A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS
Inevitably a quiet start to the year, but, taking their name from a long gone city-centre green space near the Bull Ring once home to the giant statue of King Kong, mention should be made of MANZONI GARDENS. Lining up as singer Greg Bird, guitarists Andy Roberts and Steve Lawrence, drummer Tom Rees and bassist Basith Udin , their sound’s a cocktail of 80s new wave, college rock and 90s alt-rock. They kick off their 2023 with a new single that marries the fuzzy guitar riffery wash, propulsive drums and blurry vocals of the defiant Boundaries (“I'm not dropping out/Not gonna die now/And I’m swinging fine now/I was just holding out for something more”) with the more psych-narcotic Bowie-shadings of the reflective ALL CAPS (“Problems way back when/Felt way smaller then/All forgotten friends and time to spend/And on that night/That haunted night/You kicked and cried as we hurried away”) with its circling guitar line and clouds of drums.
