New Music Reviews
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Monochrome SetSunday, 12 April 2020
“An exercise in bizarre mixtures, combining the bleak acid hangover of half-hearted Velvet Underground impersonators with muted razzmatazz: a long and rather stylish joke.” Read more... |
Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? review - documentary about Springsteen's saxophonistSaturday, 11 April 2020
I must confess the sum total of my knowledge of Clarence Clemons before watching this documentary was that he was, for many years before his death in 2011 at the age of 69, the mighty saxophone player in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. And what a sax player... Read more... |
theartdesk on Vinyl Lockdown Special 2: Luke Haines, Finnish jazz, cosmic country, blues and moreFriday, 10 April 2020
Welcome to the second of our lockdown specials. It’s a small but vital dip into what’s new on plastic. Other than that, theartsdesk on Vinyl wishes you well in these strange times. Stay at home, play records, turn up the volume. Various Cadence Revolution 1973-1981: Disques International Vol. 2 (Strut) Read more... |
New Music Lockdown Livestream Special 1: Miley Cyrus, Metallica, Diplo and moreFriday, 10 April 2020
Given the times, theartsdesk’s New Music section is starting weekly round-ups of new streaming fare to liven the spirits and entertainingly pass the time during this lockdown. Here are our first five suggestions. Dive in! Light In The Attic Showcase Read more... |
ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas, Netflix review - riffs, drugs and rodeosThursday, 09 April 2020
ZZ Top always seemed like a Texan version of Status Quo. It turns out, from watching this entertaining but hardly revelatory documentary, that is kind of what they are. Read more... |
Colors performance stream on YouTube review - vocalists on lockdownTuesday, 07 April 2020
The Colors studio in Berlin has quietly created one of the biggest new brands in music from filming back-to-basics performances with laser-focused branding. From international megastars (Billie Eilish, Mac DeMarco) to up-and-comers, singers and occasionally rappers are filmed alone in a simple cube-shaped stage with distinctive colour-cycling lighting. Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl Lockdown Special 1: Napalm Death, Brazilian jazz-pop, 1980s indie and moreTuesday, 07 April 2020
For the duration of this C19 Lockdown, rather than the usual sprawling monthly epic, theartsdesk on Vinyl will be presented regularly in bite-sized editions, roving across the pile of releases we have already, since those incoming have been whittled down a trickle. Welcome, then, to a cross edition of plastic ranging from the beautiful to the bizarre. Dive in! Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Hangman’s Beautiful DaughtersSunday, 05 April 2020
A raga-rock circularity. Finger cymbals. A distant, etiolated female vocal. A fuggy atmosphere. A kinship with Jefferson Airplane’s “Come Up The Years”, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey” and The Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties”. Hangman’s Beautiful Daughters' “Love is Blue” is a beautiful, haunting recording. Read more... |
ReMastered: Tricky Dicky and the Man in Black, Netflix review - dynamic saga of music and politicsFriday, 03 April 2020
Netflix’s ReMastered series is one of the streaming channel’s undersung gems. Read more... |
Elton John’s iHeart Living Room Concert for America, YouTube review - the real star was a Mayo Clinic doctor named ElvisTuesday, 31 March 2020
Available in Britain now on YouTube for only a couple of days, Elton John’s iHeart Living Room Concert for America was put together in less than a week and was broadcast in the US on Sunday evening. In normal circumstances, the slot would have been occupied by the iHeart Radio Music Awards, which were to have been carried live from the Shrine Auditorium in LA. 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
'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages...
