Tag: reviews
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Caribou live at the Glasshouse review – symphony hall rave is a dizzying delight
Caribou’s club-focused house music proved to be a winningly unorthodox match for the refined Glasshouse concert hall, convincingly turning the auditorium into a euphoric nightclub complete with a spectacular light show. Dan Snaith’s live drumming propelled his best songs to new heights, but his more light-footed electronica tracks felt a little bland by comparison.
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Westside Cowboy live at the Crescent review – new kids on the block are the real deal
Their claims of genre invention may be a little dubious, but no bother – this fresh-faced Manchester band already has a wealth of perfectly imperfect indie rock zingers, delivered in a succinct York set that promised much bigger stages to come.
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Model/Actriz live at Brudenell Social Club review – high camp horror from a true one-off
In the heteronormative world of punk music New Yorkers Model/Actriz offer something genuinely new and transgressive – techno-fuelled post-punk tracks about gender dysphoria, diva worship and repressed homosexuality. Cole Haden’s magnetic stage presence and his band’s supernaturally tight industrial grooves made for a truly singular performance at the Brude.
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Maruja live at the Wardrobe review – more like an exorcism than a gig
Last year in Newcastle Maruja were great, but now with a brilliant debut album under their belt the Manchester experimental rock group are truly astounding. Equally capable of fiercely political belters and quiet moments of spiritual transcendence, never has a gig made me feel quite so much.
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Jessica Winter live at Headrow House review – life-affirming joy from a soon-to-be superstar
Unfazed by poor ticket sales, faulty lighting and a microphone mishap, on a rainy night in Leeds the Portsmouth upstart proved herself to be a hugely promising popstar. This show came packed with slick choreo, magnetic onstage charisma, versatile vocals – and a thrilling Undertone first…
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Twisterella 2025 review – a rewarding potpourri of fresh talent
Now in its 11th year, Middlesborough’s fabulous one-day festival continues to showcase a host of promising, forward-thinking talent from the North East and beyond. Highlights of this year’s edition include the country croon of Our Man In The Field and gilt-edged alt rock of Legss, but it’s Roller Disco Death Party that really get the…
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Black Country, New Road live at the Glasshouse review – not what it once was
The boundary-pushing Cambridge band have boldly ventured forth into a third album after departing frontman Isaac Wood left a gaping hole in the lineup. Three years on, the band’s spectacular glory days still cast a long shadow over this middling live set in Gateshead.
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Parcels: LOVED review – playful pop from a band best served live
Existing fans of the renowned pop group will find a healthy offering of funky foot-tappers on Parcels’ light-hearted new album, which will no doubt be morphed into dazzling showstoppers for the band’s huge upcoming shows – it’s just a shame so little of their big-stage theatrics seeped through onto the record.
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Olivia Rodrigo live at Co-op Live review – post-Glasto victory lap is a teenage dream
Inexhaustible despite an exceptionally busy few days, the American pop phenom’s Manchester set felt every bit like a showcase from one of present-day pop’s greatest stars. Don’t be fooled by her early Disney career or the adoring audience of young girls – Rodrigo’s music is thoughtful, sophisticated, and surprisingly grungy.
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jasmine.4.t live at the Deaf Institute review – triumph and world-weariness from unbreakable trans singer
Returning to her hometown of Manchester after a breakout year, the Boygenius collaborator was let down by poor acoustics in an understandably tired-feeling performance. Still, she can dig into a thrashing System of a Down cover like the best of ’em.
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PUP live at Project House review – propulsive pop punk pandemonium
The Canadian racket-makers specialise in gloomy songs about hopelessness and self-loathing, but this thrilling blitz of bangers in Leeds brought nothing but joy to an amped up crowd eager to throw their drinks – and each other – in the air.
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Courting: Lust for Life review – overwrought concept album pulls its punches
The Liverpool band’s drive for creative risk-taking is admirable, but the experiment doesn’t pay off on this messy, underwritten third album.
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Undertone’s best songs of 2024
From era-defining pop hits to indie rock gems, vocal jazz to death metal, it’s time to look back on the very best songs that came out in 2024.
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Maruja live at the Cluny review – an extraordinary plunge into hell
The Manchester noise merchants provided all the expected thrills – tempestuous drumming, atmospheric saxophone, sharp-tongued poetry – and added sweeping improvisations and stupendous operatic climaxes. This tepid Newcastle crowd was spoiled rotten.
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Ezra Collective: Dance, No One’s Watching review – jazz champions play to their strengths
The jazz group that set the Mercury Prize alight last year return with an album that goes all in on infectious dance grooves. Their knack for melody seems to have been forgotten in the party, but this bloated record does conclude with the most moving track of this band’s career.
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