Tag Archives: Faith Vern

PINS @ Oporto, Leeds. 10th October 2025.

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Last night, I think I may have been in the world’s hottest venue. It was also one of the most cramped venues ever too. Was the sweat and small space worth it? Absolutely! PINS are currently touring the 10 year anniversary of their record, Wild Nights. I remember being at the album launch for it 10 years ago, and to hear the songs a decade later and them still feel brand new was so cool! It just shows how great the band are.

Now, I’ve seen PINS play about 10 times over thew years and last night as my first time seeing them play in a venue in the north. Location isn’t everything, but Oporto was a great place to see them. PINS have a sound that’s unlike anything else, and when you see them live you really feel the music and can really appreciate their sound. Sadly, there were the usual pervy men in the front zooming in on body parts and filming the band- especially during the last song when a few of the crowd were on stage. I used to see this happen years ago in London, so it looks like this breed of human sadly occurs everywhere. It’s just wrong, and it makes me so mad. Imagine if someone was doing it to their daughter? Idiots. Anyway, back to how solid the show was!

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone on stage with as much energy as Lois. It was so cool to see that same energy from years ago is still there. I really don’t think anyone loves being on that stage as much as she does; a real joy to see. Faith’s voice is as powerful as ever, and on delicate songs like Got It Bad you can really hear the power in her voice. The addition of Abbi on the drums adds some extra loudness to the sound and Kyoko may be one of the slickest bassists around. Is it the best PINS have ever sounded? Of course. The tightness of the band is there and hearing how Wild Nights has developed and got stronger over the past decade is a real joy to witness.

Every song off the record is played along with new single, I’ll Be Yours and the classics- Serve The Rich and of course, Girls Like Us. For me, hearing Dazed By You (which in my humble and biased opinion, is one of the best modern love songs around) live again just made me so happy. I genuinely thought I was going to cry out of happiness hearing it live again but instead, I just sang along and had a lovely time. There is something about a PINS show that leaves you feeling like you can take on the world. There are delicate moments in the set (Got It Bad and If Only) but there are these sensational ferocious parts where you know you are absolutely in the presence of one of the best bands to have ever come from Manchester. I love the rage in Too Little Too Late that I just love so much. You can proper shout a long to this, and I think it’s partly why my throat hurts today! House Of Love and Oh Lord are divine live too. The whole record is just timeless, and I’m so glad they have celebrated it by putting on these shows.

Although this was my possibly 11th time seeing PINS, it really felt like I was seeing them for the first time last night. It’d been too long, and I hope they play more shows now because they are one of the most exciting bands to see live, and I just adore them so much. I love how when you’ve loved a band for so long, you can really hear how their sound has grown- especially in a live setting. The celebration of Wild Nights was a thing of beauty, and hopefully we can celebrate it again in another 10 years. Although, I’ll probably need to be seated for that!

The shows ends with the anthem that is, Girls Like Us. Faith brings a number of people onto the worlds smallest stage for such a big moment. Seeing the love and happiness of everyone on the stage summed up exactly what PINS are about and why, although they are criminally underrated, they are one of the best around. No one will ever do it like PINS and last night totally proved it.

One final thing- they are selling posters on the tour for Kinder Relief to support the people of Palestine. Go to the show and buy a poster or two. Anything left over will be up on their Bandcamp page after the tour.

PINS: I’ll Be Yours.

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The world is terrible, but PINS are back! One of my favourite bands from Manchester are back. Listening to their new single, I’ll Be Yours is making me feel exactly the same way I did when I first heard them back in 2011 or 2012. It was either Shoot You or Luvu4lyf that got me hooked. I felt like I had found a band that were going to make me love a city that I loved even more and truly appreciate the music there. It made me want to leave where I was living at the time. I made that move in 2018, and I’m still here. Music makes this city. As do the people. Home is where the music is.

Alright, soppiness aside- I’ll Be Yours is PINS at their very best and my god how I’ve missed them. It’s been around 5 years since their last record (Hot Slick) was released, and this year marks 10 years of the divine and delicious Wild Nights record. I urge you to buy tickets for this, as this band are wonderful live.

The new single sounds like how The Shangri- Las or how The Crystals would sound if they were around now and had a heavier sound. In short, PINS have that beautiful 60s Girl Group sound that I love so much but have added this heaviness to it that just makes it so exciting. I’ve missed this band so much. I can’t put into words how much it means to have them back. Who needs Christmas or birthdays!? This is what we need.

The guitar on this insane, and you just know it is going to be a dream to hear live! PINS are a band that absolutely need to be seen live. Every show I’ve been to, they’ve just sounded better and better. I cannot wait for the tour, and to hear these songs again. Oh, I’ve bloody missed them.

