New Music Reviews
Sisters of Mercy, KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton review - Goth veterans return to the fraySaturday, 18 November 2023
Andrew Eldritch, vocalist and convent leader of the Sisters of Mercy, is a famously obtuse character. This may have made him seem somewhat mysterious over the years, but it has also meant that he has missed a few open goals too. Read more...
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Les Égarés, London Jazz Festival, Cadogan Hall review - a wondrous musical conversationFriday, 17 November 2023
Combine four super-talents, masters of their instrument, and you might well expect a battle of egos or a clash of modi operandi. Not least, as in the case of Les Égarés, a quartet made up from two seasoned duos – the virtuoso jazzers Vincent Peirani (accordeon) and Émile Parisien (soprano sax) on the one hand, and the entrancing creative partnership of Ballaké Sissoko (kora) and Vincent Ségal (cello) on the other. And yet… Read more... |
Death Cult, O2 Institute, Birmingham review - The Cult revisit their post-punk rootsThursday, 16 November 2023
The Cult may have only really hit paydirt in the late Eighties when they started worshipping at the altar of the Rawk Gods of more than a decade before and welcomed Rick Rubin and Bob Rock to toughen up their sound on albums like Electric and Sonic Temple. Read more... |
Le Guess Who? 2023, Utrecht - deep listening and deft dancingThursday, 16 November 2023
On a Friday morning under the Dom Tower, the tallest church spire in the Netherlands, our enthusiastic guide explains that we’re standing on 2000 years of history. Formed on the frontier of the Roman Empire, Utrecht originally bordered the river Rhine. Read more... |
Album: Lucidvox - That's What RemainedThursday, 16 November 2023
That's What Remained is the aural equivalent of being pulled into a maelstrom and then surrendering to this powerful natural force. Initially, it does not seem safe. But it soon becomes apparent that submission isn’t a problem. It will be fine. Emerging from this experience is accompanied by a shakiness. But that’s OK too. Read more... |
Ben Folds, Royal Albert Hall review - piano pyrotechnics and modern musingsWednesday, 15 November 2023
When Ben Folds emerged in the mid-90s he was like Billy Joel’s snot-nosed little brother: another virtuoso pianist and songwriter but one whose style was sarcastic, subversive and a little bit punky. Read more... |
Hiromi's Sonicwonder, EFG London Jazz Festival, Barbican review - keyboard fireworks from a brilliantly versatile jazz pianistTuesday, 14 November 2023
To watch virtuoso jazz pianist Hiromi perform is to experience a vast weather system of sound; at some moments exuberant hailstorms of notes alternate with thunderous chords, at others, sombre atonal passages resolve into a burst of sunshine. Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 80: Nanci Griffith, Scuba, Dope Lemon, Aerosmith, Bob Marley, Pharoah Sanders and moreTuesday, 14 November 2023
VINYL OF THE MONTH Being Dead When Horses Would Run (Bayonet) Read more... |
Jambinai & Leenalchi, Southbank Centre review - contrasting faces of contemporary Korean musicMonday, 13 November 2023
Friday’s double-header at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank was not only one of the final gigs in this year’s K-Music Festival – entering its tenth year with an eclectic range of Korean artists and bands performing across London and beyond – but also one of the launch gigs for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival, now entering its 31st year. Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Incident at a Free FestivalSunday, 12 November 2023
“We got to play Stonehenge Festival when it was like just a field, a generator and stage. No rip-off burger joints. No packaged new age culture. Just good British hippiedom. A bunch of scruffy, dirty, bean-burger-eating, spliff-making hippies, and in the middle, a bunch of Hell’s Angels.” Read more... |
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