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MUSIC LIVE REVIEWS : M
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Cerys Matthews
St Georges, Bristol (Tues 10 May, 2011) As someone who fell in love with the Catatonia Cerys Matthews, one-time saviour-in-waiting of British pop, who jacked it all in for a change of life and a new, folksier,…17.05.2011 READ MORE -
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Maceo Parker/ Belleruche/Manfredi Funk Initiative
Metropolis, Bristol (Thu 21 Oct) ● Last minute tour changes brought this gig forward a week so the prospect of an embarrassingly thin crowd was in the air. As the doors opened, however, it became clear that Maceo…26.10.2010 READ MORE -
Malcolm Middleton
Thekla, Bristol (Thur 2 July) • If misery truly loves company, then at least Malcolm Middleton - still probably best known as guitarist with late Scottish indie mumblers Arab Strap - is currently employing a full band…02.07.2009 READ MORE -
Malkit Singh
Colston Hall, Bristol (Sun 26 Apr) • The Colston Hall tried to call things to order but the cheerfully anarchic crowd were too busy meeting and greeting, chasing small children and getting drinks to seriously believe…26.04.2009 READ MORE -
Mango Factory/Muff Said
Attic, Bristol (Sat 10 Oct) • There’s an instant blast to Muff Said, a combination of a brassy sound and the outright brashness of frontwoman Liz. With four women in their seven-strong line-up it’s tempting to root them…10.10.2009 READ MORE -
Manic Street Preachers/British Sea Power
Colston Hall, Bristol (Mon 25 Oct) • Widely championed as one of the nation’s great live bands, British Sea Power at first appear to be flotsam, six individual musicians washed up on a stage. Their songs trawl the…03.11.2010 READ MORE -
Marcin Wasilewski
Chapel Arts, Bath (Fri 20 Mar) • There’s a Marcin Wasilewski who plays right-back for Poland. Though this was not he, it proved to be a gig of two halves. From the kick off they proved uncomfortable, the first set…20.03.2009 READ MORE -
Marcos Valle
St George’s Bristol (Thur 10 May) • Marcos Valle is a man with a past that has a habit of catching up with him. Back in the 60s he was grooving along nicely in Rio, helping generate the bossa nova, then a few years…10.05.2007 READ MORE -
Marina and the Diamonds/Alan Pownall
The Cooler, Bristol (Mon 22 Feb) • We’re promised diamonds but the night opens with rhinestones. Alan Pownall, a self-proclaimed troubadour with deliberate eye-twinkles, delivers “laidback grooves” and tales of mild…22.02.2010 READ MORE -
Marius Neset Quartet
Colston Hall 2, Bristol (Sun 4 Sept) There’s a great turn-out tonight, with 120-plus people come to get a look at one of Eurojazz’s newest hotshots. It’s good to see the level of support for promoter Ian Storror’s…05.09.2011 READ MORE -
Mark Lanegan/Duke Garwood
O2 Academy Bristol (Fri 23 Apr) • Brimstone, sulphur and a continuous low thunder wrenched from the stygian bowels of the earth? In your face, Eyjafjallajokull. We’re talking about Mark Lanegan, possessor of the best…23.04.2010 READ MORE -
Marlborough Jazz Festival
Marlborough (Sat 11 July) • This was my first visit to Marlborough for the jazzfest and I didn’t know quite what to expect, other than that an unfeasible number of bands seemed to be booked for the Saturday. It turned…11.07.2009 READ MORE -
Marshall Allen & James Harrar's Cinema Soloriens & the Cosmo-Drama
The Cube, Bristol (Wed 21 July) • It’s a full house of aging freaks and weirdoes for Marshall Allen and chums. The four-piece clustered either side of the big screen have an intriguing array of instruments. Allen,…21.07.2010 READ MORE -
Martin Simpson/Gren Bartley
The Folk House, Bristol (Sat 3 Apr) • Folk/roots guitarist Gren Bartley is having a good time tonight - grinning from ear to ear as his fingers dance across the fretboard. And who can blame him? The atmosphere at the…03.04.2010 READ MORE -
Marva Whitney & Osaka Monaurail/Edenheight
Metropolis, Bristol (Wed 18 Nov) • What Metropolis’s sound currently lacks in finesse, it makes up for in chest compressing volume. The same could be said of four-horned, multi-manned funkateers, Edenheight. Endlessly…18.11.2009 READ MORE -
Max Tundra/War Against Sleep/Ben Butler & Mousepad
The Fleece, Bristol (Thur 29 Jan) • Only failing to outnumber the crowd by virtue of being a solo artist with misleading moniker, one-man keyboard fan club Ben Butler & Mousepad manages a commendable job opening…29.01.2009 READ MORE -
Maybeshewill/Lite/The Naturals/This Is My Normal State
The Fleece, Bristol (Wed 19 Oct) So, what exactly is post rock when it's at home? Unmistakably, it's a genre – unlike, say, grunge or grime – which operates with no fixed address. In the last decade, countless…21.10.2011 READ MORE -
Megadeth / Priestess
Carling Academy Bristol (Wed 13 June) • Last time Megadeth played round these parts (Newport Centre, March 1992, since you ask), they had in tow the hungry young Pantera, who came very close to blowing them away. No…13.06.2007 READ MORE -
Melt Banana/Exit International/The Big Naturals
