loud as they like them busy. So turn up the volume, add stronger bass and harder drums in the interludes, and synth fusion and a scratch pad creating all manners of fuckery. Forget the old addage, ‘less is more’; here’s a fat dose of everything-at-once.

As the song asks ‘Where did you go?’, you’re sent spiralling upwards before the band let loose with an instumental wandering so freely, only to realise you’re lost mid-air when ‘normality’ resumes with the second verse. Well, I say ‘verse’, but as with last year’s EP, the song structure textbook has been flung out of the window without so much as a page being turned. And in this 3-minute plus number, it’s a case of action, not words regardless.

B-side ‘Excuse? Me!’ commences with a dwindling angular riff shortly followed by pounding drums and a rush of cymbals. A more upbeat start but again the vocals signal frequent changes of pace. It’s not so much stop-start, more like a distance runner with intermittent sugar rushes. With much more talking on show here, it’s definitely an offering of the band’s angry punk side. “Well I guess it’s all about magazines and haircuts” – a tirade against fashion and culture dictation, perhaps?

The ending evokes the visceral post-hardcore of At The Drive-In. Energy and chaos going hand-in-hand as the guitars smash, the electronics swerve and the song ultimately ends nothing akin to how it started. Clocking in at just over 2 and a half minutes, the B-side cuts short and leaves you wanting more; surely the desired effect of this single.

So, difficult to pigeon-hole? Sure. But equally hard to dislike. Whether you’re of the angular persuasion, like music to be loud and frantic or are generally a sucker for something catchy and dancable; there’s something within this that you can enjoy.

FOR FANS OF : Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, At The Drive-In.

Go here to download ‘This Place, A Thousand Times’ and B-side ‘Excuse? Me!’ for a grand total of £1! And while you’re there, help yourself to last year’s 3-track EP for free! 100 pennies for 5 tracks then; not too shabby.

http://www.myspace.com/withthatknife

NEXT GIGS : 20th March @ Mad Ferret, Preston // 1st April @ The Canteen, Barrow-In-Furness

So it makes perfect sense when DIY outfits like Manchester-based label Babyboom Records team up with the Free For Arts Festival after their successful outing last October. An underlying theme of not-for-profit, they’re hosting free monthly events of live music and interactive art.

Arriving out of the dampness, we’re ready to warm up in the confines of the downstairs hub of Northern Quarter drinkery, The Bay Horse. Pool table shifted, furniture rearranged to provide the focus on the awaiting backline; the room surprises us as to how well it looks set to accommodate a live gig.

For some reason or other, Hyacinth Girl haven’t shown up tonight. A pity, but like the ever-optimist Meatloaf said, ‘two out of three ain’t bad’. And you wouldn’t argue with the big man, would ya?

The openers’ absence grants a substantial chunk of time to fill then. At most other unsigned band nights, attendance may have dropped rapidly through boredom. But that’s where the beauty of the Free For Arts folk comes into to play. Scattered on tables and adorning the walls are sheets of paper, screaming ‘Draw on me!’. Don’t mind if we do…

I realise I haven’t actually done any freeform drawing in a good while, and quickly surrender without sketching so much as half a rhinoceros. Instead I opt to admire the works of others; a tattoo-worthy flying dragon, an accurate human caricature and a horse that quickly gets its lower half crudely vandalised. Ahhh, reminds me of history class.

This doodle session allows that time gap to fly by, and before we know it Mountains Became Machines are gearing up. I’ve worn two pairs of socks in a wise move to counter the doomed combo of dilapidated Converse and the puddles I will invariably step in tonight. MBM rock both soaking wet pairs off regardless.

The local quartet have been knocking around for a few years now, but with this current set, they seek to grab a bit more attention. Playing what I believe to be the 3-track 30-minute EP ‘Paths’ (borrowed before I had the chance to put it on my iPod, still to return), there’s a ceiling-raising barrage of gargantuan riffs. The first number is so mighty that Mastodon could nick it and they’d be back on ‘Leviathan’ form.

There’s your standard post-rock comparisons such as Explosions In The Sky, but with that added metal afterthought. The middle track slows things down, letting our eardrums ease up a little. More restrained builds, rising and bursting into life whenever it feels like – the conventional ‘quiet/loud’ divide crossed with patience and aplomb. The crowd is almost entirely captivated, and deserved applause follows each 10-minute epic (an overused term, but in this case, highly appropriate).

Last time I saw MBM they had a white backdrop with projected video accompanying their set. Tonight, I only clock the off-centre screening as the credits roll, but I was too busy watching the band in any case. The visuals flowed well previously, so there’s no reason to doubt that was the case here.

