CDs/DVDs
CD: Underworld – Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining FutureWednesday, 16 March 2016
After the release of 2006’s Barking, it was difficult to know what to make of Underworld. A couple of decent songs aside, collaboration seemed to have stripped away identity, leaving us with sketches on which a host of different producers had... Read more... |
CD: Damien Jurado - Visions of Us on the LandTuesday, 15 March 2016
Damien Jurado’s last album, 2014’s Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son, was, as theartsdesk noted, about “a man setting off in search of himself but never returning”. Its follow-up tracks the same unnamed character and his companion Silver... Read more... |
DVD: Steve JobsMonday, 14 March 2016
If you saw The Social Network, for which Aaron Sorkin wrote the script, you will recognise the type also on display here – a hugely driven, arrogant genius who is emotionally illiterate. In The Social Network it was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Pure Hell, RexySunday, 13 March 2016
The variables which help records attain cult status are usually permutations of obscurity, patronage, rarity and perceived or received notions of greatness. This fluid formula can make an album the acme of grooviness, even if barely anyone cared or... Read more... |
CD: Bob Mould - Patch the SkySunday, 13 March 2016
No one could ever accuse Bob Mould of coming across like Mr Happy. Coupling lively melodies with punk heft and angsty lyrics has been his shtick for most of his 40-year career, first with hardcore punk rock titans Hüsker Dü, then ‘90s power trio... Read more... |
CD: Iggy Pop - Post Pop DepressionSaturday, 12 March 2016
From the late Eighties to the early 2000s, Iggy Pop turned out a succession of sassy rock albums that ranged in quality but usually contained a greasy, dirt-ingrained gem or three. These albums appeared with a garage-punk lack of self-consciousness... Read more... |
DVD: The Vampire LoversFriday, 11 March 2016
The powers at Hammer Films were right if they thought they were getting a horror flick to titillate straight men when they made The Vampire Lovers. Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith agreed to do partially nude scenes and wore décolletage gowns... Read more... |
CD: Primal Scream – ChaosmosisThursday, 10 March 2016
Primal Scream might reasonably be referred to as elder statesmen of rock‘n’roll these days, and 30 years or so since first getting together, it would be fair so say that they’ve tried a few different music genres on for size. There's been gentle... Read more... |
CD: Leonard Cohen - You Want It DarkerWednesday, 09 March 2016
The opening track of Leonard Cohen’s new album says it all: the hum of a spine-chillingly eerie male choir, joined by the throb of an irresistible bass line. We're in for a slow joy-ride through the depths of the underworld. In “You Want It Darker... Read more... |
DVD: Shooting StarsWednesday, 09 March 2016
Twenty-five-year-old Anthony Asquith didn’t call the shots on the silent movie that launched his distinguished directorial career, but the screenplay he co-wrote with JOC Orton included elaborate scenarist notes that told his designated co-director... Read more... |
CD: Blancmange - Commuter 23Tuesday, 08 March 2016
Neil Arthur is on a mission. He was once one half of Blancmange, the British synth-pop band most famous for middle-sized hits of the early 1980s, songs such as “Don’t Tell Me” and “Living on the Ceiling”. He has been the group’s sole member since... Read more... |
CD: Tonight Will Be Fine - Elephant IslandMonday, 07 March 2016
DJs and techno producers doing “real music” doesn't always inspire the greatest of confidence: they often seem in thrall to other musicians, blind to what makes their own music special, or afraid to take the risks they would with their electronic... Read more... |
