New Music Reviews
Squeeze & John Cooper Clarke, Symphony Hall, BirminghamSunday, 04 October 2015
Considering that they have never been known for their sartorial elegance, Squeeze are looking pretty smart and stylish these days. Band leaders Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook took to the stage in Birmingham looking especially dapper, with Tilbrook looking like he’d just walked off the set of Miami Vice in his pink suit. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The CitySunday, 04 October 2015
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The Lemonheads, Institute, BirminghamFriday, 02 October 2015
It has been three years since The Lemonheads, Evan Dando’s slacker kings, last toured the UK and six years since they released Varshons, a covers album. So it was a pleasant surprise when they recently announced a return to these shores to play some shows with no particular product to push, especially given that anyone might imagine that they had since long disappeared. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Bert JanschSunday, 27 September 2015
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Loose Tubes, Ronnie Scott'sSaturday, 26 September 2015
Loose Tubes go hand in hand with Ronnie Scott’s. This was the setting for their fabled residencies back in the Eighties, the scene of their farewell gig in 1990 and of their comeback last year (both of which feature on new live album Arriving). Read more... |
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, O2 Shepherd's BushThursday, 24 September 2015
Stylistically, they’re a psychedelic kaleidoscope of a band, but that didn’t stop Unknown Mortal Orchestra getting the O2 Shepherd’s Bush swaying hypnotically last night. Their jagged, breaking grooves, burnished analogue synth and drone-like choruses take in everything from Stevie Wonder to Captain Beefheart, via a slew of indie, garage and psychedelia, but the effect is unique and compelling. Read more... |
Florence + the Machine, Alexandra PalaceTuesday, 22 September 2015
There’s a new book out called Red: A Natural History of the Redhead, which gets to the heart of what it is to have the ginger gene, be it Boudicca or Jessica Rabbit. It says coppertops are more prone to bee stings, and perfume gives off a different odour on their skin. And then there are the more hackneyed ascriptions: flaming hair implies fieriness, wildness, total and utter otherness etc. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: FacesSunday, 20 September 2015
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theartsdesk on Vinyl: Volume 9 - Queen, On-U Sound and moreFriday, 18 September 2015
The New York Times recently wrote that, “For the music business over all, vinyl is still a niche product, if an increasingly substantial one.” How substantial is slowly becoming clear with dramatic rises in vinyl consumption over the last year. The biggest pressing plant in Europe, in the Czech village of Lodenice, last year produced 14.5 million records, while across the US during the same period 13 million were sold, with around 50% of the buyers under 35. Read more... |
Courtney Pine, Ronnie Scott'sFriday, 18 September 2015
Courtney Pine’s Caribbean-flavoured album House of Legends was released three years ago, and it says a lot that he’s still touring it. This riotously melodic collection of ska, soca and calypso, embellished with some scorching solo work, has certainly proved popular, as the latest sell-out run at Ronnie’s testifies. Pine cheerfully apologised for a lack of CD’s to sell at the gig: they’ve all been sold. Read more... |
The City: Now That Everything’s Been Said
Bert Jansch: It Don't Bother Me, Jack Orion / Bert Jansch & John Renbourn: Bert and John
Faces: You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything… 1970–1975Pages
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