Louder Than War Festival: Manchester Academy

Louder Than War Festival
Manchester Academy 2/3 & Club
14th March 2026

It’s a mild day in Manchester today for what’s promising to be a great celebration of grassroots bands and eclectic tunes which we aim to cover with as much capability as we can. For this inaugural event we couldn’t please everyone, yet we aimed to make this as unique as possible. Wayne AF Carey reviews with a little help from his fellow writers…

Introducing new festivals is not easy in this environment, yet John Robb and his team have managed to pull together the sound of the underground and then some for this sprawling affair, taking over three stages in this legendary university building, planned meticulously down to the set times, albeit the odd annoying clash which means we can’t get to see everything. But doesn’t that happen at every festival / all dayer? You always catch a surprise somewhere along the line.

A very clever move is placing grassroot favourites The Dirt as the opening band in Club Academy. It’s packed in here as there are no clashes as yet and word of mouth has spread like wildfire around the building. Jack comes on for a minute of his old persona Leon The Pig Farmer before his wife Sachiko joins him, armed with her effects pedals to commence The Dirt, starting with the spine tingling End Game which lights up the room. They drag us all in to their hypnotic spoken word psych which ends with Jack swirling around as usual to the chaotic Chaos. A great start.

The Empty Page are no strangers to LTW Towers. We’ve covered them from the start and Kel and Jiz really know how to rock that post grunge sound like veterans only can. Drummer Ste is adept at keeping up the pace with the searing signature Jiz guitars, and Kel’s vocals are as strong as ever as they belt out fan favourites, including an excellent When The Cloud Explodes. As Ian Corbridge says: “Just for the record I have to say that The Empty Page were on fire in Club Academy, one of the best sets I had ever seen them do.”

Bristol crew Erotic Secrets Of Pompei are just magical to watch. After exciting the Rebellion crowd on the RIS stage a couple of years back they’ve not lost that bonkers touch, with Thomas Hawtin still looking like half court jester / joker figure, strutting around the stage with his manic lyrics and off range vocals. He gets the crowd going with the ever brilliant single Utterly Rudderless and more, presenting a tight as fuck weirdo world of pop wonk that you never want to end. A great band with two excellent albums under their belt and a creative stage presence without even trying too hard.

Loose Articles are seriously honing their craft nowadays with blistering live sets recently as Iain Key explains:

“Been looking forward to seeing the hard working quartet again after seeing them a number of times in the last five years. With Nat and Erin at their core, they’re going from strength to strength and deliver a tight set which includes early single Buses along with tracks from their debut album such as Mr Manager. They manage to balance serious subjects such as misogyny on Cars, Knickers & Bras as well as having some fun, encouraging audience participation with a limbo competition. They finish their triumphant set with (I’d Rather Have A) Beer,  a long time favourite, and leave the crowd wanting more..”

House Of All are in their purple patch at the moment, ready to release their fourth album in four years and dragging Karl Burns from retirement. Robert Plummer gives a detailed report from a packed Academy 2:

“Standing on stage waiting to launch into the first number, House Of All frontman Martin Bramah casually picks out the melody of Bad Moon Rising on his guitar. Is this a harbinger of things to come? Have the band singled out the Creedence classic to serve as one of their legendary curveball closing numbers?

Sadly, it’s not to be. The event’s no-encores policy and the restricted timeslot leaves Bramah and colleagues a little hemmed in, unable to make the most of their proven ability to surprise. It doesn’t help either that they are playing a prestige gig with their fourth and arguably best album several days away from release, unheard by most of those present.

Despite these limitations, House Of All still energise the faithful with a solid set that showcases the strengths of their back catalogue. After opening with the rousing call to arms Aim Higher from their 2024 album Continuum, they choose to play mainly songs from their third release, House Of All Souls. Oh What Is Love Made For, Infamous Immoral Sister, O Dayspring and best of all, The Good Englishman: this remains a group to be reckoned with.

It isn’t until well into the proceedings that they preview material from the forthcoming Inklings album. The back-to-back double-whammy of Rebel Duke and Sweet Remembrancer is unveiled without much fanfare, but the new songs slot in well. The glamtastic romp of the former could become a singalong fan favourite once the audience have absorbed it, while the latter’s lurching tempo change and Macbeth vibe are deftly executed.

