New music
Gomez, KokoTuesday, 24 April 2012
Some say that since Gomez beat Pulp to win 1998’s Mercury award, their progress has been a little disappointing. After two or three albums their infectious frazzled blues became replaced by anodyne AOR, until eventually all their wild innocence had... Read more... |
CD: Patrick Watson - Adventures in Your Own BackyardMonday, 23 April 2012
The title isn’t far from literal. Adventures in Your Own Backyard was recorded in Patrick Watson’s Montréal apartment. Thankfully for his neighbours, despite a song called “Noisy Sunday”, it’s a restrained album where even the percussion crescendos... Read more... |
CD: Rufus Wainwright - Out of the GameSunday, 22 April 2012
Before we begin, a confession: despite my overwhelming fondness for sensitive male singer-songwriter types, Rufus Wainwright and I have never gotten on. I recognise that famous rich, luscious voice as an exquisite instrument in its own right yet... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: T Rex, Bob Marley & the Wailers, James Yorkston & the AthletesSunday, 22 April 2012
T Rex: Electric Warrior 40th Anniversary Special EditionHoward MaleThe most blinkered and subjective music fan is the teenager. But is it my teenage self (barely mediated by my adult self) informing you that this T Rex album from 1972 is the... Read more... |
CD: Santigold - Master of my Make-BelieveSaturday, 21 April 2012
Santigold – Philadelphia singer Santi White - does not neatly fit into any stereotype of the modern female pop star. In fashion photographer Jason Schmidt’s multiple cover images she is both an Amazonian warrior guard and a waistcoat clad masculine... Read more... |
Major Lazer/Toddla T, Shepherd's Bush EmpireFriday, 20 April 2012
It became clear, midway through support act Toddla T that this was going to be a bit special. With a view from the front of the first tier balcony, I could see the melee below and the two balconies above. The Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a gorgeous 109... Read more... |
Levon Helm: 1940-2012Friday, 20 April 2012
Levon Helm, who died yesterday from cancer at the age of 71, was not only the drummer in The Band, one of the load-bearing beams of American roots rock. He was also an astonishingly soulful singer, whether as lead or harmony, with a voice that... Read more... |
Céu, KOKOFriday, 20 April 2012
The fact of the matter is that this young, supremely talented Brazilian singer-songwriter is no great performer. But is this an issue when the music she makes is so immersive and seductive in its own right? On record, her songs are like ragged... Read more... |
CD: Jack White - BlunderbussFriday, 20 April 2012
Sometimes I feel I’m the only one who finds Jack White’s music overrated. Although he's undeniably a prodigious axe man, I've never found his trademark raw, “underproduced” sound as convincing. That, however, was The White Stripes and The Raconteurs... Read more... |
Exclusive Mini-Mix of new Belleruche AlbumThursday, 19 April 2012Theartsdesk have an exclusive premiere of a 12 minute mini-mix of Rollerchain, the new album by Belleruche. The album, out on 7th May, is the band’s fourth and the mix is by the band’s turntable wizard DJ Modest. Belleruche are a British trio with a... Read more... |
Amanda Shires, Woodend Bowling and Tennis Club, GlasgowThursday, 19 April 2012
In a members-only bowling club, down a side street in a residential part of Glasgow I'd never visited before last night, Texan fiddle-player and songwriter Amanda Shires stood wearing the most magnificent pair of cowboy boots I had ever seen.They... Read more... |
Gary Numan confirms Greatest Hits TourThursday, 19 April 2012Gary Numan is set to play his first ever singles tour, featuring everything from his Tubeway Army-era punk debut "That's Too Bad" to the his first electronic release "Down In The Park" and hits including "Cars" and 'We Are Glass". Fans of... Read more... |
