New Music Reviews
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...
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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... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Broadcast, João Gilberto, James, Here Comes the HurtSunday, 06 January 2013![]()
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Reissue CDs: The Best of 2012Sunday, 30 December 2012![]()
Can’s The Lost Tapes towers over any of the other reissues theartsdesk has covered this year. Although not strictly a reissue – it collected unheard recordings from tapes which had lain in the band’s archive – it rewrote the story of the seminal German band, offering a new perspective on their creative process and what they had issued. Read more... |
CD of the Year: Christine Tobin – Sailing to ByzantiumThursday, 27 December 2012![]()
On Sailing to Byzantium Christine Tobin's utterly singular music fuses with the amaranthine force of WB Yeats's poetry to create one of the most transporting jazz releases in aeons. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Gil Scott-Heron, K.T. Oslin, Motorpsycho, Feeling HighSunday, 23 December 2012![]()
Kieron Tyler Read more... |
Lives in Music #2: How Music Works by David ByrneWednesday, 19 December 2012![]()
Reading How Music Works feels a bit like breaking into David Byrne’s house and randomly nosing around the Word files on his computer. First there’s some stuff about whether specific types of music were subconsciously written with certain acoustic spaces in mind, then there’s a biographical bit about Byrne’s experiences as a performer. Read more... |
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