Halfway 2 NowhereDrive is an apt title for this EP from London four-piece Dutch Mustard as all three tracks have a real driving rhythm and force to them. Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine are the obvious comparison but Dutch Mustard are certainly more than a replica or nostalgia band with their songs tapping into themes of isolation […]
The Twang have spent over a decade defying expectation. From their beginnings in their Birmingham home town, vocalist Phil Etheridge, bassist Jon Watkin, guitarist Stu Hartland and drummer Ash Sheehan continue to wow audiences and win new fans with their electric live shows. Having released four studio albums since 2007 they are in the studio making the […]
I think my beloved wasn’t listening, but over the bank holiday weekend I snuck in with her verbal approval another last-minute festival. At £20 each and a short train trip across the border to where people sound like Victoria Wood and Peter Kaye, Made in Manchester made perfect sense. Add perfect weather, good toilets, a […]
Five years ago, the Palace Theatre in Manchester was host for an exceptional run of Shrek the Musical. I attended the opening evening then and was so impressed with the transition from big screen to stage that when Shrek was announced for a run at York Grand Opera House under the watch of Nik Briggs, […]
In the technological age we are currently living in, you’d be forgiven for thinking books and paper literature was on the way out. Some works of fiction though, are timeless, and Enid Blyton’s novels will remain children’s and parents’ favourites for decades to come. The most successful book series of all time, Harry Potter, captured […]
Reading the programme for The Night Watch, Director Alastair Whatley poses the question, “How many of us wish we could replay moments of our lives again?” There are so many occasions we all have in our lives that we’d wish to do this for; happy times to replay, worse moments where we might change actions […]
I wasn’t going to do a review of Skeleton Coast Festival. I’m off on holiday tomorrow. Hurricane Dorian permitting. But sometimes you’ve got to give a bit back. Skeleton Coast is one of those times. Skeleton Coast Festival is in its fourth year. I am ashamed to say this is my first time attending. Coming […]
Those though provoking and sublime roves guys from Reading recently sent me a copy of their then upcoming single that thursday night. I knew immediately what to do; wait til after work on the anointed day, crack open a beer, grab the cat and take my sounds to the garden while the heat of the summer day was […]
I’m a Birkenhead boy, born and bred, so I was delighted to find out we’d got our own festival. We’ve always had great bands, but lack of decent venues has always held back the capital of ‘The Leisure Peninsular’. We probably peaked in the early eighties when Half Man Half Biscuit opted for Tranmere Rovers […]
Halfway 2 Nowhere