New Music Reviews
Primal Scream, O2 Academy, Birmingham review - from anthems of social justice to songs of heartbreakWednesday, 09 April 2025
Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes may have been steering the good ship Primal Scream for some 40 years but, on the evidence of this week’s visit to Birmingham, they are in no way ready to join the heritage circuit – banging out the hits exactly as they were recorded – just yet. Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 89: Wilco, Decius, Hot 8 Brass Band, Henge, Dub Syndicate, Motörhead and moreWednesday, 09 April 2025
VINYL OF THE MONTH Rattle Encircle (Upset! The Rhythm) Read more... |
Tallinn Music Week 2025 review - Estonia’s capital accommodates all flavours of musicWednesday, 09 April 2025
Langenu are a black metal band. On stage at Estonia’s Tallinn Music Week, they are fearsome. Blood-vessel-burstingly intense. Tempering their force with twists into progressive, psychedelic-adjacent territory, they are a band any rock fan would dig. Read more... |
An Evening with Joan Armatrading, Cadogan Hall review - thoughtful and engaging conversationTuesday, 08 April 2025
I can’t hear Joan Armatrading without being instantly transported back to Liverpool, and my student digs just around the corner from Penny Lane. I was a first-year music student, writing essays in the late-night glow of an Anglepoise, my radio-cassette player (boomboxes hadn’t yet been invented) tuned to Radio City. “Love and Affection” and “Down to Zero”, from her magnificent self-titled 1976 LP (no CDs either, and certainly no streaming!) were on the playlist of just about every DJ. Read more... |
Kenny Garrett, Ronnie Scott's review - a mixed bagMonday, 07 April 2025
The sax-player Kenny Garrett established a reputation as one of Miles Davis’s band in the Amandla (1989) period. He was also a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, the launching-pad for scores of talented young musicians. Read more... |
Album: Sofia Härdig - Lighthouse of GlassMonday, 07 April 2025
The titular “lighthouse of glass” is a place where the narrator is “crying into the sun,” in which there is a need to “stand by my solitude.” Choosing isolation and self-determination are themes running throughout Lighthouse of Glass the album and how Sweden’s Sofia Härdig has approached recording these 10 songs. As well as the songwriter, she is the arranger, engineer, producer and main instrumentalist. Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Ibex Band - Stereo Instrumental MusicSunday, 06 April 2025
Stereo Instrumental Music was recorded in July 1976 and originally issued only on cassette. The release was organised by what was credited as the “Sun Shine Music Shop,” an enterprise which seems to have left no additional imprint. No further “Sun Shine Music Shop” albums are known. Read more... |
Album: Erlend Apneseth - Song Over StøvMonday, 31 March 2025
A pizzicato violin opens Song Over Støv. Gradually, other instruments arrive: bowed violin, a fluttering flute, pattering percussion, an ominous double bass. They merge. The climax is furious, intensely rhythmic. Suddenly, it is over. Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Yeah Man, It's Bloody HeavySunday, 30 March 2025
The sticker on the front cover says “The heaviest proto-metal compilation ever released.” And considering the label behind Yeah Man, It's Bloody Heavy is Rise Above, founded by former Napalm Death and Cathedral frontman Lee Dorrian, this is not idle hubris. Read more... |
Lauren Mayberry, Barrowland, Glasgow review - solo star stays too close to the day jobMonday, 24 March 2025
It took until the last song before Lauren Mayberry started to well up onstage, which was good going. The singer had mentioned early on the prospect of a hometown Glasgow gig for her solo career had left her emotional all day, both with joy and fear. Read more... |
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