new music reviews, news & interviews
Thomas H. Green |
“Lincoln, you have not been a Monday night crowd, they can be a bit funny,“ says Suede frontman Brett Anderson just before then band exit the stage for the final time. “You’re more than just watchers, you got involved.”
Guy Oddy |
Jill Scott is neo-soul royalty, without any doubt whatsoever. In fact, her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? remains a monumental release over quarter of a century since it first saw the light of day.
Jonathan Geddes
There are always a few drawbacks to being a support act. For Allie X, the biggest issue was simply finding space to stand onstage, with so much…
Ibi Keita
After leaving my headphones elsewhere, I plugged my wired earphones into my laptop and sat cross-legged on my bed. It felt like the universe wanted…
Kieron Tyler
For Richard Hawley, a “little banger” is a top-notch single, one condensing everything about the performance and performer into what can he held on…
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?
Sebastian Scotney
A look back at the long-gone world of the original songs
Thomas H. Green
Ten tracks that revel furiously in distortion and boundary-pushing
Joe Muggs
International stars flip art-pop classics into highlife, dub, Detroit electro and more
Kieron Tyler
Forethought, formal precision and the odd dive into linear rock
Tim Cumming
Powerful debut set of Anglo-Irish tunes and songs
Kieron Tyler
Double-CD set tracing the thread linking pub rock and punk rock
Thomas H. Green
10 tracks of offbeat sounds that bubble with percussive heft
Joe Muggs
A sprawling epic of Arabic gothic ambition
Guy Oddy
French electro-hipster lays down pop hooks, woozy head-spins and mellow folktronica
Ellie Roberts
A slightly clunky but impressive effort
Kieron Tyler
Thrilling auteur-driven album celebrates its 15th anniversary
Thomas H. Green
Deep-dipped in 1970s riffery but very much its own thing
Joe Muggs
The One Directioner's fourth album risks drowning out personal charm with 'woah woah's
Liz Thomson
Blue-collar righteousness from the Texas troubadour
Jonathan Geddes
The former Grant Lee Buffalo singer was on relaxed form on his solo tour.
Ibi Keita
Fun, gritty and… jazzy?
Kieron Tyler
Spellbinding Ethiopian jazz-inflected soul
Sebastian Scotney
A magnificent listening ethos and flow
Thomas H. Green
More melodic than of old, but Eighties Essen metallers still hammer hard
Thomas H. Green
London band offer offer pithy wordage and light musical skronk
Kieron Tyler
When less craft would add impact
Guy Oddy
East Midlands’ punk-funkers have plenty to say as the house burns down
Kieron Tyler
The 1982 debut album from South London musical free spirits Clive and Mark Ives
Tim Cumming
Ambient Sufi songs for inner space
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…
“Lincoln, you have not been a Monday night crowd, they can be a bit funny,“ says Suede frontman Brett Anderson just before then band exit…
An infamous international financier, with a contacts book that includes presidents and dictators, a dark dossier on everyone he’ll ever…
Bayard Rustin is a fascinating but little-known figure in US history: a civil rights organiser who worked behind the scenes on both the…
Emerald Fennell’s latest film begins with a sly joke. As the production company credits roll, the sound of distinctive creaking overlays…
MILES., a two-hander with Benjamin (Benji) Akintuyosi as Miles Davis and trumpeter Jay Phelps in a host of roles, including himself – is a…
Jill Scott is neo-soul royalty, without any doubt whatsoever. In fact, her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? remains a monumental release…
Perfectly at one in matching tone and response, this phenomenal duo who are both formidable solo personalities in their own right also took…
The jury was out when Ballet Nights first made its pitch to the dance-curious – a potential audience, the thinking went, that might be…
There are always a few drawbacks to being a support act. For Allie X, the biggest issue was simply finding space to stand onstage, with so…
Most read
Some of what’s nourishing the debut album by Sweden’s Dina Ögon is evident. A Bossa Nova jazz-pop essence evokes Brazil’s Quarteto em Cy.…
An infamous international financier, with a contacts book that includes presidents and dictators, a dark dossier on everyone he’ll ever…
"How can we sleep for grief?", asks the brilliant and agitated Thomasina Coverly (the dazzling Isis Hainsworth) during the first act of…
“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…
“Lincoln, you have not been a Monday night crowd, they can be a bit funny,“ says Suede frontman Brett Anderson just before then band exit…
Emerald Fennell’s latest film begins with a sly joke. As the production company credits roll, the sound of distinctive creaking overlays…
Jill Scott is neo-soul royalty, without any doubt whatsoever. In fact, her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? remains a monumental release…
What could be better for a lockdown summer night "out" than a virtual visit to Shakespeare's Globe? Simultaneously in a theatre and the…
Bayard Rustin is a fascinating but little-known figure in US history: a civil rights organiser who worked behind the scenes on both the…
Towards the end of Tate Modern’s retrospective of Roy Lichtenstein, there is a small abstract painting, Untitled, 1959, executed just…