New music
Album: Boris - WMonday, 17 January 2022
This is just boggling. The Japanese rock trio Boris have been together in the same lineup for over a quarter of a century – and it’s longer still since their original formation – but they’re outdoing themselves record by record. Their last record,... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds - Stormy Monday And The Eagles Fly On FridaySunday, 16 January 2022
TV-watching pop fans in many of the British regions were served a treat on 16 September 1966. A whole episode of Ready Steady Go! was dedicated to Otis Redding, who had arrived in the UK a week earlier on his 25th birthday.As would be expected... Read more... |
Album: Elvis Costello and the Imposters - The Boy Named IfSaturday, 15 January 2022
There is a sense in which Elvis Costello emerged as a recording artist fully grown, with that unique vocal mix of vulnerability and insolence, savvy and often brilliant lyrics. Although he has never stopped experimenting, always with the logic of a... Read more... |
Album: Spell Songs II – Let the Light InThursday, 13 January 2022
The first set of Spell Songs, The Lost Words, was inspired by nature writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris’s spell-spinning mission to bring back those ‘lost words’ from the natural world that had been excised from children’s... Read more... |
Album: Grace Cummings - Storm QueenWednesday, 12 January 2022
Although Storm Queen begins forcefully with the suitably tempestuous “Heaven,” the most affecting track on the second album from Melbourne’s Grace Cummings is the sparse, reflective “Two Little Birds.” The two performances capture the opposing poles... Read more... |
Album: Cat Power - CoversTuesday, 11 January 2022
It has been claimed by a good many commentators over the years, that an album of cover versions suggests that an artist is running out of steam and inspiration. Jazzers normally get a pass on this one as they are far more inclined to improvise... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: The Gun Club - Preaching The BluesSunday, 09 January 2022
“The Gun Club were true originals and Jeffrey Lee Pierce a genius. They were the inspiration behind many bands, I myself never thought about being a singer until I dropped the needle on Fire Of Love and in that instant I knew what I wanted to do... Read more... |
Album: Kiefer Sutherland - Bloor StreetSaturday, 08 January 2022
Disclaimer: it’s a little unfair I’m reviewing Kiefer Sutherland’s third album. He seems alright, left-ish for an American, done his time in the bad boy lane, sense of humour, tried his hand at this and that, even as a rodeo-rider, and has... Read more... |
Album: Bed Wetter - A Life in the DayFriday, 07 January 2022
A Life in the Day is the second album from Bed Wetter, nom de plume of DJ, producer and experimental artist Geoff Kirkwood. Perhaps best known for his dancefloor-centred productions under the Man Power moniker, Kirkwood’s thoughtful and committed... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2021: PinkPantheress - to hell with itThursday, 06 January 2022
In 2021 TikTok became the most visited website in the entire world. Spending too much time on TikTok is probably bad for all sorts of geopolitical, ethical and spiritual reasons. But if you want to understand how we listen to and discover music in... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2021: Chrissie Hynde - Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob DylanWednesday, 05 January 2022
So, it’s been another world-beating year. Known unknowns and unknown unknowns – at least two people have set Donald Rumsfeld’s 2002 Pentagon musings to music, and I’m sure I’m not alone in finding his words rather useful. Indeed, it’s not hard to... Read more... |
Album: Dope Lemon - Rose Pink CadillacTuesday, 04 January 2022
I think that it would be fair to assume that Angus Stone likes the odd toke on a big, fat joint. Certainly, the music of his alter ego Dope Lemon has been infused with a hazy, hippy, laidback groove throughout both his previous albums, Honey Bones... Read more... |
