chris_hughes

Oop North.

Limbo, Panto.

It's Manchester Apollo, according to the list on See Tickets.

You're likely correct about it being a press release cock-up. Easy to see how it would happen, given the rest of the venues on the list, but very sad to see the venues across the country becoming so homogenised, if that's even a word. I did wonder for a brief moment whether the Manchester Apollo had been rebranded under the O2 banner given that it used to be sponsored by Carling, but I think that deal was separate from the Carling naming rights to the Academy group venues.

Doesn't exist, to my knowledge - unless I've missed out on a recent development somewhere. Manchester Academy is the student's union complex, and isn't part of the Academy group venues is it?

Presumably not live, 'cause she's playing Manchester tonight. Good show on Friday night. First time I've been to Koko and it's an oddity of a venue indeed. We set up camp somewhere up in the rafters to get a decent view of the stage. Should be somewhat more intimate in Manchester this evening.

x

It's actually just the "Mercury Prize" now, rather than "Mercury Music Prize".

Carry on...

(Laura Marling or Elbow for me.)

... they're not from Manchester in any country, as far as I'm aware. It's a name - that is all.

This is a beautiful album - certainly worth more than a 5. "Golden Ticket" probably is the dreariest number on there but I'm not sure where you're finding The Hold Steady as a reference point.

Personally I think you're doing "Colly Strings" a disservice dismissing it in those terms as well - it's a powerful closing track for my money.

Oh - and the track you mention is called "I Can Barely Breathe", not "I Can Barely Move" - but that's a small point, because I'm sure you didn't do a half-arsed job of this :)

Well done on being one of the few places I've seen to interview the band so far that actually did their homework on the relationship with Butch Vig for the new record. Every interview seems to touch on the fact that they've worked with Vig, but they all seem to imply that he full-on produced the record, when I'm pretty sure that Jim has said he only actually came into the studio a couple of times.

Seconded on Maritime being very good. They've just finished a stint opening for JEW in the States - it'd be great if they came and opened the dates over here in Feb too.

and I agree with most of the review BUT how could you namecheck virtually every track on there and not mention "You Won't Know"?! Without a doubt the fiercest kick-in I've heard from a Brand New track, and outstrips Sowing Season for the quiet/loud dynamic to my ears.

Probably a 9 out of 10 for me - it drops the ball only occasionally, the "Not The Sun" chorus doesn't do it for me either and the instrumentals are misplaced in the flow of the album as a whole - there were far better tracks and half-formed ideas in the demos that leaked early last year than "Luca", too.

Can't fault it too much otherwise - rates as a worthy successor to Deja.