New Music Reviews

Reissue CDs Weekly: Simple Minds

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 15 March 2015

Simple Minds: Sparkle in the Rain

Paloma Faith, Brighton Centre

Thomas H Green Friday, 13 March 2015

Paloma Faith has been on the front pages lately. Winning the Brit Award for Best Female Solo Artist 2015, following two previous unsuccessful nominations, has done her profile no harm. A few songs in tonight she squats down behind the grand piano and announces, “There’s a little thing round here,” then triumphantly produces her Brit, dedicating it to her audience.

Spandau Ballet, Brighton Centre

Thomas H Green Thursday, 12 March 2015

Of course they had to end with “Gold”. It’s one of those songs which, once heard, even if you dislike Spandau Ballet, is impossible to remove from the brain, a bona fide Eighties classic. Lead singer Tony Hadley and guitarist Gary Kemp, the man who wrote their songs, even performed a short acoustic version earlier on, perched amid the Brighton Centre’s 4500 capacity crowd in the sound desk area.

Comment

Reissue CDs Weekly: Tav Falco

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 08 March 2015

Tav Falco & Panther Burns: Hip Flask – An Introduction to Tav Falco & Panther Burns

Say Yes To Another Excess - TWERK, Sadler's Wells

Heidi Goldsmith Saturday, 07 March 2015

"The music will be loud," the slender usher warns on entry to altered natives' "Say Yes To Another Excess" – TWERK, as a Grime bassline shakes the flimsy theatre floor. She hands over a text-heavy programme and does not frisk me. This is no London Bridge warehouse, although bouncers giving out freesheets on the door could be a great way to get the middle classes down to a rave. For now regular Rinse FM DJs Skilliam and Elijah are coming to the ballet.

theartsdesk on Vinyl: Volume 3 - Nick Cave, Max Richter, Vessels, and more

Thomas H Green Friday, 06 March 2015

Did you know there's a heated debate going on about “hot stampers”? As the resurgence in vinyl continues, there are those who wish to attribute value to their own knowledge and to their vinyl collections. In the e-consumer trenches, where audiophiles heatedly discuss purchasing and repurchasing classic albums, there’s been much debate about major label reproductions from digital masters, about how they lose the richness of the originals.

tUnE-yArDs, Royal Festival Hall

Katie Colombus Friday, 06 March 2015

For the headliners of the Women Of The World Festival at London's Southbank Centre, there is less feisty feminism put on for show than you might expect. It's a nod to how far things have progressed - that other than the obligiatory thanksgiving for "being a loud woman on a stage of loud women plus a man who loves women", it's strength of self belief in the artists of tUnE-yArDs that lets us know what they believe in - and it's truly inspiring.

Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Kings Place

Heidi Goldsmith Thursday, 05 March 2015

Mari Kvien Brunvoll - Norwegian improviser, singer and composer - enters the Kings Place stage more like a pianist's page-turner than the night's sole performer, and sits cross-legged at her pedals. Dressed in a neutral dark grey, she doesn't seek applause so instead we are left silently watching her adjust a microphone and untie a little red book. Her methodical calm creates a patient audience, intrigued enough to find her subtle actions compelling.

Spectres, The Lexington

Barney Harsent Thursday, 05 March 2015

I first saw Spectres last October at the 10^th birthday celebrations for their label, Sonic Cathedral. That night, they struck me as noisy, spiky and fun. If that sounds like faint praise, it really wasn't meant to be – noisy, spiky fun is in my all-time top three funs.

Reissue CDs Weekly: Bridget St. John

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 01 March 2015

Bridget St. John: Dandelion Albums & BBC Collection

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