Thekla, Bristol (Thur 14 Oct) • Supporting a band as inventive as Melt Banana is a mixed blessing, but Big Naturals make a good fist of it. Jesse drums like Dave Grohl after a weekend drinking Bitches Brew, while…20.10.2010 READ MORE -
Ménage à Quatre
Blue Lagoon, Bristol (Thu 3 June) • There’s a point during tonight’s performance where Sarah Ménage is performing a solo rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and a fly gets stuck in the EazyZap, getting noisily…03.06.2010 READ MORE -
Merrick/Hope Remains Lost/Nuclear Invasion
Cavern, Bristol (Thu 1 Apr) • “You’d best be tits, I think,” says the doorman, as he scrawls a pass-gaining ‘B’-with-strategically-placed-ants on the back of Venue’s hand. A duffle coat might not be regulation metal…01.04.2010 READ MORE -
Meshuggah/Animals as Leaders
O2 Academy, Bristol (Thur 12 Apr) Animals as Leaders are the missing link between The Dillinger Escape Plan and Joe Satriani. Far removed from whizzkid eight-string (two widdlier!) guitarist Tosin Abasi's unpromising…16.04.2012 READ MORE -
Metronomy/Connan Mockasin/Get People
Thekla, Bristol (Thu 27 Jan) • Gushy-posh 15-year-olds like flouncy, fun-size Florence Welchs nervously compare ID in the shivering queue. They’re probably too young even to remember nu-rave in all its day-glo…02.02.2011 READ MORE -
Micachu and the Shapes/The Invisible
Fiddlers, Bristol (Wed 14 Oct) • When contemplating the DIY aesthetic, much effort can be wasted trying to suss out who’s not trying, who’s trying to sound like they’re not trying, and who doesn’t need to try, as if…14.10.2009 READ MORE -
Michael J Rocks/Dagger Brothers/Colour of the Son/Narco Lounge Combo/8Bitch/Deej
The Croft, Bristol (Thur 24 Feb) • The Croft is quiet, expectant. Tutankhamen’s giant golden death mask stares implacably from the corner of the stage. Slacker- styled like an extra from a Larry Clark flick, Deej…02.03.2011 READ MORE -
Middle Class Rut/John E Vistic Experience/Dirty Rogers
Louisiana, Bristol (Tue 2 June) • Three very different attempts at the jagged crags of Mount Rock tonight; the first being the entirely in-character faux-Yank Dirty Roger and his Dirty Rogers, a sleazy garage foursome…02.06.2009 READ MORE -
Mike Willox Quartet
Bebop Club, Bristol (Fri 16 Dec) Mike Willox has long been master of the element of surprise. Past combos like the art-prog Smith & Willox or deconstructive jazzers The Pollinators have presented deliciously naughty…20.12.2011 READ MORE -
Minotaur Shock/Strange Billy the Saint & Bernadette Pike/Pip Taylor/Dave Green
Louisiana, Bristol (Sun 12 Sep) Cow seduction ballad ‘Dark Side of the Moo’ nuzzles in nicely amid Dave Green’s otherwise ardent acoustica. Shaven of head and fleet of finger, his fretboard technique is intricate but…14.09.2010 READ MORE -
Miss Cecily’s Salon
John Sebastian Lightship, Bristol (Fri 8 Oct) • It’s a Germany-themed night and, true to national stereotype, Venue’s failure to get up early in the evening means its reserved table has been nabbed. Consequently, the…13.10.2010 READ MORE -
Misty in Roots
Fiddlers, Bristol (14 Oct) It’s been over thirty years since I first saw British reggae legends Misty in Roots, playing on the back of a truck at the huge anti-Nazi rally at Brockwell Park, Brixton. Back then, Misty,…18.10.2011 READ MORE -
Money Mark/Lucky Jim
Thekla Social, Bristol (Wed 2 May) • Like Van Morrison dressed as B*Witched, Lucky Jim’s Gordon Grahame has an endearing incongruity about him, and a self-deprecating manner born of setbacks and mishaps. His rolled,…02.05.2007 READ MORE -
Mongrel Versus Agro, Part II
Lakota, Bristol (Sat 23 Oct) ● We were promised a beast of a party, and tonight’s three room circus is just that. Set up bruisingly by Svengali’s low-punching dubstep, Room 1 really takes off with Point B. His woozy,…26.10.2010 READ MORE -
Mongrel/The Swamps/The Exhibition
Fleece, Bristol (Tue 3 Feb) • Up first, The Exhibition have emblazoned every available surface with their name. The guitarist even has a swish ‘The Exhibition’ light box atop his amp. Yep, that’s their name and they’re…03.02.2009 READ MORE -
Monkey! Knife! Fight! Skins Party
Old Fire Station, Bristol (Fri 29 Jan) • Turbowolf, on criminally early, merely serve to signal the high-octane coolness of tonight’s ‘Skins’ shindig. The Fire Station looks fantastic, a vast, throbbing house party…29.01.2010 READ MORE -
Mono/Iroha
The Croft, Bristol (Wed 25 Mar) • Even by post-rock standards the three middle-aged gents comprising tonight’s openers, Iroha, offer little visual stimulation. Despite Far East connotations hinted via moniker and…25.03.2009 READ MORE -
Morales/Watts
‘The Quarange Tree’ (EP, self-released) *** • Intricate acoustic folksiness from singer/songwriter Leander Morales and virtuoso guitarist Jon Watts. It’s tender-hearted, naïve stuff, full of wide-eyed world-to-rights…20.06.2010 READ MORE -
Morningstar/Troubadour Hook/Boywonder
Southbank, Bristol (Thur 9 Apr) • It’s dark and quiet in Bedminster’s Dean Lane but you can see them coming - silent bicycles from all directions, murmuring clumps of casual walkers - converging on the Southbank centre.…09.04.2009 READ MORE -
Mos Def/Cheeba/K.Ners/Lazy Habits
