New music
When Albums Ruled the World, BBC FourSaturday, 09 February 2013
The BBC has suddenly noticed that there used to be these really brilliant things called "albums", and now they're going out of style and out of date. Hence they're holding an Albums Season in all media (Danny Baker's Great Album Showdown, Steve... Read more... |
Rolf Harris, Royal Festival HallSaturday, 09 February 2013
Two very different Antipodeans are performing in London over the weekend. Having seen Nick Cave more times than you can shake a didgeridoo at, the time has come for this reviewer to scrutinise Rolf Harris – pop star, painter of the Queen,... Read more... |
CD: Ron Sexsmith - Forever EndeavourSaturday, 09 February 2013
As with the likes of Sia Furler or Nerina Pallot, Ron Sexsmith’s songs always seem to outperform him. “Secret Heart” did Rod Stewart proud, Feist regularly plays “Brandy Alexander", and he has even offered Justin Bieber a tune. Yet despite Sexsmith’... Read more... |
Kraftwerk: Radio-Activity, Tate ModernFriday, 08 February 2013
“Tschernobyl… Harrisburg... Sellafield… Fukushima” reads the display above the four figures standing impassively below like toys, suddenly turning these harbingers of the computer age into proselytisers for an anti-nuclear energy policy.Kraftwerk’s... Read more... |
Kraftwerk: Autobahn, Tate ModernThursday, 07 February 2013
Childlike wonder is a rare emotion at a gig, so gasps of delight are doubly jolting as the first images appear to float out of the mammoth screen behind the stage and float over our heads. These are notes of musical notation that cascade from a car... Read more... |
CD: Fimber Bravo - Con-FusionThursday, 07 February 2013
If you listened to the last archived Arts Desk Radio Show you'll have heard me play a couple of tracks from this, and it was all I could do not to play more. As so often I'd gone into the studio with the previous couple of days' post pile and... Read more... |
CD: Bullet For My Valentine - Temper TemperWednesday, 06 February 2013
There’s a certain kind of melodic post-millennial metal band where the songs seem to be merely a process of ritualistic, firmly fixed reference points. From Avenged Sevenfold to Bring Me The Horizon and thousands more, gargle-shouted thrash vocals... Read more... |
CD: Ballaké Sissoko - At PeaceMonday, 04 February 2013
Toumani Diabaté is the uncontested star of the Malian kora, but his Bamako neighbour Ballaké Sissoko is a close rival. His natural modesty, reflected in the coolness of his musicianship, has prevented him from acquiring the international status of... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Marcos Valle, Five Star, Julian Cope, Carlos NúñezSunday, 03 February 2013
Marcos Valle: Marcos Valle/Garra/Vento Sul/Previsão do TempoIn 1968, having already done time in Sérgio Mendes & Brazil 66, Marcos Valle was selling bossa nova and samba to America, appearing on The Andy Williams Show in a blazer and roll... Read more... |
CD: Eels – Wonderful, GloriousSunday, 03 February 2013
"Gonna shake the house," rasps Mark 'E' Everett on "Bombs Away". It is the first track of his tenth album and it certainly sounds like a statement of intent. Everett has often come across as something of a gloomy rock and roll runt in recent years,... Read more... |
CD: Devlin - A Moving PictureSaturday, 02 February 2013
Dagenham MC Devlin, who initially made a name for himself on the London grime scene, has often been called the British Eminem. This would, at first appear, to be a rather trite assessment, down to his being a talented white guy at the heart of a... Read more... |
Jane Birkin, Cadogan HallFriday, 01 February 2013
The notice saying “table reserved for Lord Chelsea” in Cadogan Hall’s foyer bar instantly signalled this show was likely to be more rarefied than your normal pop concert. It was in keeping with the grandeur of this early 20th century, Byzantine-... Read more... |
