Live Review: Sugar Horse – Manchester

Live Review: Sugar Horse - Star & Garter, Manchester

15th April 2026
Support: Boi Toi

Words: Matthew Williams
Header Photo: Tim Finch

What could be more enjoyable than a Wednesday night trip to my favourite Manchester venue to see one of Britain’s rising bands, Sugar Horse. Having seen them twice before, most recently supporting Earthtone9, I was intrigued to hear how their new music would stand up in a live setting, and they didn’t disappoint.

Warming up the crowd tonight were Manchester noise crew Boi Toi, a new name to me, but was told by a friend earlier in the day that they were always a lot of fun to watch live. The quintet takes to the stage with vocalist/synth player Blake Crompton having his right ankle in a protective boot, so this hampered his performance somewhat. Starting with “Germany” they’ve got a heavy sound and rhythm to their music as their tempos switch up on “Private Browsing” with some nice synth elements.

Their frenzied side emerges on the bonkers but excellent “Pina Colada” with crazy vocals from Crompton, assisted by guitarist Lewis Matthews. The bassline from Oli Wilkenson during “Biggus Dickus” is spot on, as the expressive frontman is locked in a dual vocal battle before they introduce a new song called “Pisshead”. I like the blend on this one, louder and faster on the chorus quieter on the verses, before they dedicate “Loved by None” to tonight’s headliners. The wired phone attached to the synthesizer is something I haven’t seen in years, and gives the vocal a different sound, which was good to watch, and they end with the energetic “VPN”.

There was a strange atmosphere as the Bristol based quartet head to the stage, probably due to the ridiculously low numbers in attendance. Having seen them before, I was surprised at the turnout, as Sugar Horse are very, very good, but it didn’t put them off their stride. Opening with “Fire Graphics”, the first of four songs off their recently released “Not A Sound in Heaven” album, there’s a haunting vocal from Ash Tubb alongside a prominent bass sound from Chris Howarth.

All in the venue are immediately transfixed, and when “Secret Speech” begins, heads are now rocking. The drums from Martin Savage cut right through with each thump of the snare and when Tubb’s guitar joins Jake Healy’s, it is intense as the soft to loud balance works seamlessly. Their music is hypnotic and powerful, akin to orchestrated chaos, and during “Office Job Simulator” there’s a poignant moment as Tubb strums away on his guitar alone whilst singing the emotional lyrics, as pockets of noise intercept the relative calm.

They mix their styles effortlessly on the impressive “Spit Beach” a song which reminds me of being passive aggressive in nature. With Healy playing an imperious rhythm, the others join him especially at the slow, crushing end to the song and it’s simply a pleasure to be here to witness this music. “Ex-Human Shield” comes next, the bruising bass and metronomic drumming taking things to another level, as their complex and melodic songs continue to impress.

However, nothing prepared me for the opening to “Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?”. The keyboards from Healy are atmospheric and dreamy, as the audience stand nodding their approval and it’s accompanied by a single strummed guitar before the controlling force of the drum and bass joins in. It’s a beautiful track, emotional, melancholy like a welcomed sunrise before the track erupts all over the place.

“Thank you for coming out Manchester, we’ve been Sugar Horse and we’ve got two more left, one long and one not so long” are the first communications from Tubb to the audience before they play “History’s Biggest T-shirts”. This one has so much going on across the 10 or so minutes, that it genuinely feels like 3 or 4 songs blended into one but I can’t deny how wonderful it is. They end with “Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan” as two people at the front start to move more vigorously to the heavier song like it’s a battering ram. They lull you in with quieter sections but it ends a majestic live performance from one of the best bands around at the moment.