Andy Zipf - MySpace Tracks

It all started out in the mid winter of 2005, but didn’t last long. As, like with every band, there was fallouts. Things were looking unsure for them when the drummer left. Later, they were to become much more consistent, and came back - on form! Read more

The Manta Raya - MySpace Tracks

Maradona, dirty tackles, knocking England out of the world Cup, cool new rave bands….cool new rave bands?! No, not normally one of the things that spring to mind when you think of Argentina, that was until Manta Raya came along mind! Read more

The Gossip @ Leeds Met University

Standing in the way of The Gossip seems virtually impossible these days. Helped partly by that overplayed advert on E4, The Gossip have developed a huge following in a matter of months. Originally from Portland, USA, the band have toured alongside the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Erase Errata, and the White Stripes, to name but a few. Now the unstoppable trio have been travelling the UK, promoting their new album ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ and their new single of the same name. Read more

The Pigeon Detectives @ Leeds Met University

Just over a year ago this young Yorkshire rabble were playing in some of the dingiest venues imaginable to an average crowd of around twenty-five people. Now, with very little promotion they have had a Top 40 single, supported fellow tykes Kasier Chief’s and are just coming to the end of a fully sold-out headline tour where they’ve played to crowds in excess of a thousand people each night. Not a bad years work, eh? Read more

Save Our Shops!

The independent record shop was, until fairly recently, the only place you could go to find and buy decent music. But in today’s world of high street chains, mp3s and money hungry supermarkets. These important institutions are fighting to survive. Read more

Interview: The Dykeenies

Helen Newbery interviews The Dykeenies at Belladrum festival. Read more

Operator Please - Just A Song About Ping Pong

Take a bunch of cheeky, ridiculously young Aussie kids, feed them some Greenday, Blondie, Hole, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Specials, give them some guitars and a violin and voila! Out pops Operator Please, Australia’s answer to Be Your Own Pet, just with slightly diluted angst and a bit more pop hook emphasis than their hell raising Nashville counterparts. But all the necessaries to take them all the way, having already ridden a rocket fuelled ride to success, from a high school battle of the bands to a Maximo Park support slot in just two years! Read more

Dartz - This Is My Ship

When I first picked up a copy of ‘This is my ship’ by Dartz! I didn’t quite know what to expect. I’d heard ‘fantastic apparatus’ on a split release with ex-label mates The Maybes, and been thoroughly impressed, it was indeed fantastic. That being said, I still had my reservations and feared yet another one-hit, generic, indie band. After repeated listening to the single track I owned I decided that I had to give them a chance, and bought their debut offering. Read more

Cute Is What We Aim For @ Leeds Met University

It’d be wrong to let Cute Is What We Aim For’s catchy choruses lead you into the false thought that they’re nothing more than a chirpy, bouncy new-wave pop-punk band. Sure, on a first listen you’d be forgiven for thinking that, but re-listen to the lyrics and you’ll uncover a band that are wise beyond their surprisingly young average of 19 years. See them live and you’ll be more than halfway convinced that this band is worth more than a second and third listen. Read more