New Music Reviews
Hammer & Tongue + Slipjam:B - 10th Annual Poets vs MCs, Concorde 2, BrightonFriday, 25 January 2013
For a decade these two outfits, the Hammer & Tongue poetry collective and the Slipjam:B crew of hip hop MCs, have been taking each other on. They both run their own successful nights but this evening is their yearly face-off. As it reaches its climax, after a series of rounds, the two units are onstage together, MCs stage right, poets stage left, taking turns to front up, laying into each other, riding a thin line between affable digs and bawdy insult. Read more... |
RBMA presents LFO, XOYOMonday, 21 January 2013
Of all the major acts from the the acid house/rave explosion, Leeds's LFO seem least interested in becoming a “heritage act”. Perhaps it's because Mark Bell (the sole member of LFO since the early departure of Gez Varley) has no need to cash in on the brand, thanks to his lucrative “day job” as producer of choice for the likes of Björk and Depeche Mode. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Hawkwind, Dual Form, The Children’s Hour, Buddy GuySunday, 20 January 2013
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Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy, BBC FourSaturday, 19 January 2013
Although there was no shortage of interview clips with Glen Campbell [who has died at the age of 81] in this fine overview of his career, the tragedy was that archives were so heavily drawn on. Tragic because pop-country stylist Campbell has Alzheimer’s and is limited in what he can contribute. Read more... |
Sinéad O'Connor, LSO St Lukes, LondonFriday, 18 January 2013
The manner and the speed with which Sinéad O’Connor veers between impishly poking fun at herself and her material, and delivering it with scorching force, is bewildering. Read more... |
Dropkick Murphys, Barrowlands, GlasgowThursday, 17 January 2013
Was there ever a band to generate such passionate fan adulation as Dropkick Murphys? Keeping up a chant of "Let's Go Murphys" for a good 10 minutes before there was any sign of the Boston seven-piece on the city's most famous stage, the Glasgow punks were in fine voice even before the raucous singalongs began. Read more... |
CD: José James - No Beginning No EndMonday, 14 January 2013
On this debut album for Blue Note, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter José James effortlessly blends the beat-driven mien of hip-hop, the surprising transitions of jazz and the raw emotion of classic R&B to produce his strongest statement to date. Following three critically acclaimed albums for the Brownswood and Verve labels, James seems to have discovered the key to making the simple resonate. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Marianne Faithfull, Françoise Hardy, Pia FrausSunday, 13 January 2013
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Just in From Scandinavia: Nordic Music Round-Up 6Friday, 11 January 2013
Santa has returned home, but he wasn’t the season’s only visitor from the Nordic lands. The crop of recent music in from the region embraces genre-crossing jazz, vintage-style rock, the expected electropop, cross-border collaborations and a seven-year-old Finn. Exploring all corners of Scandinavia’s music, theartsdesk journeys where no one else does, landing in Norway first for some finely formed jazz. Read more... |
David Bowie, 66, releases first new single in a decadeTuesday, 08 January 2013
Well, he was always ahead of the game. In a few years’ time 66 will become the new official pension age in his native United Kingdom, but David Bowie has chosen to celebrate his 66th birthday by coming out of what many perceived to be retirement. “Where Are We Now?” was launched without any previous fanfare earlier this morning, and you can listen to it and watch the video (directed by Tony Oursler) here. Read more... |
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