Mogwai & English Teacher - Victoria Warehouse, Manchester (28/3/25)

Tonight is the second night of BBC's Radio 6Music festival which saw Ezra Collective play last night and will see Kae Tempest play tomorrow night.

DJ Tom Ravenscroft warms up the crowd with a dance heavy DJ set but Mercury Prize winners English Teacher are the first live act tonight. They are a tricky band to get a handle on. One moment they're mathy post-rock, the next they're jaunty indie pop like the Kaiser Chiefs then the next minute they're dynamic and noisy indie rock. The drummer seems to be at the heart of all the good stuff as he injects the dynamism into the songs. He switches between the drums and keyboards and the songs where he plays the keys aren't anywhere near as interesting. The soulful ballad 'Albatross' is fairly decent. Richard Hawley joins them on stage for a great cover of Joy Division's 'Transmission'. I do find myself wondering why they are so lauded though as some of the material doesn't really connect with me. In fact, some of it is positively boring.

Mogwai's synth heavy opener 'God Gets You Back' is suprisingly tuneful, lacking the usual quiet/loud dynamic (no bad thing) although there is still an ominous rumble in the background. The build and payoff for 'Hi Chaos' is glorious, climaxing in a swirling maelstrom of noise. The towering, cinematic rock of 'Ritchie Sacramento' is euphoric. The brooding, keyboard led 'Auto Rock' is firmly in what I would now describe as Nordic Giants territory although Mogwai were undoubtedly there first. It is excellent. The crushing synths towards the end of 'Remurdered' are amazing. The peaks and troughs of 'Mogwai Fear Satan' are epic. It starts off with delay laden guitars and builds to something seriously heavy. The quiet yet ominous mid-section is spine tingling and this gives way to another ear bleedingly loud section. The vocoder heavy 'Lion Rumpus' provides a little light relief after this but not much as it is still dynamic and super heavy. They end the set here and a full brass band sets up for the encore (weirdly, whilst 'Crockett's Theme' plays over the P.A.). 'Ether' starts off as playful and magical (reminiscent of Yazoo's 'Only You') before the cacophopny of brass kicks in. The slow build and use of brass on 'Burn Girl Prom Queen' make it feel like American Football amplified tenfold. The euphonium (or possibly tuba, I couldn't quite tell) during the final track, '2 Rights Make 1 Wrong', is earth shaking. You think that Mogwai can't get any louder or heavier than 'Mogwai Fear Satan' but the encores with the brass band make you realise 'oh, that's how they get louder'. Magnificent.

Mogwai *****

English Teacher ***

Spiritualized - Apollo, Manchester (24/3/25)

Tonight sees Spiritualized celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their 'Pure Phase' album by playing it in full.

The opener 'Meditation' is lo fi and hypnotic with a dynamic, noisy chorus. 'The Slide Song' is hopeful and positive yet damaged, and the stage lighting is particularly atmospheric. Jason's vocals are suitably fragile and damaged. '...All Of My Tears' is quite beautiful, with the strings adding a mournful quality. 'These Blues' adds distortion for a powerful and captivating slice of psych rock. The backing singers add the soul for 'Let It Flow's wounded psych gospel, and it is spellbinding. A steady bass pulse drives a powerful 'Born Never Asked'. 'Electric Mainline' is a heady trip whilst 'Lay Back In The Sun' is absolutely glorious. A lot of these tracks work well individually but, much like the album, work much better as a whole, with mood pieces such as the electric, phased drone of 'Pure Phase' adding to the overall atmosphere. The gentle, timeless balladry of 'Spread Your Wings' is extremely moving. 'Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space' gets a look in during the encore as they play the epic, sprawling lounge blues of 'Cop Shoot Cop'. An excellent commemoration of a great album.

Spiritualized ****

Dopethrone & Wallowing - Rebellion, Manchester (21/3/25)

Wallowing start off with some long, drawn out SunnO))) style powerchords before lurching into Burning Witch style blackened doom. When they play fast, it's a bit chaotic but it still seems more focused than the last time I saw them. One of the vocalists brandishes the smoke machine like a weapon, firing it out into the crowd. It looks cool as fuck. They have a cool aesthetic with their sci fi beekeeper look. There are lots of dystopian sci-fi touches and the overall effect is like Burning Witch being plugged into Skynet. Vocally, the harsh screams put it in Iron Monkey or Hard To Swallow territory. 'Earth Reaper' is quite progressive. In fact, despite the generally slow style, there are a dizzying amount of ideas crammed into their songs. Chaotic but in a good way.

Canada's Dopethrone play monstrously heavy sludge. They are tight and professional, with none of the messiness that often comes with that genre. The guitarist and bassist throw themselves around as if they are in a hardcore or grind band. They possess a suitable amount of Sabbathian grooves whilst the bass tone is often devastating, capable of shifting tectonic plates. Whilst the groove is undeniable, everything sounds nasty and even cool stoner riffs are played with malevolence. The singer Vincent doesn't talk to the audience too much but he has a wild eyed intensity and an array of facial expressions which show his charisma. They pull a guy out of the crowd to sing a crushing 'Scumfuck Blues' and he does a great job. Overall, Dopethrone successfully manage to combine the refined metallic groove of Crowbar with the crusty filth of Eyehategod or Weedeater. Excellent.

