Leeds
Live Review: Pale Waves – Leeds O2 Academy 17.02.22
Now that coronavirus restrictions are lifting, gigs are well and truly back ON. On this blustery night in Leeds, the O2 academy plays host to Pale Waves; an indie band with an intense gothic edge. Original subheadliners, Hot Milk, had to pull out of a few dates on Dr’s orders so stepping into their shoes …
Live Review: SOAK – Oporto Bar, Leeds 01.02.2022
Review and photos by Huw Williams SOAK brought their blend of indie folk and dream pop to Oporto Bar in Leeds tonight, in support of Independent Venues Week. It shows the importance of these kinds of venues. A few dozen people crammed into an intimate venue like this really is what live music is all …
Say Psych: Album Review: Yard Act – The Overload
In many ways, Yard Act exist through the fusion of seemingly opposing entities. Old friends in a new band, they seek out shades of socio-political grey, imbibing their stories with sharp, satirical spoken-word humour. Spearheaded by James Smith (vocals) and Ryan Needham (bass), the now four-piece, completed by Sam Shjipstone (guitar) and Jay Russell (drums), …
Track: Jake Whiskin wraps us up in the delicate whisper of ‘Cold Morning’ – a song of loss and dawn rising
LEEDS singer-songwriter Jake Whiskin, a man of considerable and empathetic talent, knows not only the horrible cold of a dank mid-December morning, but the terrible soul-deep chill of awaking into loss from that respite, sleep; count one, two, three and plunge from your dreamworld into a waking, aching nightmare. Out today, is the tender, sparse …
Track: Josephine Sillars – ‘I’ll See You When I See You’: heartfelt songwriting from a rising Highlands talent
THE LATEST instalment in the singles club run by Leeds grassroots organisation Come Play With Me – the label, zine, promoter and all round caring body active on the West Yorkshire scene – comes from a fine female singer-songwriter, now resident in the capital of God’s Own Country, but who came south from the Highlands …
Track: Bad Idea join the Come Play With Me Singles Club with a shoegaze gem in ‘Crash’
IT’S always a really good idea to keep your ear to the ground with what’s happening at Leeds label Come Play With Me’s singles club; the Yorkshire label is one of those essential microscopes into a particular scene, keeping an eye on who’s getting hot in the city and its county hinterlands. Please be upstanding …
Track: Carpet brings the Malkmus instant fuzz anthem dynamic to ‘Terror Tear’
BRINGING the vibe of Malkmus over the ocean to bear on only his second single, Rob Slater, the Leeds musician who’s set up in business as Carpet, has produced a nugget of lo-fi fuzzpop that’s up there with the best of them in “Terror Tear”. Come rock out with us. Rob, by day an engineer …
Track: LENU – ‘Vulnerable’: an emotional synthpop rush from Come Play With Me’s singles club
COME PLAY WITH ME, the excellent grassroots label, magazine, festival organiser and all-round good eggs doing the right work in keeping the Yorkshire music scene vibrant, runs a singles club, CPWM. Its first release of the year is a split 7″ featuring Sunflower Thieves, whose side of the vinyl “Don’t Mind The Weather” we looked …
TRACK: Mush release new track ‘Blunt Instruments’ ahead of new album
LEEDS-based art-rock trio Mush have shared their new single, “Blunt Instruments”. The track comes along with news of their second album, Lines Redacted, which is set for release on February 12th next year on Memphis Industries. Promoted previously by the likes of BBC 6 Music, Loud & Quiet, Uncut, Q, and more, Mush, comprised of vocalist and guitarist Hyndman, bassist Nick Grant …
PREMIERE: People Soup – ‘Rosemary’: fragrant ‘n’ wired Leeds post-punk debut
PEOPLE SOUP is a new post-punk trio outta the capital of God’s Own Country, Leeds, comprised of singer-guitarist Harry Jones, bassist Ryan Walker and drummer Joe Willis. They’ve got it going on and have just released their first single, “Rosemary”, via the offices of Bandcamp, who’ve certainly come through as one of the good guys …