New music
CD: Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No CrownFriday, 05 January 2018
As well as creating a true American musical phenomenon, led by from the front by Nirvana, the early-to-mid-Nineties grunge explosion opened a window of opportunity for multitudes of bands on its furthest fringes. South Carolina punk-metallers... Read more... |
CD: Mari Kalkun - IlmamõtsanThursday, 04 January 2018
Ilmamõtsan’s centrepiece is “Linnaitk”, a disconcerting vocal-only composition playing distress-permeated chants off against a keening wordless melody line sounding as much an expression of grief as a call for support. The language is Estonian and “... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Cécile McLorin Salvant - Dreams and DaggersWednesday, 03 January 2018
From newcomer Jazzmeia Horn to the Grammy-winning elder statesman Alan Broadbent, this round-up of favourite jazz releases represents just the tip of a huge iceberg of activity in 2017.A strong year for UK label Edition Records included Denys... Read more... |
CD: Radar Men from the Moon - Subversive III: De Spelende MensTuesday, 02 January 2018
Eindhoven art punks Radar Men from the Moon have been around since 2010 with a sound that has knitted together space rock, strange electronics and shoegaze flavours with a psychedelic view point. Subversive III: De Spelende Mens, however, is a... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Jin Cromanyon - 逆襲のスポンジMonday, 01 January 2018
There are albums that reveal themselves to you, their hidden depths become apparent over time as familiarity helps one to acclimatize to the terrain. David Crosby’s Sky Trails was one such release and has stayed with me since its release.There are... Read more... |
Reissue CD of the Year: Lal & Mike WatersonSunday, 31 December 2017
In 1972, just 2000 copies of Bright Phoebus were pressed. Half were off-centre and unplayable. This year, the first conscientious reissue of the album hit 31 in the British album chart. Although it has been a cult favourite for the last couple of... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Robert Plant - Carry FireSunday, 31 December 2017
Following in the footsteps of its predecessor lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar (2014), where Robert Plant was also accompanied by his current band the Sensational Space Shifters, Carry Fire has been assembled from ingredients culled from virtually... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Daymé Arocena - CubafoniaSaturday, 30 December 2017
All things considered, there aren’t many criteria by which this album, however cosmopolitan its influences, sensitive and precise its vocals and supple its rhythms, is really the best of the year. I’ve had a few sleepless nights recently over the... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Ryuichi Sakamoto - asyncFriday, 29 December 2017
From his days as a session musician in mid-Seventies Tokyo through global mega fame in Yellow Magic Orchestra and on, Ryuichi Sakamoto has always had a Stakhanovite work ethic. And that's still the case, even at the age of 65, and despite the fact... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Jim Jones & the Righteous Mind - Super NaturalThursday, 28 December 2017
Punk-blues veteran Jim Jones has been around since the mid 80s, but this year brought the debut album release by his newest combo, the Righteous Mind, and a record that may come to be regarded as Jones’ defining moment. Super Natural is shot through... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2017: Offa Rex - Queen of HeartsWednesday, 27 December 2017
I’ve only seen Olivia Chaney perform live a handful of times – once at a Copper Family celebration at Cecil Sharp House, 10,000 Times Adieu, singing unaccompanied with Lisa Knapp and Nancy Wallace, and at the nestcollective’s Unamplifire festival at... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The BeatlesSunday, 24 December 2017
The official reissue of The Beatles’ Christmas records is a major event. Since Live at the BBC was issued in 1994, archive Beatles’ releases have fallen into two categories. There have been releases devoted to or drawing from archive disinterments:... Read more... |
