New music
theartsdesk on Vinyl 41: Kali Uchis, Orange Goblin, Kirsty MacColl, Walton, Miss Red and moreWednesday, 18 July 2018
Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the street. To vinyl. Only theartsdesk on Vinyl doesn’t just cover music for dancing, it covers every style of music imaginable (with a good showing for pop this month). Whatever your taste, from... Read more... |
CD: Juniore - MagnifiqueWednesday, 18 July 2018
At 29 minutes, the second album from Paris’s Juniore is short. But as it makes its point, it’s hard to hear how it needs to be longer. Magnifique opens with “Ça Balance”, a harmony-drenched vapour trail suggesting a kinship with the great French... Read more... |
Keaton Henson on creating 'Six Lethargies'Tuesday, 17 July 2018
This Friday, July 20, sees the world premiere of Six Lethargies, a composition by the singer-songwriter Keaton Henson, created collaboratively with various artists, including the Britten Sinfonia who’ll be performing it. Henson, who has six... Read more... |
Paul Simon, BST Hyde Park review - still sprightly after 76 yearsMonday, 16 July 2018
"Homeward Bound – the Farewell Tour", they were calling it. But with a show this strong, nobody would complain if that farewell were to turn out at some point not to be absolutely final.Paul Simon is 76, and there is absolutely no doubt that as he... Read more... |
Preoccupations, The Haunt, Brighton review - energetic set struggles to win over audienceMonday, 16 July 2018
Hailing from Canada and born from the ashes of cult indie heroes Women (the band responsible for that chiming Calgary guitar sound), Preoccupations haven’t let up since their first LP Viet Cong was released just three years ago. Two albums and a... Read more... |
CD: Drake - ScorpionMonday, 16 July 2018
This is Drake’s account of his astrological sign, the only one to be represented in multiple forms: an eagle and phoenix as well as the poisonous creepy-crawlie. (At an unwieldy 25 songs, on a kind-of double album, divided into two kind-of halves,... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Kamal KeilaSunday, 15 July 2018
Music from Sudan is overshadowed by the country’s recent history. At the end of June 1989, Colonel Omar al-Bashir assumed control and it became a one-party state. Shariah law was introduced. Osama Bin Laden was resident in capital city Khartoum from... Read more... |
CD: Cowboy Junkies – All That ReckoningSaturday, 14 July 2018
This woozy, seductive slice of gothic Americana is the Canadian quartet’s first album in six years, a swampy follow-up to the icy, winter-inspired sounds of their last offering, The Wilderness. “All That Reckoning Part 1” gets things going, an... Read more... |
'Stepping right out of my comfort zone': James Gilchrist on mixing Debussy with jazzThursday, 12 July 2018
Debussy is having a good year. It is wonderful to see such wide and varied celebrations of his life and work, and to let the century since his death bear witness to the huge influence he has had on writers in every field of music.Of course, no one... Read more... |
Mavis Staples, Union Chapel review - grand gospel dame still doin' it at 79Thursday, 12 July 2018
“We have come here tonight,” announces Mavis Staples, “to bring you some joy, happiness, inspiration - and positive vibrations!” It’s a declaration that the irrepressible Mavis, celebrating her 79th birthday today, routinely makes at her concerts -... Read more... |
CD: Lotic - PowerWednesday, 11 July 2018
An extraordinary musical movement has been bubbling over from the far left field into the public consciousness in the last couple of years. A very loose international alliance of musicians like Elysia Crampton, GAIKA, Ziúr, Arca, Rabit, Yves Tumor,... Read more... |
CD: Rick Astley - Beautiful LifeTuesday, 10 July 2018
Who in their right minds has the time of day for Rick Astley? As a cynical 1980s experiment by ruthlessly commercial production house Stock, Aitken & Waterman his Eighties output was vapid grinning plastic bilge. He was annoying too, really... Read more... |
