New music
The Correspondents, Café de ParisSaturday, 14 January 2012
“He’s a praying mantis,” said the girl next to me, “but sexy.” True enough, even if Mr Bruce is a gangly long-limbed performer rather than an actual insect. I’ve seen him twice this year already, and he’s completely compelling on stage and as a... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Musician GonjasufiSaturday, 14 January 2012
Gonjasufi, AKA Sumach Ecks (b 1978) was raised in San Diego by a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father. His musical ability first came to more than local prominence when he appeared on the Flying Lotus album Los Angeles in 2008. His own... Read more... |
CD: Kathleen Edwards - VoyageurSaturday, 14 January 2012
Although a relatively new name around these parts, Kathleen Edwards has been alt-country’s nearly girl for almost a decade in her native Canada (as well as the doyenne of many campus radio stations across the States). But praise goes much further.... Read more... |
The Boxettes, Kings PlaceFriday, 13 January 2012
The band's Facebook page states “Dirty Soulful Groovin Dancey Sweet” under genre. To which I'd add “Dramatic Playful Intense Voluptuous Transporting”. Performing last night as part of the London A Cappella Festival, The Boxettes swept away any... Read more... |
Lanterns on the Lake, CargoFriday, 13 January 2012
Shock, horror. London audience keeps quiet. And in Shoreditch too, under a railway viaduct. Newcastle’s Lanterns on the Lake did something virtually no band achieves – directing the focus onto them. London audiences will babble through anything and... Read more... |
Survivor, Hofesh Shechter & Anthony Gormley, Barbican TheatreFriday, 13 January 2012
Empty vessels make the most noise. That pithy old aphorism floated into my head a scant few minutes into the much-heralded new work by the undoubtedly talented, but here way off-beam, Hofesh Shechter. And again, a few minutes later. And again, and... Read more... |
CD: Casiokids - Aabenbaringen Over AaskammenThursday, 12 January 2012
Bergen’s going to be pretty cold in January, but Aabenbaringen over aaskammen by the Norwegian city’s Casiokids will thaw the most frozen of feet. Their twinkly, occasionally Afro-assisted, sometimes New Order-ish electropop brings a smile too.... Read more... |
CD: Wiley - Evolve or be ExtinctWednesday, 11 January 2012
It's become a fairly common trope for herbally enhanced rappers to hype up their individuality by referring to themselves as an “alien”, but with Wiley you could believe it. In “Can I Get a Taxi”, the odd extended skit that forms the centrepiece of... Read more... |
Barbican Centre, 2012 SeasonTuesday, 10 January 2012
London's Barbican Centre is 30 this year, and with a special Olympics subsidy boost as the world's eyes turn to the British capital this summer, it aims to be as lovely inside as it is famously unlovely outside. Film beauties Cate Blanchett and... Read more... |
CD: Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of ColourMonday, 09 January 2012
Of all the unlikely and incompatible collisions of genre imaginable, thrash metal with clubland trance must be pretty near the top of the tree. One is beefy, roaring, angry and punctuated by vocals akin to a dyspeptic troll burping, the other is... Read more... |
CD: Duotone - RopesSunday, 08 January 2012
Duotone duo have hit upon a pared-down, beautifully crafted acoustic sound, which proves what richness lies in simplicity. Like a perfectly executed sponge cake, their music is light, satisfying and a delight. But, as with any confection, the... Read more... |
Extract: The Book of Drugs by Mike DoughtySaturday, 07 January 2012
I have been an admirer of Mike Doughty as a singer and songwriter since picking up Soul Coughing’s first two CDs at a car boot sale for 50p each. I was drawn by the sinister, Lynchian art work and dryly witty song titles such as "Sugar Free Jazz”... Read more... |
