singer-songwriters
CD: Ingrid Michaelson - Stranger SongsWednesday, 26 June 2019
Eight albums in, you can imagine why a singer-songwriter in the confessional vein of Ingrid Michaelson might be ready to look elsewhere for inspiration - and inspiration for new album Stranger Songs came from a curious place. Each of the album’s 11... Read more... |
CD: Foy Vance - From Muscle ShoalsSunday, 23 June 2019
Endlessly gigging Northern Irish performer Foy Vance's profile first rocketed after touring with fellow singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. The pair became pals, Vance went onto support the likes of Elton John, and signed to Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man... Read more... |
Charlie Cunningham, Queen Elizabeth Hall review - Spanish guitar and strong songsFriday, 14 June 2019
In a post Ed Sheeran world, with a glut of acoustic singer-songwriters like Lewis Capaldi, Tom Walker or Odell, James Bay, Jack Savoretti – all of whom are big on poignantly penned balladry, phonic flair and harmonious melody – is there room... Read more... |
CD: Jamie Cullum - TallerWednesday, 05 June 2019
On one level it’s a paean to stylistic pluralism, on another it’s a love letter to his wife. First and foremost, though, Taller sees Jamie Cullum staking out new ground as a singer-songwriter, adeptly aided by his long-time collaborator and friend... Read more... |
Emmy the Great, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow review - emotions recollectedSaturday, 01 June 2019
“I appreciate the irony of me singing this in my mum jeans,” says Emmy The Great, whose five-month-old is travelling with her on this tour, before playing “We Almost Had a Baby”. Despite its jaunty little riff the song, from her 10-year-old debut... Read more... |
CD: Morrissey - California SonThursday, 23 May 2019
Unfortunately, it’s now reached the point where it’s impossible to mention Morrissey without politics overshadowing music. His recent wearing of a For Britain Party lapel pin on US TV is only the latest in a catalogue of public stances that seem to... Read more... |
CD: Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish ExtentMonday, 13 May 2019
Ed Sheeran, Tom Odell, all those Mr Vulnerability cats; this dude makes them sound like a night out with Slipknot. He is, in fact, a generational divider. Taking the contemporary route to success, wherein smirky, buddy-ish social media is just as... Read more... |
CD: Norah Jones - Begin AgainSaturday, 06 April 2019
There's a remarkable lightness to the way Norah Jones has glid through her career. She once told theartsdesk that even in her early 20s, faced with the global hyper success of Come Away With Me, “I think I was smart enough to know at the... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 48: Curtis Mayfield, Rudimental, Ozric Tentacles, Prince, Girl Unit and moreWednesday, 03 April 2019
Every month we start theartsdesk on Vinyl with the Vinyl of the Month, however, the truth is that, depending on your taste, many of the records reviewed below may be your own vinyl of the month. Whether reissues or new material or compilations,... Read more... |
CD: Edwyn Collins - BadbeaSaturday, 23 March 2019
Edwyn Collins is in a good mood. Perhaps it’s his 2014 move back to his native Scotland where he now lives and records on the wild north-eastern coast. Perhaps it was finding a sheaf of inspiring old lyrics as he packed up to make the move. Or... Read more... |
CD: Lucy Rose - No Words LeftMonday, 18 March 2019
Every so often, an album reminds you that, done properly, the art form is more than just a collection of songs. Barely 35 minutes in length, Lucy Rose’s fourth release No Words Left is a beautifully sequenced work in a time when track listings have... Read more... |
Laura Gibson, Hug and Pint, Glasgow review - fable songs and unpretentious intimaciesMonday, 04 March 2019
Laura Gibson’s songwriting was always that of a storyteller but her newest album, Goners, ups the ante still further. Her first album to be made after completing an MFA in creative writing, the album explores weighty themes like grief and the... Read more... |
