New music
Extract: I've Always Kept a Unicorn: The Biography of Sandy DennyFriday, 27 February 2015
Sandy Denny was well known within the folk world by 1968 (writes Kieron Tyler). Although the recordings were as-yet unreleased, in July 1967 she had recorded with The Strawbs. She featured on two albums which were in the shops in August 1967: Alex... Read more... |
CD: Katzenjammer – RocklandWednesday, 25 February 2015
Norwegian alt-folkies Katzenjammer may have gained some attention with their distinctive versions of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion” and Nick Cave’s “Henry Lee”, as well as the multi-instrument approach on their previous albums, Le Pop and A Kiss... Read more... |
CD: Tuxedo - TuxedoWednesday, 25 February 2015
I work in an office where music is generally played in the background. Picking the soundtrack for a Friday afternoon can be a particularly fraught moment: one person's idea of a wind-down from work and a promise of leisure to come can be too cheesy... Read more... |
The War on Drugs, O2 Academy BrixtonWednesday, 25 February 2015
It would probably be best to start this review with a mention of the band, The War on Drugs, whose 2014 LP, Lost in the Dream, saw them realise their potential in a flurry of "Best Of" lists and almost unbelievable hyperbole. However, before we get... Read more... |
The Jesus & Mary Chain, Brighton DomeMonday, 23 February 2015
“The Sun comes up, another day begins/And I don’t even worry ‘bout the state I’m in.” One of the great opening lines in rock and a motto to live by. The Jesus & Mary Chain lay into their second single, "Never Understand", with deadpan gusto,... Read more... |
CD: Altan - The Widening GyreMonday, 23 February 2015
Taking its title from the opening line of WB Yeats's The Second Coming, this new album from legendary traditional Irish band Altan sees them decamp to Nashville for an imaginative, celebratory exploration of the links between traditional Irish and... Read more... |
Weyes Blood, The Old Blue LastSunday, 22 February 2015
Pennsylvanian singer-songwriter Natalie Mering, aka Weyes Blood, performed her intoxicating brew of Gothic folk-tronica in Shoreditch last night, as part of a short UK tour playing the songs of her second album, The Innocents. Allusive, multi-... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Zakary ThaksSunday, 22 February 2015
The Zakary Thaks: It’s the End – The Definitive CollectionGalloping with the urgency of a sweat-flecked horse running a steeplechase, the choppy guitar riff takes early Kinks raunch and filters it through a testosterone-driven sensibility that... Read more... |
CD: Songhoy Blues - Music in ExileSunday, 22 February 2015
Songhoy Blues, a punchy guitar band with roots on the edge of the desert, take the downhome country sounds of Ali Farka Toure, Afel Bocoum and Sidi Toure and give them a high-octane dose of urban urgency. They don’t just play those mesmerising Sahel... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary ChainSaturday, 21 February 2015
With The Jesus & Mary Chain reformed and currently touring their epochal debut album, Psychocandy, theartsdesk reaches into its archives to offer up a rare and very extensive interview with lead singer Jim Reid from 2010.Jim Reid (b 1961) is... Read more... |
George Ezra, O2 Academy, BrixtonSaturday, 21 February 2015
Well, the vocals were certainly formidable...but what else would you expect? As a teenager George Ezra says he would listen for hours to his dad’s Leadbelly albums, whilst gazing at sleeve notes that read: “This voice is so big you may need to turn... Read more... |
Bob Dorough and Friends, Pizza Express Jazz ClubSaturday, 21 February 2015
Aged 91, and as frisky as a newborn puppy, the US singer, pianist and songwriter Bob Dorough is a sui generis stylist whose smart lyrics – delivered in an understated southern brogue – and nimble pianism which nods to both bebop and swing masters,... Read more... |
