When: 7.30pm on Tuesday 29 October 2013
Where: Soup Kitchen, 31-33 Spear Street, Manchester M1 1DF
We’re delighted to welcome back Allo Darlin’ for their first Manchester show in over a year.
Allo Darlin‘ are many things. They can turn a room in a famous punk venue into a joyous, jumping, sweaty, pop-mosh pit. Or bring a room of 500 to hushed silence with the few strums of a ukulele and a love song about cooking. Coming very much from a DIY approach, they inspire true dedication from their fans, many of whom will travel hundreds of miles to see them.
In their brief lifetime they have toured the USA four times, sold out tours across the UK and embarked on an epic five-week European tour. They have played the End of the Road festival twice and recently headlined a packed-out Scala in London for their label Fortuna POP!’s 15th Anniversary celebrations. The band have also been strongly supported by BBC 6music, recording several sessions including one at the BBC’s prestigious Maida Vale Studios.
Their self-titled debut was released to universal acclaim in 2010 with plaudits including being named No 2 record of the year by eMusic and a glowing 1200-word essay by legendary Go-Between Mr Robert Forster in the Australian critical magazine, The Monthly.
Despite all the activity, Allo Darlin’ have found time to write songs for Europe, their follow-up album, which came out last spring. The record is very different from their first as the world has changed a lot since their debut in 2009. There have been riots in the streets of London and there is a sense that people are unhappy, so a carefree album didn’t seem appropriate. Singer Elizabeth Morris says: ‘I wanted to make beautiful songs and end up with a beautiful album, not necessarily an album with four singles… I suppose the songs have an awareness of a darker place but end up coming out the other side. We wanted to make the best album we possibly could and I think we’ve ended up with that.’
Live, the London-based four-piece – led by Australian ukulele-toting songbird Elizabeth Morris, with guitarist Paul Rains, Bill Botting on the bass and Michael Collins on drums – create perfect, sophisticated pop gems and know how to put on a joyous, effervescent, fun-filled show.
‘Terrific, witty and heartfelt, like a less moody Belle & Sebastian‘ – The New York Times
Support comes from Manchester’s own Songs For Walter. Signed to Red Deer Club, the band list The Magnetic Fields, Bill Callahan and Destroyer among their influences, and have been described by Tom Ravenscroft as ‘One of my favourite discoveries of recent years’.
Buy tickets now with no booking fee. Tickets are also available from Common (no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.com, WeGotTickets.com,Ticketabc.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.