New music
theartsdesk on Vinyl 68: Patrik Fitzgerald, Oasis, Kathryn Williams, R.E.M., Bess Atwell and a seasonal load moreTuesday, 14 December 2021
As we ride towards the holiday break on our magic reindeer, it’s time for one last theartsdesk on Vinyl, a seasonal special that, if you scroll down, contains all the usual up-to-date music reviews but, before that, takes a look at Yuletide-themed... Read more... |
Album: Kathryn Williams & Carol Ann Duffy - Midnight ChorusMonday, 13 December 2021
Liverpudlian singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams has always had a literary bent. This doesn’t just manifest in overt ways, like writing a concept album about Sylvia Plath in 2015’s Hypoxia, but in perfectly potted narratives, microscopically... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: The Dave Clark Five - Glad All Over, The Pretty Things - Live At The BBCSunday, 12 December 2021
At the beginning of November 1964, a form of changing of the guard was evident in the UK’s singles chart. The Dave Clark Five sat at number 25 with “Anyway You Want it,” the highest placing for their follow-up to “Thinking of You Baby.” Although... Read more... |
Yungblud, Barrowland, Glasgow review - pop chameleon gives the kids something to shout aboutFriday, 10 December 2021
According to local press, Yungblud’s fans had been queuing up outside the Barrowland throughout the day before each gig in his two-night Glasgow stint. If that was one indication of the reverence his following hold him in, another came early in this... Read more... |
Album: Pistol Annies - Hell of a HolidayFriday, 10 December 2021
“It was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was sober, especially my spouse.” So runs the giggly spoken word opening line of “Harlan County Coal”, the third song on Hell of a Holiday by American country trio Pistol... Read more... |
Album: Hiss Golden Messenger - O Come All Ye FaithfulThursday, 09 December 2021
Irrespective of its seasonal nature, the thread running throughout O Come All Ye Faithful is a mood of contemplation which could colour any of Hiss Golden Messenger main-man M. C. Taylor’s albums. The opening cut is “Hung Fire,” a Band-esque,... Read more... |
Madness and Squeeze, Brighton Centre review - enjoyable annual December nostalgia rompWednesday, 08 December 2021
Madness frontman Suggs is asking the capacity crowd at the Brighton Centre if any of them are in school-age education. Quite a few are. There are actual young people here! Some are with parents (even, possibly, grandparents), but gaggles of... Read more... |
Album: Neil Young and Crazy Horse – BarnWednesday, 08 December 2021
Neil Young’s ornery spontaneity has resulted in a remarkable number of mediocre songs. His sketchy 21st century has conjured audacious sonic conceits – the jazzy sparseness of Peace Trail, or the plastic-sounding live album Earth, both 2016 –... Read more... |
Album: Neil Young and Crazy Horse – BarnWednesday, 08 December 2021
Neil Young’s ornery spontaneity has resulted in a remarkable number of mediocre songs. His sketchy 21st century has conjured audacious sonic conceits – the jazzy sparseness of Peace Trail, or the plastic-sounding live album Earth, both 2016 –... Read more... |
Album: Various Artists - A Damaged Christmas Gift For YouTuesday, 07 December 2021
Christmas albums can traditionally be slippery beasts with a whole host of quality control issues. This is not unlike the compilation albums that also make an appearance at this time of year, with one or maybe two previously unreleased tracks, which... Read more... |
Album: SJS - The Unlikely EventMonday, 06 December 2021
Just as love's downward spiral can deconstruct a lover's sense of self, so SJS's plangent post-modern prog deconstructs itself as it ebbs and flows toward gorgeous but muted crescendos.On the band's second album The Unlikely Event, lovely ... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Once Upon A Time In The West Midlands - The Bostin’ Sounds of Brumrock 1966-1974Sunday, 05 December 2021
The picture seen above doesn’t have quite the same resonance as Art Kane’s 1958 shot A Great Day in Harlem which brought 57 American jazz musicians in front of his lens, but it is nonetheless significant. Here, in 1971, is an evocative, unique... Read more... |
