Sounds From The Other City 2012

Every year, there is one day that makes us happier than any other to be involved in Manchester's music scene. This day is Sounds From The Other City. Ourselves and all the interesting corners of the DIY scene, descend on our neighbours Salford this year on Sunday May 6th. The aim - to take over unusual places and venues, allowing people to discover the best new bands along the way.

This year we are at Salford Arms. We are presenting 7 bands on this stage that we think nicely demonstrate all of the things we love. Our line-up in full is The Lovely Eggs, Ghost Outfit, The History of Apple Pie, This Many Boyfriends, younghusband, Victories at Sea and G R E A T W A V E S. More details on each here.

Other promoters doing stages include the likes of Hey! Manchester, Now Wave and Drowned in Sound. There are 15 stages in full, so roam free and discover something special. On other stages we'd recommend the likes of Verity Susman, Loney Dear, Patterns, Molly Nilsson, Withered Hand, PINS, The ABC Club, Shinies, Walls, Islet, and Maria Minerva.

Tickets are priced just £18, and available plenty of places online, Piccadilly Records, Common, Gaslamp and of course, Islington Mill. You could get at least £2 per band if you pick wisely. There are some very special after-parties at The Mill too. We would also say there is one thing that stands SFTOC on it's own above all of these new music bar hopping festivals - It's completely free of industry bullshit. And fun, lots of fun.

Clubnight Friday with Tender Trap DJs

Firstly, thanks to everyone that came down to Underachievers 4th Birthday last week. We are calling that one a classic. Stunning sets from The Louche and PINS, hitting capacity by midnight, and some incredible dancing (even a mosh-pit!).

We are back on Friday at The Roadhouse, with one of our all clubnight editions. Back to where it all began. This night will serve as an after-party for everyone at Magnetic Fields Royal Northern College of Music show. Of course, not an exclusive after-party, you can come along if you're just sat in the old man boozer round the corner first, it doesn't matter.

We will have a DJ set from the Magnetic Fields tour support and one of our favourite indiepop bands, Tender Trap. Having previously DJ'd the likes of How Does It Feel To Be Loved, we can't wait to see what Amelia and the gang have in store for us all. Their set will likely be 12-1, with us Underachievers bringing it home til 3am.

We will open doors at 10.30pm for this one. The prices will be £3 before 11 or anytime with flyer (flyers will be outside Magnetic Fields show), otherwise it's £4 or £5 after midnight.

*We are taking a break in May, so this will be the last clubnight until June*

Underachievers 4th Birthday with The Louche and PINS

This Saturday, April 14th, we celebrate our 4th Birthday night, and the line-up for this very special occasion is The Louche and PINS. The Louche have been picked because like Patterns the year before and Young British Artists the year before that, we felt this band have been a defining band for the clubnight this last year. Recent performances from them have been so stunning that they just had to be given the Birthday slot.

PINS are new and exciting, and this is their first Underachievers. They have a debut single, 'Eleventh Hour', out now on very limited gold cassette (although they're already sold out). Anybody that has an interest in new music and a computer, will have likely seen their video for it (below). Classily made and ridiculously cool, it's hard to see an argument that PINS will not become an important band in this city.

As ever, Underachievers clubnight will follow the bands from 11pm til 3am. Playing the finest in fresh and forgotten alt. indie gems. The like of which is the main reason we are still around doing this.

It's usual prices at The Roadhouse for his one - £3 before 10 or anytime with flyer / £4 / £5 after midnight and without.

Fri March 30th – The ABC Club & Blessa

This month has been a bonus one with five weekends, so fresh from an extra week off, we are back on Friday at The Roadhouse. Featuring sets from two of the finest emerging female fronted indie-pop bands around, The ABC Club and BLESSA.

The ABC Club should be known to regular Underachievers already. Winner of the NME Breakthrough Award in 2010, they were described by the magazine as 'artful indie full of creaky disco beats and big blooming choruses.' Previously we've said they sound somewhere between The Strokes and Electrelane, which we still stand by. This will be a launch for their new EP, 'White Lies.'

BLESSA are from Sheffield, this is their debut Underachievers. We thought we heard something special in these early demos, so here they are. We like to take a chance now and then.

As ever, these bands are followed by Underachievers clubnight, playing the finest fresh and forgotten alt. indie til the wee early hours of 3am. Prices for such an extravaganza are, the normal ones. £3 before 10 or anytime with a flyer/ £4 / £5 after midnight, with some cheap £3 doubles on the go too.

Sat March 10th – So Many Wizards & Shinies

On Saturday March 10th, we have a very exciting first Manchester show for LA band, So Many Wizards. Musically, they remind us a fair bit of The Shins, with perhaps a touch of Real Estate at times. They've just released their latest download single, Lose Your Mind on JAXART Records. Their first UK release 'Inner City / Best Friends' was given some great support by the likes of Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens, with their first UK tour set to finish at the latter's clubnight in London. They've previously played shows in LA with the likes of Abe Vigoda and Best Coast.

Support comes from a Manchester band that have played just a handful of gigs so far, but have already featured on Drowned in Sound and all of the finest blogs around. They are Shinies. They make raucous sounding fuzz pop with just the right combo of distortion and melody. Check out their new single out on Dirty Bingo soon, Shola, plus their first track that got everyone in such a state, Spent Youth.

As ever, our alternate indie clubnight follows from 11 til 3am. Usual prices (£3/ £4 in). You know the drill by now.