Various artists

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Reviewed by Levi Tubman

Album released 13th March 26

Manchester is famous for its musical heritage and the legendary bands that emerged from the city. Rochdale, however, is rarely mentioned in the same breath when people talk about great music scenes. Yet one road in the town, Kenion Street, played an important role in that history. It was home to two recording studios, Suite Sixteen and Cargo Studios, where some of the best works of bands such as OMD, Inspiral Carpets, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and Joy Division, there some Manchester big hitters there. To celebrate Rochdale’s status as one of Greater Manchester’s Cities of Culture, a group of local artists were invited to record reimagined versions of tracks connected to that Kenion Street legacy.

The album opens with a cover of Joy Division’s Atmosphere. The original is dark, intense and beautifully tense, with Ian Curtis’ voice dripping with anguish. This version leans heavily on the songs vocals, lifting them up, giving them space and reach with almost gospel backing vocals. In sections the backing drowns out the lead, laying bare its influences of the original, twisted on its head to bring happiness to a song that has never known it before. There are moments where vocal lines repeat a little too much for my taste, though that’s largely a personal preference. Within the electronic drum framework the song remains recognisable, but only just. It’s a genuine reworking rather than a straight cover.

Desyfer & Emma Konnanov -cover of the Happy Mondays Twenty Four Hour Party People starts off at a rave, you're right down the front jumping in time to the thumping drums. The original, with its slow groove never felt it lived up to its title, going for a laid back carefree party. This version fully embraces the party concept. It channels the 90s club scene, evoking a 24-hour night in Ibiza or more likely The Hacienda, where chilled sections give way to waves of synths, samples and driving drums. For me, this actually improves on the original

The Chameleons Up The Down Escalator is a classic Madchester indie number, given a rework by Leo HC. 

The original is a fun energetic indie classic, with such a distinctive vocal tone there’s no questioning which city this comes from. This time, we get a picked acoustic guitar intro with a little electric lead, it melts away into a beautiful stripped back melody. Gentle vocals come in layered, maybe a little overly in places, with backing vocals, its energy and drive is gone, in its place is a beautiful delicate peace. I wont say this is better than the original, or worse, its too much of a different animal to compare, there’s room in the world for both of these versions.

Having given us a stripped back cover, Medley  takes the New Order number Dreams Never End and gives it the full electronic makeover. The original is the classic upbeat happy melody with unmistakable downbeat aching vocals, another number that doesn’t hide where its from. Medleys version, follows the Manchester sound by producing a song that would fit perfectly in the Hacienda. Music and vocals, to a lesser extent, are happy and full of movement, I couldn’t keep still listening to it, you could hear it and not twig that it’s a cover, dating itself 30 years in the past it holds false nostalgia.

The Falls Totally Wired, is a simple song, limited instrumentation with a lot of the vocals more spoken then sung driven by a bassline that takes lead throughout.  I expected either another acoustic simple picked number or a full electronic makeover, but instead Jennifer Reid takes the vocal style and runs with it. While the bass has dropped away the drums embody the spirit of the original, ferocious with long tom fills, it still harks back to the originals simplicity just dialled up a few notches. The vocals are at times distorted, almost spat out at the listener, it feels part punk part angst driven spoken word poetry slam. The ferocity of the vocals still ties it back to the original but while one is an old familiar friend, this one might make you cross over the road if you saw it coming towards you.

I’ll admit that on paper I couldn’t see the appeal, local artists doing their oven versions of classic Manchester bands? Surely that’s been done by students in bars across the country? Instead these are creative interesting and most importantly different. They are not covers they are re workings, reimagined by people who know the originals but have their own sounds. Here you have some that, to this listener, are better than the originals, some that are just as good and others that don’t quite make it to the same level, which is to be expected, but made me look into them more. A lot of this album, like most music, is subjective but its different and fresh! 

I get the argument that ok this isn’t new music, I hear you there, but it is new music, it might not be new songs but the music is new. Many of these tracks would be barely recognisable without their lyrics. The result is a fresh and inventive album that celebrates a slice of musical history while still sounding creative and modern. It’s unlikely I’ll hear another record quite like this this year, but I’d be happy if I did. Wonderfully different.

Track Listing:

1. Micah Stalgic ft. Local Vocals - “Atmosphere" (Joy Division)
2. K-Estate - "Damaged Goods" (Gang of Four)
3. Desyfer & Emma Konnanov - "Twenty Four Hour Party People" (Happy Mondays)

4. P*STARR - "Keep The Circle Around" (Inspiral Carpets)

5. Leo HC - "Up The Down Escalator" (The Chameleons)
6. PoolEra - “Electricity" (OMD)

7. Medley - Dreams Never End (New Order)

8. Blvckout - "All Night Party" (A Certain Ratio)

9. The Velvet Shadow ft. Maisie Thompson - "All Tomorrow's Parties” (Nico)

10. Jennifer Reid - "Totally Wired" (The Fall)
11. From The Ground Up ft. Bloom Music Community - "Elephant Stone" (The Stone Roses)

Sonic PR

Reviewed by John McEvoy

Album released 6th March 26

There’s a particular kind of confidence that comes from making a “concept record” late in a career: you stop chasing novelty for its own sake and start building worlds that feel inevitable. 

