New Music Reviews
Die Antwoord, O2 Academy BrixtonSunday, 18 January 2015
After three albums the question remains: is Die Antwoord more than a just a clever joke or is the act simply a caricature of South Africa’s trashy “Zef”-side? The guys and gal behind "Ninja and Yo-landi Vi$$er" are in no doubt – they claim to be “conceptual artists”. And many fans agree, saying that besides the posturing lie some real cultural truths. Last night three or so thousand descended on Brixton to make up their own minds. Read more...
|
Reissue CDs Weekly: Radio BirdmanSunday, 18 January 2015
|
First Aid Kit, Symphony Hall, BirminghamSaturday, 17 January 2015
All-seater, up-market concert halls can be a bit intimidating to bands when they are used to more intimate venues. Silences can feel awkward and stage talk can dry up or be reduced to perfunctory “thank you”s. So it almost proved this evening when First Aid Kit strode onto the stage of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. Read more... |
Paolo Nutini, O2 ArenaTuesday, 13 January 2015
With his new soul-inflected rasp, there aren’t many singers better equipped to perform through a bout of tonsillitis than Paolo Nutini. (Tom Waits won’t, alas, be selling out the O2.) Last night’s gig was re-scheduled from November when the infection struck. It was postponed even longer than expected for the members of the audience arriving on the broken-down Jubilee line. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: MagmaSunday, 11 January 2015
|
Reissue CDs Weekly: PowderSunday, 04 January 2015
|
Best of 2014: GigsSunday, 28 December 2014
From the clubs of Berlin to the pubs of Birmingham, via Somerset and New York, our new music writers select their most memorable gigs of 2014. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Sly StoneSunday, 28 December 2014
|
Madness, O2 ArenaSunday, 21 December 2014
There were silly hats, and venerable, bouncy songs for all the family at the O2 last night. The traditional Madness December tour was Christmas come early for most of the audience, who sang about home, love, and the Middle East as they might do in church next week with rather less enthusiasm. The band’s original hits still hit the spot, though there was also a sense that, as with Christmas carols, the new ones mean well, but just aren’t as good. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Millions Like UsSunday, 21 December 2014
|
Radio Birdman: Radio Birdman
Magma: Köhntarkösz, Köhntarkösz Anteria, Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré
Powder: Ka-Pow! An Explosive Collection 1967–68
Various Artists: I'm Just Like You – Sly's Stone Flower 1969–70
Various Artists: Millions Like Us - The Story of the Mod Revival 1977–1989Pages
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...
Album: Lambrini Girls - Who Let the Dogs Out
Phoebe Lunny and Lilly Macieira are furious. Livid with the rapist...
Maria review - Pablo Larraín's haunting portrait of an...
As Bono once commented about Luciano Pavarotti, “the opera follows him off stage”. Legendary...
Titanique, Criterion Theatre review - musical parody sinks d...
This Celine Dion jukebox musical has been a big hit in New York, but...
Album: Franz Ferdinand - The Human Fear
Travel back in time to the mid 2000s and you would be hard pressed to escape "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand on the air waves. On the radio,...
Babygirl review - would-be steamy drama that only flirts wit...
Babygirl starts with the sound of sex, piped in over the credits. There's a lot of it on our screens at the moment, from ...
It's Raining Men review - frothy French comedy avoids d...
Iris (Laure Calamy) and her husband Stéphane (Vincent Elbaz) haven’t had sex for four years. Waiting at school for the parent-teacher conference (...
Album: Bridget Hayden and The Apparitions - Cold Blows The R...
The title Cold Blows The Rain encapsulates it. A mournful, unembellished female voice sings of loss. The musical backing is sparse....
A Real Pain review - Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin take...
Jesse Eisenberg's first film as writer/director...