Tag Archives: João Cavalheiro

MAQUINA @ Golden Lion, Todmorden. 17th May 2026.

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Sometimes, you go to a gig, and you know you have truly witnessed something very special. Something that in months and in many years to come, you will still be talking about it. It may end up being a reference point for how you want every gig to make you feel or just how out of this world it is. Gigs like that are so special and don’t happen all too often.

On Sunday I went to Todmorden to see MAQUINA at The Golden Lion. In a way, the venue upstairs reminded me of the Shacklewell Arms. It had that same feeling to it, that feeling if knowing that most gigs that happen here turn out to be pretty special.

MAQUINA’s first UK tour was only last year, and they played the YES Basement in Manchester which I am pretty sure would have been one of the best venues to contain their huge sound. They’ll be playing the Pink Room and beyond next time for sure but on Sunday just gone, it was in an upstairs room in a pub in Todmorden. I honestly had no clue on what to expect. Religiously listening to them did not prepare me nor did watching previous live performances on YouTube. The experience was always going to be different but brilliant. I’ve loved the band for bloody ages and to see them play a tiny venue that I don’t even think 100 people were in, was something to really treasure. It was definitely up there being one of the loudest shows I’ve been to in a while, and I was just in awe of the band.

They were on stage for around an hour, but it went by so fast. I could have watched them for another 3 hours (okay so they don’t have enough songs but still!) It was one of the most enthralling gigs I’ve been to. I had no idea where to look. I was right in front of João, and I’m pretty sure some of his sweat landed on my head and in my eye at various points of the night, but I didn’t mind at all. Signs of a great show! Halison sang every word and beat the shit out of his drumkit solidly, and never more in my life have I ever wanted to be a drummer- or to be as cool as these 3. José is THE slickest bassist around. You won’t find anyone better out there. I think it was during Body Control where Halison climbed on his kit, managed to reach to the ceiling of the venue and move his body that would make the most flexible gymnast jealous. This song is something else live, and the way they perform it just makes you become even more obsessed with it.

Pretty much everyone in this sweaty room was moving in ways they’ve never moved at a show before, and MAQUINA give you the freedom to do exactly that. I didn’t stand still for this one. The only thing that ruined it was the person stood behind me trying to film everything and had his phone above my head a stupid amount of time throughout (just move, don’t be an idiot!) But aside from other people, this was one of the best gigs I’ve been to this year. MAQUINA are a band that you just have to see live, and with their new record coming out in July, something tells me that their live shows are going to be even more in demand. There is something really special about their energy and live performances. You can really tell that they love what they do, and that love is strong between them all also.

The band rip through their set, and it is a joy. No, it is an HONOUR to watch them. You cannot help being in awe of them and wish you were in a band as cool as this. The noise they make together is just divine, and you feel like you are part of something truly out of this world. You feel like you are elsewhere when you listen to them, and that’s one of the best feelings you can get from a band both on record and live. I really cannot wait for the record to come out in the summer- I’m pretty sure I will play it to death! Hearing songs like Agony, Pressure/Pleasure live was just the coolest, and I know it’s so typical but Body Control live is just everything you could want. I never want that song to end at the best of times, but my god when you witness it live it absolutely changes how you hear it. Denial was also up there as being one of the killer moments of the set. MAQUINA are a band that once you see them live, you cannot help but want to see them all the time.

There are so many venues in Manchester that they easily could have played but you know, The Golden Lion was the perfect place for them on Sunday. Something tells me they won’t be playing pubs for much longer.

Here’s a few photos I managed to take:

MAQUINA.

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Okay, so by now you’ve probably got hip to MAQUINA and are aware of how great they are. I’ve loved them for about a year, but I am very unreliable with my writing so I’m choosing right now to write about why they are probably one of the most exciting bands around.

If you love your music dark but also gives you space to dance or just move your body around in the most freeing manner- then you are going to feel right at home with Lisbon’s finest, MAQUINA. There’s 3 of them in the band, and their sound makes it feel like there’s an orchestra of them. Symphony of a genre of music that goes beyond a name. How they make you feel transcends any description. They make you feel like you do anything- even something like running right through a wall or trying to save the world. They make you feel like you can do the impossible. Is it like a religious experience? Sure. Is it like an out of body experience? Hell yes. HELL YES. I’ve listened to a lot of music in my time, and I’ve written about bands I love a lot. My aim is to always find something that makes me feel like I am listening to Psychocandy or Seventeen Seconds for the very first time. If I get that feeling, I’m home. I am fully there. MAQUINA go beyond that- they’ve conveyed everything I love about music. There’s this brutal feel to it. It’s like The Vacant Lots meets Depeche Mode with Psychic TV coming in for the kill. It is pure heaven, and I wish I had some musical talent because this is the kind of noise I’d want to make.

Most of their songs last just under the 10 minute mark, and I’ve been listening to them a lot whilst at the gym. Turns out this kind of music will make you lift HEAVY. I feel like, their sound would work in a 70s New York police film, where the streets are dirty and the cops are corrupt. Like you’ve properly stepped into a world you have zero business being part of. There’s an eeriness to their sound and an addictive energy that just consumes you with every listen.

Of course I am besotted with the anthem that is Body Control, but I have to tell you one of the best things they’ve released HAS to be Dirty Tracks For Clubbing. 4 songs, just under an hour. 4 songs built on this exceptional passion, rage, fury, and lyrics that are screamed in the most euphoric way. You feel like you’re on the run, but no one can keep up with you. You won’t let them. It’s like running free down a highway far from home in the dark. The car lights blind you, but you avoid being thrown about. How so? Because MAQUINA’s sound makes you feel like nothing can touch you. In decades to come, we’ll be writing about the impact this band have had; I can already feel the impact they will have on young bands starting and trying to find their way.

Normally, I’d review a record and tell you why it needs your attention but with MAQUINA, all I can do is tell you how sensational they are. Is every song a masterpiece? A billion percent and more. Every song has purpose, and every song needs to be played loud. Sure, they deserve to play stadiums, but they are made for those sweaty small venues where you can feel every hit of the drum rip through your eardrums, and your skull starts to shake. That’s how big and how powerful their sound is.

MAQUINA don’t make music for people who value their hearing or want music played softly. Oh no! They make it for those of us who want the loud, we want the distortion, we want that fury. We want it to make it way through our eardrums, deep into our skull and swirl around our bodies, and for nothing to ever feel the same again. Bands like this do not come around often. Bands like this will, however, last a lifetime. Their influence will be felt for a long time. The three of them make the perfect soundtrack to life in general. There’s no bad time to listen to this band- so if you’ve never heard them before, do it right now.

MAQUINA (meaning machine in Portuguese) make music that deserves to be heard, to be treasured and to be seen live. Their sound is like worlds clashing and creating something truly beautiful. There’s a delicious lo-fi sound that is so chaotic, you can just tell they love making music together and do what they want. There’s nothing more musically inspiring than that.