New music
Peter Gabriel, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - beaming with optimism and creativitySaturday, 24 June 2023
Even when Peter Gabriel is bleak, he has reasons to be cheerful. Early on in his set he opined that soon enough “none of us will have jobs anymore”, referring to the ongoing rise of artificial intelligence, although this was followed by him... Read more... |
Album: Brigid Mae Power - Dream From The Deep WellSaturday, 24 June 2023
The cover versions on Dream From The Deep Well include “I Know Who is Sick,” most familiar from the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Maken interpretation, and “Down by the Glenside,” which The Dubliners incorporated into their repertoire. The first opens... Read more... |
Siouxsie, The Halls, Wolverhampton review - former Banshee brings the house downFriday, 23 June 2023
When the Queen of the Goths comes down from her castle to tour the UK, given that she hasn’t played here at all in the last 10 years, people take notice. In fact, on this Summer Solstice evening, the audience at Wolverhampton’s recently refurbished... Read more... |
Album: Maisie Peters - The Good WitchFriday, 23 June 2023
Whether it’s the newly platinum tresses or the bubblegum production shimmer that make up Maisie Peters’ sophomore record, The Good Witch has a definite nod to The Wizard of Oz’s Glinda. Unlike that Good Witch of the North though, Peters’ career didn... Read more... |
The War On Drugs, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - impressive musicianship but a lack of excitementThursday, 22 June 2023
War might be good for absolutely nothing, but it does provide bands with some easy names. Before the War on Drugs headline set, Warpaint took to the stage, and despite a muted reaction to the quartet they were on enjoyable form. They’re unlikely to... Read more... |
Album: Lunice - OPENThursday, 22 June 2023
There are whole books to be written – indeed, hopefully being written – on how hip hop has interacted with dance music culture in North America over the past decade plus. From the overblown mania of rap megastars jumping on David Guetta tracks in... Read more... |
Pete Fij / Terry Bickers, Worthing Festival 2023 review - lyricism, amusing anecdotes and gorgeous guitar playingTuesday, 20 June 2023
Pete Fij and Terry Bickers are bathed in muted red light. They are sat side-by-side, Fij with an acoustic guitar, Bickers with a vintage 1970s CMI hollow-bodied electric. Behind them, oil wheel lighting gloops and bubbles gently, bespattered with... Read more... |
Arctic Monkeys, Arsenal Emirates Stadium review - the masters of indie pop excelMonday, 19 June 2023
“I hope they do Mardy Bum,” a small boy squeaks longingly to his mother. She was probably his age when Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I’m Not came out almost two decades ago. This is very much a multi-generational affair... Read more... |
Album: Swans - The BeggarMonday, 19 June 2023
It’s some 40 years since Swans first made a name for themselves through the sheer volume of their live performances and provocative song titles like “Time is Money (Bastard)” and “Raping a Slave”. Irritated by this reputation though, it wasn’t long... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Tribal Rites of the New Saturday NightSunday, 18 June 2023
“It all started with a June 7, 1976 article in New York magazine about Queens, New York working-class young adults who flocked to a local disco in platform shoes and outlandish clothes to perform organized dances. [Bee Gees manager] Stigwood read... Read more... |
Album: Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman…Saturday, 17 June 2023
Like his fellow (occasional) Queen of the Stone Age, Dave Grohl, the death of Taylor Hawkins (as well as those of Mark Lanegan and Anthony Bourdain) has hit Josh Homme hard. Not one for reflective ballads, however, Homme’s reaction to these and... Read more... |
Album: Sigur Rós - ÁTTAFriday, 16 June 2023
It’s easy to take Sigur Rós’s emotive force for granted. So ubiquitous has their 2005 “Hoppípolla” been on everything from talent shows to apocalyptic environmental collapse documentaries to lyrical scenes of birds in flight that it became the... Read more... |
