New music
The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup 2020 - old-time decadence revisitedThursday, 03 September 2020
It’s been a decade, more or less, since The Rolling Stones opened up their From the Vaults series with The Brussels Affair, AKA Bedspring Symphony, taken from the 1973 European tour following the release of Goats Head Soup. It’s one of the most... Read more... |
Album: Declan McKenna - ZerosThursday, 03 September 2020
Declan McKenna covers many bases. He’s a good looking, teen-friendly pop star who first made waves aged only 15, but he’s also a politically engaged lyricist with aspirations in the region of Bowie and Dylan. His best songs, then, combine chewy,... Read more... |
Album: Tricky - Fall to PiecesWednesday, 02 September 2020
Tricky, the bruised, self-proclaimed "mongrel" from Knowle West, South Bristol’s depressed suburb, has created a language of his own: dark and minimalist, with emotions at once raw and blurred.His 14th album treads familiar ground, but his playful... Read more... |
South West Four Live, Electric Brixton online review - the dance goes on?Tuesday, 01 September 2020
If two dozen DJs spin tunes and no one’s there, did a rave really happen? There is plenty of time for such questions during the 25 hours of livestreams substituting for SW4’s annual bank holiday party on Clapham Common. It’s a benefit for the Mind... Read more... |
Album: Throwing Muses - Sun RacketMonday, 31 August 2020
“If I was a better dreamer, you’d be a dream come true” sings Kristin Hersh over the opening bars of Throwing Muses’ new album, Sun Racket. It sets the tone for a distorted and woozy disc that could easily be the soundtrack to a folk-horror tale set... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: This Is Our Music - Jazz Out Of NorwaySunday, 30 August 2020
The Turnamat is a type of washing machine made by AEG. In the composition titled “Turnamat”, Seventies-type synths, wobbly keyboard lines and hard-grooving drums give way to a brass-led interlude suggesting an acquaintance with the compositions... Read more... |
CD: Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith - PeradamSaturday, 29 August 2020
"The gateway to the invisible must be visible." So intones Patti Smith on the third and final journey in sound with Stephan Crasneanscki and Simone Merli, AKA Soundwalk Collective, musical psychogeographers and field recorders whose journey for this... Read more... |
Ellie Goulding, V&A online review - cautious liberationFriday, 28 August 2020
Ellie Goulding steps coolly out of the Medieval and Renaissance gallery, in amongst monster-slaying Greek statuary, where a string section waits. Deprived of audiences for now, she has opted for an elegantly filmed showcase at the Victoria &... Read more... |
Album: Katy Perry - SmileFriday, 28 August 2020
Katy Perry occupies an odd position. By some measure the biggest pop star in the world over the last decade, with streams in the billions, she’s always been an awkward mix of old-school razzle-dazzle showbiz hucksterism, knowing sass and awkward... Read more... |
Album: Disclosure - ENERGYThursday, 27 August 2020
When Disclosure appeared a decade ago, they were a necessary antidote to the rank gorgonzola of EDM, which was turning club music into a garish mire of musical infantilism. These two deliberately faceless Surrey brothers, Guy and Howard Lawrence,... Read more... |
Album: Gregory Porter - All RiseWednesday, 26 August 2020
It’s not all just about that great voice. Gregory Porter also has a mighty generosity of spirit, plus empathy, warmth and optimism. And he has gathered a superb team around him to make a strong album with plenty of scale and depth.All Rise (... Read more... |
Album: AK/DK - Shared ParticlesMonday, 24 August 2020
AK/DK’s third album, Shared Particles is a lo-fi electro-punk monster with a psychedelic splatter that has the dancefloor clearly within its crosshairs and the muscle to deliver on its intentions. These punchy, relentless grooves with distorted,... Read more... |
