Thu 22 Sep – Metronomy, Fiction, Alt-J

When I used to listen to Metronomy’s debut album I would never have predicted them as one of the success stories of 2011. It was great little record (and they have always been an enjoyable live act), but they felt like a band for the moment, rather than a long term preposition. Fast forward 5 years and they are heavily hyped throughout the music press, nominated for a Mercury prize and are embarking on an almost sold out tour. Quite a change of fortunes for the band that, admittedly, played to “about 5…

Fri 16 Sep – EMA, Ghost Outfit

EMA live
The Deaf Institute - Manchester

I recently saw a newspaper headline proclaiming this to be “The Year Of The Woman”. In reality this article was in relation to the chart dominance of female pop stars such as Adele and Lady Gaga, but in practice this could easily be extended to the alternative scene. Lykke Li, Pj Harvey, Laura Marling, Anna Calvin and St Vincent have all produced outstanding albums, with Zola Jesus hopefully soon to follow suit.

For me, though, the best female star of this year has…

Thu 8 Sep – PJ Harvey

Stepping out just two days after winning the prestigious Mercury Music prize, PJ Harvey was greeted by a rather enthusiastic crowed in Manchester. If she was still giddy from the award, she managed not to show it, choosing instead to embody the sombre character befitting of her recent material.

Refraining from speaking throughout the entire first half she produced an atmospheric performance bathed in the illumination of only a single beam of light. This proved especially impressive during Uh Huh Her’s “Pocket Knife” where her movement between the darkness and light added a sinister…