New music
Listed: Songs of SummerSaturday, 25 July 2015
It’s forecast to rain for a fortnight, just as the schools tip out their restless young. The roads are jammed, and Calais hasn’t been this bunged up since Edward III laid siege for the whole year in 1346. It must be summer. To help you celebrate if... Read more... |
CD: Joss Stone – Water For Your SoulSaturday, 25 July 2015
To some critics, Joss Stone manages her career with the authenticity and conviction of her accent at the 2007 Brit Award ceremony. Yet with seven albums under her belt, a Grammy, two Brit Awards, and her own record label by the age of 28, her... Read more... |
CD: Iron and Wine/ Ben Bridwell - Sing Into My MouthThursday, 23 July 2015
A cover of Talking Heads' “This Must Be the Place” opens Sing Into My Mouth and it's classic Iron and Wine - all Appalachian harmonies and gently plucked guitar. Like Sam Beam's earlier cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great... Read more... |
theartsdesk at Latitude Festival 2015Wednesday, 22 July 2015
Many festivals have become increasingly family-friendly. The children who, 10 years ago, were taken to outdoor multi-dayers such as Latitude, Camp Bestival and the now-defunct Big Chill, are now teenagers. Many have grown up with festivals as a... Read more... |
CD: Owl & Mouse - DeparturesWednesday, 22 July 2015
Owl & Mouse is a name so cutesy that even the Scottish legions of twee who bloom, decade after decade, from the ashes of Eighties indie – the Pastels, Camera Obscura, Belle & Sebastian, etc – might flinch at it. And like that movement, with... Read more... |
Jessie J, Somerset HouseMonday, 20 July 2015
With nothing to sell except herself, Jessie J was at her most engaging and spontaneous last night, closing the summer series at Somerset House, and her own current tour. There was no need to plug her latest album, Sweet Talker, now nearly a year old... Read more... |
CD: Lautari - Vol 67, 2014 LiveMonday, 20 July 2015
Lautari Vol 67: Live 2014 features Michael Zak on clarinet, flute and shawn, with bassist Marcin Pospieszalski, fiddle player Maciej Filipczuk and the prepared piano and accordion of Jacek Halas.That instrument list gives you an idea of the musical... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Mission of BurmaSunday, 19 July 2015
Mission of Burma: signals, calls, and marches/Vs.The opening moments of Mission of Burma’s “That’s When I Reach for my Revolver” still exhilarate. Recorded in early 1981, it was the first track on the Boston-based band’s 12-inch EP signals,... Read more... |
CD: Jason Isbell - Something More Than FreeSunday, 19 July 2015
When you’re a big Bruce Springsteen fan, as I am, there’s a game that you end up getting quite good at: one in which you have to separate the stories, about the hard-drinkin’, hard-livin’ workingman, from the multi-millionaire songwriter. Roots... Read more... |
CD: Tame Impala - CurrentsSaturday, 18 July 2015
There’s been a real sense of expectation surrounding Kevin Parker’s new offering, with rumours of a disco album from the saviour of psychedelia after a conversion to the joys of the Bee Gees while on mushrooms. That sounded an interesting... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl: Volume 7 - Northern Soul, The Fall and moreFriday, 17 July 2015
One of vinyl’s more controversial corners is the postal subscription club. Sign up to one of these and, for a fee, a number of records are sent to your home. The draw is supposed to be exclusivity of content or simply trusting the taste of a... Read more... |
CD: Sleaford Mods - Key MarketsWednesday, 15 July 2015
If you have a tendency to use the spellings f*** and c***, perhaps Sleaford Mods are not for you. If you can cope with a liberal dose of expletives and a fiery attitude, however, then Key Markets is as good a reflection of the state of Austerity... Read more... |
