You know those genre tags you get at the top of a Soundcloud page, don’t you just love them. I know what I expect when I see the phrase ‘Psychedelic folk’ and this wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

FOXTALES may be new to you, they certainly were to me, so here’s the essential information. They hail from Manchester and are Amy (guitar/vocals) Cassie (guitar/vocals) Angela (mandolin/vocals) Briony (bass) and The Scoon (drums). ‘Spider’ is their first single.

So back to the song. What we have here is mandolin driven folk and bluegrass influenced pop. There’s lovely harmonies, a lilting bitter-sweet tune and some hugely effective but simple drumming. And let me tell you there’s nothing wrong with simple if it’s well judged and well played. In a song like this the key thing is the voices and they are lovely – you hear the individual character of the voices but the blend is great.

FOXTALES have some live dates coming up, and from hearing this would be well worth checking out. You can check our review of their recent live performance here.

FOXTALES on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Foxtalesmusic

Upcoming dates

• Monday 23rd May – Manchester, Sofar Sounds 23rd birthday (venue TBA)
• Saturday 28th May – Manchester, Soup Kitchen w/Heavy On The Magic
• Saturday 18th June – Buryfest, Chesham
• Saturday July 9th – EP Launch: Manchester Soup Kitchen
• Sunday 31st July – Kendal Calling

With exception of The Scoon on drums, The FOXTALES are a nearly-all-girl band hailing from Manchester. Made up of the aforementioned Scoon (drums), Amy (guitar, mandolin and vocals), Cassie (guitar, mandolin and vocals), Angela (guitar and vocals) and Briony on bass…….tonight they truly graced the stage of the Deaf Institute, yet another convivial  Mancunian venue – our city is just full of ’em! If it’s intimate venues you want…come to Manchester. This one is particularly appealing with its tiered steps, dance floor and small balcony area.

The FOXTALES are difficult to label, but we decided a bit new-age was the way to go. They wouldn’t be out of place in one of the more hippier tents at Glasto. They took us through a number of pleasingly, sweet, melodic, breezy, summery tunes, and with the all-female vocals and mandolins, the band carry a unique, identifiable sound. The first tune ‘Rain Sister’ was the most impressive as my friend commented, ‘beautiful resolution and discord’….the harmonies were spot on and the dreamy all girl sound put me in mind of First Aid Kit. The tune ‘Spider’ is their upcoming spring debut single release. It’s an airy, catchy tune, which I didn’t really feel they did justice live, but having listened to prior to the gig, limited lyrics aside, did get under my skin as I found myself humming it a few days later.

The stand out talent was Amy, moving seamlessly between instruments (guitar and mandolin) as well as accomplished finger picking, singing, playing the guitar with ease and chatting comfortably with the crowd. Cassie also drew us in as she naturally seemed to take the role of front-woman, again demonstrating ease with the crowd as well as polished playing and singing. The others in the group seemed somewhat stage shy, especially the bassist, very much lurking in the background – come out, we’d like to see more!

Overall, the FOXTALES were a tight unit who certainly entertained, were well received and fitted in nicely with the other bands on the night’s billing. They pitched the set just right as warm up, playing just four or five tunes to an appreciative audience who, judging by the reaction, no doubt will seek them out again.

Next up was the headliner, Liam McClair. I heard Liam a few years ago in a tiny venue in Didsbury, just him, his powerful voice and guitar, so I was intrigued to see how is getting on now, playing with a full band. He impressed – immensely; there wasn’t a dud moment in this gig.

Liam commanded the stage; I know I’ve said this charisma business before, but Liam positively personifies it. His velvety smooth, strong folky voice filled and lifted the roof off the venue. His chord changes are clinical and he pulls you in with his emotional lyrics. The track ‘Honest’ belies his years (25 – it was his birthday the night of the gig) and confident guitar playing whilst maintaining constant eye contact with the audience is captivating. The fact that he and all the band look like they’re having a blast contributes to their infectious appeal as does Liam’s killer smile. This gig saw the launch of his new single ‘Hunted’ – blisteringly, soaring vocals and intriguing lyrics takes you on a splendid musical journey…my friend commented, ‘I don’t know what he’s singing about, but I love it!’ Liam loves some well-pitched audience participation and his tune ‘Lose My Faith’ allows for this in spades. At the Didsbury gig, our little gang had the pleasure of providing percussion for this tune (tapping on the table) which Liam remembered (we chatted after tonight’s gig)… tonight audience clapping provided percussion…expertly done I might add. This is a runaway, perfect tune that I’ve played over and over and tonight the audience were also seduced by it. Liam knows how to charmingly work an audience whilst remaining humble … He truly seemed taken aback that all these people had showed up to see him. His new song ‘Fame’ left us speculating whether it was prophetic, only time will tell. A nice touch was inviting warm up band Stained Glass Ceiling up on stage to play – it’s great to see such collaboration between musicians.

I hope Liam retains this humbleness as he has a bright, bright future. I urge you to go to see him. He is absolutely my cup of tea!

It was a dank, dreary, wet evening and we’d just surfaced from hail, rain, snow and in some places, thunder – in April – so Molotov Jukebox was just what Manchester needed that evening. Entering through the doors of Gorilla was more like landing amidst the Rio carnival rather than just another Mancunian venue; the place was simply bursting and bouncing with people and colour. Everyone seemed in a festival mood; it truly was like entering a different world and the sunny, yellow lighting actually started to make me feel as though I was on some sun drenched beach at some fiesta or other.

Molotov Jukebox seem to have a huge following as the venue was packed out with fans in joyous party mood many of whom were wearing flamboyant headdresses, which seems to be a ‘thing’ for this band.

The sunny atmosphere only intensified as the band exploded colourfully on stage – all 12 or so of them!!  There were loads of them – armed with all manner of instruments…a violin, drums, guitars, an accordion and a mini brass section of saxophone and trumpets …. let the carnival commence!  The crowd were delighted to see the band and the band delighted to see them… like old friends having an en masse catch up.

Frontwoman, vocalist and accordion player Natalia Tena was very charismatic and banter with the audience came easy – giving bananas out to the crowd on a whim for best headdress, or dancing, or t-shirt was a quirky part of her repertoire. I was also informed by a fan that she is also an actress most famed for her role in the Harry Potter films. All this and she has an entrancing voice too, which I felt particularly shone through when she sang the reggae/hip hoppy/rap style tunes.

I was immediately hooked by the uniqueness of Molotov Jukebox. Their overarching vibe was gypsy, but the array of instruments allowed for a medley of different sounds. The first tune transported me to a Russian wedding, starting slow then speeding up. The second tune wouldn’t have sounded out of place in a French cafe as the accordion was the dominant instrument. Molotov Jukebox have been described as ‘gypstep’ due to their fusion of hip hop, reggae, rap and at times synthy sound. They really are a creative, exciting, accomplished set of musicians who are well rehearsed and know how to entertain.

Again, sound was an issue as Natalia’s the lyrics couldn’t be clearly heard, which when it comes to dub-step/hip hop/ rap is really a must. There were a number of violin and trumpet solos, which did add variety to the set, but overall, an hour and half set was a bit too long and the last handful of tunes, whilst retaining their  fun, carnival ambiance, started to get a bit samey. If you’re heading to a festival this season, Molotov Jukebox are a must-see, bound to leave you with a smile on your face, possibly a banana in hand and wanting to don a festival headdress. They have party fun written all over them!