02 Academy Bristol (Wed 14 Apr) • Expect to catch Lazy Habits at a festival. Their formula of riffing horns, familiar breaks and mildly subversive lyrics would go down well after a few ciders. Tonight's relatively sober…14.04.2010 READ MORE -
Motorhead / Saxon
Colston Hall, Bristol (Tue 18 Nov) • Woo-hoo! Motorhead supported by Saxon – it’s the Bomber tour all over again and I am, for one night only, a pimply teen once more. Fortunately, a fresh crop of pimply teens is…18.11.2008 READ MORE -
Mountain of 8
Arnolfini, Bristol (Fri 3 Apr) • Something like bacteria or a psychedelic eye throbs on a giant screen as Silver Pyre’s huge bass blasts through the floor, vibrating every movable object in a five-mile radius. Tom Bugs…03.04.2009 READ MORE -
Mouse Deer
The Old Bookshop, Bristol (Thur 16 Feb) Lord knows US coffee shop culture took a long time to hit the UK with any kind of conviction, but it’s making up for lost time – not only does The Old Bookshop feel like it…20.02.2012 READ MORE -
Mouth/Eyebrow
The Croft, Bristol (Thu 7 Jan) • It felt enough of an achievement to have got across town on the rink-roads of the coldest night of the year, but the indomitable Lol Coxhill and other Mouth-pieces had made it from…07.01.2010 READ MORE -
Mozartfest
Various venues, Bath (12-20 Nov) • “Haydn’s always jolly,” boomed a plummy voice at the end of the first of the Op 76 quartets – having already greeted the arrival of the Belcea Quartet on stage with a purring “dresses…24.11.2010 READ MORE -
Mozartfest/Aimard
Assembly Rooms Bath (Thu 19 Nov) • Trust a Frenchman! Presented at the end of his recital with a bottle of something fizzy, Pierre-Laurent Aimard scrutinised the label carefully before breaking out into a broad grin and…19.11.2009 READ MORE -
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MSW Fringe 2010
Various venues, Bristol, (Wed 24 & Thur 25 Nov) Wednesday • Music South West heralds itself as a Great Escape for the West Country; conference by day and a citywide celebration of local music by night. It’s Bristol’s…01.12.2010 READ MORE -
Mt/Dead Maids/Constellations
The Cube, Bristol (Fri 6 Mar) • Two men sit studiously facing one another across the stage. Between them stands a table supporting a selection of egg shakers, Indian hand cymbals, toy glockenspiel and such like.…06.03.2009 READ MORE -
Mugstar/Thought Forms/Vertical Slum
Louisiana, Bristol (Fri 4 Feb) • Tonight’s three band art-rock pile-up arrives courtesy of Rocket Recordings. Vertical Slum’s Ian Green spatters volatile, Byrds-gone-garage guitar work over vacuum-tight rhythms in the…09.02.2011 READ MORE -
Mumford & Sons
Moles, Bath (Wed 18 Feb) • In the time of the Great Depression and DIY dentistry, folk music finds a natural home. Mumford & Sons have only two EPs to their name but Moles is sold out and crammed with those in the know.…18.02.2009 READ MORE -
Mustard Allegro/Stanton Delaplane/Alexander Thomas
The Cube, Bristol (Sat 23 Jan) • He could be at a sewing machine - working invisible threads with both hands, while tapping pedals with his feet - or conducting an unseen orchestra, smoothing the ghost of an ex-cat.…23.01.2010 READ MORE -
My Friend Friday/In Your Honour/Pioneers
Louisiana, Bristol (Sat 19 Feb) • “Wot a night you must’ve had...” sings Pioneers’ vocalist with mockney delivery while teens in pleather and plaid stick their fingers in the air, point excitedly toward the ceiling, and…23.02.2011 READ MORE -
My Friend Friday/She Tells Lies
Thunderbolt, Bristol (Thur 9 April) • Since last reviewed by Venue back in ’07, She Tells Lies released her debut EP, emerging on the live scene, all sun-warmed loveliness and poetry. From the minute she picks up her…09.04.2009 READ MORE -
My Own Flag/3hostwomexicansandatinofspanners
The Croft, Bristol (Fri 6 Apr) • Everything about Flight 51 seems confused. First up, there’s The Croft as Airport Lounge, which - unless you recall the dull smoky fug of the dreaded smoking room – just doesn’t work,…06.04.2007 READ MORE -
MySpace Night
Invention Studios, Bath (Sat 9 June) • These are Myspace gigs, linking up potential friends for mutual gigs and support. Upstairs are the rock acts and downstairs are the singer-songwriters. Eleven in all. Tonight Venue…09.06.2007 READ MORE -
Mystery Jets/Amazing Baby/Stricken City
Anson Rooms, Bristol (Thur 12 Feb) • Out front before doors, lads share cans of lager, girls optimistically apply layers of lip gloss, the tout’s looking to buy tickets and the queue’s round the corner. Youthful…12.02.2009 READ MORE -
The Magic Band
Thekla, Bristol (Sun 4 Dec) When rock visionary Captain Beefheart passed away in December 2010, he hadn’t performed live in almost 30 years. Tonight his desert-wracked boots are filled by long-suffering sticksman and…07.12.2011 READ MORE -
The Magnificent Seven
Coronation Tap, Bristol (Sun 1 Apr) OK, it’s the usual suspects, but the discerning programme at the Coritap makes it inevitable that some of the better players will appear here in many different combos. This septet is…03.04.2012 READ MORE -
The Main Event
Kingswood Foundation (Sat 3 Sept) The Main Event’s run by young people for young people so Venue sent the youthful Eartha Williams to review it. The Main Event, in its fifth year running, did not fall short of…14.09.2011 READ MORE -