A bit more drawing and chatter amidst the Babyboom DJs playing some musical nuggets, and then it’s time for With That Knife.

I fell in platonic love with this band after first catching them at Dry Bar almost two years ago. They mixed the punk energy that I grew up on and refused to grow out of, with the new sounds that were making waves for the likes of Foals at the time. So it’s heavy and frantic but still cool and catchy. You follow?

Take for instance, the brash-but-beautiful ‘Tonight We’ll Find Out’, with its runaway tempo, or the short and sugary sweet ‘Pitchforks’, followed by a 90-second pure hardcore-punk tirade. Two new songs get an airing – both sounding heavier yet full of even more disjointed melody than their stuff of old.

2nd March sees the release of single ‘This Place, A Thousand Times’, so that and B-side ‘Excuse? Me!’ come out to play – review of that little blighter coming real soon. It’s the latter of the two that starts to stir up some serious dance moves at the front of the crowd. Fueled by beer or the sheer rebellious funk that’s going on, who can tell? But everyone’s into this by the looks of things – some just opt to show with extreme gyration.

Ending on the angered ‘Bravery’, With That Knife bow out in a blaze of glory and we’re suddenly back to the mundane pace of reality after that renegade ride. Seriously one of our favourite local bands, and with any luck their imminent release and more good support slots should catapult them into the eyes and ears of many.

As the DJs start playing some classic hip-hop, we leave to sum up a very fine evening. There’s been drinking and dancing and drawing and… drumming. We’ve enjoyed a hospitable night in the company of music and art, and will be back next month and the month after, regardless of there already being ace line-ups in place. We’d come for the jovial atmosphere alone.

LINKS :

With That Knife – http://www.myspace.com/withthatknife

WTK play The Dog in Bolton on Thursday 25th, and then Ruby Lounge supporting Montreal’s DD/MM/YYYY on March 1st.

Stream their EP above and click ‘Download’ to get it for free!

Mountains Became Machines – http://www.myspace.com/mountainsbecamemachines

MBM play Retro Bar on March 12th with Khuda and Humanfly.

The Bay Horse – http://www.thebayhorsepub.co.uk/

Babyboom Records – http://www.myspace.com/babyboomrecordsuk

Free For Arts Festival – http://www.freeforartsfestival.co.uk/

Line-ups already in place – March 18th: Jo Rose, Films +1TBC // April 15th – Amida, Puzzle +1TBC.

Intimate gigs are always the best. More personal, often of better sound and, of course, the ‘I was there when…’ factor. And what more intimate setting than a band’s own rehearsal space? Downstairs of Butterfly Records is an elongated basement, fully sound-proofed and fitted with downlighters of differing colours. There’s a telly with flickering static like in that film I can’t remember right now, and the same visual projected on the back wall behind the band’s set-up. Eerie.

People have taken the opportunity to adopt a BYOB policy (gigs are better with a beer in hand after all) and the room fills up nicely within minutes. The band skulk to their instruments almost unnoticed, and quietly get things rolling.

Lost Knives, for the uninitiated, are the musical equivalent of Silent Bob from the Kevin Smith films. Whereas a large number of bands slug it out for any and every meaningless gig, they built up a good list of commendable support slots in their early months after forming last February. And whereas most bands go overboard with shoving their name down your throat, this humble quartet simply put their music online for free, let the internet do the talking, went into hibernation on the gig front, were invited to record at BBC Maida Vale and generally kept promotion to the bare minimum. Those who wanted to see the band live, would. Those that didn’t would surely hear of them in a year or so anyway.

We’re underway and the instruments slowly start doing their thing, with a little help of course. The lights eventually come down and we’re engaged fully.

Firstly, there’s something about the kind of drumming that makes you nervous and simultaneously excited like only the best horror films can. Like a very boisterous ghost, the haunting thwacks and crashes provide more chill factor than this modern winter can ever dream of offering.

The outstanding ‘Cold Morning’ is the sort of song that every band dreams of writing. As the thumping percussion is accompanied by additional stick-beating from guitarist Steven McInerney, a steady, building riff that harks Godspeed You! Black Emperor rolls in. Frontman George Agan’s brooding vocals are direct, and the chorus “We woke up as the world slowed down,” pours out as a defiant statement of chance-seizing. Expect to hear this used on the box and in film before long.

