New music
Kylie, iTunes Festival, RoundhouseSunday, 28 September 2014
Does Kylie exist without spectacle? Take away the 6ft headgear, the sparkly hotpants, the spangly corsets, the team of super-fit dancers dressed like futuristic liquorice allsorts, and what’s left? If you find whatever it is, please let me know.... Read more... |
Carthy Hardy Farrell Young + Newton, Cecil Sharp HouseSunday, 28 September 2014
Each of them is a solo, duo or group artist of high renown, but together, something special happens. On record it’s called Laylam; on stage, Eliza Carthy, Bella Hardy, Lucy Farrell and Kate Young are the best girl group in Britain.Occasional group... Read more... |
CD: Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright In The EndSunday, 28 September 2014
Over the years Weezer’s greatest skill has surely been to stimulate the inner schoolboy in us. Who, for instance, could deny hits like “Beverley Hills” paint a charming and cheeky picture of being young and nerdy? The thing is, though, Rivers... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Black WidowSunday, 28 September 2014
Black Widow: SacrificeIt wasn’t John Lennon’s fault, but things weren’t the same after the “bigger than Jesus” scandal of 1966. Pop music had been connected to religion in a way slightly edgier than Cliff Richard or the Salvation Army's The... Read more... |
CD special: Prince - Art Official Age / Prince & 3rdeyegirl - PlectrumelectrumSaturday, 27 September 2014
The last thing I remember of my 40th birthday party this year is propping up a bar with a few similarly middle-aged men, discussing whether Kate Bush's comeback shows were as worth getting excited about as Prince's recent comeback shows. It was most... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Singer-songwriter Vashti BunyanSaturday, 27 September 2014
The story of Vashti Bunyan is a compelling one. The urbane Sixties would-be popstrel who gave it all up to ride up to a hippie community in a horse-drawn caravan, writing an exquisite album on the way, Just Another Diamond Day, which then became a... Read more... |
Mary J Blige, iTunes Festival, RoundhouseFriday, 26 September 2014
Trailing a string of Grammys and multi-platinum albums, and now a successful actress and purveyor of her own "My Life" perfume for good measure, you wouldn't think R&B legend Blige had much left to prove. However, she evidently sees it... Read more... |
Angel Olsen, Electric BallroomFriday, 26 September 2014
“You don’t always get what you want in life,” said Angel Olsen to a group of fans haranguing her at the front last night at the Electric Ballroom. She rarely uttered a word between songs but this was a defiant end to the evening. Though her powerful... Read more... |
CD: Alt-J - This Is All YoursFriday, 26 September 2014
Art-student rock sounds like a terribly dated concept, but listening to This Is All Yours for the first time, it suddenly feels very relevant. This is music of the broadest cultural horizons, that takes in global influences, but can’t resist the... Read more... |
CD: The Vaselines - V For VaselinesWednesday, 24 September 2014
The Vaselines were originally one of a slew of bands that came out of the mid- to late-80s’ Shambling/C86 scene. Characterised by low production values and low commercial expectations, their Dum-Dum album and a couple of EPs made little impression... Read more... |
The Pierces, Shepherd's Bush EmpireWednesday, 24 September 2014
The Pierces were on stage for little more than an hour, singing an enjoyable but quite predictable medley of their last three albums. Their sugar-glazed, glistening sound is filtered through all manner of electronic stabilisation and filtration... Read more... |
CD: Inspiral Carpets - Inspiral CarpetsWednesday, 24 September 2014
There was a time, around 25 years ago, when Inspiral Carpets’ psyche-eyed cow logo, accompanied by the motto “Cool as Fuck”, was ubiquitous on tee-shirts. Along with the Charlatans, they represented the second tier of the “Madchester” movement,... Read more... |
