Monday 28 January 2008

Website review: Upstart Stoke by Clare White

Upstart Stoke launched at the end of last week, in advance of their Sugarmill showcase gig this Wednesday night.

The site is nice and simple, clad in ever-cool black and with a useful array of resource for every musician and music lover in Stoke and beyond. A comprehensive list of bands is a joy to the armchair browser, with brief descriptions to give you a taste of their sounds before you schlep over to the obligatory ugly Myspace page for a listen. I've just discovered the talents of Cannibal Sunset and Cynical Protest before finishing my morning coffee.

If I had a criticism, it is the use of so-called framed domain forwarding, which makes tagging and sharing more difficult than it should be. Since the site is meant to be all about raising bands' profile, this is something I hope can be fixed. Otherwise Jim and Lotti have done a great job and I'm sure the project will be successful in leading many new people to the delights of our city for the Axis Festival and beyond.

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