New Music Reviews
Depeche Mode, LG Arena, BirminghamTuesday, 28 January 2014![]()
Once upon a time, there was an assumption that the DJs and remixers who emerged in the late 1980s would kill off touring bands like Depeche Mode. As it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth and 34 years since they first got together, Basildon’s finest are not only still providing remixers with plenty of raw material for their craft, but they are reproducing their recreations in the live arena. Read more...
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Reissue CDs Weekly: Dory Previn, Count BasieSunday, 26 January 2014![]()
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Warpaint, Brighton DomeFriday, 24 January 2014![]()
The best thing about Warpaint is their rhythm section. The all-female LA quartet have received critical plaudits for both their albums, wisely releasing their latest eponymous collection in the dead zone of January, maximizing media attention (why don’t more bands do this? It was the making of the Scissor Sisters back in 2004). The foursome are determinedly un-showbiz, letting their music do the talking and dealing in tasty power-femme sound-bites. Read more... |
Stockton's Wing/Frankie Gavin & De Dannan, St Patrick's CathedralFriday, 24 January 2014
Featuring two of the most celebrated bands in traditional Irish music, this mouth-watering double bill as part of the ninth Temple Bar TradFest drew a capacity crowd to St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. With incredibly tight tune playing, pinpoint phrasing and a powerhouse backing section, Frankie Gavin & De Dannan kicked things off in dramatic fashion. Read more... |
Zhenya Strigalev's Smiling Organizm, Ronnie Scott'sTuesday, 21 January 2014![]()
The musical concept behind this constellation of international stars at Ronnie Scott’s last night was simple. Take a sextet of some of the world’s finest improvising jazz musicians, give them either a funky groove, gentle swing or a bass-fired post-bop beat, and ample space to improvise. Sit back and enjoy the sonic fireworks. Read more... |
Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards 2014, KokoMonday, 20 January 2014![]()
In a world where everyone is expected to be a “brand”, Gilles Peterson sets some very interesting precedents. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Small FacesSunday, 19 January 2014![]()
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CD: The Gloaming - The GloamingSunday, 12 January 2014![]()
Musically, lyrically, dramatically, on every count this debut album from The Gloaming is exceptional. Four-fifths of the group - Clare fiddle player Martin Hayes, Chicago guitarist Dennis Cahill, the Cúil Aodha sean nós singer Iarla Ó Lionaird and Dublin-born hardanger player Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh - are all well-known figures within traditional Irish music. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Jackson C. FrankSunday, 12 January 2014![]()
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Gwilym Simcock, Kings PlaceSaturday, 11 January 2014![]()
Gwilym Simcock, pianist, composer, and jazz-classical crossover specialist, is releasing two albums this year, and at Kings Place last night, the audience had a taste of both. An evening billed as the launch of Instrumation, Simcock’s new album of original suites, became a kind of Simcock tasting menu. He played half of Instrumation, which was officially launched, and sections from his second album of 2014, Reverie at Schloss Elmau. Read more... |
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