rock
Richard Hawley, Barrowland, Glasgow - black clad crooner's songs remain full of atmosphere and heartThursday, 17 October 2019
When Richard Hawley arrived onstage, he had a confession to make. “I like to talk”, he declared, before adding “and play rock n’ roll”. Both were delivered in ample supply during the ensuing performance, the black clad quiff wearing troubadour a... Read more... |
CD: Elbow - Giants of All SizesThursday, 10 October 2019
These horribly remarkable times can shake the strongest souls. Since the popular acceptance of The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow at their worst have sometimes resembled their friends and supporters Coldplay, offering anthemic placebos to vaguely... Read more... |
Alice Cooper, The Stranglers, MC50, Brighton Centre review - a triple-headed blast of vintage rockWednesday, 09 October 2019
The Ol’ Black Eyes is Back Tour celebrates Alice Cooper’s 50 years using his stage name. He’d been around under other names before 1969 but Alice Cooper – originally the title of the band rather than the man – achieved success as the Seventies began... Read more... |
Two Door Cinema Club, O2 Academy, Glasgow - lively but risk averse party songs for the weekendMonday, 07 October 2019
The onstage arrival of Two Door Cinema Club was heralded by a tongue-in-cheek video countdown that reached zero and then flashed up an error message, before asking the crowd to “try again”. In truth, the band’s own performance was never likely to... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Hollywood Stars - Sound CitySunday, 06 October 2019
The Hollywood Stars were not shy. In 1976, in keeping with their assertive handle, they sang “some last a year, then disappear as if they were magicians, but while I’m here no need to fear at the top I’m a pop musician, they call me the Houdini of... Read more... |
Rodrigo y Gabriela, Eventim Apollo Hammersmith review - fiery flamenco rockSaturday, 05 October 2019
Rodrigo y Gabriela are no longer the youthful metalheads that once spawned an organic fan movement from the muso grapevine, via rigorous gig schedules and world tours.They are grown up now, having been in the game for 20 years – something Rodrigo... Read more... |
CD: Wilco - Ode to JoyThursday, 03 October 2019
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy has been pondering how to react to oppression, and his own music’s obsolescence. What use is a rock band’s eleventh album at the best of times, he’s wondered, let alone in these worse ones under Trump?Wilco’s response is not to... Read more... |
CD: The Menzingers - Hello ExileWednesday, 02 October 2019
Punk rock, more so than any other genre, comes with a built-in age limit. There’s only so long you can play weeknights at basement venues for a share of the door and travel expenses; only so many years your back can withstand so many nights on... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 53: U2, Moonlight Parade, Oasis, Stray Cats, Crass, Prefab Sprout and moreMonday, 30 September 2019
It’s reckoned that this time next year vinyl sales will have overtaken CDs. It’s still a small market and anyone who thinks vinyl will one day replace streaming is living on Planet Lah-lah. There’s so much coming out even theartsdesk on Vinyl cannot... Read more... |
The Sisters of Mercy, Roundhouse review - hits delivered from the darknessMonday, 23 September 2019
While bands such as The Birthday Party, Siouxsie and the Banshees and, especially, Bauhaus had a hand in inventing goth music at the start of the Eighties, it was The Sisters of Mercy who defined it. Their combination of black clad cowboy shtick,... Read more... |
CD: Rachid Taha - Je suis africainSaturday, 21 September 2019
Rachid Taha, sadly felled by a heart attack just over a year ago, has come back from the dead! He could not sound more lively than on this vibrant posthumous offering, definitely not something cooked up from tasty leftovers, but a well thought-... Read more... |
Muse, 02 review - bombastic Brit-rock with a sci-fi themeMonday, 16 September 2019
For a band mostly known as a brilliantly ludicrous cocktail of other’s people’s sound-styles, the Simulation Theory tour is proof that Muse have become musical legends in their own right.Yes, their progressive rock is the combined conglomeration... Read more... |
