No-one saw this coming: The National
Back in 2004, no-one could've imagined Arcade Fire would headline Glastonbury and The National would pack out the O2 Arena.»
Articles
geordiedave1981 has written the following articles:
Festival No. 6 2014: the DiS review
There really is no other festival like it and as a way of closing out the summer, Festival No. 6 delivered in every single way. Simply magnificent.»
Garden Festival and Electric Elephant 2014: the DiS review
If you’re miserable in amongst such joyous surroundings, there’s surely something wrong with you.»
The Garden Festival & Electric Elephant 2014: the DiS preview
This summer, Drowned in Sound will be taking a break from the regular UK festival mud and concerned glances at dark, threatening clouds; eschewing all that to go jetting off to a beautiful little spot on the West side of Croatia for both The Garden Festival and Electric Elephant Festival – running consecutively from the 2nd – 9th of July and 10th – 14th of July respectively»
Live Report + In Photos: Elbow at Manchester Phones 4u Arena (9/4/14)
Tonight, the sold-out banks of seats around Manchester’s Phones 4U Arena tells the tale of what is one of the most extraordinary success stories in modern British guitar music: a band who somehow came back from the brink to become chart-toppers and stadium-fillers against all odds.»
BBC 6 Music Festival 2014: The Drowned in Sound Review
Manchester is increasingly proving itself more than capable of taking on major events outside of the Capital and despite a few grumbles typical of new events and considering the limitations of the venue, the inaugural 6 Music Festival was for the most part, a profoundly enjoyable and memorable event with some truly excellent performances.»
BBC 6 Music Festival 2014 - The DiS Preview
BBC 6 Music are bringing the first ever 6 Music Festival to Manchester next weekend, and Drowned in Sound are popping along to check it out...»
Live Report: Prince at Manchester Academy 1 - Saturday 22nd February 2014
Broad smiles, deliberately hamming up his guitar moves, conducting the crowd with the microphone or the neck of his guitar, this is a man uniquely in touch with his own music and his own heritage: lapping up the live experience and the acclaim, and giving back the compliment in spades, screeches and sonic joy.»
The National, Manchester Apollo (11/11/2013)
The National now operate on their own instinctive level: a tightly-wound balance between beauty and fury continuously shifting with a fluid dynamism, as illustrated perfectly by the constant three-way battle tonight between Bryce Dessner’s jagged, jarring lead lines, Bryan Devendorf’s hypnotic drum-punches and Matt Berninger’s voice – stripped of the darker brooding recorded overtones and given license to bark, scream and strain as he slowly warms into his role.»
PINS - Girls Like Us
PINS have produced one of the most striking guitar debuts of 2013.»
Drowned in Manchester #17: Autumn 2013 ft. Warehouse Project, gig picks, Shield Patterns interview
Manchester comes alive in the autumn and winter time, as new bands emerge and begin to forge their roots into the cracked and dark brickwork of the old Victorian buildings. In this month’s column we’ll look at a few bits of news, check out a couple of new bands on the scene, preview this year’s Warehouse Project and have a bit of a chat with the excellent Shield Patterns.»
Drowned in Manchester #16 - PINS, Shield Patterns, Doctrines
Along with the rest of the country, Manchester has been gleefully reveling in the recent outbreak of glorious weather baking the city (rumours of increased admissions to A&E due to severe rainfall deprivation are as yet unconfirmed). But alongside the»
The Killers, The Gaslight Anthem, James at Wembley Stadium, London, Sat 22 Jun
It’s been a long time in coming, but The Killers finally lived up to their potential as a live band tonight.»
Editors - The Weight of Your Love
Ultimately, Editors are in limbo here. »
Parklife Weekender 2013 – The Drowned in Sound Review
We’ll have to wait and see whether Parklife can sustain the trick on a weekend where the weather proves to be somewhat more typically Mancunian. But for now, it managed to pull off its graduation with aplomb and unabashed enjoyment.»
Live Report Muse – Manchester Etihad Stadium: 1st June 2013
Muse have forever been a band intrinsically linked with theatre and showmanship, yet tonight seemed to reach a whole new level. »
A Twirl, A Shy Wave: A frustrating night with Lana Del Rey in Manchester
Lana remains strangely transfixing as a presence, though not always for the right reasons. »
Drowned in Manchester #15 – May 2013
Due to such enforced real-life distractions such as family commitments, holidays, Masters Applications and the likes of such things, this month’s Drowned in Manchester column is a more truncated edition than normal. But there’s still been enough time to s»
Drowned In Manchester #14
Everything you need to know about the best new music and live events in Manchester...»
Stornoway - Tales from Terra Firma
For all its many laudable attributes, Tales from Terra Firma proves ultimately frustrating: a skilled, capable and talented band still unaware of how best to channel and control their creative energies. »
Drowned In Manchester #13
As another year rises over the skyline of Manchester’s oddly juxtaposed city centre, it’s a new dawn and a new day for Drowned in Manchester also.»
Ninetails - Slept and Did Not Sleep
There is an audacious expressive joy about Ninetails that, even if the overall content of their music was merely adequate, would still render them worthy of intense interest.»
Girls Aloud - Ten
There remains enough stunning pop alchemy here to thrill beyond requirement.»
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die - The Paradise Edition
What makes The Paradise Edition relevant is that within its added chapters, the whole Lana Del Rey figure emerges more completely.»
Fossil Collective - On & On
Pretty and ethereal this brief collection may be, but there are too many moments on On & On where the music floats by on a winter breeze, rather than truly engaging, stunning and binding you to its heart. »
Bob Dylan - Tempest
You find yourself snagged on every gnarled and crooked word.»
Beacons festival: the DiS review
The 2012 Beacons Festival was light years ahead of the 2011 edition, in that it actually happened. Rob Cooke and David Edwards were on hand to report.»
Blur - 13 ('21' reissue)
A record unlike any Blur had even come close to before. It was a paradigm shift in tone, style and approach that effectively broke away from the ice-shelf of their previous work, and carried their legacy towards vastly different hemispheres. »
DiS meets Johnny Marr & Nile Rodgers - "The greatest artistic motivator in music is jealousy"
DiS' David Edwards and Simon Catlin talk guitars, music and collaborating with two icons of late twentieth-century guitar playing: Johnny Marr and Nile Rodgers.... we kick off an interview with such lines as “When I was playing with Bowie” and “When we were recording ‘There is a Light that Never Goes Out’” mentioned almost as casual asides. »
Benicassim 2012: the DiS review
While most of the Drowned in Sound staff spent last weekend getting sodden at Latitude, David Edwards was faced with a slightly different problem at the fantastic Festival Internacional de Benicàssim. Namely, how to keep cool in the sweltering heat amongst so many superb performances…»