New music
CD: Casiokids - Aabenbaringen Over AaskammenThursday, 12 January 2012
Bergen’s going to be pretty cold in January, but Aabenbaringen over aaskammen by the Norwegian city’s Casiokids will thaw the most frozen of feet. Their twinkly, occasionally Afro-assisted, sometimes New Order-ish electropop brings a smile too.... Read more... |
CD: Wiley - Evolve or be ExtinctWednesday, 11 January 2012
It's become a fairly common trope for herbally enhanced rappers to hype up their individuality by referring to themselves as an “alien”, but with Wiley you could believe it. In “Can I Get a Taxi”, the odd extended skit that forms the centrepiece of... Read more... |
Barbican Centre, 2012 SeasonTuesday, 10 January 2012
London's Barbican Centre is 30 this year, and with a special Olympics subsidy boost as the world's eyes turn to the British capital this summer, it aims to be as lovely inside as it is famously unlovely outside. Film beauties Cate Blanchett and... Read more... |
CD: Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of ColourMonday, 09 January 2012
Of all the unlikely and incompatible collisions of genre imaginable, thrash metal with clubland trance must be pretty near the top of the tree. One is beefy, roaring, angry and punctuated by vocals akin to a dyspeptic troll burping, the other is... Read more... |
CD: Duotone - RopesSunday, 08 January 2012
Duotone duo have hit upon a pared-down, beautifully crafted acoustic sound, which proves what richness lies in simplicity. Like a perfectly executed sponge cake, their music is light, satisfying and a delight. But, as with any confection, the... Read more... |
Extract: The Book of Drugs by Mike DoughtySaturday, 07 January 2012
I have been an admirer of Mike Doughty as a singer and songwriter since picking up Soul Coughing’s first two CDs at a car boot sale for 50p each. I was drawn by the sinister, Lynchian art work and dryly witty song titles such as "Sugar Free Jazz”... Read more... |
CD: Paper Dollhouse - A Box Painted BlackSaturday, 07 January 2012
One of last year’s finest surprises was the debut album from Rayographs, a fractured, psychedelic excursion that remains enthralling. Paper Dollhouse is the solo guise of Rayographs’s Astrud Steehouder. While A Box Painted Black isn’t quite the... Read more... |
Spaghetti Western Orchestra, Queen Elizabeth HallFriday, 06 January 2012
It is a ridiculous idea but also a strangely appealing one. Five Australians recreate the music of composer Ennio Morricone's 80-piece troupe on a variety of traditional instruments as well as an instrument made out of string and a tin can, plus... Read more... |
CD: Twink - Itsy Bits & BubblesThursday, 05 January 2012
I’m a fan of a child-like musical sub-genre which some call toytronica. It’s the sound of retro-futuristic electronic music mashing into playroom sounds, sometimes using actual gimmicky children’s toy instruments. In its broadest definition, it... Read more... |
Interview: U2 Producer Steve Lillywhite on the Alchemy of Hit-MakingWednesday, 04 January 2012
Record producer Steve Lillywhite has been awarded a CBE in the 2012 New Year Honours list. Born in 1955, Lillywhite started his career in the late 1970s working with new wave and post-punk bands such as XTC and Siouxsie & The Banshees. He went... Read more... |
CD: Tunng - This is Tunng... Live From the BBCWednesday, 04 January 2012
Tunng are not as kooky as they might appear. Yes there is a preponderance of beards in their extensive lineup, and a rather byzantine tale to how that lineup has evolved over the years. And yes, their songs include bone percussion, electronic... Read more... |
2011: The Triumph of AuthenticityMonday, 02 January 2012
In a year of mounting turmoil and uncertainty, it was easy to fall back on safe bets and comfort-zone reassurance. Addictive TV series offered a welcome haven from the angst of financial meltdown: Sarah Lund’s melancholy airs in The Killing offered... Read more... |
