New music
CD: GoGo Penguin - A Humdrum StarMonday, 05 February 2018
They look like a jazz trio, they’re signed to Miles Davis’s label, and in short passages they make the involved and intimate sound we associate with one of the iconic jazz ensembles. But listen to the riotously popular Manchester contemporary fusion... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Chris HillmanSunday, 04 February 2018
In 1976, when his first solo album Slippin’ Away was released, Chris Hillman could look back on being a founder member of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, two of America’s most important bands. He had also played alongside former members... Read more... |
Kings of The South Seas, Cutty Sark review - folly and tragedy resurrectedSunday, 04 February 2018
Kings of the South Seas first set sail back in 2014, with their debut album drawing on songs about South Pacific whalers. They are Ben Nicholls on concertina, banjo and fine, sonorous vocals, Spiritualized guitarist Richard Warren and drummer with... Read more... |
CD: Beth Nielsen Chapman - Hearts of GlassSunday, 04 February 2018
In a career spanning almost 40 years, Beth Nielsen Chapman has been sparing with her album releases. She’s been twice nominated for Grammys and many may still think of her as primarily a songwriter: “This Kiss”, of which she was co-writer, was a big... Read more... |
CD: Ezra Furman - Transangelic ExodusSaturday, 03 February 2018
Transangelic Exodus is a roller-coaster ride. Songs twist, turn, have sudden shifts in tempo, are punctuated by unexpected instrumental interjections, and come to a dead stop after which they resume their unpredictable course. Although Ezra... Read more... |
CD: Rae Morris - Someone Out ThereThursday, 01 February 2018
Rae Morris, a singer from Blackpool, has shinned up the slippery pop biz tree the modern, major label, mainstream way; ultra-managed, co-writes with Clean Bandit, support slots with George Ezra and Tom Odell, vocal collaborations with Bombay Bicycle... Read more... |
I'm With Her, Bush Hall review - folk supergroup debut album to treasureWednesday, 31 January 2018
Fresh from Celtic Connections in Glasgow, I’m With Her stepped out at Bush Hall in west London for their only England date before embarking on a major US tour. Sarah Jarosz, who plays guitar, banjo and mandolin, Aoife O’Donovan, guitar, and Sara... Read more... |
CD: Dream Wife - Dream WifeWednesday, 31 January 2018
It’s hard to be sure if Rakal, Bella and Alice from Dream Wife are a rock’n’roll band or a girl gang with guitars. Either way, their debut album has got some cracking Riot Grrrl-flavoured tunes and a stridently feminist, in-your-face attitude. There... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 36: Gary Numan, Wes Montgomery, Trevor Jackson, Propaganda and moreMonday, 29 January 2018
Vinyl matters. It matters to theartsdesk on Vinyl, clearly, as the name may hint. And it matters to many of you. But why? Why does it matter? We all have our own reasons for playing records, some practical, some sound-related, some personal, some... Read more... |
CD: Saxon - ThunderboltMonday, 29 January 2018
One complaint often made about contemporary music is it's either too worthy or too bland. Not Saxon. The vintage rockers have been around for 40 years and their latest effort is as red-blooded and full-fat as ever. Vocals screech and guitars crunch... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: How is the Air up There?Sunday, 28 January 2018
“I’ve been labelled as an angry young man / Because I don’t fit into the master plan / Under society’s microscope / I look funny but it’s no joke.I’m a social end product so don’t blame me / I’m a social end product of society / It’s not my fault... Read more... |
CD: Simple Minds – Walk Between WorldsSaturday, 27 January 2018
With the possible exception of Talking Heads, I can’t think of another band who had such an exceptional run of early albums as Simple Minds. After a promising but uneven debut, they released Real to Real Cacophony in 1979 and barely put a foot wrong... Read more... |