Dopethrone ****

Wallowing ****

Knocked Loose & Basement - Victoria Warehouse, Manchester (18/3/25)

When this stacked line up was first announced, I really wanted to get a ticket mainly because of the other two bands on the bill, Harm's Way and Pest Control. However, much to my disappointment, it sold out instantly. This morning, however, my friend asked me if I wanted him to get us put on the guestlist. Of course, I said yes. If I had bought tickets though, I would have been really disappointed because the queue to get in the venue is so big and slow moving that I miss both of the two opening acts. Nah, that's a lie, I'd have been well pissed off.

Basement mix dense post-hardcore grooves with emotional hardcore. Andrew Fisher's vocals are earnest and heartfelt. Some of the faster, melodic material verges on pop punk at times but they are better when they play slower and heavier. One track has a Quicksand urgency and this showcases them at their best. Another track sounds like a post-hardcore version of The Cure's 'Just Like Heaven'. They grow on me and the crowd the longer the set goes on, and the singalong for the final track is pretty impressive. What starts off as pretty standard definitely gets better as the set progresses.

Knocked Loose explode on to the stage with an absolute barrage of noise. It's heavy as hell but seems to lack cohesion and sounds a little like a drumkit falling down the stairs. Subsequent songs are more focused in their attack but still lack the intensity I'd expect from a band like this. There is too much asking the audience to jump for my liking although the crowd are more than happy to oblige, and it is a pretty cool sight to behold. 'Don't Reach For Me' has a thunderous bottom end. Bryan Garris' high pitched vocals remind me of the hardcore band Brother's Keeper. The vocals of that band were really divisive but I quite liked them. Given how contentious the vocals are,  it is crazy to see how big Knocked Loose have become. It is heavy as hell but feels curiously hollow, with little substance to it. My mate suspects it could be a result of the triggered drums. We are clearly in the minority though as the crowd are going bananas, with hundreds of crowdsurfers going over the barrier. There is a weird moment during 'Everything Is Quiet Now' where it ends very abruptly. It is just after Bryan had encouraged the crowd to split for a wall of death, which I am informed is banned in O2 venues so it seems the power may have been pulled. The band do return for more songs but we decide that we've seen enough and leave early to avoid the rush (and to grab a Rubicon).

Knocked Loose ***

Basement ***

Lucia & The Best Boys - Gorilla, Manchester (14/3/25)

After watching Nordic Giants earlier, I make my way across town for the gig I had originally bought tickets for. It's quite an early start as I enter the venue midway through the second track 'When You Dress Up'. It's powerful but catchy as hell. The extra percussion gives it a bit more oomph too. The venue is absolutely packed and I can only fit in by the fire exit at the back. 'Angels Cry Too' is smart, modern femme pop. 'Burning Castles', like everything else, is armed with a chorus which just begs to be sang along with. A new track ('Picking Petals') is thumping pop rock. Lucia's voice sounds in excellent shape, being strong and powerful. The acapella intro to '...Haunt You Back' with just Lucia and the guitarist singing is stunning, whilst the accordion and violin gives the track extra depth. The folk vibe is continued on 'Somewhere In Heaven' and is equally magical. 'Butterflies' builds and builds to an almost trance-like euphoria whilst 'So Sweet I Could Die' is powerhouse pop. The acoustic intro to the closing 'Perfectly Untrue' is amazing whilst the main track can only be described as an absolute banger. I definitely made the right decision to leave my other gig as Lucia & The Best Boys are a shining example of modern pop.

Lucia & The Best Boys *****

Nordic Giants - Band On The Wall, Manchester (14/3/25)

I'm not meant to be here tonight. I have tickets for another show and generally, once I've got tickets for a show, even if something fantastic is scheduled for the same night, I'll stick with the original show. However, listening to Nordic Giants this week, I experienced a serious case of FOMO and figured that I could catch Nordic Giants as they are the opening act tonight (supporting And This Will Destroy You) before heading over to my other gig afterwards.

Nordic Giants' elegant piano led post-rock is very good in isolation but when combined with the visuals it is stunning. The first film is a dystopian animation in the vein of Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl, Gorillaz). The second film ('The Gift' I think it's called) which accompanies 'Mechanical Minds' is a live action piece which is kinda the Romanovs meets 'I, Robot'. It is extremely moving and thought provoking. The excellent 'Taxonomy Of Illusions' is a little more dance orientated, like Gogo Penguin. 'Faceless' has an epic Radiohead feel, and the urgency of the climax is matched by the disturbing visuals. The 'Pencilhead' film is a pencil drawn animation which mixes Hayao Miyazaki, 'Tank Girl', Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' and Radiohead amongst others, and the accompanying 'Together' is stirring as hell. No 'The Last Breath' though which is the most devastating film they have in their arsenal. An amazing showcase of art.

Nordic Giants ****