New music
CD: Iris DeMent - The Trackless WoodsWednesday, 12 August 2015
Iris DeMent’s settings of poems by the great 20th century poet Anna Akhmatova are as original as they are courageous: it's so easy to fall short of the genius displayed by the Russian mistress of the lyric verse. This is a work of love and devotion... Read more... |
theartsdesk at Forgotten Fields 2015Tuesday, 11 August 2015
A person with any sense of outdoor adventure can enjoy a camping trip with friends, especially when the skies are clear blue and blazing, the booze is decent and flowing, and the barbecue is tasty and sauced. Thus was the case with my trip to Eridge... Read more... |
CD: Slime - CompanyMonday, 10 August 2015
Company could have been recorded any time in the past 25 years. Although Slime’s debut feels fresh, affinities with the familiar tag Company as a retro-nodding debut which will have a broad appeal. Chin-stroking collectors will love its references.... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: AmericaSunday, 09 August 2015
America: The Warner Bros. Years 1971–1977Prime amongst the many ironies associated with Seventies soft-rock trio America is that when they reached number one in America in March 1972 with “A Horse With No Name”, the single they knocked off the... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: soul singer Joss StoneSaturday, 08 August 2015
Joss Stone is one of our most popular and successful soul singers, with a rich bronze voice and supple delivery that’s already earned her two Brit Awards and a Grammy, and made her Britain’s richest woman under 30. She burst onto the scene at the... Read more... |
CD: Bullet For My Valentine - VenomSaturday, 08 August 2015
Bullet For My Valentine retain their fury. Last time round, on 2013’s aptly named Temper Temper, frontman Matt Tuck was snarling about substance abuse affecting his band. This time, on their fifth studio album, he claims his enraged microphone... Read more... |
CD: Ruf Dug – IslandThursday, 06 August 2015
Producer Ruf Dug has released a slew of singles and remixes, both on his own label, Ruf Kutz, and other independent imprints, including Porn Wax and Banoffee Pies, that have made the UK such an exciting prospect for new music for the past few years... Read more... |
theartsdesk at Camp Bestival 2015Wednesday, 05 August 2015
Camp Bestival 2015 was bathed in four days of glorious sun, a rare window of idyllic weather in this most cantankerous of summers. It took place, as it has since it began in 2008, amid the hilly, verdant and well-kept grounds of Lulworth Castle in... Read more... |
10 Questions for Eno Williams of Ibibio Sound MachineWednesday, 05 August 2015
Eno Williams is lead singer and composer of the band Ibibio Sound Machine, an eclectic fusion in which contemporary dance and synth are laid over classic Nigerian highlife rhythm and vocals. The full line-up consists of eight musicians working with... Read more... |
CD: Four Tet - Morning/EveningWednesday, 05 August 2015
There used to be a time when albums would regularly come in at around the 45-minute mark. It was pretty much the perfect length for fitting on to one side of a C90 (disclaimer: Home Taping Is Killing Music) and made the most of the vinyl format’s... Read more... |
Cilla Black, 1943-2015Monday, 03 August 2015
The term "beloved entertainer" might have been coined with Cilla Black in mind. Her career trajectory, from a working-class Irish Catholic background in Liverpool's Scotland Road through pop stardom under the auspices of Beatles manager Brian... Read more... |
CD: Frank Turner – Positive Songs for Negative PeopleMonday, 03 August 2015
Sad singers never write truly happy albums, but Positive Songs for Negative People – and was there ever a title that so perfectly summed up the work of Frank Turner? – is probably as close as this one gets to putting a brave face on it. Turner’... Read more... |
