pop
CD: The Good, The Bad & The Queen - Merrie LandWednesday, 07 November 2018![]() Pram are an experimental pop band from Moseley in Birmingham, who specialise in creating quirky soundscapes, eerie songs and whoozy instrumentals using all manner of strange instruments. They are also unlikely to ever achieve a mass following. The... Read more... |
Best Albums of 2018Wednesday, 31 October 2018![]() Disc of the Day reviews new albums, week in, week out, all year. Below are the albums to which our writers awarded five stars. Click on any one of them to find out why. Baxter Dury, Etienne de Crécy and Delilah Holliday - B.E.D. ★★★★★ A small... Read more... |
Sŵn Festival 2018 – a welcome return to formWednesday, 24 October 2018![]() It’s been a tough few years for Sŵn Festival. Once a genuine rival to fellow urban festivals Great Escape and Sound City, recent events have fluctuated between one-dayers and a string of ticketed gigs. 2018 marked the biggest change yet, but also a... Read more... |
MØ - Forever NeverlandThursday, 18 October 2018![]() Think of Karen "MØ" Andersen and you may well picture one of her smash hit videos. "Lean On", for instance, where the singer gyrates to a Bollywood/ house mashup. Or "Kamikaze" set in post-apocalyptic Ukraine. Yet, for all the Zeitgeist-y imagery... Read more... |
CD: Neneh Cherry - Broken PoliticsSaturday, 13 October 2018![]() Collaboration clearly suits Neneh Cherry. From co-writing with husband Cameron McVey, to projects with Youssou N’Dour, her band cirKus, The Thing and RocketNumberNine, the give-and-take of partnership has produced some stunning work that has always... Read more... |
CD: Jess Glynne - Always In BetweenThursday, 11 October 2018![]() The first release from Jess Glynne’s new album, “I’ll Be There” confirmed the North London singer as the first ever British female artist to have seven no.1 singles in the UK Chart.She’s been winning MOBOs, Grammys, Brit, Ivor Novello and MTV Awards... Read more... |
CD: Cher - Dancing QueenTuesday, 25 September 2018![]() Cher. Abba. The Mamma Mia films. If you're not excited by all of the above, I'm afraid we can't be friends. I will not apologise for being thoroughly giddy at the prospect of a Cher album of Abba covers. The Queen of Camp taking on some of the... Read more... |
10 Questions for singer Live Foyn FriisTuesday, 18 September 2018![]() Norwegian-Danish singer Live Foyn Friis (for English-speaking readers, Live is her first name) has released six albums, and leads several different ensembles, scattered intriguingly across the divide between jazz and pop. Her voice is recognisably... Read more... |
CD: Paul McCartney - Egypt StationWednesday, 05 September 2018![]() Ambient sounds from an imaginary rail concourse fade to a full choir in the 42 seconds of “Opening Station”, the sonic scene-setting for Macca’s new hour-long set, his first album of new songs since 2013’s New. From here, Egypt Station properly... Read more... |
The King review - the myth behind the manSaturday, 25 August 2018![]() The most famous face in musical history, and perhaps the instigator of modern culture as we know it; he truly was the King. But for a documentary focused on such an icon, The King touches very little on Elvis Presley the man. This is not another... Read more... |
theartsdesk at Cornbury: Pixie Lott, Amy MacDonald and Alanis MorissetteThursday, 19 July 2018![]() Cornbury Festival holds a very special place in my heart. When the babies were young, we realised that if we were going to be up all night without sleep we might as well be sat in a field listening to music rather than staring out of the window at a... Read more... |
Whitney review - superstar's dismal demise revisitedWednesday, 04 July 2018![]() It was only a year ago that Nick Broomfield’s Whitney: Why Can’t I Be Me was released. Kevin Macdonald’s new documentary about the rise and hideous demise of one of pop’s greatest stars was made with the blessing of her family, but doesn’t shed... Read more... |
