Live Review: Dea Matrona – The Wardrobe, Leeds, 04.05.24
Formed in 2018, following time busking on the streets of Belfast, Dea Matrona have clearly spent time honing their craft as a live act. There’s a good crowd in the Wardrobe in Leeds, and interestingly, with a far higher average age than I was expecting. Many have come down early to see the excellent Fiona-Lee. …
Live Review: Newton Faulkner – The Old Woollen, Farsley – 30.04.24
Newton Faulkner is a bundle of energy as takes the stage, 15 minutes later than planned, as the sold out crowd took longer to get into the Old Woollen in Farsley. He is the kind of performer that looks like he is always on the verge of a smile, or breaking into infectious laughter. It’s admirable, …
Live Review: Olivia Dean – Leeds Stylus, 26.04.24
Sat at the piano, mid show, Olivia Dean tells us that she’s anxious being on stage in front of the 1000 or so, sold out crowd at Leeds University. Her performance though, belies those nerves as she delivered a cool and polished show. Stepping up to venues of this size would understandably generate a few …
Meet: Lovely Egg Holly Ross talks albums, Music Co-ops and scratchcards
It’s mid-afternoon as I call Holly Ross, charismatic singer and songwriter for The Lovely Eggs. The phone rings out for a while, and just as I’m about to hang up, a slightly breathless Holly picks up. “Oh, we’ve just had 1,000 record mailers turn up at our house,” she explains in her dulcet Lancastrian tone, …
Meet: Newton Faulkner tells us why he’s bringing his dustbin lid on tour
We caught up with Newton Faulkner, just as he’s about to head out on the road for the stripped back, Feels Like Home Tour 2. There are a couple of false starts as the signal is bad and the call drops out, but with better wifi and WhatsApp to the rescue, we finally got to …
Live Review: Starsailor – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 08.04.24
I’ll be honest, it’s been a long time since I’d thought about Starsailor. They’d briefly punctuated the beginning of my working life in the early 2000s, but then had faded into the background. Not so for the completely packed out Brudenell crowd, bursting at the seams with 400 devoted fans. The band had continued to …
Live Review: overpass – Leeds 22.03.24
Brudenell Social Club is sold out. It’s the turn of Birmingham indie up-and-comers overpass to headline the iconic venue, and there’s a lot of excitement down at the front. I first saw overpass 12 months ago, as they played to a packed out room at Oporto during Independent Venue Week2, supporting Tom A Smith. They …
Live Review: Liam Gallagher & John Squire – Leeds 23.03.24
There’s a level of devotion that goes beyond a tour t-shirt, bucket hat or even an oversized parka. Those queuing up outside the O2 Academy in Leeds to see Liam Gallagher and John Squire have those in abundance, of course, but there are those people who wear a permanent tribute to their hero. The Gallagher …
New Album: Yellow Days ‘Hotel Heaven’ set for April release
Yellow Days, known for his distinctive blend of off-kilter psychedelic indie-pop, P-Funk grooves, and soulful melodies, captivates listeners with his exploration of millennial angst and existential themes. His unique style has earned him recognition from fellow artists like Tyler, The Creator and Tom Waits, as well as collaborations with kindred spirit Mac DeMarco. Now, Yellow …
Live Review: Master Peace – Headrow House, Leeds, 15.03.24
Rolling Stone said Master Peace is “leading the way for a new generation of indie stars”. He’s out on the road with his debut album How to Make a Master Peace, which is a piece of work that, although hard to define into a specific genre, is bristling with energy and feels at once very British …