fri 20/09/2024

New Music Reviews

theartsdesk on Vinyl 70: Marianne Faithful, Honey Bane, Tinariwen, Kraftwerk, PJ Harvey, Dowdelin and more

Thomas H Green

Spring is in the air and vinyl is, as always, on the turntable here at theartsdesk on Vinyl. We’ve been ploughing through all the latest releases and reissues, played loud on a large sound system, each evaluated as fully as possible. Below you’ll find 7000 words to pick through and locate what sounds good to you. Unrestricted by genre, all musical life is here. Dive in!

Read more...

Music Reissues Weekly: Fame - Jon Savage’s Secret History Of Post-Punk (1978-81)

Kieron Tyler

“The Method” by The Method Actors was issued as the top side of a single in July 1981. Although recorded in London during September 1980 and only released by a British label, the band – a duo of guitar/vocals and drums/vocals – were from Athens, Georgia.

Read more...

Foals, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - a euphoric return

Jonathan Geddes

Much has changed for Foals since their current run of shows were first announced. Initially scheduled to support 2019’s twin releases of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Parts 1 and 2, so much time has passed that the group are now set to release their next album instead, while in the meantime they’ve seen keyboardist Edwin Congreave depart and, on a rather less dramatic note, released their own brand of hot sauce.

Read more...

Album: Linnéa Talp - Arch of Motion

Kieron Tyler

Contrary to the title’s implication, there initially seems to be little movement in Arch of Motion. A note is held on an organ. Then another note comes in and is also held. Chords build up gradually. Maybe one or two ascending or descending notes come and go. And that seems to be it.

Read more...

Teenage Fanclub, Union Chapel review - pushing forward with gusto

Kieron Tyler

Teenage Fanclub open their set with “Home”, the first single from their last album Endless Arcade. It’s followed by the title track, “Endless Arcade”. The first was written by Norman Blake, the second by Raymond McGinley – the album’s sole songwriters.

Read more...

Music Reissues Weekly: Saturno 2000 - La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983

Kieron Tyler

What’s in the groove isn’t necessarily the end of the story. Sound is fixed into a record when it’s pressed. Get it revolving on a turntable, dump the needle onto it and what’s heard is what’s intended to be heard. It’s fixed. Nonetheless, DJs realised a record can be part of the route to something else, something which becomes their creation.

Read more...

Goldfrapp, Symphony Hall, Birmingham review - crowd-pleasing nostalgia for the fans

Guy Oddy

Felt Mountain is not one of Goldfrapp’s most dynamic albums. So, what better venue to stop off in Birmingham to celebrate 20 years since its release than the iconic all-seater Symphony Hall? This the venue, after all, that is renowned for some of the best acoustics in the whole of Europe.

Read more...

The Mission, Chalk, Brighton review - the hits, delivered straight, to an enthused crowd

Thomas H Green

“Play something we can dance to,” heckles a fan. “Fuck off, we are not a dance band,” fires back Wayne Hussey, leader of The Mission. He’s right. They’re not. But still there is dancing.

Read more...

Music Reissues Weekly: My World Fell Down - The John Carter Story

Kieron Tyler

Fat Man’s Music Festival. The Haystack. Red Line Explosion. Stormy Petrel. Butterwick. Sweet Chariot. Names which don't immediately spring to mind.

Read more...

Mdou Moctar, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham review - Tuareg rock’n’rollers have their audience entranced

Guy Oddy

It doesn’t happen very often that I find myself experiencing a performance of music that I don’t really know, sung in a language that I don’t speak – and completely entranced by what’s going on. But prior to this week, Mdou Moctar was a bit of an unknown quantity to me.

Read more...

Pages

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

Album: Miranda Lambert - Postcards From Texas

Miranda Lambert is one of those country stars who’s...

The law's sick voyeurism - director Cédric Kahn on...

The trial of the left-wing intellectual Pierre Goldman, who was charged in April 1970 with four armed robberies, one of which led to the death of...

Zoë Coombs Marr, Soho Theatre review - stock checks and spre...

You have to admire the ambition of a show called Every Single Thing in My Whole Entire Life, the latest from Zoe Coombs Marr, which she...

The Lightest Element, Hampstead Theatre review - engrossing,...

British theatre has a proud heritage of science plays. From 1990s classics such as Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (1993) and Michael Frayn’s ...

Resurgence, London City Ballet, Sadler’s Wells review - the...

You need to be fairly long in the tooth to feel nostalgia for the heyday of London City Ballet. The group was set up in 1978 by the late Harold...

Album: Jamie xx - In Waves

There’s been a lot of early 90s rave aesthetics in popular culture lately, but an awful lot of it has been at the level of signifiers. Fila,...

Here comes the flood: Bob Dylan's 1974 Live Recordings

Lighters at the ready, because here comes the flood. Drawn from 16-track tape, 1/4in reels and lo-fi sound board cassettes that are now a half...

Album: The Waeve - City Lights

Real-life couple Graham Coxon and Rose-Elinor Dougall are both musicians of some profile in their own rights. The former, especially, for his work...

Donohoe, Roscoe, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - two great...

A little piece of musical history was made last night at Manchester Chamber Concerts Society’s season-opening concert. Two of the greatest...

Wang, Lapwood, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - grace and pow...

It takes stiff competition to outshine Yuja Wang, who last night at the Barbican complemented her spangled silver sheath with a disconcerting pair...