My personal favourite LK track follows next. ‘She’s Not You’ is very Editors-esque in verse, which makes me want to immediately dislike it every time. But it’s also as fresh-sounding as when Interpol emerged, and the sharp vocal chirps caused by a high ratio of monosyllabic lyrics give it the sort of liveliness that the arena-filling duo seem to have lost with success.

A glockenspiel stick goes AWOL, disrupting the set before eventually being found halfway across the room. Conversation is kept to a minimum, maybe through shyness and modesty than anything. What little that is said is mainly gratitude towards the audience for coming. Standard gestures perhaps, but yet more evidence that the band aren’t exactly clamoring for attention or recognition.

There’s programmed tracks and synth layoffs that provide the pretence of feedback and wailing atmospheric backing. Shut your eyes and you’d think one of the guitarists is purposefully facing his amp up close. It adds those delicate little elements into the background and lets the stringed instruments still talk loud over the top. It’s easy to overproduce a record and then find it hard to replicate the amount of layers when playing live. Lost Knives appear to have had this all sussed out before they left the womb.

The performance resumes with a new track, McInerney on lead vocals this time. Slightly less enigmatic in output, but aptly fitting to the softer tones. And with Agan joining in for the chorus lines, it makes for a nice contrast that works well in later songs too. Regardless of who’s on the mic, the blunted basslines are present throughout. Raw yet equally sharp in prime Cooper Temple Clause fashion.

The penultimate number is ‘Static’ and I don’t immediately recognise it from seeing them last. But then comes a riff so melodic Boney M would be proud and my memory redeems itself. It’s just one of a set full of potential singles.

‘Out Of Touch’ makes for a rip-roaring finale; gloomy intro, swaying beat, racing guitars and vocals crafted in the vein of early Bloc Party. It breaks down and builds back up just like a seasoned pro – that final burst of energy not letting up one bit.

“You don’t have to share this feeling,” echoes the chorus before the lights come up. If it’s the feeling of enjoyment, then trust us, it’s not forced or involuntary. Lost Knives have kept us and everyone in the know in suspense with their secretive approach to being a band. Finally the time appears to be right and they’re ready to ‘wake up’.

Now get something released and shout it from the rooftops, lads.

http://www.myspace.com/lostknivesband

Download 6 tracks here for free!

Thankfully then that the band in question tonight is going to go gentle on my aging person and not make me cower in the corner holding my head together with decibel overload.

Beach House have been stirring up all manners of acclaim with new album ‘Teen Drama’, and suitably this gig sold out a week in advance.

It’s a bitter cold Thursday and the journey requires a walk through darkest Salford. I’d missed out on too many recent gigs at Islington Mill, but tonight sure as hell wasn’t going to follow suit.

For those like myself prior to tonight who haven’t visited the venue before, it’s a former cotton spinning mill that has been spared the fate of being destroyed in favour of apartment blocks. Instead it has been turned into art studios, club and live music space and a recording studio. And being just outside of the city centre, it’s a welcome alternative independent venue.

The room is already full upon entering, and sole support Lawrence Arabia are partway through their set. The outfit of New Zealand musician James Milne, he and his band play a stop-start brand of garage-pop. Bright and cheery-seeming numbers, sometimes with eerie undertones; our attention wavers in the sizable gaps between most songs. Likable but not as attention-grabbing as perhaps it should be. Future listening will prove whether we missed out on anything, but a warming if unfamiliar support nevertheless.

Since their debut full-length in 2006, Beach House have been championed by the likes of Pitchfork, and have enjoyed steadily-rising underground success since. Tonight’s set therefore is for as much for those fans there from the start, as it is for the newbies.

The stage has been littered with fibre-optic trees. Christmas may have gone some time ago, but this synthetic woodland bypasses festive cheer in favour of ambrosial warmth. They even change colour under the lights – how quaint!

If you’re familiar with BH, then you’ll have the same automatic connotations every time you hear them. Dreamy, expansive, even operatic; it’s all too easy to get wooed by Victoria LeGrand’s breezing vocals. Especially with her heavy-breathing on ‘Norway’.

The slow build-up to ‘Zebra’ commences and the crowd sway without thought. If anyone in attendance was thinking whether or not they were to get a takeaway on the way home, they must have been in the loos when the hypnotism started. As easy as the song allows you to drift away into lightheadedness, thoughts of anything other than what it would be like to be able to fly are implausible. “Look Ma, we’re floating!”

In fact, most of ‘Teen Drama’ gets played tonight. Their debut release on Sub Pop, ‘10 Mile Stereo’, ‘Take Care’ and ‘Silver Soul’ are proof if any were needed that the iconic Seattle label are still on form after all these years.