The Master Chaynjis
Bristol Old Vic Paintshop (Sun 16 May) • In a white, feather-covered suit Sam Halmarack stands angelic, pale lashes fluttering. He begins alone with a barebones rendition of the faltering, redemptive ‘We Are Nothing…16.05.2010 READ MORE -
The Melvins
The Thekla, Bristol (Fri 4 Nov) Just when you thought The Melvins couldn't get any more savage, this happens: bassist Jared Warren singles out someone in the crowd and gestures to slit their throat. For an urgent split…11.11.2011 READ MORE -
The Mother Beef/Hollowbelly
Motorcycle Showrooms, Bristol (Fri 7 Oct) Is this one of those flashy tweetmobs or something? Whatever, it’s impressively thronged for a band that’s barely appeared since their 2010 debut at fabulously louche venue The…10.10.2011 READ MORE
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THE BIG GIG
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Gary Numan
Mike White muses on the missing link between Kraftwerk and NIN. The same year as ‘Alien’, three years before ‘Blade Runner’, awkward, acne-ridden 21-year-old Gary Webb wrote a song called ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’. It sounded…23.04.2012 READ MORE -
Philharmonia/Ashkenazy
You have to feel sorry for any young pianist braving a Chopin concerto under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy. Poacher turned gamekeeper, Ashkenazy’s glittering career as a pianist was kick-started by success at the Warsaw Chopin…23.05.2012 READ MORE
Live Reviews
The Handsome Family
The Fleece, Bristol (Mon 21 May) There's a warmth about The Handsome Family, a kind of…
23.05.2012
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Classical Opera
St George’s Bristol (Fri11 May) An opera by an 11-year-old … in Latin. Talk about a hard…
13.05.2012
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Dave Stapleton
St George’s, Bristol (Thur May 5) There are eight players on stage – and great ones at…
04.05.2012
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Simone Felice
Colston Hall, Bristol (Sat 28 Apr) The Felice Brothers came out of New York State with an…
01.05.2012
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Dan Baird and Homemade Sin
Beeses Tea Gardens, Bristol (Sun 29 Apr) I used to think I was the sole person who'd ever…
30.04.2012
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Neil Cowley Trio with the Mount Molehill Strings
St George’s Bristol (Thur 26 April) It’s the last night of a national tour and Neil…
27.04.2012
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Cher Lloyd
O2 Academy, Bristol (Tue 10 Apr) It's a struggle-to-get-through-the-door sell-out…
24.04.2012
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Alabama 3: Acoustic and Unplugged
Trinity, Bristol (Fri 20 Apr) The blues came down to Trinity... and blew it away. Alabama…
23.04.2012
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Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Chorus: ‘Carmina Burana’
Colston Hall Bristol (Thur 19 Apr) Time was when the definition of an intellectual was…
23.04.2012
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Filthy Six/Benny Sensus
Mr Wolf’s, Bristol (Fri 20 May) Mr Wolf’s on a Friday night and it’s a bit slow to fill…
23.04.2012
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Empty Pools/Schnauser/Glis Glis
Louisiana, Bristol (Wed 18 Apr) The three Glis Glis members repeating crystalline,…
20.04.2012
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Ceu/Curumin
St George’s, Bristol (Wed 18 Apr) Electronic bands rarely sound good in St George’s and…
20.04.2012
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Meshuggah/Animals as Leaders
O2 Academy, Bristol (Thur 12 Apr) Animals as Leaders are the missing link between The…
16.04.2012
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Orange Goblin/Church of Misery/Grifter/Dopefight
Fleece, Bristol (Sun 8 Apr) It's Easter Sunday and a sweaty, sold-out Fleece is…
09.04.2012
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The Magnificent Seven
Coronation Tap, Bristol (Sun 1 Apr) OK, it’s the usual suspects, but the discerning…
03.04.2012
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Spiro/Cliff Stapleton/Katey Brooks
Fleece, Bristol (Sat 31 Mar) It’s very satisfying when your local heroes get national…
02.04.2012
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Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet/Robert Mitchell 3io
Colston Hall 2, Bristol (Tue 27 Mar) “We don’t have much time,” announces pianist Robert…
29.03.2012
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Black Stone Cherry/Rival Sons
O2 Academy, Bristol (Mon 26 Mar) Even when the Academy is sold out, as it is tonight,…
29.03.2012
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Tall Ships
Thekla, Bristol (Wed 21 March) Tall Ships, originally from the harbourside town of…
29.03.2012
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UFO/Heavy Metal Kids
O2 Academy, Bristol (Sun 25 Mar) There are two things every rock trivia freak knows about…
27.03.2012
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The Cardinall’s Musick
