Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The live experience is one that can never be discounted as being an integral part of the framework of music, to be at a gig in which the atmosphere is buzzing, in which the songs melt into your heart and leave a lasting impression, that is the feeling of extasy and inclusion to which so many of us search for, to be part of something greater, to reconcile the emotions, of the beat which hopefully never stops.

Whilst the studio album will always be the one that stirs the pot of initial intrigue, in the hands of the live recording the memories are given that extra sense of reality, and regardless of whether you attended the gig in question or not, what comes across is the very real emotion of the audience’s appreciation being heard, that extra voice in your head that pleads for more, that asks for just one more encore.

For The Slow Readers Club, Live at 02 Apollo Manchester is perhaps a pinnacle of their short time together, one that showcases the reasoning of fortune to which they have become adored and rightly praised for their observation and scintillating performances.

The double C.D is a framing of the moment, a slice of time in which Manchester embraced one of their own with the same generosity displayed to other heroes over time, to Oasis, through to The Smiths and Black Grape, it is the sound of the Northern giant striding across the platforms of Piccadilly, through the memories of Moss Side, Salford and Old Trafford and through the history of anger encapsulated in Peterloo and the literature of Elizabeth Gaskell; it is the home coming to which we all eagerly await when our heroes collide with the momentum of the day.

Across songs such as Fool For Your Philosophy, Supernatural, Never Said I Was The Only One, Through The Shadows, Not Afraid Of The Dark, Feet On Fire, Forever in Your Debt and I Saw A Ghost, The Slow Readers Club affirm their position as one of the finest bands around to catch live today, and even in the comfort of your own home, away from the build-up of anticipation and the smell of hormones raging, there is still an abundance of magic to found in the live arena.

A live album of belief made real, Live at 02 Apollo Manchester is a slice of time lovingly captured.

The Slow Readers Club’s Live At 02 Apollo Manchester is out now.

Ian D. Hall