CDs/DVDs
Album: Katy Carr - ProvidenceWednesday, 13 January 2021
Back in 2013, the London-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist launched the first of a trilogy of albums exploring her Polish roots and family history, entwined around the history of Poland and Europe and the traumas of the Second World... Read more... |
Album: New Age Doom - Himalayan Dream TechnoTuesday, 12 January 2021
theartsdesk eases into 2021 with a Disc of the Day title, Himalayan Dream Techno, that will be hard to beat over the next 12 months, even if it is a bit of a misnomer. For one thing, this album doesn’t hail from the Himalayas, it’s also not techno,... Read more... |
Album: Hilang Child - Every MoverMonday, 11 January 2021
The key tracks on Every Mover are “Play 'til Evening” and “Earthborne”. The first shimmeringly fuses anthemic, gospel-edged singing and surging instrumentation with a Philip Glass pulse and a trance-like throb. The second is a sparse contemplation,... Read more... |
Album: Viagra Boys - Welfare JazzSaturday, 09 January 2021
Their PR cannot put the band name in the header of promotional emails, as they’ll go straight to the spam bin, but Swedish punk outfit Viagra Boys have, nonetheless, become a name to contend with. It’s their wild live persona that’s put them on the... Read more... |
Album: Steve Earle & The Dukes - JTFriday, 08 January 2021
Among the many tragic deaths last year was that of Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle, who died in August, felled by the demons his father had vanquished but which Townes Van Zandt, the revered singer-songwriter after whom his daddy named him (... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2020: Phoebe Bridgers - PunisherThursday, 07 January 2021
Music has been a solace during a year when we’ve both retreated into our private spaces and reached out more feverishly than ever on social media.There’s been very little live music: I’ve almost obsessively trawled YouTube for the best old footage:... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2020: Maria Schneider Orchestra - Data LordsWednesday, 06 January 2021
One of the great ironies of 2020 was that, in a year in which the importance of music – as escape, as release, as comforter – was amplified like no other, vast swathes of musicians saw their livelihoods disappear overnight.A far-reaching commentary... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: Are We Lost ForeverTuesday, 05 January 2021
The title of Swedish director David Färdmar’s feature debut gains a degree of helpful context from one of its opening lines, “But there’s no more we”. One partner, Hampus (Jonathan Andersson), is telling the other, Adrian (Björn Elgerd), that... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2020: Drive-By Truckers - The UnravelingMonday, 04 January 2021
When satire becomes redundant, all that’s left is to tell it like it is. Drive-By Truckers released The Unraveling in January 2020, but Covid couldn’t dim the relevancy and glowering power of its requiem for Trump-trampled American hopes.Patterson... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2020: A.G. Cook – 7GSunday, 03 January 2021
2020 marks the year when the PC Music label’s influence became undeniable. It’s easy to forget that, founded by A.G. Cook in 2013, it was once at the centre of a mini culture war. The label’s refusal to distinguish “between high and low, between... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2020: Joensuu 1685 - ÖBSaturday, 02 January 2021
This breathtakingly lovely album opens with the aptly titled “Hey My Friend (We’re Here Again)”. Before the October 2020 release of ÖB and its related singles, the last record Finland’s Joensuu 1685 issued was a 12-inch on a Norwegian label which... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2020: AC/DC - Power UpFriday, 01 January 2021
2020 was, for many music fans, the year of cathartic singer-songwriters and their "surprise" lockdown albums. Not me. The last thing I craved during the months cooped up was brooding introspection or angsty art-pop. It was escapism I was after, and... Read more... |
