After 35 years away, Manchester indie legends The Man From Delmonte are back playing live shows and releasing a brand-new album ‘Better Things’ in November, with its first taster, the fabulously hooky single ‘Believe Me’ backed by B-side ‘The International’ out this week.
Between 1988 and 1991 TMFD weren’t part of any music scene. They were their own movement, sounding nothing like anyone else at the time. Selling out 3000 capacity venues, hitting the top of the Indie charts and having Inspiral Carpets and 808 State as their opening acts. Mike West, Sheila Seal, Martin Vincent and Howard Goody delivered classic pop tunes including ‘Water in My Eyes’ and ‘My Love is Like a Gift’ that were lyrically ahead of their time. Mike wrote and sang about loving men just as easily as he did about relationships with women. The audiences always loved it. The press often treated them with outright biphobia.
After a chance conversation with TV presenter Iain Lee, The Man From Delmonte are back. Their first reunion gig at Band on the Wall sold out in 12 minutes. Their following show at Manchester Academy 2 sold out in days. Over 600 copies of a double CD reissue of the band’s two albums ‘Big Noise’ & ‘Good Things in Life’ have been bought by fans desperate to get their hands on anything TMFD related.
‘Who knew that we had such amazing fans that had been listening to TMFD all through those years and would want us to come back and play live!” exclaims bassist Sheila Seal. ‘Someone said to me: you go into a Man From Delmonte gig in your fifties and come out in your teens’, she further adds.
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Following the release of single “Night Crawling” earlier this year and the independent success of the band’s debut album in 2024 which saw the band claim a Top 15 Official Chart Position, The Howlers saunter back into frame ahead of their biggest shows to date with new single “You Can Be So Cruel”.
“You Can Be So Cruel” isn't shy or reticent in its meaning, it's a confident and sultry anti love letter, a memory of those late nighter rendezvous that goaded you into a confrontational position, the stranger sauntering around your favourite bar with confident intent on pursuing whatever crosses their mind.
After recording in studios for the band’s debut album, frontman Young decided to set himself a challenge and make a record that sounds better, without stepping foot in a studio. So all the vocals, all the guitars, all the synths are recorded at home and over Skype and Teams with producer Chris Ostler, the idea was to make a record that breaks the mould on what is possible.
Speaking about the track, frontman Adam Young says: “The track is an anti love letter. We have all been swept up in the way we feel about someone that we ignore the warning signs and end up getting hurt. The track is a confident F*** You directed at those people, I’m sure there will be people who hear this track and immediately think of someone in particular who made them ignore all the signs.”
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| Photo - Anna Koblish |
Indie/rock darlings The Happy Fits released yesterday their riotous new single “Black Hole” along with an immersive official video. The track is the latest to release off their upcoming album Lovesick, due out September 19th. Over a bed of anthemic guitars, theatrical strings, and an earworm chorus, “Black Hole” explores what happens when we surrender our sense of self to meet the needs of another, watching helplessly as a relationship that once brought such light and joy slowly descends into a source of frustration and regret.
“I learned through this experience that no matter how badly you may want to help someone, if they’re unwilling to accept it, you have to let go,” explained frontman Calvin Langman. “Otherwise, you’ll just keep giving more and more of yourself until you get whittled down to nothing.”
Forthcoming album Lovesick was written and recorded after ten tumultuous months that saw one founding member depart the band severing a creative partnership that had formed the group’s bedrock since the start, another leave tour to get sober following an emotional intervention, and a third entering an era of self-renaissance after the dissolution of a serious relationship and a series of relocations.
Rather than let the hardship break their stride, though, the acclaimed quartet leaned into the turmoil, transforming all the heartbreak and uncertainty they experienced into their most exhilarating, adventurous, and cathartic record yet. Lovesick is, as its title would suggest, a complicated reckoning with all the joy and pain that comes with opening your heart to the world. The songs are bold and fearless, reveling in the intensity of it all with radical vulnerability, and the performances are similarly, pairing blistering rock and roll energy and addictive pop hooks with sweeping orchestral arrangements and raw, revelatory lyrics.
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Foxford share an epic new cover of the classic “Tennessee Whiskey” from studio EP “Heaven Here” Raised in South Manchester, brothers Michael and Liam reflect their diverse inspirations from Michael’s love for Oasis and The Beatles to Liam’s admiration for Bob Dylan and Otis Redding, thus forming Foxford.
Michael, a self-taught pianist, guitarist and lyricist, previously released his solo record “Home Again”, which garnered support from BBC Introducing, and even got featured at a few Manchester United halftime shows. Liam, a self taught multi-instrumentalist and singer has collaborated with singer/songwriter Jake Mattison, and toured with Emeli Sandé. Between the brothers, their wealth of experience and creativity transcends throughout “Heaven Here”.
The project blends heartfelt songwriting with rich musical influences, rooted in emotion and authenticity. Heaven Here includes two original tracks. The title track is an uplifting anthem about finding beauty in everyday moments. The second,”The Only Face in the Crowd” is a poignant piano ballad about love and connection, featuring strings by acclaimed producer George Shilling (Blur, Ocean Colour Scene, Primal Scream, Frank Turner).
Also included is a soulful cover of Tennessee Whiskey, showcasing the duo’s dynamic chemistry, with Liam on vocals and Michael on organ. “This EP reflects our journey and what inspires us,” says the band. “We hope listeners feel something real and are reminded of the connections that matter.” Heaven Here is an introduction to Foxford’s honest, emotionally driven sound, resonating with the listener and leaving a lasting impression.
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| Photo - Edwin Remsberg |
Jon Nolan & Good Co. released “Hidden Glances,” the latest single from Slow Cooker, Nolan’s forthcoming album with Good Co., his band of hometown friends, out September 19 via Strolling Bones Records. On the album, the New Hampshire native underscores his relatable storytelling with eloquent folk-inspired songcraft accented by flourishes of country and rock brought to life during cozy and relaxed jam sessions which took place in his hometown of Newmarket.
“Love, desire, romance, regret, missed moments, memories. A photo album of infatuation and heartbreak,” Nolan says about the new track. “Another song where I left some space for the listener to fill in the details of the movie scenes playing out in their mind.”
“Hidden Glances” follows previous singles “On My Own” and “Sea Glass,” premiered by Magnet Magazine, which was released with a music video starring two of Portland, Maine’s most respected and prolific musical figures—Jon Roods (Rustic Overtones, Paranoid Social Club) and Anna Lombard (Gypsy Tailwind, Love by Numbers)—and was co-directed by Nolan and Jay Boyington.
During the summer of 2022, Nolan, who fronts the alternative country band Say ZuZu, experienced a surge of inspiration so he launched a new music project “just for fun.” At first, he holed up in the attic of a friend’s barn with collaborators Geoff Taylor [bass] and Rick Habib [drums]. “We were eventually kicked out for being too loud,” Nolan laughs. Despite losing their de facto clubhouse, the guys welcomed Zack Tremblay [guitar] into the fold, cementing the lineup for Jon Nolan & Good Co.
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