Final number Time Is Out Of Joint is another one from Inklings, a space-rock excursion that allows House Of All’s silver machine to achieve full lift-off. And then it is over, with many cherished tunes neglected and some crackers from the new album left untouched. But such is the way when you have just one hour to play with. It would be invidious to single out individual performances, since House Of All is a tightly-knit team effort. But given their generally low-key visuals, eyes tend to turn to Karl Burns, whose flamboyant fills on the stage-right drum kit cement his position as the Keith Moon of post-punk. Burns comes on midway through the set, in keeping with the band’s “three drummers, two drum kits” line-up, but his beats mesh seamlessly with those of his fellow Fall veterans (Paul Hanley or Simon Wolstencroft, depending on the song).

The incisive playing of Bramah and touring guitarist Phil Lewis, plus Steve Hanley’s signature bass lines, combine to turn Academy 2 into an isle full of noises (as evoked in another song from the new album). It bodes well for their forthcoming six-date tour that kicks off next month in Stoke-on-Trent. Hopefully more new material will be included in those gigs: there is potential here yet to be realised.”

I’ve reviewed Evil Blizzard far too many times now, yet I still can’t get bored writing about them. They just keep evolving every time they turn up live and their sound is as vital as ever. I believe the interview they did with John Robb earlier on was funny as fuck and I’m not surprised. They don’t need masks. They play a mean set as usual, which has to be cut short before Are You Evil due to the daft bastards doing a nine minute Black Square. Show offs! Iain Key says: “I’m a convert! So many people have told me I need to see them, and I’d never taken the opportunity previously. Spellbinding set which backs up everything people have been telling me for years… I wish I’d listened before.” Iain never came to their Church. He will now…

Iain Key on Mouth Ulcers: “Hotly tipped young London band. I’m sure I won’t be the first or the last to make comparisons to The Cure and Siouxsie And The Banshees. Although they’ve only released three tracks so far, they deliver a set lasting more than 30 minutes to a bewitched audience. On what we’ve seen this evening they deserve the plaudits they’ve been getting and I would urge anyone to check them out.

Benefits are fucking loud: ear splitting, visual, mesmerising, scary, a sight for very sore eyes. The duo ooze power and put on a show unlike anyone around, with their scathing hardcore sound, flecked with techno and anger and flash of searing white and red heat across the venue. Iain Key says: “Intense, uncompromising, uncomfortable and utterly compelling. More like a musical art installation than a gig. An aural and visual assault. Definitely a ‘you had to be there’ moment to be fully appreciated. If there was an argument why you should go to gigs and support live music, then this is it. An experience you will never be able to get via streaming or watching on YouTube.”

Ian Corbridge reports on a few I miss:

“Emerging from the darkness of Academy 3 and shrouded only in red lights, Sick Man Of Europe enthrals a packed room with their own brand of stark propulsive rhythms and fragmented experimental instrumentation which draws heavily on the early electronic/ industrial pioneers. With songs drawn mainly from their utterly infectious debut album released last year, the singer, who still maintains a strong degree of anonymity, seems to spend as much time amongst the audience as he does on stage, leaving his band to drive the dark energy whilst his deeply set baritone vocals delivers themes of urban decline and technological unease. The atmosphere in the room as the set closes is simply electric.”

“Heavy Lungs close the proceedings at Academy 3 with a truly exhilarating set drawn from both their albums, with fellow Bristolians Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii looking on. The enigmatic figure of frontman and singer Danny Nedelko provides a strong focal point as he prowls the stage as well as climbing over the barrier to roam through the crowd. With a raging guitar and rampant rhythms, this is a truly cathartic performance full of punk-infused energy, raw intensity and wild abandon. We even have time for Danny to take a very active interest in the pipework on the ceiling mid-set before returning safely to his rightful home on the stage. A great way to end the event in this room and definitely a band once seen, never forgotten.”

I miss a few bands and I’ve been told Sea Power filled The Academy 2 with a great encore and an end to a night of triumph for Louder Than War, with 2027 already in the pipeline. Apologies to anyone we missed, yet it’s hard work to keep up on these mammoth nights sometimes. I’m sure you were all appreciated.

~

Photos thanks to Gaz Mather, Neil Winward Photography and Steve White.

Words by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here. Thanks to Iain Key, Ian Corbridge and Robert Plummer for the extra words.