CDs/DVDs
DVD/Blu-ray: Vampir CuadecucSunday, 22 October 2017
Pere Portabella’s remarkable Vampir Cuadecuc is almost impossible to classify. It may have been filmed on the set of Jesús Franco's 1970 Hammer horror film El Conde Dracula – with the obviously enthusiastic participation of a cast led by... Read more... |
CD: Bootsy Collins - World Wide FunkFriday, 20 October 2017
For those who are unsure of Bootsy Collins’ place in the funk pantheon, he is the bassman who put the One into James Brown’s “Sex Machine”, “Soul Power” and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing”, as well as everything that came out of the first ten... Read more... |
CD: The The - Radio Cineola: TrilogyThursday, 19 October 2017
It’s a long time since The The were bothering the charts with songs that, while often witty and thought provoking, resolutely viewed the glass as not only being half-empty but also way too small. Matt Johnson’s last The The album-proper was released... Read more... |
CD: Super Besse - La Nuit*Wednesday, 18 October 2017
Super Besse are from the Republic of Belarus, Europe’s sole dictatorship – a country where freedom of expression and opportunities for individual self-determination are limited. As there’s little musical infrastructure in their home country, the... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: A Man Called OveTuesday, 17 October 2017
It takes a while to get going, and doesn’t altogether evade sentimentality but overall this black comedy is hugely endearing. Rolf Lassgård (complete with bald cap) plays Ove. He's a depressed and resentful 60-year-old widower who can’t see any... Read more... |
CD: Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim WhiteMonday, 16 October 2017
"I’m a person who, knock on wood, hasn’t suffered a lot of writer’s block," speaks/sings Kozelek in the song “Topo Gigio”. And he’s not kidding. This new album is just one of six collaborations and solo efforts over the last couple of years, each... Read more... |
CD: Jessie Ware - GlasshouseSunday, 15 October 2017
Singer Jessie Ware has long been considered a bastion of grown-up pop. A natural heir to the estate once tended by Sade; a scenic artist providing the background to relaxed conversations with good company; the eventual recipient of a recurring spot... Read more... |
CD: P!nk - Beautiful TraumaSaturday, 14 October 2017
P!nk is a likably gobby superstar who has consistently maintained her position at the top of the pop tree for an impressive 17 years. Amping up her feisty one-of-the-boys persona, she’s been a template for a generation of girl-pop stars who followed... Read more... |
Blu-ray: The PartyFriday, 13 October 2017
There are two elephants in Blake Edwards’ 1968 comedy The Party. One appears literally at the film’s climax, emblazoned with graffiti. More significant, and troubling, is the metaphorical elephant in the room: that we’re invited to laugh at a white... Read more... |
CD: Robert Plant - Carry FireThursday, 12 October 2017
Robert Plant once again ploughs the vibrant field he cultivated on his last album Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar. The mix of Led Zeppelin-rooted hard rock, softly passionate English folk with Arab rhythm and blues works wonders. Plant has,... Read more... |
CD: Beck - ColorsWednesday, 11 October 2017
Colors, the follow-up to Beck's meditative masterpiece Morning Phase, couldn't come as more of a contrast. It's a glossy, high-energy LP designed to make you dance, not think. The inspiration came partly from Pharrell Williams's mega-hit "Happy".... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: Belle de JourTuesday, 10 October 2017
In the most famous scene in Luis Buñuel’s Belle de Jour, Catherine Deneuve’s resplendently blonde Séverine fantasises being tied to the wooden frame of a crude outdoor eating space. There she is pelted with mud by her surgeon husband Pierre (Jean... Read more... |