The Sisterhood 2 finds Sarah Jane Morris—joined again by guitarist, co-writer and co-producer Tony Rémy—expanding the song-cycle she began in 2024 with The Sisterhood. Released on 6 March 2026, just ahead of International Women’s Day, this second volume offers 11 new originals written as portraits of trailblazing female singer-songwriters: not impersonations, not pastiche, but affectionate character studies shaped by musical fingerprints.

Morris’ voice is the album’s constant—big, grainy, and theatrically precise—while Rémy supplies the changing light. His guitar work slides between steel-string intimacy, jazz-leaning comping and blues bite, often acting like a second narrator. Around them, the arrangements move with relish: keys (including Rhodes and organ) bring warmth and sway, brass pops up to underline the groove, and strings arrive when the story needs lift rather than decoration.

The opening track sets the bar high with “Longing To Be Free (for Peggy Seeger)” and plays like a spirited biographical anthem, its narrative drive nudged along by a rootsy pulse and an insistence that feels earned rather than sloganised. “Oh Mother My Mother (for Sinéad O’Connor)” pivots to a Celtic-tinged elegy, carried by strings that hover like mist; Morris sings with restraint, letting the melody do the heavy emotional lifting. 

Then comes “I Can Hear Jesus Weeping (for Tracy Chapman)”, which is a measured, morally alert piece whose folk-soul guitar language nods to Chapman without reducing her to a reference point. The lead single, “The Edge Is Where The Magic Is Found (for Amy Winehouse)”, leans into jazz balladry—spotlighting artistry first, tragedy second, and Morris threads the line with tenderness.

Elsewhere, the portraits broaden the palette. “Love Wit & Stardust (for Dolly Parton)” catches that particular Parton mix of humour, sparkle, moral clarity—without reaching for country clichés. “Always Both And Never (for Joan Baez)” is quietly spacious, built for clear diction and long lines, while “Sweet Mama Raitt (for Bonnie Raitt)” brings a satisfying grit, with slide guitar touches that push the track into after-hours blues-rock. “Let Only Love Remain (for Joan Armatrading)” is one of the album’s most direct statements, its economy of arrangement giving Morris room to land the lyric’s resolve. 

Later, “Crazy Angel (for Patti Smith)” adds a wirier edge, and “Also Known As Etta James (for Etta James)” swings with brassy swagger, proving the duo can celebrate power without over-singing it.

It’s fitting that the finale, “The Dignity Of Love (for Janis Ian)”, is an opus with classical guitar and strings lending an almost chamber-like poise, it feels less like a tribute track than a closing argument for the whole project: songwriting as witness, and craft as a form of respect. 

The Sisterhood 2 succeeds because it doesn’t treat these women as monuments; it treats them as artists, each with a voice, a conscience and a set of musical decisions. 

Morris and Rémy have honoured honour that legacy by making an album that’s thoughtful, richly played, and alive to the idea of influence as something you carry forward, not merely point back to.

Reviewed by Huw Williams

Album released 27th March 26

From the outset, New Stages feels like an album caught between worlds. Mark Wade and his trio blur the lines between jazz and classical music—and, to be fair, that much is intentional. Wade positions the record as a “meeting point” between his classical background and modern jazz improvisation, even insisting that it “refuses to settle into a tidy label.”

The question is whether that refusal to settle works as a strength, or leaves the album feeling a little unanchored.

It opens convincingly enough with The Good Doctor, which leans firmly into jazz. There’s a lightness of touch to Tim Harrison’s piano, echoing the elegance of Ellis Marsalis, and a gently strolling bass line that gives the piece warmth and direction. It’s relaxed, confident, and, crucially, clear in its identity.

From there, though, the ground begins to shift. Cakewalk - a re-working of Debussy’s piece - shows the more classical phrasing before drifting into jazz improvisation, while The Storm swings the pendulum back towards a more classical sound, underpinned by Wade’s trademark innovative bass. Later, Transition quietly bridges into At Rest via a brief drum-led moment, one of several points where the album feels more like a sequence of ideas than a continuous arc.

