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Review
Chrome Manta Ray Dive Into Their Melodic Side With ‘School of Catholic Fish’
Chrome Manta Ray are taking a slight left turn with new single School of Catholic Fish. The track, which they describe as “an indie bop by a very much not-indie band” is the sound of a band dialling down their hard rock edge and flexing a breezier, more melodic sound. Following previous single Trolls Under The Bridge, which came out in March and took cues from influences such as Queens of the Stone Age and…
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Music
Staring Into The Abyss: def.fo’s ‘Music for Dinosaurs’ Is a Cosmic Concept Masterpiece
Tom Powell, aka def.fo, is the kind of artist who can stare into a black hole and still see its potential. In fact, that’s pretty much the point of his new release Music for Dinosaurs, a concept album set on the inhospitable plains of Mars. As its population hovers on the brink of collapse, they set their sights on Earth for a fresh start, with these eleven tracks charting their precarious voyage through space. …
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Music
Americana from the Mersey: She’s In The Trees ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’ Album Review
The plains of Andalucía are well-known for providing a backdrop to spaghetti Westerns – with a little Hollywood magic, you could swear you heard the call of a coyote in that sprawling Spanish desert. For more than a decade, this ethereal landscape was also the backdrop for singer Amy Scott-Samuel’s adult life. Having met Jules Watts (guitar) and Tristan Appleby (violin/bass), she settled back in Liverpool to form She’s In The Trees, an Americana-tinged folk…
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Music
‘Do You Get The Shivers?’: Monty Havers Releases Stirring Solo Debut Single
There’s nothing quite like seeing an old flame in a new city and feeling your body go into meltdown while your brain tries to catch up. It’s a sensation Monty Havers nails perfectly in his new single Do You Get The Shivers? “The ‘shivers’ is that feeling when you see someone like an ex and your heart drops and it almost tickles your spine,” he explains. Having first tested the waters as lead guitarist of…
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Music
California Dreamin’ in Liverpool: Motel Sundown’s Enchanting EP ‘El Dorado’
Combining the talents of Naomi Campbell, Karen Turley and Robert Johnson, Motel Sundown are Liverpool’s answer to every Laurel Canyon act you’ve ever loved. Their first album If You Were Listening glittered with influences from Fairport Convention to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – all delivered with the poise of a band who’ve firmly earned their stripes on Liverpool’s live scene. But it’s the pull of California which takes hold in El Dorado, an EP…
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Music
alright (okay)’s New Single ‘Boyz Noize’ Is A Rousing Rock Anthem
alright (okay) might have been together since 2018, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be reborn if they want to. Just last year they decided to tear up their existing material and write a bunch of new songs from scratch, this time with the aim of capturing the spontaneity and wildfire energy of the live shows that have shaped their career so far. Latest single Boyz Noize is a rallying cry for that new sound.…
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Music
Helen Maw’s Debut Album ‘Growing Pains’ Is A Soul-Baring Journey Through Young Adulthood
Helen Maw’s debut album Growing Pains was a long time in the making. The Liverpool country and blues artist has spent the past few years digesting the various life lessons that make up this heartfelt “scrapbook of sounds”, but now she’s finally ready to let them go. The result is a work that lovingly sifts through the accumulated debris of young adulthood, taking in relationships and betrayals, first jobs and fading friendships. Opening track Mine…
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Music
Naomi Campbell Delivers Beautiful Folk-Acoustic Debut Single ‘Tuesday News’
If you’re going to kick off a solo musical career, you may as well do it in the birthplace of rock and roll. That’s how things worked out for Naomi Campbell anyway, when she wrapped up 2023 recording her songs at the famous Sun Studio in Memphis. It’s a spot that has played host to a fair few musicians in its time – only the likes of Elvis and Johnny Cash, mind. This was a…
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Music
The Ultimate Liverpool Gig Guide: March 2024
Orla Foster is back with a selection of some of the best gigs taking place in Liverpool this March. Low Girl (Saturday 2 March)The Shipping Forecast Tickets Hemel Hempstead might not be known for its musical exports, but Low Girl are about to change that. Describing their latest EP as an exercise in “desperate optimism”, their pensive yet uplifting dream-pop comes laced with 80s synth influences, masking their darker side with their appetite for a bop.…
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Music
The Ultimate Liverpool Gig Guide: February 2024
Orla Foster once again provides a rundown on some of the best gigs happening in Liverpool this February. Black Borough (Thursday 1 Feb)MetrocolaTickets An unmissable line-up boasting some of the premier names in Liverpool hip-hop, from the award-winning Blue Saint to a headline set from Black Borough: a dextrous trio combining the skyhigh talents of MC Nelson, Dayzy and Starkey the Messenger. Expect big things from MC Nelson in 2024 – he’s almost ready to…
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Music
Bill Ryder-Jones ‘Iechyd Da’ Album Review
The word “masterpiece” has dogged Bill Ryder-Jones’ career. It’s been used to anoint the elegant, conceptually-driven If…, the sparse and sorrowful A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart, the more radio-friendly West Kirby Country Primary and sombre Yawn. But being so heavily garlanded doesn’t always seem to sit well with him. If you’ve seen him live, brusquely fending off demands to play Two to Birkenhead, you’ll recognise a tortured relationship between writing authentically about his…
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Music
The Ultimate Liverpool Gig Guide: January 2024
Orla Foster compiles a rundown on some of the best gigs in Liverpool this January. Chrome Manta Ray, Dead Rebel and The Guize (Saturday 13 Jan)Kazimier Stockroom TicketsIn an otherwise quiet month for rock bands, Kazimier Stockroom manages to pull three out of the bag. This is the very first live outing for Chrome Manta Ray, and a chance to blow off some cobwebs in those cold, unappetising early nights of the year. Jeffrey Martin (Tuesday…
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Music
The Ultimate Liverpool Gig Guide: November 2023
Orla Foster is back with the rundown on some of the best gigs happening in Liverpool this November. Egyptian Blue (3 Nov)EBGSTicketsChampioned by IDLES and Birkenhead Library alike, Egyptian Blue have built up a lyrical odyssey out of political despair and bon mots overheard in the pub. After swapping Colchester for Brighton, they’re at the forefront of a buzzy, East Sussex scene, and have just welcomed their debut album A Living Commodity into the world.…
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Music
The Ultimate Liverpool Gig Guide: September 2023
Orla Foster gives us the rundown on some of the best gigs happening in Liverpool this month. Tepid Days (1 Sept)Jimmy’sTickets Tepid Days is a vessel for Jamie Roberts (Wild Fruit Art Collective) to lean into his most insular and bittersweet lyricism. Expect “a heroic self pity party for the ages”. There’ll also be a set from psych stalwarts RongoRongo, as well as newer sounds from art-pop trio Oya Paya. Go have a little cry…
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Music
The Ultimate Liverpool Gig Guide: August 2023
Orla Foster picks out 11 unmissable gigs happening in and around Liverpool this month. The eclectic list includes rock, punk, alt-pop, jazz and more, so dive in. The Hives (15 Aug)The Jacaranda ClubTickets Don’t sleep on your chance to witness the Hives’ madcap energy in the flesh. Riding high off their recent European tour, the tuxedo-clad hellraisers will even be signing copies of their latest album The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons after this intimate set…
