New music
CD: Benga - Chapter IISaturday, 04 May 2013
Benga is at a crossroads. Like many who arose from the dubstep scene, the 26-year-old is finding the term an albatross that’s hard to throw off. Sure, he was one of the Croydon originators of a sound that now dominates Transatlantic pop, a sound... Read more... |
CD: Caro Emerald - The Shocking Miss EmeraldThursday, 02 May 2013
Caro Emerald is the biggest act to arrive on the music scene in Holland for a very long time. Her debut album, 2010’s Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor, stayed at the top of the Dutch album charts for an astonishing run of over seven months... Read more... |
Beyoncé, O2Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Oh my goodness but that Mrs Carter knows how to entertain. Sparkles, glitter, flames, fireworks and costumes galore: The Mrs Carter Show had the lot and so much more. A tight eight-piece band, 10 dancers, three backing singers and extraordinary... Read more... |
CD: Alison Moyet - the minutesWednesday, 01 May 2013
Alison Moyet is not just one of the great voices in pop, she's one of the most likeable figures. A brilliantly no-nonsense character, she consistently skewers music industry pomposity, laughs in the face of the expectations the world has of female... Read more... |
Just in From Scandinavia: Nordic Music Round-Up 7Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Continuing its voyage through Scandinavia’s music, theartsdesk opens the latest chapter in Norway with Still Life With Eggplant, the 16th album from Trondheim’s prolific, long-lived, occasionally challenging and always vital Motorpsycho.Their last... Read more... |
CD: Friedman & Liebezeit - Secret Rhythms 5Tuesday, 30 April 2013
It's pretty impressive that at 74 years old, the drummer Jaki Liebezeit should still be one of the most vital musicians on the planet. Maybe not all that surprising, though. From the moment in 1968 when he switched from free jazz to the narcotic... Read more... |
Mick Hucknall, Hammersmith ApolloMonday, 29 April 2013
There was a point about two-thirds of the way through last night's gig when someone lobbed something onto the stage in front of Mick Hucknall. It was not clear exactly what it was due to the sea of dancing mums in front of me, but my strong... Read more... |
CD: Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the CityMonday, 29 April 2013
In a way, falling prey to hype-inspired backlash as early in your musical career as Vampire Weekend did has its benefits - assuming, of course, you have the long-term determination and songwriting prowess to back it up. When “Diane Young”, the first... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Killing Joke, Motown, Bob Marley, The WinkiesSunday, 28 April 2013
Killing Joke: The Singles Collection 1979-2012Killing Joke were one of the most singular British bands to emerge in wake of punk. Their metal-edged, tribal stomp didn’t fit in with anything else going on at the time. Collecting 33 tracks from their... Read more... |
CD: Rudimental - HomeSunday, 28 April 2013
With two chart-topping singles under their belt, Rudimental have arrived. The unassuming, feel-good quartet from Hackney have chopped through mainstream radio’s mug-step cheese and post-Guetta club pop with an efficient hatchet of drum & bass... Read more... |
Alice in Chains, The Fillmore, MiamiSaturday, 27 April 2013
Reformed rock bands may be ten-a-penny but no other return quite matches the resurrection of Alice In Chains. The first grunge band to break big with their 1990 debut album Facelift, Alice In Chains matched Nirvana both in their ability to marry... Read more... |
Liane Carroll, Pizza Express Jazz ClubSaturday, 27 April 2013
Some vocal jazz can be so anodyne that it barely registers on your consciousness, as anyone who's ever heard a jazz wannabe dusting down “My Funny Valentine” will know. A Liane Carroll gig, on the other hand, offers a roller coaster ride of emotions... Read more... |