Midway through, Iberia Part I & II leans into that hybrid ambition. It’s cinematic, detailed, and technically impressive. It gives Wade the space to deliver a virtuosic bass performance through Part I, before Part II brings back Harrison in upbeat mode along with Scott Neumann’s dynamic beats. There’s a story through this pair of tracks that delivers hazy-feeling heat, much like Morning in Peer Gynt.

Waltz and Variation: opens in a haze of Debussy-like impressionism, moves into waltz territory, then breaks into jazz and drum flourishes that feel almost like a reset.

Elsewhere, Lament introduces a sense of urgency, slightly unsettling, more emotionally direct, while Jesu, drawing on Bach, closes things with a reflective, almost reverent tone. It’s another stylistic shift, handled with care, but again reinforcing the sense of an album moving between identities rather than fully integrating them.

None of this is to question the quality. The musicianship is consistently high, and the trio’s chemistry is evident throughout. They listen, they respond, they shape each piece with understanding and sensitivity. But while the intention to merge classical influence with jazz freedom is clear, it feels a little episodic.

New Stages is undeniably ambitious, and often beautiful. But in trying to be many things at once, it doesn’t always feel like a single, fully articulated statement.

Stepney born and bred bass player/singer John Joseph Wardle - far better known by his  stage name of Jah Wobble, was a founding and key member of Public Image Ltd from their inception and throughout their late 1970s/early 1980s hugely influential peak period.

Since moving on from PiL, Wobble has released a staggering 39 albums, not to mention another 35 including collaborations, Invaders of the Heart and live releases - that's quite some strike rate, by anybody's reckoning.

This time around, Wobble is releasing his latest album 'Automated Paradise' with long time collaborator and key live band member Jon Klein, primarily known for his seven years as guitarist with Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Wobble and Klein Initially joined forces to work on and tour 'Metal Box - Rebuilt in Dub' a reworking of the seminal Public Image Limited album 'Metal Box' to great effect. But on this latest album, their third together, they're delivering a whole new collection of songs.

It's an interesting and varied collection of tracks, all produced by Wobble/Klein and and mixed/engineered by Klein.

The opening track washes in as if from a place far away, somewhat ambient - there's definite hints of Bowie on a couple of tracks as well as unsurprisingly a general post-punk feel across the album. 

'Automated Paradise' is a well produced, likeable and interesting album, but the quality of songs does vary somewhat in terms of strength. I can't help feeling that perhaps if Wobble was just a little less prolific with his output, that maybe the quality of his albums such as this one might be significantly stronger.

Track listing for Automated Paradise (out on 27 March via Dimple Discs):

Fading Away

Make It Stop

Who Wins?

Read Between The Lines

Automated Paradise

Terminal, Terminal The End

Endless Sky

Brockwell Lido

Jah Wobble will be touring with his band The Invaders of The Heart on the following dates:

APRIL

Thu 02 WIMBORNE MINSTER Tivoli Theatre

Fri 03 TOTNES Barrel House

Sat 04 CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach

Fri 10 STOKE ON TRENT Artisan Tap

Sat 11 DARWEN Library Theatre

Sat 25 GWYNEDD Neuadd Ogwen

MAY

Fri 15 CAMBERLEY Login Lounge

Sat 30 LYME REGIS Marine Theatre

Reviewed by Stuart Condie

Album released 27th March 26

Shocking admission for a fellow Scot coming here, but I was only vaguely aware of Kyle Falconer before this new release dropped into my Inbox. Hailing from Dundee, where I spent the formative years of my career, Falconer, as everyone else is presumably aware, is the frontman of The View. With five studio albums behind them, the band announced a short hiatus in 2017 to allow members to pursue other projects. 

In fact, the reunion album, Exorcism of Youth, did not emerge until 2023. In the meantime, Falconer chalked up solo releases, No, Thank You in 2018 and No Love Songs for Laura in 2021 with an EP, Almost Pleasant coming out in 2019. In the period since the most recent band release, he also produced The One I love The Most in 2025 and now, this year, Lovely Night of Terror. So, all in all,10 studio albums since 2007. That’s going some, particularly when you start to think about some of his other collaborative work including work with Mark Ronson and more recently writing a musical.

Falconer has made no secret of his influences and if The View is casually labelled as “Indie Rock”, it becomes clear even on an initial listen that there is a healthy respect for The Beatles and later classic acts without that tipping over into parody or pale imitation. 

So, what of this new album? For a start, it was recorded written and recorded in Alicante, where Falconer and family have been based since 2024. While Dundee has many things going for it, the climate isn’t one that springs to this reviewer’s mind. Typically though it appears that the move hasn’t resulted in our man sitting back and taking things easy in the sun and his La Sierra Casa studio has become a means for Falconer to work with friends and collaborators as well as encouraging musicians yet to hit the big time. Overall then is this a sun-drenched celebration of things going well? To a point, yes.

