new music reviews
Jasper Rees

You could be forgiven if the name had slipped off your radar. Neutral Milk Hotel were indie contenders formed in Athens, Georgia back in the day. There were two full-length albums – On Avery Island and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – in the second half of the Nineties which intrigued a loyal fanbase with crashing chord structures, instruments plucked from a cabinet of curiosities, and opaque lyrics. And then the rest was silence. Frontman Jeff Mangum retreated from the limelight and the band vanished off the map.

Tim Cumming

The cover of her new album, I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, has Sinéad O’Connor sporting a black wig and latex dominatrix dress, a glammed-up guitar wrapped in her arms. Well, at least she made the effort. On stage at the Roundhouse she launched her fine new album sans latex or hair, in black t-shirt and trousers, still the shaven-headed siren of unbidden passions and complicated yearnings.

Katie Colombus

Entering Wilderness is like stepping into the brain of Baz Luhrmann. It is a kaleidoscope of colours, swirling with noise and feathers, surreal in its array of vintage-bohemian-steampunk spectacle, and magical in its collaboration of the arts and nature.

Kieron Tyler

 

Front Line – Sounds of RealityVarious Artists: Front Line – Sounds of Reality

Kieron Tyler

 

Hadda Brooks Queen of the Boogie and moreHadda Brooks: Queen of the Boogie and More

Peter Culshaw

If I had to pick the highlight of this sun-drenched WOMAD it would have to be the fresh, emotionally charged set of Ukrainian band Dakha Brakha. I can’t recall seeing such a unanimously positive response for a relatively unknown band at the Festival. It wasn’t as if the music was obviously crowd-friendly, and parts were quite challenging, mixing soulfully sung Ukrainian folk tunes with other influences – Nigerian drumming, Bulgarian singing and Japanese koto.

Kieron Tyler


Troubadours Folk and the Roots of American Music Part 1 Various Artists: Troubadours - Folk and the Roots of American Music Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Kieron Tyler

 

Ruthann Friedman The Complete Constant Companion SessionsRuthann Friedman: The Complete Constant Companion Sessions

Kieron Tyler

 

Lewis L'AmourLewis: L'Amour

Kieron Tyler

 

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young CSNY 1974Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: CSNY 1974