rock
Echo & the Bunnymen, Symphony Hall, Birmingham review – Mac and Will hit the road with added stringsMonday, 28 May 2018
This Echo and the Bunnymen gig in Birmingham is one that almost didn’t happen, on a tour to promote the soon-to-be-released The Stars, the Oceans and the Moon, their first album since 2014’s Meteorites. With their beloved Liverpool FC playing Real... Read more... |
Unknown Mortal Orchestra/Deerhunter, Albert Hall, Manchester review – New Zealanders and friends create festival vibeMonday, 28 May 2018
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s four albums all centre around off-kilter pop and flirtations with distortion; their latest LP, Sex & Food, carries this tradition forwards in a more laid-back manner. Their current European tour in support of the album... Read more... |
CD: Snow Patrol - WildnessThursday, 24 May 2018
Few bands divide opinion quite like Snow Patrol. Their fans see their slow, intense anthems as cathartic friends. Others - myself included - tend to regard their music as an insidious, dreary presence. As Nicky Wire (of the Manics) once put it, "the... Read more... |
The Rolling Stones, London Stadium review - only rock'n'roll?Wednesday, 23 May 2018
As the veteran combo roll around one more time, five years after they last performed in the UK, many a ticket-buyer for their No Filter tour has taken the view that, as the Stones once sang, this could be the last time. They didn’t play that one,... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 39: Pink Floyd, Liines, Black Sabbath, Daniel Avery, Elvis and moreThursday, 17 May 2018
There have been reports that as many as 50% of vinyl-buyers don’t actually listen to it. They keep records as a token of affection for the artist in question. This seems curious but, then again, most young people don’t own turntables and the idea is... Read more... |
CD: Ray LaMontagne - Part of the LightWednesday, 16 May 2018
Ray LaMontagne is a versatile artist who for years has been navigating the territory between hard rock and contemporary folk. His voice can be soft and gentle and yet also filled on occasion with something close to aggression. He has a firm grasp of... Read more... |
CD: Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel + CasinoSaturday, 12 May 2018
Arctic Monkeys are the great British guitar band of the 21st century so far. Only now they’re not. For the last couple of albums, Sheffield’s ever-smart rock four-piece have pushed their innate indie guitar sound further and further into 21st pop... Read more... |
Problem in Brighton, Brighton Festival review - comic but patchy rock showFriday, 11 May 2018
Problem is Brighton is down in the Festival programme as an “alt-rock/pop pantomime”, with actors involved and the inference it’s some sort of musical featuring “instruments specially created by David Shrigley for the performance”. This turns out to... Read more... |
Brighton Festival 2018 PreviewWednesday, 02 May 2018
This weekend sees the Brighton Festival 2018 kick off. Anyone visiting the city on Saturday 5 May would find this hard to miss as the famous Children’s Parade makes its way around the streets, a joyous dash of colour and creativity. This year’s... Read more... |
Jeff Beck: Still on the Run, BBC Four review - a legend without portfolioSaturday, 28 April 2018
As Aerosmith’s guitarist Joe Perry put it, “there’s a certain amount of fuck you-ness in everything Jeff does.” Perhaps it’s this which has allowed Jeff Beck to achieve the rare feat of surviving into his seventies as what you might describe as a... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: New York DollsSunday, 22 April 2018
Playing Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on 8 September 1974, the New York Dolls opened their first set of the evening with three cover versions. Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man” was followed by The Shangri-Las’ “(Give Him a) Great Big Kiss” and... Read more... |
Bat Out of Hell, Dominion Theatre review - the Meat Loaf musical returns, batty as everFriday, 20 April 2018
Back by feverishly popular demand, Jim Steinman’s mega-musical is no longer in danger of alarming unsuspecting opera-goers. A year on from its Coliseum debut, this indisputably bonkers show moves to the West End venue it was surely always destined... Read more... |
