How we’re already halfway through August is pretty ridiculous. But now that “summer” is in full swing – albeit minus the sun –our calendars are jam-packed with post-lockdown gigs and events.
So, we’re continuing to soundtrack your week again wherever you might be headed, with a little bit of everything on our New Manchester Music playlist.
We have our list of highlights from the playlist right here and it’s another great selection of new releases – even if we do say so ourselves.
On the list this week is another summery number, a band tipped for big things and a thought-provoking look into men’s mental health.
To listen to them all plus loads more new stuff, head to our Spotify playlist here.
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Macious – Jazz
We’re loving Macious’s latest disco-infused house drop ‘Jazz’ – and we can confirm we’ve had it on repeat.
Not only does it feature catchy old school piano keys and a melodious trumpet sample that wouldn’t be out of place at the poolside in Ibiza, but the uplifting basslines are bound to put you in a good mood.
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Macious produced this track at a house party some years ago now. But sadly it’s been sitting on a hard drive all this time. We’re glad it’s finally getting its debut this week.
The song is actually named after a taxi driver called Jazz who Macious met at the party. Apparently, Jazz’s energy matched that of the track’s and was vibing with it on the night. So, of course Macious had to name it after him.
And if that’s not another reason to give it a listen, I don’t know what is.
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Idle Hours – Made Flesh
A new discovery for us just this week was Manchester band Idle Hours – and they happened to drop a new track on Wednesday which was perfect timing.
The band emerged from the ashes of 2020 with an established and confident sound, taking influences from garage-rock.
Their new one, ‘Made Flesh’, has some really cool guitar melodies. It’s been stuck in our heads since we first listened to it.
Also, they’ve got a headline gig at Manchester’s legendary Castle Hotel this weekend as well, so head down if you’re about and show them some support.
Yawn – Simple Sensations
‘Simple Sensations’ is the debut single from synth-pop trio Yawn.
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Supposedly inspired by BBC’s Normal People, the track navigates the tricky journey from teens to adulthood. Its slow pace and smooth vocals resemble the long old slog of growing up.
Emerging in the height of lockdown in April 2020, the lads are still very much living the ‘new normal’. They’re recording everything at home in front of their laptops, amidst Zoom meetings.
Perhaps even the band name is reference to these boring and tiresome times we’re living in? Either way, there’s nothing boring about Yawn’s debut. It’s soft and easy-listening with twinkly keys that are pretty dreamy.
Superlative – Can I Be Excused?
Rapper and producer, Superlative, has dropped a new track from his forthcoming EP ‘Can I Be Excused’ this week.
The seven-track collection which is out next Friday taps into the vulnerabilities of a man that appears to have it together. It touches on mental health and personality traits, too, and highlights some common misconceptions about what it means to be ‘a man’.
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The bottom-line being that Superlative wants to challenge the association between rappers and the streets.
Its title track, ‘Can I Be Excused’ is a sort of audio diary. It’s emotive and tense in places. The instrumental is based on a half-time walking bass that changes every eight bars to create a notion of going round in circles. We imagine this is designed to emphasise the EP’s key themes.
This one’s only out on YouTube on Friday 13 August, but is on streaming services from next Friday. So, you’ll have to listen to this one here for now.
StreamGM and The Manc have teamed up to show some some serious love and support to the region’s renowned theatres, nightclubs, and live-music venues with the launch of SeeGM – a digital campaign to shine a bright spotlight on many of the amazing events, club nights, gigs and shows in our region.
Review | Villanelle debut: Liam Gallagher’s son’s band release their first track – here’s our review
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher’s son, Gene, and his band Villanelle, have officially released their debut single to the masses, and since we’re still very much immersing ourselves in everything even remotely to do with Oasis, we thought we’d give this first track a review.
Now, if you’re expecting a familiar Britpop vibe like his dad and uncle used to bash out back in the day, you’d be very wrong…
It’s one thing to settle into something similar to what you’ve grown up around and try to continue a lineage if you’re from a successful family – especially with a legacy as important and influential as the one left by Liam and Noel – but we’re glad to report they’ve done something pretty different.
24-year-old Gene Gallagher and his bandmates Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass), and Andrew Richmond (drums) haven’t just tried to do an impression of Oasis; instead, they’ve found their own sound, and while it does give somewhat of an old-school flavour, it’s not what we expected.
It takes literally milliseconds for you to click into realising the vibe they’re going for.
