Tag: reviews
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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets live at NUSU review – rapid-fire riffs hit like a drug
Kick-starting their umpteenth UK tour, the Crumpets are very much a well-buttered machine these days. A strong ninth album has only bolstered their set list of precision-tooled riffs and prog rock neck-breakers. NUSU’s paltry sound system simply couldn’t keep up.
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Cory Wong: Lost In The Wonder review – a lacklustre collection of singles from funk’s busiest guitarist
Known for his signature guitar riffs, superhuman turnout of albums, and wider collaborative efforts, Cory Wong is well-established within the funk sphere. But with his latest release he’s perhaps gotten too comfortable, suggests Matthew Rowe.
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Undertone’s best songs of 2025
It’s time again for Undertone’s yearly roundup of my 40 favourite songs released this year.
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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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