New music
theartsdesk on Vinyl 52: Yardbirds, Fad Gadget, Spoon, Cate le Bon, Cabaret Voltaire and moreSaturday, 31 August 2019
Welcome to the latest edition of theartsdesk on Vinyl, the monthly online musical resource that knows no genre boundaries as it treks through every release on plastic that it can find. This time round we’ve everything from death metal to obscure... Read more... |
CD: Širom - A Universe That Roasts Blossoms for a HorseSaturday, 31 August 2019
Avant-folk differs from traditional music, as it isn't rooted in place but draws its inspiration from a cultural universe without boundaries. Širom are three Slovenian multi-instrumentalists, and the extraordinary array of sounds they make could at... Read more... |
Duff McKagan, Islington Assembly Hall review – Guns N' Roses bassist revels in the spotlightFriday, 30 August 2019
Guns N’ Roses members do love a side project, from Slash’s Snakepit and Conspirators to Axl’s stint as AC/DC frontman. Bass player Duff McKagan has had plenty of them, including hardcore punks 10 Minute Warning, rock 'n' roll supergroup Velvet... Read more... |
CD: Caravan Palace - ChronologicFriday, 30 August 2019
Parisian outfit Caravan Palace have now had a career that’s lasted over a decade. They’ve not busted the British charts open (although they have had hit albums in France), but they’ve long been festival favourites with multi-millions of YouTube... Read more... |
Peaches, Royal Festival Hall review - blissful anarchyThursday, 29 August 2019
“Thank you for making us so fucking special!” It’s the end the set and both adjectives are appropriate. “Yes I had to say fucking special,” Peaches yells, combative and loved. The audience howls back. The Royal Festival Hall is hardly a natural... Read more... |
CD: Kano - Hoodies All SummerThursday, 29 August 2019
Of all grime's original generation, Kano has a strong claim to being the greatest rhyme-constructor in the old school hip hop sense of dense rhymes packed with multiple meanings. Add movie star looks and a penchant for fur coats in photoshoots and... Read more... |
CD: Whitney - Forever Turned AroundWednesday, 28 August 2019
As days get shorter and the sun tucks itself behind a blanket of clouds, Whitney return with the bittersweet sound of summer ending. Forever Turned Around is the long-awaited follow up to 2016’s Light Upon the Lake, and the band have lost none of... Read more... |
Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Dingwalls review - What's going on? Good questionTuesday, 27 August 2019
There’s something truly sad and dispiriting about listening to an artist trash their back catalogue and absolutely totally ruin their greatest song, especially when that song has acquired anthemic status and been chosen to be preserved by the... Read more... |
CD: Ezra Furman - Twelve NudesMonday, 26 August 2019
“This is our punk record,” says Ezra Furman of Twelve Nudes in its PR bumpf. In practice, the punk slant is manifested through distorted guitars, hell-for-leather tempi and howling vocals. The edgiest moment is the 55-second “Blown”, a close... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Live at WoodstockSunday, 25 August 2019
Apparently, Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford’s snare drum broke during the first song of their set at Woodstock Festival. On the new double album Live at Woodstock, it’s impossible to detect this happening. As “Born on the Bayou”... Read more... |
Edinburgh International Festival 2019: JARV IS review - Britpop legend still deliversSaturday, 24 August 2019
”Cunts Are Still”. Well, that got your attention, didn’t it? Not my words, merely the title of one of JARV IS’s new tracks. In case you didn’t get it, JARV IS is a play on words and the name of given to Pulp frontman and founder Jarvis Cocker’s... Read more... |
CD: Taylor Swift - LoverSaturday, 24 August 2019
If there's a central motif to the sprawling, 18-track opus that is Taylor Swift’s seventh release - and it’s an album that references both Drake and Springsteen, so it's hard to pin down - it first emerges in track three, the title track. Stripped... Read more... |
