Jon Kean

1 week ago | louderthanwar.com | Jon Kean

Gigantic All-DayerMarble Factory, Bristol3rd May 2025After a brief break and a geographical relocation from its spiritual Mancunian home to Bristol, the Gigantic All-Dayer promised, in the words of Kim Deal, “A big, big love.” It was a chance to return to the ‘salad days’ of the 1990s, when ‘salad’ largely meant ‘iceberg lettuce’ and indie was cool as… something or other (more of that anon).

Sep 14, 2024 | louderthanwar.com | Jon Kean

Angie McMahon: Light SidesAWALOut nowDLThe new EP from Angie McMahon provides a perfect accompaniment to 2023’s meditative Light, Dark, Light Again album. There are many ways you can seek to feel better in life. You can pay a heavy price, finding yourself, for a week at a healing retreat or for a remote, off-grid cabin in the woods. You can spend days reading self-help manuals or months in therapy.

Aug 28, 2024 | louderthanwar.com | Jon Kean

Victorious FestivalSouthsea Common, Portsmouth23rd-25th AugustVictorious 2024 delivered another seaside spectacular. There aren’t many festivals where you can see IDLES sandwiched in between Louis Tomlinson and Snow Patrol, or Yard Act in between James Bay and Becky Hill. Programming-wise, it feels like the equivalent of going through the racks at TK Maxx, except at Victorious you’re always going to find something you really want amongst the near-baffling variety.

Aug 21, 2024 | louderthanwar.com | Jon Kean

Runner Up: Curriculum Vitae(Afraid of the Radio Recordings)Released 23rd AugustDLLet’s face it. Whenever you’re asked to summarise the details of your life so far to anyone else, the basic human reaction is usually something along the lines of “There’s nothing particularly interesting to say.” A CV is even more arid territory in terms of its subject matter and yet it’s often the first step of the traditional self-promotional pitch to get you through a company’s doors.

Aug 11, 2024 | louderthanwar.com | Jon Kean

Victorious FestivalSouthsea Common, Portsmouth23rd-25th August 2024If winning in life is on your list of summer priorities, then attending a festival called Victorious would be a swift and easy way to edge your existence further into a state of fulfilment and joy. Nominative determinism? It’s by no means unreasonable to claim. If you haven’t sampled Victorious before, it’s three days of taking in quality bands whilst taking the sea air on Southsea Common, Portsmouth.