mon 23/12/2024

New Music Reviews

The Bevis Frond, The Lexington review - stunning psychedelic rock

Kieron Tyler

Very little points to anything specific. Parts of “Superseded” nod towards the 1968 Pretty Things’s track “Eagle’s Son”. Elsewhere in the set, a circular bass guitar figure is reminiscent of a motif from Spirit’s “1984”. But for a band so explicitly looking to rock’s psychedelic lineage, the influences are effortlessly subsumed into the whole to become mostly invisible foundations rather than noticeable elements of the superstructure.

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Courtney Barnett, Brighton Dome review - canny, poetic singer shows she can rock out with the best

Thomas H Green

There’s a disconnect between Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett on record and in concert. On record, especially on her latest album, her dryly-stated, touching emotional lyricism is to the fore, but in the live arena you’re as likely to be presented with a scorching rock goddess, playing with her fingers and no plectrum.

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Franz Ferdinand, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - a homecoming with all the hits

Jonathan Geddes

There was something devilish about Alex Kapranos at this homecoming gig, and not simply due to the blood red shirt the Franz Ferdinand frontman was wearing. Throughout the night the singer would cajole and conduct the crowd with finger-pointing flair, as if tempting them to join him on the dark side, and when he spoke it was to demand more from the audience like a preacher zealously seeking extra funding for a mega church.

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Music Reissues Weekly: Ride - 4 EPs

Kieron Tyler

“When we started out we were really just an amalgamation of three bands – the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and the House of Love,” said Ride’s Andy Bell in 2012. The arrival of the literally-named double album 4 EPs – collecting their first four EPs in one place – brings a chance to ponder this.

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Barbara Dickson, Cecil Sharp House review - intimate and beautifully paced

Liz Thomson

Cecil Sharp House, citadel of folk music, finally resounded last night to the mellifluous tones of Barbara Dickson whose distinguished career began at the Howff Folk Club, Dunfermline, in the heady days of the 1960s folk revival.

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PJ Harvey - Orlam: In Conversation with Max Porter, The Old Market, Hove

Katie Colombus

In an intimate evening with Polly Jean Harvey MBE, the double Mercury Prize winning artist sang an altogether different kind of tune than you might expect.

Reading from her new book of poetry, Orlam, a coming of age story about a not-girl-not-boy, set within the changing seasons of a mythical Dorset landscape, the songs we heard were odd little twists of nursery rhymes, whisper-sung in a strong West Country accent.

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theartsdesk on Vinyl 73: Sandy Denny, Plastic Mermaids, Orbital, Speedy Wunderground, The Snuts, The Kinks and more

Thomas H Green

After an unavoidable delay theartsdesk on Vinyl returns with over 9000 words on new and recent releases, ranging across the entire spectrum of known music. Dive in!

VINYL OF THE MONTH

Edrix Puzzle Coming of the Moon Dogs (On the Corner)

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Sugababes, O2 Academy, Glasgow review - pop perfection hampered by sluggish sound

Jonathan Geddes

Any younger Sugababes fans might have felt a little neglected here. “Who’s a 90s child?” yelled out enthusiastic DJ Shosh as she warmed up the crowd, followed soon after by a cry of “Who’s an 80s child?”, which received an even louder roar in response.

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Oslo World review - a dizzying selection of high-tech, grassroots global brilliance

joe Muggs

The Oslo World organisers are at pains to point out that, despite the name, they are not a “world music” festival. And with good reason, really. There may have been a few familiar WOMAD veterans headlining over the week-long event – Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour, Malie's Fatoumata Diawara, the queen of Cuba Omara Portuondo – but the emphasis was emphatically not on any kind of beads-and-bongoes authenticity.

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Ride, Here at Outernet review - flawless recreation of 1992's 'Going Blank Again' album

Kieron Tyler

It seems an ambivalent statement, perhaps estranging Ride’s Mark Gardener from what’s happening on stage. “I always loved this track off Going Blank Again, it’s called ‘Chrome Waves’.” He could be a DJ or a fan talking about what’s about to be played, rather than a member of the band itself – a member poised to launch into a live recreation of the fourth track from their 1992 second album.

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