CDs/DVDs
Album: Kehlani - CRASHMonday, 17 June 2024![]() The noise in the international mainstream in recent years might be about dance-pop, hip hop beefs and the serious balladry of Taylor, Billie and Lana – yet at the same time, R&B has been strange, brilliant, ultra-popular, but generated a tiny... Read more... |
Album: John Moreland - VisitorSaturday, 15 June 2024![]() The mournful, lonesome voice of John Moreland from Bixby, Oklahoma, will be known by a few, but not many, in this country. The 12 songs on his latest album, Visitor, released on the Thirty Tigers label, should help to remedy that.Visitor is the... Read more... |
Album: Moby - Always Centered at NightFriday, 14 June 2024![]() US electronic perennial Moby has had a good run. He was a rave culture phenomenon from 1991 onwards. He blew that with a vegan punk album. He released Play at the decade’s end and sold millions. He then had decadent superstar years, a run of huge,... Read more... |
Album: Kneecap - Fine ArtThursday, 13 June 2024![]() For a band just putting out their debut album, West Belfast’s Kneecap have been courting media attention for some while and have already been seen in the LA Times, The Guardian and even Variety. But then, they have previously released a swathe of... Read more... |
Album: John Grant - The Art of the LieWednesday, 12 June 2024![]() “I feel ashamed because I couldn’t become the man that you always hoped I’d become.” The line is repeated during “Father,” The Art of the Lie’s third track. After this, there’s “Mother and Son,” “Daddy” and the allusive “The Child Catcher”. Parent-... Read more... |
Album: John Cale - POPtical IllusionMonday, 10 June 2024![]() At 81, John Cale, an immensely prolific, wide-ranging and innovative musician, continues to take risks, making music that may not always be instantly appealing, but always true to an artist’s authentic path. Hot on the heels of Mercy (2023),... Read more... |
Album: Sea Girls - Midnight ButterfliesSaturday, 08 June 2024![]() Inspired by the desire to remain present in the modern world, Sea Girls’ latest album, Midnight Butterflies, is a collection of uplifting tracks to enjoy effortlessly this summer. Most of its songs could easily slide into any indie pop driving... Read more... |
Album: Charli XCX - BratFriday, 07 June 2024![]() Charli XCX has been making scrambled eggs of pop for a decade. She’s written songs for/with artists including, but far from limited to, Lady Gaga, Iggy Azalea, Giorgio Moroder, Selina Gomez, BTS, David Guetta, Ty Dolla $ign, Blondie, Gwen Stefani,... Read more... |
Album: Joanne Shaw Taylor - Heavy SoulThursday, 06 June 2024![]() Heavy Soul, the ninth studio album by British blues-rock singer-guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor, is her first in two years, its 10 songs already released as singles. Produced by Kevin Shirley, whose credits include Aerosmith, Iron Maiden and Joe... Read more... |
Album: Willie Nelson - The BorderMonday, 03 June 2024![]() At 91, Willie Nelson is about to tour the US with The Outlaws, AKA Minnesota youngster Bob Dylan, 83, the even younger Robert Plant, 75, with Alison Krauss, a mere 52, and 72-year old John Mellencamp (plus a trio of 21st century artists in Celisse,... Read more... |
Album: Marina Allen - Eight Pointed StarSaturday, 01 June 2024![]() While some tracks on Marina Allen’s third album are country accented and a pedal steel is used a few times, it’s impossible to categorise Eight Pointed Star as Americana. Its sixth track, “Easy”, has the closeted atmosphere of The Velvet Underground... Read more... |
Album: Becky Hill - Believe Me Now?Friday, 31 May 2024![]() There’s a whole generation of singers who’ve risen to considerable fame on the back of the return of home-grown commercial dance music to the charts since the early 2010s. Various Jesses and Ellas, Nathans and Calums have flooded daytime radio with... Read more... |