2008 single ‘Gila’ evokes a good response as the first keys are tickled, and as the set winds down to a close, everyone goes away happy. Stalwart fans pleased with the set and another chance to be swept off their feet by music; the newcomers still in awe of just how good they were.

Me, I’m somewhere in between. The hangover draining all that’s left of my energy, I feel like LeGrand has been singing personal lullabies to me all night and I am now suitably soothed for a long sleep. Even in the worst of states, there’s not much better to listen to than these still-rising Baltimore stars.

LINKS :

Beach House - http://www.myspace.com/beachhousemusic

Beach House are on tour with Grizzly Bear next month. Sadly, the tour doesn’t hit Manchester, but we’re sure we’ll see them again before the end of the year.

Lawrence Arabia - http://www.myspace.com/lawrencearabia

Lawrence Arabia are back here on March 8th, supporting Cafe Le Bon at the Deaf Institute.

Islington Mill - http://www.islingtonmill.com/

Now Wave - http://www.myspace.com/nowwave

Pineapple Folk – http://www.myspace.com/pineapplefolkmusic

Anyway, this is the first of what is likely to be a series of releases showcasing ‘new music from new Manchester artists’. That’s exactly what it says on the sleeve, and as of right now, you’d be seriously struggling to name 5 other worthy names than those featured on this 10″. Good timing, L&D.

The label has been spawned by a group headed by Dan Parrott (ex-Channel M Music). Endorsing all that was great about the much-needed but poorly-viewed television programme, Love & Disaster seeks to add a sense of unity to the cause of Manchester’s music scene and get the message out that the city shouldn’t continue to hark back to the Hacienda days. It’s 2010 for God’s sake…

Airship kick things off with ‘Kids’ – a soaring indie-pop anthem-in-waiting. The boys were the first band to play at Leeds Festival last year, and supported The Editors on their UK tour. I only caught them at the former, but I have no doubt that they were able to pull it off in the big venues, such is their huge sound.

‘Kids’ is sugary-sweet, yet with the same sense of maturity emitted from bands a lot older. Youthful energy combines with song structural composure to create a sound akin to Modest Mouse and Pixies looking back over old photo albums with fond memories. The vocals remind me of The Thrills in an ‘I’ll try and sing along to this, but won’t be able to get the pitch right’. Damn those singers with better vocal range than us wannabes. With plenty more songs of this quality already – check out their EP, Spirit Of The Beehive – and gaining the experience and exposure seemingly at will, surely it’s only a matter of time before one of the majors snap them up.

Dutch Uncles are up next with ‘OCDUC’ (… no idea). Appearing on practically ever music blog last year, particularly for their single ‘Face In’, the non-Netherlands natives look ready to get more mouths talking this year. This being the first taste of them in 2010, it’s quite good. Not as catchy or as immediate as ‘Face In’, but their quirky, progressive take on guitar-pop is back in bundles. A looping riff with piano intro and backing, laquered over with Duncan Wallis’ opinion-polarising vocals. A band very much suited within the scene of last year’s buzz bands – Dananananaykroyd tour support amongst other things of note. Forward-thinking, and not looking to the past for much reference or guidance. We like ‘OCDUC’, whatever it stands for.

Jo Rose might be more familiar to people as the star behind 2005 Sony/BMG signees Fear Of Music. His solo work though, is a different brew altogether. I’ve said before that he’s like Conor Oberst but better, and that still stands. ‘Lastbreath, California’ is the piano-led ballad that the song name connotates it might be, and twice as beautiful. Almost Neil Young-esque in accent, and as captivating in lyrics as the best wordsmiths out there. See for yourself at Friends Of Manchester Festival – 30th Jan @ Jabez Clegg (hey, Dutch Uncles are playing too). A low-key contender for the singer-songwriter to look out for this next few years.

And last but not least, there’s the exclusive treat of an Everything Everything remix of current buzz band Delphic’s ‘This Momentary’ single. EE are just plain super. We’ll be talking about them a whole load more when their debut album comes out, but yeah, big things and all that. Anyway, they’ve worked a treat on their fellow BBC Sound of 2010 listers’ anthem, making it even more chilled out than before. Gone is the roaming bass and tribal-esque percussion. Inserted are lots of blips, whistles and synths. Not too much though, the original track still floats along – these added elements just swirl around it doing their own thing. The breakdown isn’t as intense, but goes all warpy before the song signs out on a bird call via flute. It’s hard to make a great song better, but this take on it isn’t bad. One for the collector fans of both bands, and who knows where they might be in 5-10 years time.