St George’s Bristol (Sat 24 Mar) When not directing The Cardinall’s Musick, the…
27.03.2012
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Earth/Mount Eerie/Ô Paon
Arnolfini, Bristol (Sat 3 Mar) Ô Paon opens with a set of slow burners; her clumsily…
21.03.2012
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All Tomorrow’s Parties curated by Jeff Mangum
Butlins, Minehead (Fri 9- Sun 11 Mar) It’s a different line-up almost every time they…
21.03.2012
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The Answer/The Union
O2 Academy, Bristol (Fri 16 Mar) Let's hear it for the return of the big-value rock…
19.03.2012
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Get The Blessing/Pops Parker/The Liftmen
Arnolfini, Bristol (Thur 15 Mar) Like their seething soup-pond visual backdrop, there’s a…
16.03.2012
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Gabrielle Aplin/Hudson-Taylor
Thekla, Bristol (Mon 12 Mar) Still only 19 but nevertheless managing to rack up 1.3m…
14.03.2012
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The Tender Trap
Southbank Centre, Bristol (Fri 24 Feb) The Southbank has many guises and tonight it’s…
12.03.2012
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Ugetsu feat. Damon Brown and Yutaka Shiina
Colston Hall 2, Bristol (Tue 6 Mar) Yutaka Shiina heads straight for the piano as if he…
07.03.2012
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Field Music/Stealing Sheep
The Fleece, Bristol (Thur 23 Feb) A timid ‘hello’ from Stealing Sheep’s Lucy…
28.02.2012
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High Places/The Hysterical Injury/Hesomagari
The Cube, Bristol (Fri 17 Feb) If the idea of a boy/girl duo-themed night makes you feel…
21.02.2012
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Mouse Deer
The Old Bookshop, Bristol (Thur 16 Feb) Lord knows US coffee shop culture took a long…
20.02.2012
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OAE: The Glory of Venice
St George’s Bristol (Sun 19 Feb) With Vivaldi’s ‘L’Olimpiade’ about to be unleashed up…
20.02.2012
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James Morton & Friends
The Prom, Bristol (Fri 17 Feb) Lately, alto sax player James Morton’s career’s demanded…
19.02.2012
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Rich Robinson
Fleece, Bristol (Wed 15 Feb) With the Black Crowes on apparently indefinite hiatus, the…
17.02.2012
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Shinedown/Halestorm
O2 Academy, Bristol (Sun 12 Feb) It demonstrates considerable confidence to take a band…
13.02.2012
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Roots Manuva
Anson Room, Bristol (Fri 3 Feb) Having seen Roots Manuva take to the stage in riding…
06.02.2012
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Gannets/Tamco Trio/Three Cane Whale
St George’s Bristol (Fri 3 Feb) Can you have a game of three halves? It’s a Zen question…
05.02.2012
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Nigel Kennedy/Orchestra of Life
Colston Hall, Bristol (Wed 18 Jan) Telephone-hold to elevator music, ‘The Four Seasons’…
25.01.2012
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Bristol Acoustic Music Festival
St George’s Bristol (Fri 13-Sun 15 Jan) Who'da thunk it: some folk are dancing – dancing…
25.01.2012
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Howler/Man Made
Louisiana (Mon 23 Jan) Support act Man Made arrives on stage wearing the kind of gold…
24.01.2012
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Sir Henry at Rawlinson End
St George’s, Bristol (Thur 19 Jan) ‘Sir Henry’ distilled and squandered the late Viv…
22.01.2012
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Arabella Sprot Quartet
Bebop Club, Bristol (Fri 6 Jan) Given the styereotype of the lazy, time-wasting student,…
09.01.2012
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Denny Ilett plays Led Zeppelin
Coronation Tap, Bristol (Thur 5 Jan) There’s an inevitable sense of laddishness about…
06.01.2012
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The Peters
Coronation Tap, Bristol (Tue 3 Jan) Here’s a mind-boggling little collective of young…
04.01.2012
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The Hook 'Em Boys
The Croft, Bristol (Wed 21 Dec, 2011) It’s the longest night and it’s slipping by very…
22.12.2011
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Mike Willox Quartet
Bebop Club, Bristol (Fri 16 Dec) Mike Willox has long been master of the element of…
20.12.2011
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La Nuova Musica/Messiah
St George’s Bristol (Sun 18 Dec) Anyone nervous about the one-to-a-part line-up promised…
19.12.2011
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Oxford Philomusica/Schiff
St George’s Bristol (Thur 8 Dec) Intriguing to see Andras Schiff in front of an orchestra…
19.12.2011
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Holy Stain at Festive Fest
Thekla, Bristol (Sun 18 Dec) It’s Holy Stain’s second to last ever show, so we can…
19.12.2011
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Hawthorne Heights/The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus/Failsafe
