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Manchester’s favourite alternative venue just off Oxford Road, The Deaf Institute, housed the rude and rebellious BlackJack supporting The Nightmares on their Manchester leg of their UK tour. I was attending this gig solo, and because of this decided to arrive nice and early. I was greeted by the friendly face of BlackJack, Joey Rubbish. Contradicting her commanding stage presence, …

Icicles of hyper-pop synth lead dissipate around Manchester’s grungiest venue – The Star and Garter – and the band winds up to blast another high energy dance metal anthem. Eternal December, Lake Malice’s latest track, is about the need to belong. It is especially personal to Alice, who moved to the UK in 2016 (if my maths is correct) to …

I don’t know where to start when reviewing anything Donny Benét-ish, but I know it was love at first sight (not ‘love online’) when I came across a copy of his album The Don a few years ago, and that love just grew on me when I learned more about the man behind the persona Donny Benét. To say that …

Skindred’s performance at Manchester Academy on their “Smile” European tour featured songs from the new album as well as classics from their first album “Babylon”. The energy of fans waiting for the show to start was infectious. As soon as they came out, a rush of energy surged forward, pulling everyone into mosh pits that opened up in a matter …

Seven years ago, Brutalism smashed IDLES’ manifesto on the broken walls of Britain, spray painting slogans that tore into the fabric of society to create a newfound strength in resistance. It hit a nerve and galvanized people, a grassroots community immediately springing up around their call to arms. And it definitely put the Bristolian rabble-rousers on the map and gave …

They’ve been compared to bands like Ramones, The Strokes, The Black Keys, and some of the finest garage punk bands out there. I know, it’s a bold claim to bundle together America’s top-tier garage-rock legends with a British quartet who’ve been bubbling up under the radar for the last few years, but their 2020 pummeling punk-rock self-titled debut album and …