Louder Than War

tab-d are a maverick Manchester based post punk pop/noise project who sound like Wire if they embraced blues scuzz. LISTEN HERE Grooving on an incessant keyboard bass line this is a kinda Motorik blues meets Wire on the new track ‘Get Smarter’,  on Half Edge Records. Driven by Andy Yates’ bass synth loop with colourful modulations. Mark Greer’s melodic slide guitar gets dirty, angry ..almost out of control. It’s unleashed alongside heavy rounds of Boz Hayward’s fuzz guitar.  There…

Continental Lovers: Screwing Your Life Up / Bad Little Go Go Girl (Self-released) DL | Stream OUT NOW Those purveyors of trashy glam punk, Continental Lovers, are back with a bang as they release two new singles at the same time. And little doubt that both Screwing Your Life Up and Bad Little Go Go Girl have all the wild rock’n’roll spirit, swagger and raging fury of mentors such as the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers. Continental…

            Ashes and Diamonds: Are Forever (Cleopatra Records)     Too smart to rock out, too art school to be boring and too good to go backwards Ashes and Diamonds is the latest captivating project from Bauhaus, Tones On Tail and Love and Rockets guitar legend Daniel Ash.   The children of Ziggy were always going to be restless. The Bowie youth have been racing into the future since the starman exploded into our…

Robert Plant with Saving Grace | Burr IslandO2 Apollo, Manchester15th December 2025 The sold-out iconic venue, Manchester’s O2 Apollo, buzzes with anticipation for former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant to take to the stage with Saving Grace. Duo, Burr Island, opens the show and completely mesmerises the crowd, delivering a gorgeous, harmony-rich folk set that instantly hushes the room. Their sound carries a clear Crosby, Stills & Nash feel and warmth, built on precise musicianship, engaging storytelling and…

Glimmerpit have appeared out of the endless pit of great Manchester bands with a fully formed, rasping bass driven song that is in the grand tradition of the Death To Trad Rock and Fall type bands but with their own caustic twist. This is a killer tune with hilarious lyrics taking down those grumpy old men who infest Facebook and the nether regions of pubs moaning on about the good old days with their selective memories. ‘Back In…

Emma Tricca: Prisms Of Winter (Bandcamp) CD | DL | ST Released: 12 December 2025 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0 Emma Tricca records a selection of her tracks live and unadorned, just the poet and her guitar, creating an intimate performance. Emma Tricca’s Prisms Of Winter is an intimate recording — a collection of twelve stripped‑down live recordings that feel less like a performance and more like a whispered conversation between artist and listener. Recorded in London’s backrooms…

Album Review The Wonky Folk Kingston Prison Blues: an introduction to…  Old Bad Habits Limited 10″ Vinyl / DL Out now Portsmouth garage veterans become acid-folk bossa-nova group. ‘ The most chilled of protest bands with a quiet radicalism’ Ged Babey called them previously. The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however, is to change it… It’s a piece of dialogue from a Mike Leighs ‘High Hopes’ that opens the song ‘God Save…

CRYMWAV: Speak No Evil (Electric Pudding Recordings) DL | Stream Out Now BUY HERE Los Angeles rockers CRYMWAV unleash their new single Speak No Evil with former Damned guitarist/ keyboard player Roman Jugg adding his own touch to the proceedings. It’s a song fashioned with the bands own signature twist on a classic rock sound and sets the tone for their forthcoming album. CRYMWAV (pronounced Crimewave) is the brainchild of lead singer/songwriter Roger Deering. The band were formed…

Sunday Morning: Carry The Sky (Self-released) DL | Stream Out Now BUY HERE A creative spark has once again been ignited by Vancouver’s alternative rock outfit Sunday Morning as they release their long-awaited new single, Carry The Sky. As a band that has a penchant for compelling and vulnerable songwriting, this song proves to be a heartfelt, melodious and soul stirring act of remembrance for lost love ones. Vancouver-based musical project Sunday Morning is the creative vehicle of…

Inspiral Carpets Albert Hall, Manchester Dec 13th 2025 The 1600 capacity Albert Hall is one of Manchester’s best venues – a converted church with huge stain glass windows, it oozes atmosphere and is the perfect place to add a gravitas to a new band on the rise or an older band like tonight who have rediscovered their mojo. This is arguably the best I’ve seen the Inspiral Carpets over the decades. They sound urgent and they sound powerful.…

Dave Renegade: Haunted Heart (Self-released) CD | DL | Stream Out Now BUY HERE Singer songwriter Dave Renegade harnesses a life-long passion for music and his experiences of playing with numerous bands throughout his life by finally releasing a solo album, Haunted Heart. As a deep exploration of the darker side of the human psyche, there is little doubt that this stripped down acoustically based collection of songs is a deeply introspective journey which draws on the influence…