Shearwater
Trof Grosvenor Street, Manchester
Saturday, July 31st 2010

It is clear the band mean business in their own unassuming way characteristically letting the music do the talking…as on record, nothing is ever left to chance and each element is there for a reason.

The Temper Trap
Somerset House, London
Monday, July 12th 2010

Familiar with Melbourne rock export The Temper Trap? Why, of course you are – their monster hit Sweet Disposition has been flogged on every advertisement going.

Air
Somerset House, London
Friday, July 9th 2010

The French references are in aid of Versailles’ premiere chill-out duo, Air, who seem slightly unsettled as they begin, or as least not quite at home in these surroundings. Perhaps the open-air acoustics don’t lend themselves well to an electronic group, as some of the ambient sound which made Air so popular with the post-Ibiza generation in the early noughties is lost at this venue.

N-Dubz with Skepta and Whatnexters
Somerset House, London
Sunday, July 11th 2010

After a set change – including the careful placing of a sofa on a plinth at the back of the stage – N-Dubz begin their set with their biggest hit to date, I Need You. They continue to knock out hit after hit to masses of screams as the crowd near explodes with excitement.

Noah and the Whale
Somerset House, London
Saturday, July 10th 2010

Whereas Noah and the Whale’s shift to a more electronic sound felt like a shock at Glastonbury last year, now it makes sense.

Mystery Jets
Somerset House, London
Thursday, July 8th 2010

For devoted fans, it’s undoubtedly an amazing experience…however, to casual observers, it’s a bit of an erratic performance.

Ólafur Arnalds with the RNCM Concert Orchestra
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Thursday, July 1st 2010

Did you know that The Rite Of Spring by Igor Stravinsky provoked riots at its world premiere in 1913? Claude Debussy, he of many a calm piano movement, apparently pleaded for calm as the audience registered its discontent. Ólafur Arnalds’ very own world premiere, airing after a rendition of Stravinsky’s twisted ballet, instead provokes reverent silence – and perhaps a few tears.

Delays
Monto Water Rats, London
Friday, June 4th 2010

Delays do well in encouraging a decent level of nostalgia fuelled toe-tapping to their older material, and polite head-bobbing to their impending tunes…this aside though, you can’t help thinking that early potential will never be realised.

The Miserable Rich
Band On The Wall, Manchester
Tuesday, June 8th 2010

Each perfectly-executed intro invokes the sense that you’re going to get a ripping good yarn from this band. More often than not, you do.

The Big Pink with Esben and the Witch
Academy 2, Manchester
Tuesday, 11th May 2010

Surrounded by Narnia-esque lamp posts they build huge, screaming rituals of songs, ebbing and flowing like the moon on a stormy sea, like a war dance, like murder.