New music
10 Questions for Ian HunterMonday, 03 September 2012
Ian Hunter’s new album, When I’m President, is an almost obscenely vibrant piece of work for a man who – despite that impossibly golden mop of hair – is now 73 years old. But then Hunter has always been a rock'n'roll survivor. Born in Shropshire in... Read more... |
CD: kNIFE and fORK - The Higher You Get the Rarer the VegetationMonday, 03 September 2012
If the name is both banal and irritating – seemingly you are expected to spell it kNIFE and fORK – this album is a triumph on its own terms. Despite it being at times overly self-conscious, there are occasional flashes of dark genius.The band are a... Read more... |
Walk On By: Hal David, 1921–2012Sunday, 02 September 2012
The death of lyricist Hal David at 91 is a sad reminder that the golden age of a uniquely American approach to songwriting is getting further and further away. The Bacharach and David brand will last, as will classic songs like “Anyone Who Had a... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Lee Hazlewood, T-Coy, Laibach, Boppin’ by the BayouSunday, 02 September 2012
Lee Hazlewood: A House Safe for TigersGraham RicksonLee Hazlewood’s voice can still invoke awe. It's gravelly, sonorous, rasping, but incredibly affecting – even when he’s scraping around in the depths it always sounds musical. A reissue of a... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Pop Duo the Pet Shop BoysSaturday, 01 September 2012
Pet Shop Boys are the kind of national treasure that make the English so inscrutable. For 30 years they have made pop music that is sophisticated, camp and deadpan, an unlikely formula which has shifted over 100 million records, making them the most... Read more... |
CD: The Vaccines – Come of AgeSaturday, 01 September 2012
Growing up in public is never easy. After all the attention that The Vaccines attracted with their post-Strokes smash-and-grab debut What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? they have plenty to prove with their follow-up. Do they duplicate the Ramones... Read more... |
Michael Kiwanuka video exclusiveFriday, 31 August 2012
Back in March theartsdesk reviewed the much anticipated debut album by 24-year-old Londoner Michael Kiwanuka, winner of the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll and a man possessed of a voice not so much to be reckoned with as unconditionally surrendered to.A... Read more... |
Grandaddy, O2 ABC, GlasgowFriday, 31 August 2012
Jason Lytle has a “fervent appreciation”, he says, “for bands that don’t exist anymore”. It’s why he’s playing the cover of “Here”, by Pavement, that has become a staple of his band Grandaddy’s live sets on this open-ended reunion tour, although it... Read more... |
CD: Animal Collective - Centipede HzFriday, 31 August 2012
Nine albums and almost 10 years in, Animal Collective show no signs of smoothing the edges from their herky-jerk, ADHD psyche-pop. Vocals carry a melody, but everything else in the mix counters that – pinging sounds, Afro-inspired percussion, bloops... Read more... |
CD: Staff Benda Bilili - Bouger Le MondeThursday, 30 August 2012
With the overwhelming acclaim that welcomed their first album, Très Très Fort, the musical paralympic champions Staff Benda Bilii faced a challenge with their second. Would their unusually stirring backstory as disabled polio victims and destitute... Read more... |
CD: Cat Power - SunWednesday, 29 August 2012
You’ll know by now, perhaps, that Sun is supposed to represent a “rebirth” for Chan Marshall, the famously intense singer-songwriter who performs as Cat Power. Since the release of 2006’s The Greatest Marshall has shunned her own material, instead... Read more... |
DVD: MarleyTuesday, 28 August 2012
It’s remarkable how many of the 20th century's most culturally significant popular musicians – from Louis Armstrong to John Lennon – emerged from a childhood defined by lack or absence. As Kevin MacDonald’s epic and enlightening documentary about... Read more... |
