New music
Young Fathers, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - powerful set from a band who keep pushing boundariesFriday, 03 November 2023
Fresh from winning this year’s Scottish Album of the Year Award – for the third time no less! – Young Fathers gave a spectacular performance on Tuesday night on their home turf, at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. Sure, it seems odd that a competition that’s... Read more... |
10 Questions for the avant-pop icons StereolabThursday, 02 November 2023
Just over 30 years ago, avant-pop icons Stereolab released their debut album Peng! establishing the early hallmarks of the English-French band’s sound; 1960s pop harmonies, chorus-laden guitar riffs and a borderless world of analog electrics. Helmed... Read more... |
Brian Eno, Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Kristjan Järvi, RFH review - electronica brilliantly re-visioned for orchestraWednesday, 01 November 2023
There is a great deal of sense in transposing electronic music to a symphony orchestra. However beautifully crafted, imaginatively constructed, and creatively programmed, the sounds that come out of synthesisers and other digital tools lack the... Read more... |
Album: Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee - Los AngelesMonday, 30 October 2023
Los Angeles is a collaboration from ex-Cure man Lol Tolhurst, former Banshee, Creature and Slits’ drummer, Budgie and producer Jacknife Lee, as well as an army of musical mates from Bobby Gillespie and The Edge to LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Osmo Lindeman - Electronic WorksSunday, 29 October 2023
For Finnish composer Osmo Lindeman, the decision to pursue electronic music was made in 1968 during a visit to Poland. He had recently started using graphical notation for the scores of his compositions and was having problems getting conductors and... Read more... |
Album: Mayssa Jallad - Marjaa: The Battle of the HotelsSaturday, 28 October 2023
Atmospherically and musically, the debut album from Lebanon’s Mayssa Jallad swiftly makes its case. It opens with a drifting, elegiac voice singing a wandering melody over a sound-bed including what sounds like a koto and a droning cello. The... Read more... |
Album: James Blunt - Who We Used to BeFriday, 27 October 2023
Who knew! James Blunt has sold 20 million records worldwide. Who to, I wonder? Back to Bedlam, his 2004 debut, was the biggest-selling album of the first decade of the 21st century. Call that progress? When pop was pap – think the Carpenters or... Read more... |
Album: The Kills - God GamesThursday, 26 October 2023
With a name like The Kills, it’s not surprising to hear that the band’s long-awaited sixth album, God Games, is suitably tuned for spooky season. This year marks two decades since the duo – made up of songwriter and vocalist Alison Mosshart and... Read more... |
theartsdesk at Salzburg Jazz & the City Festival - perfection in free venuesTuesday, 24 October 2023
As a cultural destination, Salzburg really is hard to beat. Each year, a million and a half tourists descend on this compact city with its baroque architectural delights, and a population of just 150,000. The city of Mozart and of the Salzburger... Read more... |
Rodrigo y Gabriela, Town Hall, Birmingham review - Mexican superstar guitarists bring a set of new soundsMonday, 23 October 2023
Despite playing together for almost 25 years, Rodrigo y Gabriela are still taking chances in the live arena and refusing to take the easy path. They certainly didn’t put on a heritage act set in Birmingham this weekend.The Mexican guitarists’ show... Read more... |
Album: Duran Duran - Danse MacabreMonday, 23 October 2023
Simon Le Bon has described Duran Duran’s new album as being “about a crazy Halloween party” that is “supposed to be fun”. In fact, it’s a fair bit thinner than even that might suggest.Danse Macabre consists of mainly inadvisable cover versions of... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Serge Gainsbourg - L'Homme à tête de chouSunday, 22 October 2023
Marilou lies on the ground. She’s been bludgeoned to death by a fire extinguisher. Its foam covers her body. Her murderer is a forty-something man who has become obsessed with her. She shampoos hair in a barbers, where he first comes across her.... Read more... |
