New music
CD: Brian Jonestown Massacre – Don’t Get LostMonday, 20 February 2017
Any listeners who may have been concerned that Anton Newcombe’s last few years of sobriety might result in him turning down the psychedelia and tip-toeing towards the mainstream can breathe a sigh of relief. Don’t Get Lost is yet another cracking... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: BizarreSunday, 19 February 2017
On first pass, Beautica comes across as an exotic hybrid of 1991 school-of-Slowdive shoegazing and the fidgety music pre-Stereolab outfit McCarthy had perfected around 1989. But there’s something else; a lilting characteristic to the vocal melodies... Read more... |
Josh Ritter, St Stephen's ChurchSaturday, 18 February 2017
The only British gig in Josh Ritter’s so-called work-in-progress tour took place in the somewhat unlikely venue of St Stephen’s Church, Shepherd’s Bush, a rather fine example of gothic revival style. It’s almost opposite Bush Hall, which would have... Read more... |
CD: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The TouristSaturday, 18 February 2017
There was a time, a decade or so ago, when US indie bands would adopt such idiosyncratic names it almost felt like a ploy to stop them selling out. No band epitomised this trend more than Brooklyn's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. But... Read more... |
WIN TICKETS TO SEE APOCALYPTICA + SIGNED VINYLSaturday, 18 February 2017
Scandinavian cello metal sensations Apocalyptica are hitting the UK to mark the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough debut album, the self-explanatory Plays Metallica by Four Cellos.theartsdesk has a pair of tickets to give away for their... Read more... |
CD: Vera Lynn - Vera Lynn 100Friday, 17 February 2017
She hasn’t sung a note in a year or too and her regular appearances at veteran reunions have come to an end. In 2015 Dame Vera Lynn wasn’t well enough to attend the 70th anniversary celebration of VE Day. But she is still among us and on 20 March... Read more... |
Hevisaurus, RFHThursday, 16 February 2017
The idea of a heavy metal rock band for children might be somewhat lacking in appeal for some. Images of leather and chains, frightening make-up, Anthrax-style roaring into a microphone and satanic lyrics for dear little Jonti, all a bit... Read more... |
CD: Right Said Fred - Exactly!Thursday, 16 February 2017
Right Said Fred, in the wave of global fame that followed their 1991 mega-smash “I’m Too Sexy”, were unlikely celebrities. The two shaven-headed Fairbrass brothers seemed to have accidently wandered into pop and were laconic, likeable stars. There... Read more... |
CD: Aurelio - DarandiTuesday, 14 February 2017
It's a monstrous cliché – all too often laden with problematically patronising overtones – to describe African, Caribbean, or Afro-Latin music in terms of “sunshine”, with all the carefree holiday brochure imagery that brings. But damn, the music of... Read more... |
Listed: How I Do Love TheeTuesday, 14 February 2017
Love is in the air. Today, men and women and boys and girls will be pondering how to say it with roses and cards and candlelit dinners: those three words that contain multitudes. As the old strip cartoon never quite got round to saying, love is...... Read more... |
Barbara Dickson, Union ChapelMonday, 13 February 2017
Mention the name “Barbara Dickson” and everyone remembers “I Know Him so Well”, the duet with Elaine Paige which hit the top spot in 1985, the era of big hair, shoulders pads and dry ice. That song didn’t feature in Dickson’s concert at Union Chapel... Read more... |
CD: Six Organs of Admittance - Burning the ThresholdMonday, 13 February 2017
The keeper on Burning the Threshold is “Around the Axis”, a glistening, three-minute instrumental rooted in the finger-picking of Davy Graham’s classic 1961 arrangement of “Anji”. Building from its inspiration, “Around the Axis” deftly interweaves... Read more... |
