When: 7.30pm on Friday 27 October 2023
Where: The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE

We’re delighted to be welcoming Thomas Truax back – this time, to the Castle Hotel!

Merging a fevered imagination and solid songwriting with a mad scientist’s brain for weird gadgets, American singer Thomas Truax is a true one-off.

He is known for an array of unique self-made instruments including a motorized drum machine made of bike wheels, spoons and other found items called ‘Mother Superior’ and a souped up Gramophone called ‘The Hornicator’.

But don’t let the novelty fool you. He is also a talented guitar player, storyteller, and performer who crafts rich, poetically evocative songs about insects, trees, technology, love, and a lifelong fascination with the Moon. His music evades easy pigeonholing as his songs flit between art rock, post-punk, and a distinctive brand of surreal Americana.

His ten studio LPs include the highly rated covers album Songs From The Films Of David Lynch.

A new full-length, Dream Catching Songs, featuring the renowned drummer Budgie (Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Slits, The Creatures) playing along with Mother Superior, has been garnering rave reviews with its poignant, sometimes tender, often raucous songs.

Though Thomas usually performs solo, other notable past supporters and collaborators have included Jarvis Cocker, Duke Special, James Smith of Yard Act, Richard Hawley, Bob Log III, the Dresden Dolls and the late author Terry Pratchett.

‘Endlessly inventive and creative… a show not to be missed!’ – Oxford Times

‘Truax is shaping up nicely as one of the great rock eccentrics.’ – UNCUT

Local support comes from Granfalloon. Richard Lomax (aka Granfalloon) first embarked on writing songs for a proposed year-long journal in 2014 – a maddening yet rewarding journey which documented the fever dream of a chaotic year in the form of fifty-two pieces of music. Almost 10 years after its initial conception Lomax is about to release Calendar – Chapter II as a collaboration with fellow songwriter Lobelia. Chapter II is the follow up to 2022’s Volume I album, taking those fifty two ramblings, ideas, half baked thoughts and overcooked dreams and turning them into what will become a triptych of albums.

Lomax and Lobelia first met when Granfalloon was touring in 2019. Whilst finishing up work on Volume I of Calendar, Lomax reflected on some of the most enjoyable musical moments of the previous couple of years being those when he’d worked with Lobelia and as a result asked her if she’d be interested in writing Chapter II with him. To his delight she accepted and they set to work on the project with incredible alacrity. Five of the songs that appear on Calendar – Chapter II were written on that first day Lobelia and Lomax sat down to write together.

Whilst Volume I contained songs that exist mostly in the form they were written in 2014, the songs that make up Chapter II are predominantly new pieces of work. Some retain a snatch of melody or a chord progression, some a concept, some merely a title that they share with their 2014 counterpart. Calendar is becoming an organic, breathing body of work. An evolving songbook of the art of writing itself. Calendar – Chapter II will be out in Autumn of 2023.

Buy tickets now.

Attend on: Facebook