New music
theartsdesk at Glastonbury Festival 2018Friday, 22 June 2018
Daft Punk! Kendrick Lamar! The Kinks! Yes! We blew the lid off!What? No! There IS no Glastonbury Festival 2018, I hear you cry. You think that’s going to stop Caspar Gomez? Never! I need my fix. If they’re not going to have Glastonbury this year, I... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 40: Talking Heads, Ornette Coleman, Crayola Lectern, Brian Eno, Ash and moreThursday, 21 June 2018
Earlier this year, in May, Brighton hosted the Vinyl World Congress where Paul Pacifico, head of the Association of Independent Music, told the assembled that, “People pay for vinyl not because they have to but because they want to - they want a... Read more... |
David Byrne, Eventim Apollo review - twice in a lifetime?Thursday, 21 June 2018
Forgive the sports metaphor, but David Byrne knocked this one out of the park. Coming out of the concert at the Eventim Apollo, you felt that the presentation of popular music had changed - that to go on stage with a conventional band with the usual... Read more... |
CD: Nine Inch Nails – Bad WitchThursday, 21 June 2018
Concluding a trilogy of releases that began with the EPs Not the Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) – Bad Witch is being called an LP despite its six tracks clocking in at only 30 minutes, a discrepancy that reportedly led an exasperated... Read more... |
The Rolling Stones, Twickenham Stadium review - until the next goodbye?Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Eel Pie, the tiny eyot in the Thames, is not too a long walk from Twickenham stadium – within hollering distance, almost, if you had that kind of voice. And if anywhere could lay claim to being the nursery that provided the perfect growing... Read more... |
CD: Kamasi Washington - Heaven and EarthWednesday, 20 June 2018
It would always be difficult to follow The Epic, the 2015 release which turned LA saxophonist Kamasi Washington from leader of the local scene to international star. So this musical and spiritual journey lifts off into the heavens, the 16 pieces... Read more... |
Enter theartsdesk / h Club Young Influencer of the Year awardTuesday, 19 June 2018
Are you a young blogger, vlogger or writer in the field of the arts, books and culture? If so, we've a competition for you to enter.The Hospital Club’s annual h Club100 awards celebrate the most influential and innovative people working in the UK’s... Read more... |
Ismaili a Go-Go: How the Aga Khan funded a music renaissanceTuesday, 19 June 2018
Many of us recognise that rather striking modernist building in Cromwell Gardens near South Kensington tube, having seen it on the way to the V&A or perhaps a Prom at the Albert Hall but not been sure what it is exactly. I hadn't actually been... Read more... |
Scorpions/ Megadeth, O2 Arena review - by turns lavish, silly and exhilaratingMonday, 18 June 2018
Scorpions stepped on stage wearing leather jackets and shades, and launched straight into "Going Out With a Bang". For a band who, only a few short years ago, were tempted by retirement, the song was a statement of intent. "No sign of slowing down... Read more... |
Paloma Faith, Bedgebury Pinetum review - positive pop in a woodland settingMonday, 18 June 2018
There is a real festival ambience to this quintessentially English field-gig, set amidst the stunning forests of Bedgebury Pinetum as part of the Forestry Commission’s Forest Live concert series. Groups of 40-something chino-clad daahhlings lay out... Read more... |
CD: Jim James - Uniform DistortionMonday, 18 June 2018
How great is Uniform Distortion? As great as Greg Sage’s Straight Ahead or Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Ragged Glory or Dungen’s Ta det lugnt or Alex Chilton’s Like Flies On Sherbert. That’s how great Uniform Distortion is.Uniform Distortion is... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Rose GardenSunday, 17 June 2018
The Rose Garden didn’t linger in the bright lights but for those inclined towards harmony pop their name resonates due to the quality of their sole album rather than memories of them as a one-hit-wonder. Granted, their debut single and late 1967 US... Read more... |
