New Music Reviews
Drake, O2 Arena review - stadium hip-hop has a sincerity problemTuesday, 02 April 2019![]()
Drake walked on water at times in his opening show at the O2 Arena. Sadly this was solely down to the impressive video projection that filled the giant screens beneath his feet. Read more... |
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Hare and Hounds, Birmingham review – Matt Baty’s crew make ears ring like church bellsMonday, 01 April 2019![]()
Support bands rarely get a mention in live reviews but Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs’ opening act for their present jaunt around the UK, Cattle are no bog-standard fare, designed to make the headliners look good. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Three Day Week - When the Lights Went Out 1972-1975Sunday, 31 March 2019![]()
This new collection, compiled by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne, aurally delineates a period when much that was British had an edge of bleakness. Read more... |
Tallinn Music Week 2019 review: 'We All Value Being European'Sunday, 31 March 2019![]()
“We like people here in Estonia. I think we all here very much value being European. To all our British friends, we know that the offer of e-residency has been ticking-up constantly. You can find a sure foothold for your business here in Estonia. There’s enough space, please come.” Read more... |
Melzer, Albion Quartet, Birmingham Town Hall review - songs without wordsWednesday, 27 March 2019![]()
This was a fascinating, unexpected prospect; instantly appealing to anyone who’s ever wondered about the string quartet’s niche in the 21st-century musical ecosystem. Read more... |
World Metal Congress, Rich Mix, London review - celebration and critique of a global phenomenonMonday, 25 March 2019![]()
The stereotypical image of heavy metal music suggests it exists in isolation from other musical styles. And while it is true that metal is distinct and re-invents its transgressive nature all the time, the genre has generated commercial success as well as a loyal and diverse global community. Read more... |
My Baby, Castle & Falcon, Birmingham review – the Dutch/Kiwi band start up the festival vibe early for 2019Monday, 25 March 2019![]()
Balsall Heath’s Castle & Falcon is one of the newer live music venues in Birmingham, a city that finally seems to be undergoing something of a renaissance in these otherwise uncertain times. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Rema-Rema - Fond ReflectionsSunday, 24 March 2019![]()
Until now, Rema-Rema’s only release was a 12-inch EP released in August 1980. It had hit shops after the band fell apart at the end of the previous year. Negotiations with 4AD, a new offshoot of the Beggar’s Banquet label, were underway towards the end of 1979 but then guitarist and future Adam and the Ants-man Marco Pirroni left. They rehearsed without him but called it a day in November. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Where The Girls Are Volume TenSunday, 17 March 2019![]()
The US music trade weekly Cashbox chose a picture of the then-hot Diana Ross & the Supremes and Temptations joint enterprise for the cover of its 14 December 1968 issue. Read more... |
Yxng Bane, Brixton Academy review - all the fam on stageSaturday, 16 March 2019![]()
There’s a wolf howl and Yxng Bane (pronounced Young Bane) jumps off a block on stage and his furry hooded coat flies open and the arena erupts in screams. The pit is filled almost exclusively with seventeen year old girls, excellently contoured and sporting chunky trainers and crop tops like it’s the early 2000s all over again, and he’s wearing nothing underneath except many hours at the gym. Read more... |
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