I’ll Be Yours is a gorgeous number to have on repeat and waste the day away too. It’s everything PINS are in 2 minutes and 6 seconds. If you’ve never listened to them before, start with this and go back. Go back and get lost in their stunning and powerful sound. They’re the best of the best, and I’m so glad they are back.

Tour starts in a week, and you can get tickets here: PINS Tour

This wasn’t so much a review but me going on about why this band are bloody great and a call for you to get tickets for the tour.

VIVA PINS!

PINS: Hot Slick.

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Pins: Hot Slick review - Manchester trio trade indie for anodyne ...

Everything I’ve ever written about PINS is probably going to come out again as I write about their gorgeous new record, Hot Slick. With all the rubbish going on in the world- we need something to make us feel better. You can find that in Hot Slick, and that’s a promise.

PINS have been a band that I’ve been in awe of since the start. I found them by accident, and never looked back since. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen them live and again, I promise you that their live shows are amazing. They were due to play an album launch show tomorrow night here in Manchester, but that will now (hopefully) happen in October. It’ll be my first time seeing them in the city I am proud to call home. I’d only ever seen them play in London, so this show will be extra special when it happens.

Something you really get from PINS is that their songs are made to be witnessed in a live setting. They are a band that really show you what they are made of when you go to their shows, and what they have done on Hot Slick is not only show us that this record will be incredible live, but they have laid it all out on record. Forget what you heard on Girls Like Us and Wild Nights- Hot Slick is a different level. I love both records a hell of a lot, but that new sound is so strong and a real joy to listen to.

The only downside is that the record lasts about half an hour, but we can get round that by playing it over and over! There is so much to love about this record, and one thing I love the most is that Jamie Hince from The Kills produced the titled track. If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written, you’ll know just how much I fucking LOVE The Kills so this is a pretty huge thing! PINS have worked with Iggy Pop and Jamie Hince- that’s pretty incredible. PINS don’t have a distinctive sound, and that’s really clear on this record.

They aren’t afraid to experiment with their sound and to push what they can do. They are truly one of the most hard-working bands around, and that dedication comes right through on all they do, and Hot Slick is a raw declaration of this. I love the title track so much; it’s got a strong mix of Punk mixed with Donna Summer. It’s the trashing guitar with electrifying Disco feel. It’s pure magic and is such a powerful start to the record.

Hot Slick consists of 10 songs that will stay in your head all day. These songs will play on your mind. You’ll want to live out Love You To Death (Mark from Leather Party/a bunch of other great bands, and is married to Faith, features on this) and Ponytail will just make you feel like you can take on the world. I started writing this yesterday but wanted to keep on listening to the record in order to try but something coherent together, and to obviously just keep on playing the record. Daisies is the ideal song to listen to if you’re looking to self-isolate in the park with the sun hitting your back. The whole record has a Summer feel to it, and although the world is strange and uncertain right now- we are still lucky to have bands like PINS give us music to keep on going. I adore how different Hot Slick is, and how they have made this destined leap into this sound. I love the sheer dedication and passion in this record. It’s a proper labour of love and hard-work, and that just makes you treasure it even more.

Well, now it’s the 30th May and it would have been their album release party at YES tonight here in Manchester. I’m not the only one who is just itching to go to a live show, and the uncertainty of not knowing when it will be is brutal. But we will get there. In the meantime, we can blast out songs like Read My Lips, which is the ultimate anthem on this record, and just ignore all that’s troubling us for a little while. This is such a fantastic record, and you cannot help but be massively proud of PINS for what they have created here. I know the whole point of a “review” is to be constructive, but by no means would I write about something I didn’t like or could find fault in. The world is already full of negativity, what’s the point in adding to it? If what I’ve written makes just one person listen to the band/record I’ve written about, then I’ve done what I wanted to do. It’s not a review, it’s a declaration of appreciation for a bloody brilliant record.

Set Me Off has an AMAZING Talking Heads (I’m getting a Burning Down The House feel from it) feel to it mixed with something I can’t really think of right now, but it’s easily one of my favourites on the record. I love how every song on this record feels like it could be in an off the wall indie film, that’s a bit decadent in places. It is such a bright and care-free record, and I probably wouldn’t trust anyone who sees any bad in it to be honest!

There are so many thing that make this record a sheer joy to listen to, and there are so many moments on this record that make you realise why you bloody love this band, and music in general. Love You To Death needs to be a single, just because I reckon the video could be wild. PINS are one of the best bands to ever have come from Manchester, and Hot Slick fully justifies that. If you’re looking for something to really get into your soul, take over your mind and make your record collection look cooler- pick up a copy of Hot Slick from your local record shop, and play it LOUD.

There are still some tickets left for their rescheduled tour, which you can grab here:

https://www.songkick.com/artists/410582-pins

They are also auctioning some really cool items right here too:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/wearepins