New Music Reviews
WOMAD 2013 Finale: Gilberto GilWednesday, 31 July 2013
The rain had vanished and there were whispers that the Afro-Brazilian gods were keeping it at bay as time got closer to the appearance of the headliner. The international superstar, singer, songwriter, environmentalist and former Minister of Culture ambled on stage like a cat, in a loping, slo-mo dance move, carrying his red electric guitar over his shoulder. Read more... |
Luke Haines, BorderlineWednesday, 31 July 2013
This one-off appearance in a dingy, basement venue seems to be the entirety of Luke Haines’s promotional effort for his new album, Rock and Roll Animals. A few years have passed since he approached mainstream success as front man of The Auteurs and later as part of Black Box Recorder. In the intervening years he has taken the healthy notion that quality does not equal popularity to a possibly illogical conclusion that popularity had better be avoided entirely, just in case. Read more... |
WOMAD 2013, Charlton Park - Days Three and FourTuesday, 30 July 2013
Arriving early on Saturday, the first music I was exposed to in the tranquil arboretum area of the Radio 3 Stage was the mesmeric and gorgeous sounds of Leicester sitarist Roopa Panesar floating from the stage, with dreamy oboe-like shenhai adding to the musical mix. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Saint Etienne, Honey Ltd., Chas & Dave, ZTTSunday, 28 July 2013
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WOMAD 2013, Charlton Park - Day TwoSaturday, 27 July 2013
If there’s a patron saint of WOMAD it must be Bob Marley. His visage, serious but gentle, peers out from more T-shirts than I care to count. And all the festival-goers who don’t have WOMAD-standard long, white, straggly hair sport dreadlocks. The silliest haircut goes to a fellow in (again) WOMAD-standard travellers’ pantaloons who sports small knots of hair, each tied with a different coloured elastic band. Read more... |
Wu-Tang Clan, O2 Academy BrixtonSaturday, 27 July 2013
Just how loyal is the average hip hop fan? This was the question on many lips after the fiasco that the previous Wu-Tang tour in 2011 turned out to be. Their last sojourn on these shores was marred by members dropping out at the last minute and a general lack of organisation. There was pressure this time for the band to deliver. Read more... |
WOMAD 2013, Charlton Park - Day OneFriday, 26 July 2013
I am a WOMAD virgin. “Princey will be here later, he usually frequents this bar,” a man with straggly white hair tells me as I wander aimlessly about. I think he means Prince Rogers Nelson, the diminutive rock star who sang “Purple Rain”, and I grow vaguely animated. He starts telling me about how last year he advised Prince not to shoot civilians and begins a short diatribe about how Prince is falling into the ways of his father and his grandfather. My mind is slow. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Michael Hurley, James Govan, Dan Penn, 14 Iced BearsSunday, 21 July 2013
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Hermeto Pascoal, Ronnie Scott'sSaturday, 20 July 2013
Squeaking toy pigs. Tea pots. Bicycle pumps. Yes, the dynamic Brazilian composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal was back in town, making a rare appearance at Ronnie Scott's. Read more... |
Devendra Banhart, Barbican CentreFriday, 19 July 2013
Last night the “freaky” Devendra Banhart didn’t make an appearance. No songs were performed cross-legged, nor were there any wig-outs. For the majority of the evening the 32-year-old American-Venezuelan hippy was, by his standards, practically understated. In keeping with his new album, Mala, he chose to emphasise songwriting over personality. For those of us who were beginning to lose faith in him, it all came as something of a relief. Read more... |
Various Artists: Saint Etienne Present Songs for a Central Park Picnic
Michael Hurley: Armchair Boogie / Hi Fi Snock UptownPages
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