fri 06/06/2025

New Music Reviews

Jazz Voice, Cadogan Hall online - from rambunctious to bittersweet

peter Quinn

Oh to have been in the beautiful surrounds of Cadogan Hall last night – not just to have experienced the gorgeous wall of sound, heartfelt artistry and musical camaraderie at first hand, but also to have been able to show our appreciation for a concert which takes months of preparation.

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: Apple, Jason Crest

Kieron Tyler

After their final records were released in 1969, that seemed to be it for Apple and Jason Crest. Releases by both psychedelic-leaning British bands had first hit shops the previous year, and neither oufit made any waves commercially. Of course, that wasn’t the end of the story.

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: Kenny Carter - Showdown

Kieron Tyler

Half-way through the 22 tracks of Showdown – The Complete 1966 RCA Recordings, what’s been increasingly apparent from the opening cut is confirmed: this is an extraordinary archive release, as much so as the live Stooges album looked at by this column in early September.

Read more...

theartsdesk on Vinyl 60: Acid Pauli, Mercury Rev, Cabbage, Kraftwerk, Oasis, Working Men's Club and more

Thomas H Green

Due to COVID-related nonsense too tedious to relate, this month’s theartsdesk on Vinyl was delayed. But here it is, over 7500 words on new music on plastic, covering a greater breadth of genres and styles than most major festivals. From reissues of some of the biggest bands that ever lived, to limited edition micro-releases from tiny independents, it’s all here. Dive in!

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: Kraftwerk - in colour, from Autobahn to The Mix

Kieron Tyler

After Florian Schneider left Kraftwerk in 2008, Ralf Hütter was left in the driving seat. The pair had first been heard on record in 1970 as members of Organisation, and their first album as Kraftwerk followed later in the year.

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: La Locura de Machuca

Kieron Tyler

La Locura de Machuca translates as “the madness of Machuca.” A Colombian label which issued its first record in 1975, Machuca was active until 1995. Around 26 singles and 36 albums were released. The new compilation brings together 17 tracks from its first five years.

Read more...

The Divine Comedy: Live from the Barbican review – thirty years of great songs

Bernard Hughes

If “things” hadn’t intervened, September would have seen the Divine Comedy play a five night residency at the Barbican, playing their entire back catalogue, two albums a night, to mark 30 years since the band was started.

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: Crass - The Crassical Collection

Kieron Tyler

The cultural imprint Crass were leaving was apparent while they were active. As well as their own music, their label Crass Records released records by Flux Of Pink Indians, the pre-Sugarcubes outfit Kukl and The Damned’s Captain Sensible – Crass were instrumental in him becoming a vegetarian.

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: Peephole In My Brain - British Progressive Pop Sounds Of 1971

Kieron Tyler

The title comes from the lyrics of “Andy Warhol”: track two, side two of David Bowie’s late 1971 album Hunky Dory: ”Put a peephole in my brain, Two new pence to have a go, I'd like to be a gallery, Put you all inside my show.” The new pence reference recognised Britain’s recent adoption of decimalised currency.

Read more...

Reissue CDs Weekly: Helen Shapiro - Face The Music The Complete Singles 1967-1984

Kieron Tyler

What happens when the hits dry up? And what happens a little further down the line, as the years of being on the charts recede into the past? For Helen Shapiro, the questions are answered by the intriguing Face The Music: The Complete Singles 1967–1984, a 25-track compilation collecting all her pop singles from the period covered by the title. Her work in jazz is not heard.

Read more...

Pages

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

latest in today

Help to give theartsdesk a future!

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.

It followed some...

Ballerina review - hollow point

John Wick’s simple story of a man and his dog became a bonkers, baroque franchise in record time, converting Keanu Reeves’ limited acting into Zen...

Caroline, Islington Assembly Hall review - south London octe...

In 2022 I called caroline “perhaps the best band in the U.K” in my article about their debut, which I named my album of the year....

theartsdesk in Fes - world music central

With WOMAD not happening this year, where could one go for a feast of...

Songhoy Blues, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham review - West A...

No-one needs to be living in Trump’s USA to be aware that governments never feel that it’s in their interest to prioritise great art and music...

Album: Pulp - More

While the Gallagher brothers scrabble around in the dirt for their rich pickings, an altogether more...

Goebbels and the Führer review - behind the scenes from the...

“Do you know the name of the propaganda minister of England, or America, or even Stalin? No. But Joseph Goebbels? Everyone knows him.” The cynical...

Album: Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH

Turnstile’s NEVER ENOUGH is a vibrant, shape-shifting album that proves the Baltimore-based band is fully committed to evolution. Since...

Fiddler on the Roof, Barbican review - lean, muscular delive...

It’s always a risk when a production changes venue. In the curious alchemy of live performance, no-one can be sure whether a shift in surroundings...