After five years at the top of the post-rock/post-punk scene, Romance nails Fontaines’ position as a decade-defining guitar band. Since their 2019 debut, Dogrel, Fontaines D.C. have been a revelation for guitar music: catapulted from Dublin to the forefront of the British and Irish alternative scene in the blink of…
Loose Articles have been on quite a journey over the last twelve months. From sweaty gigs at Manchester’s Peer Hat boozer, all the way to opening for Foo Fighters and a debut record. The four-piece are a perfect snapshot of modern punk: anti-capitalist, feminist and queer, Loose Articles first studio…
The chemistry between these two makes the band: punk’s favourite besties are back, bigger than ever. After an extended hiatus, solo projects and a sense that it could all be over forever, our worst fears were confirmed: Slaves were no more. After three cracking studio efforts and a reputation as…
Punk pioneer Kim Gordon graces the Institute with a wall of sonic intrigue: the best double bill outside of Glastonbury shakes Birmingham to its core on a balmy evening. Kim Gordon is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the alternative and punk world. Frontwoman and driving force behind the…
Courtney Barnett returns to the UK in blistering form as she plays a whistle-stop tour of intimate UK venues between Foo Fighters tour support. It has been a while since the Aussie artist has graced UK shores – she is here playing a couple of dates with rock monoliths Foo…
Adam Buxton brings his glorious multimedia show to Manchester, with hilarious input from special guest Guz Kahn. Adam Buxton is a fairly unique figure in the podcast and media landscape: he achieved some TV notoriety with the fabled Adam & Joe show, which he wrote and presented with longtime collaborator…
There are few places on Earth like Manchester when the sun is out. Up and down Oxford Street, the pubs and bars burst with shorts and pints, cocktails in parks and cigarette smoke clouding the perimeter of every boozer. It’s set to be a huge night, as Brummie heroes BIG…
It is astonishingly rare that someone can have such an impact on the alternative, underground and punk scene from behind the mixing desk. Steve Albini not only managed this, he shaped entire genres in his image. Albini’s career started on the other side of the desk, where he played in…
We’re moments into our introductions and BIG SPECIAL drummer Callum Moloney has offered me a beer and snapped the cap off the glass bottled premium European lager with an incisor: “from doing it enough I’ve got a flat tooth… Sort of how the chimps became us, I’ve become a bottle opener”.…
Band On The Wall is a gorgeous venue, nestled amongst Manchester’s trendy-epicentre, the main room is a splendid slice of Northern Quater cool. Who better to play than a band who are at the epitome of alternative culture: Bar Italia are a band on the up and up, with two…