new music reviews, news & interviews
Tim Cumming |

One of the founding partners of theartsdesk back in the day, author of the immersive Manu Chao biography, Clandestino, roving world music journalist, composer and "nomad pianist" Peter Culshaw released his previous set, Music from the Temple of Light, in 2023. 

Graham Fuller |

That was clever. The original Wet Leg – singer Rhian Teasdale and guitarist Hester Chambers – instantly snagged global attention with a droll novelty single, launched with a knowing faux-rustic video, about a sexy piece of furniture. After scoring a chart-topping multi-genre debut album, the duo recruited three noisy, hirsute male musician-writers, toughened up, and metamorphosed into one of the hottest indie combos on the planet.  

Ellie Roberts
2025 was another year of flaunting for the ever impressive beast that is female-led pop domination. The now iconic line up of legends and future…
Kieron Tyler
“Ace tribute to The Doors” is what the poster says. And after The Fire Doors stroll on stage and blast into “Break on Through (to the Other Side),”…
Ibi Keita
2025 was a somewhat scarce year for fans of punk, hardcore and metal, to be honest, it was a scarce year for most genres as a whole from what I can…

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

Kieron Tyler
Unadorned chronicle of the Brian Jones years
Tom Carr
Second album from Canadian metallers edged ahead with its graceful yet heavy tones
Sebastian Scotney
Natural harmonics ring out subtly, gloriously, magically
peter.quinn
From haiku to heartstrings: the year's essential vocal jazz recordings
Kathryn Reilly
Imbued with duende, this stellar masterpiece sets the bar sky-high
Kieron Tyler
Fresh slants on the known, in a year when Yeah Man, It's Bloody Heavy!! was the most startling archive release
howard.male
Documentary adds little to what we know about British rock's greatest solo star
Nick Hasted
Saxophonist's beautiful, bittersweet melodies confront a time of war
Liz Thomson
Authentically Mary
Katie Colombus
Finding strength not in reinvention but in turning inward to listen
Kieron Tyler
Home-counties prog rockers are collected in a box
Kieron Tyler
Intensity, jazz-oriented psychedelia and the joys of recontextualisation
Mark Kidel
A year of wondrous variety
Tim Cumming
One among a new wave of folk artists exploring their music's outer limits
Thomas H. Green
A seasonal slant on the most wide-ranging record reviews in the universe
Thomas H. Green
Alongside a whole heap of other excellent music from the last 12 months
Jonathan Geddes
The American trio's 20th anniversary celebration of 'Howl' did not always convince
Joe Muggs
Softness, resilience and rewriting history in the most glorious possible way
Kieron Tyler
How the Edgar Froese-led trio were integral to inventing the future of music.
Guy Oddy
A dubby trip hop and woozy neo-soul treat
Jonathan Geddes
The Sunderland band played a variety of Christmas classics, with varying success
Guy Oddy
The former child actor's past meets her present
Thomas H. Green
Hokey but entertaining seasonal barndance
Sebastian Scotney
Tasty harmonies from The Sunhouse Singers

the future of arts journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing! 

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

latest in today

We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
Never mind the singing, Roderick Williams could have been a great TV presenter or even stand-up, on the evidence of his spoken introduction…
Just weeks after the theatrical version of the cult film Paranormal Activity successfully recreated the original’s nail-shredding fear, A…
Image M'a dit Amour: Songs by Debussy, Louis Beydts, Enescu and Isabelle Aboulker…
Lyle Kessler’s 1983 three-hander has embedded itself in the American repertory, attracting a Tony nomination and star casting. Here it was…
One of the founding partners of theartsdesk back in the day, author of the immersive Manu Chao biography, Clandestino, roving world music…
Lotte Lenya, Ute Lemper, Marianne Faithful, Teresa Stratas, Cathy Berberian, Dawn Upshaw, Brigitte Fassbaender, Louis Armstrong, Lou Reed,…
When Hamlet the Dane talked about “the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to”, it was typical of the way that Shakespeare…
That was clever. The original Wet Leg – singer Rhian Teasdale and guitarist Hester Chambers – instantly snagged global attention with a…
Egad, what a simply spiffing time is to be had at the Orange Tree just now! Director Tom Littler has taken Sheridan's first play, and (with…

Most read

If any readers can still remember 2024’s first iteration of Red Eye, they will have an approximate idea of the kind of things they can…
When Hamlet the Dane talked about “the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to”, it was typical of the way that Shakespeare…
Stéphanie Di Giusto, who directed the Belle Époque arts biopic La Danseuse, about the groundbreaking Paris Opera performer Loie Fuller,…
A foreign-language release steeped in Catholicism isn’t exactly what you’d expect to top virtually every end-of-year album list. But…
Never mind the singing, Roderick Williams could have been a great TV presenter or even stand-up, on the evidence of his spoken introduction…
Lyle Kessler’s 1983 three-hander has embedded itself in the American repertory, attracting a Tony nomination and star casting. Here it was…
“This is our last concert, ever. And we’d love to do you for now on our last concert ever…” After the words peter out, a ragged, yet…
Image M'a dit Amour: Songs by Debussy, Louis Beydts, Enescu and Isabelle Aboulker…
One of the founding partners of theartsdesk back in the day, author of the immersive Manu Chao biography, Clandestino, roving world music…
Just weeks after the theatrical version of the cult film Paranormal Activity successfully recreated the original’s nail-shredding fear, A…