Thekla, Bristol (Wed 14 Dec) Golly, when Thekla say ‘early show’, they mean it. Failsafe…
19.12.2011
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Get The Blessing
(Thur 15 Dec, Canteen, Bristol) They’ve clearly been missed. Get The Blessing’s 2011…
16.12.2011
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Little Dragon/White Hinterland
Thekla, Bristol (Fri 2 Dec) Despite the name, ‘White Hinterland’ is not a right-wing…
14.12.2011
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Ginger Wildheart and Friends
Fleece, Bristol (Tue 13 Dec) Ginger's guitar is out of tune and the drum monitor isn't…
14.12.2011
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The Magic Band
Thekla, Bristol (Sun 4 Dec) When rock visionary Captain Beefheart passed away in December…
07.12.2011
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Bleeding Heart Narrative
The Cube, Bristol (Sat 26 Nov) Watching Bleeding Heart Narrative at The Cube, it's…
07.12.2011
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Uriah Heep
O2 Academy, Bristol (Mon 5 Dec) When a band has been around as long as Uriah Heep, it's…
06.12.2011
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Emily Wright & The Royals
The Old Bookshop, Bristol (Sat 3 Dec) A nice new band in a nice new venue - Christmas has…
06.12.2011
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Wire/Talk Normal
Thekla, Bristol (Tue 29 Nov) At the merch stand, sales of the Wire shopping bag appear…
02.12.2011
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Zappa Plays Zappa
Colston Hall, Bristol (Wed 30 Nov) This is weird. There's a biggish band on stage – two…
01.12.2011
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In:Motion – RBMA & Futureboogie
Motion, Bristol (Sat 26 Nov) Tonight sees two of Bristol’s biggest dance music beacons,…
01.12.2011
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Billy Bragg: Left Field In Motion Tour
The Fleece, Bristol (Nov 28, 2011) Typical of Billy Bragg: he didn't just show up for a…
01.12.2011
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John Cooper Clarke
The Fleece, Bristol (Sun 27 Nov) Like a wizened stick-insect love child of 60s-era Bob…
29.11.2011
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Blakeley's Messengers
Bebop Club, Bristol (Fri 25 Nov) These days there’s so much going on in the name of jazz…
28.11.2011
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Claudia Aurora
The Folk House, Brisrtol (Fri 26 Nov) It’s packed down in the Folk House’s hall basement…
28.11.2011
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John Pearce & Mike Willox Classical Duo
El Rincon, Bristol(Sun 20 Nov) I ring Mike Willox shortly before this lunchtime gig is…
23.11.2011
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C.W. Stoneking & The Primitive Horn Orchestra/Howling Lord
Trinity, Bristol (Tue 22 Nov) It’s a remarkable crowd both in numbers and style, and the…
23.11.2011
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WNO: Don Giovanni
Bristol Hippodrome (Tue 8 Nov) Hearing Leporello’s ‘black book’ aria (in which he lists…
22.11.2011
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St. Vincent
The Fleece, Bristol (Fri 11 Nov) There’s always been a tension about St. Vincent’s live…
22.11.2011
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Benn Clatworthy Quintet
Bebop Club, Bristol (Fri 18 Nov) It’s a quintessentially Bebop gig, this, as club mainman…
21.11.2011
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Gillian Welch
Hippodrome, Bristol (Tue 15 Nov) “I learnt this from Doc Watson,” she says, before…
17.11.2011
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The Melvins
The Thekla, Bristol (Fri 4 Nov) Just when you thought The Melvins couldn't get any more…
11.11.2011
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Balkanarama feat. The Destroyers
The Fleece, Bristol (Fri 4 Nov 4) It's an inspired way to start proceedings: they've put…
07.11.2011
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This Is My Normal State/Tomorrow We Sail
The Cooler, Bristol (Sat 5 Nov) A wrapt, standing-down-the-front crowd for a support act?…
07.11.2011
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WHY? Acoustic Grand Piano Tour
Colston Hall 2, Bristol (Sun 23 Oct) There is usually something jarringly civilised about…
01.11.2011
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Anna Calvi
Trinity Centre, Bristol (Mon 31 Oct) Anna Calvi released her self-titled debut album at…
01.11.2011
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Alice Cooper
(Colston Hall, Bristol, Wed 26 Oct) Considering that this was billed as Alice's Halloween…
27.10.2011
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The Union/Fighting Wolves
Fleece, Bristol (Sun 23 Oct) The huge cheer that greets Fighting Wolves' announcement of…
27.10.2011
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Oxjam Takeover
Various venues, Bristol (Sat 22 Oct) It may well be an overcast Saturday afternoon, but…
27.10.2011
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Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
O2 Academy, Bristol, Sept 25 2011 New Jersey r’n’b stalwarts Southside Johnny & The…