‘We are nothing / Let’s do something real’ sighs James Cook in repetition as the mini-compilation comes to a close. These artists are already breaching out from being unheard nobodies, and into the distinct actuality of Manchester having something real to shout about indeed. There have been significant musical exports since the ‘glory days’ that our city has severe issues over letting go, but perhaps the crop ready for harvesting has never been this bountiful or consistent.

A fine sample of just some of the talent that Manchester has to offer. It seems the London scribes and industry folk have realised this – now it’s just a case of convincing some of the overly-proud locals…

Love & Disaster Volume 1 is available now on 10″ vinyl from Piccadilly Records and Pure Groove, or digitally via Boomkat and 7Digital.

http://www.loveanddisaster.co.uk

Hell, 2009 saw its fair share of mediocre albums charting highly off the back of one or two advert-friendly tracks. Surely 2010 couldn’t begin with a patiently built-up, steadily-hyped anticlimax, could it?

If you didn’t hear ‘Counterpoint’ or ‘This Momentary’ at some point last year, then let’s backtrack. Delphic are a Manchester-based trio – two of whom were in the not-too-dissimilar Snowfight In The City Centre. Now they’re a lot slicker, a lot more polished and reeking of more confidence than Angelina Jolie in a Barnsley beauty contest. That’s confidence in sound, not to be confused with arrogance in manner – Oasis-idolising Manc bands, take note.

Delphic (presumably named after the ancient Greek oracle) play synth-led dance within an indie band, while purposely trying to distance themselves from either genre and Manchester music’s years of stuck-in-the-mud syndrome. There’s pop sensibility, occassional euphoria and consistently dark undertones within the songs that somehow emit converse emotion. The focus within the lyrics is very much on the present and the imminent future, and it seems that’s what they’re all about. In a time when synths are all the rage again, Delphic are a band that epitomise the here and now.

Of course there’s the obvious ‘join-the-dots’ nod towards New Order. Same city, same tightrope-balance of guitar band and dance. And while the former point is merely coincidental, the latter is no fluke. Bands try to bridge the gap between the opposing genres all the time and they fall by the thousands. It isn’t an easy art, and there are classic cases of how not to do it (Hadouken! and White Lies most recently come to mind). Delphic don’t look set to end up by the wayside however, as ‘Acolyte’ in full delivers an instantly accessible near-hour of meshed electronica, alt-pop hooks and a healthy array of dance floor fillers ready-made for almost any club on any sort of night. So what if they sound a bit like New Order? Isn’t it high time that someone picked up their torch and did something of note with it?

It’s that well-balanced. Crafted like Kraftwerk. Massive like Massive Attack. In orbit a la Orbital… Ok, I’ll stop.

The singles are the obvious highlights, each having a separate feel despite the overtures of numbness. The latest, ‘Doubt’, is one of the most vocally emotive – again not speaking happy thoughts, but still the combining elements within the music leave you positively moving, especially with a sudden guitar surge and drive two-thirds of the way through. It’s songs like these that will find themselves the soundtrack to TV and film montages. Even Rocky had a montage, don’t you know?

Title-track ‘Acolyte’ is strangely the odd one out. It’s 9 minutes in length, and leans towards the trance end of the dance spectrum. A more than sufficient quota of beats and bleeps for your electro nerds and minimal soaring vocals that force eyes-closed, slow-motion hand-swaying. A nice breather halfway through the album, and a look at how diverse their output can be. Their live shows of late have varied from festival slots at Reading & Leeds and supporting Doves, to playing an underground rave night at the Warehouse Project. Oh, and performing on …Later with Jools Holland. They’re a horse for all courses.

The charming formula resumes with another would-be single ‘Halcyon’. There’s a neat vocal contrast in another catchy chorus – something it’s clear they’re quite adept at crafting. The increased percussion steers through different tempos unto a rather super solo that runs its own renegade path, before the track dissolves following a quick chorus reprise. Probably my personal favourite, this one. But put 10 people in a room, and they’d probably nearly all pick differently to each other. Where Delphic go from here however – to continued ascents or the forgotten doldrums – is ultimately in their hands.

All in all, this is ten tracks of dark, danceable enjoyment. And whether you’re the coolest of audiophilic cats or the most passive of music listeners, you’ll be hard-pressed to deny yourself your love for this.

DA

FOR FANS OF : Underworld, New Order, Chemical Brothers.

http://delphic.cc

Delphic – ‘This Momentary’