‘Hinge’ is a simplistic but hard-hitting, grungey and dark debut from Villanelle, who, despite having played a number of in-progress songs live over the last year or so, have only just dropped their first studio single.
In fact, they’ve actually taken the admittedly bizarre and unorthodox first steps of having already played live with Liam Gallagher on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour before they actually released anything people can easily listen to outside of their live performances.
Nevertheless, the young four-piece introduces Villanelle as the latest post-punk outfit amidst the ongoing revival of the classic rock genre.
That is to say that punk is a tried and true classic style of music, not that these lads are trying to sound like The Rolling Stones…
Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked: Villanelle draw plenty of influences from both original and contemporary examples of this sonic subculture, and while it isn’t explosive per se, ‘Hinge’ is short, direct and hits the same formulaic notes.
It’s also fair to say you can hear a bit of the recognisable LG whine in Gene’s vocals at times, too. Listen to it in full down below and see if you agree.
Even the basic found-footage style video fits into the same category.
To call it straightforward isn’t intended as any kind of a diss, by the way – some of our favourite tunes and best artists spearheading the renaissance of the punk scene write like this.
What we will say is that it looks like bloody good fun to both play and listen to in a small, sweaty room, with plenty of pits and people bouncing off the walls.
Gallagher Sr. might be surprised to see his son going for a slightly heavier, more hardcore route with his sound, but he can’t accuse him of forgetting his roots as the child of a ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.’
The boys are actually hitting the road this winter, including a date at The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter, if you fancy grabbing a ticket.
You can grab your tickets to see Villanelle on tour HERE, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of their debut track down in the comments.
Johnny Marr teases his work on upcoming Gorillaz album
Danny Jones
Legendary Manchester musician Johnny Marr has revealed he features on the new Gorillaz album, adding even more interest in the highly anticipated release.
The Mountain is the ninth studio LP from the musical collective led by Damon Albarn, which is set to drop in early 2026, more than three years on from their last album, Cracker Island.
Although the virtual band made up of several real-life creatives (though the ex-Blur frontman and artist, Jamie Hewlett, technically remain the only two consistent core members) hasn’t been away for too long, each new project brings a wave of excitement.
With that in mind, we have no shame in admitting we have even more interest in Gorillaz’s latest album now that we know Johnny Marr is attached to it.
I’m pleased to share that I appear on four tracks on the upcoming Gorillaz album The Mountain. It’s a privilege to be a part of this record along with so many great artists. #Gorillaz#JohnnyMarrpic.twitter.com/KXVZxgyGg9
In the new rundown of tunes already posted earlier this month, the former Smiths songwriter and lead guitarist features on four different songs on the new record. You can see it in full down below:
Gorrilaz – The Mountain tracklist
1. The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash) 2. The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought) 3. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks) 4. The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen) 5. Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar) 6. The God of Lying (feat. IDLES) 7. The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 8. The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof) 9. The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 10. Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith) 11. Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey) 12. The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash) 13. Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr) 14. The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 15. The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)
As you can see, the 61-year-old appears for the first time on song seven, ‘The Empty Dream Machine’, as well as ‘The Plastic Guru’, ‘Casablanca’, and the penultimate track on the album, ‘The Sweet Prince’.
It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the captivating soundscape already teased by the group, with Gorillaz having now shared ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring art pop duo Sparks.
A strong and politically loaded start.
Marr – who only released his fourth batch of solo material, Fever Dream Pts 1-4, back in 2022 – has continued to craft and produce with countless other artists over the past few decades, sharing the studio with fellow icons such as Noel Gallagher, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads and many more.
He even helped create the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack with legendary composer Hans Zimmer.
That being said, we can only hope to hear some of his famous guitar tones sprinkled throughout this album, though it’s still unclear as to exactly how much input he had on The Mountain overall.
What we do know about the album is that it’s the first to be released via Albarn’s new record label KONG; it’s 15 tracks, and was largely made following extended recording sessions across India, with the likes of Ajay Prasanna, Omar Souleyman and Anoushka Shankar, joining IDLES, Jalen Ngonda and other collabs.
Perhaps most excitingly, the announcement of ‘Gorillaz no.9’ came alongside a series of tour dates, including one right here in Manchester. We can’t wait to see 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle ‘live’ in 0161.
Hannah Starkie -
13th August 2021 
