New Music Reviews
Lykke Li, Village UndergroundFriday, 09 May 2014
A mournful voice sings “even though it hurts, even though it scars, love me when it storms, love me when I fall” over a strummed acoustic guitar which shares the lyrics dolefulness. As the centrepiece of her set last night, Lykke Li’s delivery of her new album I Never Learn’s “Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone” asked a lot from the audience at her first London show for three years. With the familiar came the new. With the upbeat came the sorrowful. And lots of it. Read more...
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Miley Cyrus, O2 ArenaWednesday, 07 May 2014
Sliding onto the stage of the O2 Arena in a leotard emblazoned with her own mouth and tongue, Miley Cyrus immediately starts bouncing around screaming, “I’m not going down without a fucking fight!” Read more... |
Robert Cray Band, BarbicanWednesday, 07 May 2014
Robert Cray’s veteran blues band made a compelling case for their unique blend of soul and blues at the Barbican last night. Despite the five Grammys, record sales well into seven figures, and investiture in the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011 at the precocious age of 57, he’s sometimes suspected of watering down the blues tradition. Read more... |
Loose Tubes, Ronnie Scott'sTuesday, 06 May 2014
Crazed magnificence, off the cuff improv, pinpoint timing. And that was just MC and trombonist Ashley Slater's on-stage banter. In one of the most hotly anticipated jazz gigs of 2014, the return to the Ronnie Scott's stage for the seminal and utterly singular big band Loose Tubes – almost a quarter of a century after their valedictory residency in September 1990 – surpassed all expectations. Read more... |
Clean Bandit, Library, BirminghamTuesday, 06 May 2014
The Library in Birmingham is a venue that is almost the dictionary definition of shabby chic, with its neo-classical plaster mouldings hanging onto the walls in a room that has definitely seen better days. Unfortunately, the sound quality for last night’s show by Clean Bandit, the bright young things from Cambridge University who have caused quite a stir by mixing classical chamber music with garage pop, was similarly grubby. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Wayne CochranSunday, 04 May 2014
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Ode to the Human Spirit, Kings PlaceThursday, 01 May 2014
Who knew the human spirit needed such bureaucratic care? The celebration of International Jazz Day, founded by UNESCO in 2011, at King’s Place last night was nothing if not well cared-for. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Grace JonesSunday, 27 April 2014
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The Men They Couldn't Hang, Shepherd's Bush EmpireSunday, 20 April 2014
From the balcony overlooking the mosh pit you get a good idea of how long a band has been going. Last night at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, The Men They Couldn’t Hang celebrated their 30th anniversary while a small kinetic cluster of mainly bald 50-year-olds pinged into one another like shiny billiard balls. A fiver says a sheepish accountant or two will have had some explaining to do this morning in A&E. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: John TavenerSunday, 20 April 2014
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Wayne Cochran: Goin’ Back to Miami – The Soul Sides 1965-1970
Grace Jones: Nightclubbing
John Tavener: The Protecting VeilPages
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