27.10.2011
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Laura Marling
Bristol Cathedral (Tue 25 Oct) Spotlit columns vaulting to the heavens, a stage backed by…
27.10.2011
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Christian Wallumrod Ensemble
St George’s, Bristol (Mon Oct 24) He’s all in black at the piano and there’s a general…
25.10.2011
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The Duval Project
The Bell, Bath (Mon 10 Oct) “There are some people that, when they tell you they have a…
21.10.2011
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The Pierces/Marcus Foster
Anson Rooms, Bristol (Thur 20 Oct) Hadn’t heard Marcus Foster’s ‘Nameless Path’, but knew…
21.10.2011
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CD Reviews
Kid Carpet
‘Kid Carpet & The Noisy Animals’ (LP, self-released) // Few things are more intoxicating…
20.04.2012
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Million Way
‘Your Circuitry’ (EP, self-released) // Dream Continuum release the ‘Reworkz’ EP and,…
20.04.2012
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Paul Garry
‘With Love Comes Rescue’ (EP, BMS Records) // Offensively inoffensive and supremely…
18.04.2012
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Dave Stapleton
‘Flight’ (LP, Edition Records) // Dave Stapleton's Cardiff-based Edition Records is fast…
17.04.2012
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Hello Lazarus
‘Hello Lazarus’ (EP, Scylla Records) If there's a theme for this EP, it's that it implies…
26.03.2012
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Lady Nade & The Silhouettes
‘All I Am’ (EP, unsigned) Lady Nade’s deep-hued voice adds archaic credibility to…
22.03.2012
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Caroline Martin
‘For All That I Do Not Know’ (LP, Smalldog) Second album ‘proper’, and still like being…
22.03.2012
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Island Audio
'The Drift' (Single/Sink & Stove) It's early days for glam-y, knife-edged post-punkers…
15.02.2012
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Rock In Your Pocket
‘Gutterdub’ (LP, Artscare Records) There are Riot Grrrl-invoking essays to be written…
15.02.2012
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Get The Blessing
‘OCDC’ (LP, Naim Jazz) Bish bash bosh, here they come, but there’s a sparkling new…
14.02.2012
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Experimental Pop Band
'Little Things' (Single, Wear It Well) Since 2007 EPB have written, recorded and scrapped…
13.02.2012
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Phantom Limb
‘The Pines’ (Album, Naim Edge) The title could’ve been swiped from a new-build…
19.01.2012
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Josh Arcoleo
‘Beginnings’ (Album, Edition Records) It takes practice and inspiration to become a…
19.01.2012
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The Hysterical Injury
‘Dead Wolf Situation’ (LP, Crystal Fuzz) Yes, Hysterical Injury brandish nothing more…
19.01.2012
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Silent Tides
‘Silent Tides’ (EP, self-released) This is Silent Tides’ debut EP and, as such, serves as…
19.01.2012
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The Liftmen
‘Troubled Teens’ (Single, Twisted Nerve) It’s disappointing that the first pressing of…
19.01.2012
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Francois & The Atlas Mountains
'E Volo Love’ (LP, Domino) Whilst the minutiae of the human condition might not present…
19.01.2012
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Mouse Deer
‘The Mouse Deer EP’ (EP, self-released) Girl-group harmonies forged from a single vocal…
14.12.2011
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Radio Banska
‘The Balkan Courtesan’ (LP, Get Real Records) Who knew John Zorn was composing 13-time…
14.12.2011
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Sarah Menage
‘In A Mood’ (LP, Independent) Just ‘a’ mood? There’s a range on offer in Sarah Menage’s…
14.12.2011
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The Short Life of Gracie
‘The Short Life of Gracie’ (EP, self-released) There’s a moment on opener ‘How to Kill…
14.12.2011
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Bleeding Heart Narrative
‘Bison’ (EP, Brainlove Records) As opening gambits go, 'Shoals' has to be one of the…
07.11.2011
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The Hit Ups
‘Unforgivable'/'66 Sexy’ (Free download, self-released) The Hit Ups: ‘parties, death,…
21.10.2011
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Follow The Sun
'The Evening Light’ (EP/self-released) Pushed just beyond ambient loveliness by gentle…
21.10.2011
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The Groove Farm
‘I Know It’s Only Indie Pop… But I Like It’ (LP, Big Pink Cake) From ’86 to ’90, South…
21.10.2011
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The Bad Joke That Ended Well
‘The Meteors Are Coming’ (LP, Little Paradise Records) Zips in on an express banjo…
30.09.2011
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Smile, LOOKALIVE!
