Live: Snuff / Bad Cop Bad Cop / Spoilers @ Academy 3, Manchester

UK punk pioneers Snuff have been unassumingly plugging away for three decades and this tour marks 30 years since the original trio formed in a London café. Do they still have it in them to go full pelt and put on a proper show? Absolutely. Kent-based Spoilers open the evening

Snuff: 30 years of UK pop-punk pioneers

Bay Faction – ‘Bay Faction’

Bay Faction’s self-titled album offers something for the Modern Baseball and not-quite-rock crowd. Bluesy grooves juxtapose against some seriously dark lyrics and the band try to wrap them all up in a catchy bundle. However, there are times when it strays too far towards the blues-rock formula and loses what makes it

Such Gold are ‘throwing stuff at the wall’

Spraynard 2.0: Spray Harder

Splitsville – ‘Blackouts’

Splitsville’s debut EP ‘Blackouts’ is a tortured piece of choppy emo punk that, quite literally, screams “misery”. It’s a curious blend of echoey, mid-tempo guitars and desperate shouts that mirrors the current crop of UK emo but doesn’t add much to the genre. The title song

Nudes – ‘Nudes’

Nudes’ debut record is a quick-fire burst of 90s indie guitar fed through British sensibilities. Boasting just 8 songs and recorded in a day, there’s an off-kilter energy to it all that is a snapshot of a band unsure what’s going to happen next. The result is

The Melvins on Cobain film and new tour DVD

LIVE: A Carefully Planned Festival #5 @ Manchester

Manchester’s A Carefully Planned Festival celebrated its 5th edition with gusto over 17th/18th October. I managed to sample the eclectic mix of delights on the first night by dashing around five of the nine venues, like a headless chicken with an SLR camera. It’s the

Manchester’s Carefully Planned Festival takes place this weekend

Manchester alt/punk/ indie extravaganza ‘A Carefully Planned Festival’ (ACP) takes place this weekend. It’s staged over a host of venues in the Northern Quarter of the city and has 153 bands confirmed for the two days. Hindsights, Best Friends and grunge-rock songstress Hannah Lou Clark are some of the highlights