I mentioned collaborations and there are some well known guests in evidence here. The lead single, Midas Touchfeatures Peter Doherty of Libertines and Babyshambles renown – more of that below – but you also get Justin Hawkins (The Darkness), Jamie Webster, Lottery Winners and Dave McCabe of The Zutons cropping up. 

The album leads off with the title track, a short dreamy vocal sitting over a strummed guitar chord pattern you feel you should know, but I can’t quite place. From there we move into Worlds Away featuring Justin Hawkins. From the off this is upbeat with a big prominent drum sound, police sirens off in the distance and big hooks all the way. The really attention grabbing and positive insistence of the music is totally at odds with the doubts and confusion running through the lyrics. Undoubtedly pessimistic or low mood lines like, “I love you too but I like it when I’m lonely” or “I know the issues I’ve got, I know the problems are plenty, but each night I’m left feeling empty” should probably jar with the pop feel of the song, but it works. No mean feat.

Next up is I'm Lost (You're Dead) featuring Jamie Webster which keeps the driving momentum going from the previous track. It’s all moving along at such a pace that I only noticed some of the adorning guitar and keyboard figures that muscle their way into the mix on the second or third play through. Again we have the contrast of heady pop rhythm and some less than cheerful lyrics. “I’m lost, I’m totally lost, but you never even bothered to come and find me”. I love the way the arrival of the chorus is set up with a mighty drum fill.

Lady Coachella featuring Lottery Winners kicks off (and ends) with a simple synth backdrop (think Soft Cell) before erupting into another huge chorus. It all gets stripped down a bit after a short instrumental passage but before you know it we’re right back into punching the air dancing stuff which deserves to be played a lot if we have even a halfway decent summer this year.

Midas Touch featuring Peter Doherty is the lead single for the album. I have to say that this was the first track on the album where I really even noticed a bass line and, in other environments, you could legitimately call it funky. There’s a generally lighter feel to this track, reminiscent of Wham in places, but with a chord progression that puts me in mind of some of the great 60’s pop songwriters. There’s clever and appealing wordplay on show here too. I happened to like, “I’ve got all the issues, so send me a bunch of tissues” but there are lots to choose from.

Madness featuring Dave McCabe starts off in a slightly more mellow laid-back way than previous tracks with acoustic guitar high in the mix but it’s not long before we’re back in singalong chorus territory complete with a crowd effect “Don’t get me started” to contrast with the very effective solo voices in the verses.

From this point on we lose the advertised collaborations to see the album out with five tracks from Falconer alone. 

The first of these is Trace Of Me. Although the longest song on the album, at 4:48 we’re not talking Porcupine Tree here. There’s a noticeably stripped back feel to the production of this song, a definite whiff of Americana and a generally  less buoyant attitude on display.  Can't Swim (Do It Again) lightens the mood again even if “I’m trying to keep my head ‘cos I can’t swim” is much more about getting through the day rather than getting through 25 metres.

I could see Ego becoming a crowd favourite if only for the chorus which is both memorable and driven along over eight in the bar bass notes creating a real sense of urgency.  Martha's Imagination is a story of “a regular debutante” but it’s clear that things just didn’t work out. “I don’t ever want to hear her name again” is pretty definitive but there is still a sense of loss and regret, albeit with a catchy backbeat.

The album bows out with Third Time Lucky which, although a perfectly serviceable slice of mainstream pop and boasting a chord sequence I couldn’t resist playing along to, is the weakest song on the album for my money. I can’t be sure – these things are subjective after all – but I think that’s because it’s the one with the least tension between the music and the lyrical sentiment. I can hardly begrudge the man a straightforward happy love song, but it does feel a little out of place compared to what went before.

It’s very tempting to look at this album, not least because of the running order, as being in two parts; the collaborations and the solo work. I’m not sure it really is that simple. There’s great songwriting craft on show across all of it and some truly uplifting choruses to test the tonsils, not to mention some big helpings of summer sun which are way more Costa Blanca than Tayside. If you are still in possession of such an archaic device, expect to hear some of this on a radio when the sun comes out.

Reviewed by Chris Morley

Album released 27th March 26

Imagine if you will Hot Chip going metal- you now have the essence of Pet Needs. 

Electronic smarts with surprisingly heavy riffs is what greets the uninitiated listener to Hey You Hey You, first single from their latest attempt to craft socially conscious pop punk, centred around a depressingly current trend- the idea of buying a career. 

Whether its prescient comment or biting satire will surely become clearer with time, but four albums in its clear that Pet Needs still enjoy playing the game. Why else remain despite the massive gamble they themselves admit is at the heart of an industry which may well break you?

And so runs the thread of conceptual punk- a niche genre perhaps with few entries, but a story well told with enough hooks to keep you interested.

Sonic PR