'Ringside Seats’ (EP, self-released) Smile, LOOKALIVE! (or SLA, for those with…
30.09.2011
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Centrefolds
'Fresh Air’/’Jennifer’ (Single, self-released) Fiercely mixed to fizz with high end,…
30.09.2011
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Call The Doctor
‘Riots.’ (EP, Fear of Fiction) Patti Aberhart’s living the dream: black bob, lip gloss…
30.09.2011
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Chatterbox & Samuel Otis
‘Hard Graft’ (Killamari Records) Hip-hop is always at its most convincing when you can…
30.09.2011
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Curse You Damn Kids
‘Sorta Like An Epiphany’ (EP, Screamlite Records) There’s much to admire in this youthful…
27.08.2011
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Echo Park Orchestra
'Hymns of the Black Flag’ (LP, self-released) Echo Park Orchestra mainman Peter…
27.08.2011
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Rossanne Hamilton
'Attic Tapes/Live At The Thunderbolt 09’ (Double EP, self-released) Classically trained…
27.08.2011
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Baobinga & Co
‘Joint Ventures’ (LP, Build Recordings) DJ, producer and blogger Sam ‘Baobinga’ Simpson…
27.08.2011
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The Weary Band
‘Office Doodles’ (LP, self-released) At last! We’ve waited almost a decade – and a couple…
29.07.2011
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Planting_Claymore
‘Re-Gen’ (EP, self-released) Not, as the name suggests, a Clifton estate agent but a…
29.07.2011
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Electric Contradiction
‘Gold Mind EP’ (EP, self-released) This Bath-based five piece describe themselves as an…
29.07.2011
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The Minke Whales
‘Turncoat’ (LP, Tandem) The Minke Whales – possibly named in honour of that doomed…
29.07.2011
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The Divided Circle
‘The Divided Circle’ (LP, Lonely City Records) • Why isn’t everyone talking about The…
30.06.2011
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Edenheight
‘Peaceboy’/‘Trouble’ (Single, Breakin’ Bread Records) • One of Bristol’s…
30.06.2011
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Hi Fiction Science
'Hi Fiction Science' (LP, self-released) •A lass with a high, folksy voice ponders aloud…
30.06.2011
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Zero Pilot
‘XY’ (EP, self-released) If ‘Ice Road Truckers’ were a record, it’d be this ballsy,…
27.05.2011
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James Hollingsworth
‘Two And Two’ (EP, self-released) Awful cheesecloth rock channelling mawkish Chris De…
27.05.2011
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Oxygen Thief
‘Destroy It Yourself’ (LP, Broken Tail Records) Bristol’s Barry Dolan, in-your-face raw…
27.05.2011
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Maps and Legends
‘Maps and Legends’ (EP, self-released) Perhaps appropriately given their name, M&L…
27.05.2011
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Hello Lazarus
‘All Alliteration’ (LP, self-released) • It whizzes. It buzzes. Noisy and precise guitar…
29.04.2011
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The Short Stories
‘Small Mercies’ (LP, The International Lo-Fi Underground) • A lo-fi thrum of songs…
29.04.2011
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Cemlyn Jones
‘All These Dreams’ (LP, Kargo Records) • Clevedon-based singer-songwriter and former…
29.04.2011
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The Carny Villains
The Carny Villains (EP, Unsigned) • The seven-piece band from the heart of Bristol’s…
29.04.2011
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Narco Lounge Combo
‘Music for Ice Rinks’ (LP, self-released) • “She got freckles and a blow-job nose, kitten…
20.04.2011
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The Cheaterslicks
Rev Up, Burn Out’ (LP, Western Star) • Here’s a blistering debut mixing up rockabilly,…
20.04.2011
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Heg Doughty
‘Little Red’ (EP, self-released) • Ah, the sadly defunct Dartington College in the green…
20.04.2011
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Centrefolds
'Is Anyone There?’ (EP, self-released) • All hail Centrefolds for their unashamed pursuit…
13.04.2011
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Okus Dolphin
‘Spiritual’ (LP, self-released) • With its Glastonbury candle shop sleeve, ham-fisted…
13.04.2011
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Rachael Dadd ‘
'Elephee’ (EP, Broken Sound Music) • Rachael Dadd is a songwriter in thrall to nature,…
13.04.2011
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Elliot Hall
‘Adults Are Stupid’ (LP, self-released) • The title is just one affable feature of this…
06.04.2011
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James Brewster
‘As a Hovering Insect Mass Breaks Your Fall’ (LP, Make Mine Music) • Now living in Malmö,…
06.04.2011
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The Naturals
‘Gifthorse’/‘He Has An 80ft Tarantula’ (double A-side single, self-released) • The thing…
06.04.2011
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Principal Participant
‘Principles’ (Download LP, self-released) • “Minotaur Shock is my regular outlet for…
30.03.2011
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Emily Teague
‘Emily Teague’ (LP, self-released) • Bristol’s folkies have some bad habits – ‘spiritual’…
30.03.2011
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Pat Nicholson
‘Roll With It’ (LP, Pan Records) • Australian Pat Nicholson’s debut arrives with some…
30.03.2011
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The Egret Seacrow
‘Imaginatively, A Silk Wasp’ (LP, self-released) • A slight, delicate release – our copy…
23.03.2011
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Tony Harris
‘Choices’ (LP, self-released) • There is something of the madrigal about these simple,…
23.03.2011
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Color Of The Sun
‘Solong Suckers’ (LP, self-released) • Multi-instrumentalist Aron Ward is a Californian…
16.03.2011
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Honour Your Pain
'Between Blood and Pride' (EP) • Metal's such a crowded marketplace these days that you…
16.03.2011
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The Get-Outs
‘Exit’ (LP, Kitchen Rock Records) • The Get-Outs, currently celebrating their tenth year…
09.03.2011
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The Zen Hussies
‘Troubled Feet’ (LP, Musique DaDA) • If you’ve ever stumbled across a Zen Hussies gig the…
09.03.2011
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Badgertrap
‘Agony of Choice’ (EP/download, Kangaroo Kourt Records) • Product of Hal Camplin/Barry…
02.03.2011
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Central Spillz
'Space Travel' (LP, Durkle Disco) • In the increasingly boundary-bereft territory between…
23.02.2011
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TwoManTing
‘Legacy’ (LP, self-released) • Formed from Afro-dance outfit Le Cod Afrique, duo…
23.02.2011
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David Britton
'The Oldland Commoner Album’ (LP, self-released) • David Britton is a gent from Bristol’s…
23.02.2011
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Caricatures
‘Fire In The Womb’ (Single, Anticreation Productions) • Down-tuned strings, irregular…
16.02.2011
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Secret Shine
‘The Beginning and the End’ (LP, self-released) • Hard to believe these passionless…
16.02.2011
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