Pop

The art of the anti-love song

15 February 2025 9:00 am

Tracey Thorn released an album in 2010 titled Love and Its Opposite. When it comes to songwriting, it’s the ‘opposite’…

A cheaper, shinier, more processed Chris Stapleton: Brothers Osborne reviewed

8 February 2025 9:00 am

If you were a frequent viewer of Top Gear in its Clarkson/Hammond/May era, there is a particular laugh you will…

The maudlin, magical world of Celtic Connections

1 February 2025 9:00 am

Is it possible to find a common thread running through the finest Scottish music? If pushed, one might identify a…

Like lying down in front of a bulldozer: the Jesus Lizard, at the Electric Ballroom, reviewed

25 January 2025 9:00 am

Many indie types from the 1980s and 1990s were secretly metal fans. But it’s not something they ever really wanted…

A new solo album by a former Beatle that – astonishingly – demands repeated plays

18 January 2025 9:00 am

For artists lacking any obvious feel for the style, ‘going country’, similar to mainstream white artists dabbling in reggae in…

The problem with Paul McCartney is he wrote too many good songs

11 January 2025 9:00 am

Don Bradman, the greatest cricketer of all time, was once asked if he reckoned he could have maintained his batting…

Kneecap are basic but thrilling

30 November 2024 9:00 am

It was Irish week in London, with one group from the north and one from the south. Guinness was sold…

What a remarkably bad electric guitar player Bob Dylan is

23 November 2024 9:00 am

Finally, a taste of the authentic Bob Dylan live experience. On the two previous occasions that I’ve seen Dylan, in…

Perfectly imperfect: Evan Dando, at Islington Assembly Hall, reviewed

16 November 2024 9:00 am

‘Can I have a photo with you, please?’ It’s the most embarrassing question you can ask of someone you’re interviewing.…

Terrifically good value: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds reviewed

9 November 2024 9:00 am

A few years ago, I received an early morning phone call from Nick Cave’s former PR, berating me for not…

Nick Cave’s right-hand man Warren Ellis on AI, Gorecki and staying young

2 November 2024 9:00 am

In the next few days Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds play Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and London. There are still…

The joy of Chris Stapleton

2 November 2024 9:00 am

Chris Stapleton is a barrel-chested man of 46, who hides his face beneath a beard that must have taken years…

Chrissie Hynde remains outstanding: the Pretenders, at Usher Hall, reviewed

26 October 2024 9:00 am

A few hours before the doors opened for the Pretenders’ Edinburgh concert, Chrissie Hynde posted a message on her social…

An uncompromising master: David Gilmour, at the Royal Albert Hall, reviewed

19 October 2024 9:00 am

It doesn’t matter which dictionary you consult, they all agree on what a song is: words, set to music, that…

I agree with pop’s war on iPhones – but King Canute might want a word

12 October 2024 9:00 am

Before each show on the recent The The tour – reviewed in these pages last week – the pre-recorded voice…

The world is on fire – yet navel-gazing still reigns in pop

5 October 2024 9:00 am

There is no better cultural weather vane than pop. It’s not that pop singers possess incredible analytical skills – they…

The ethics of posthumous pop albums

28 September 2024 9:00 am

‘At the record company meeting/ On their hands – at last! – a dead star!’ Back when Morrissey was more…

My night with the worst kind of nostalgia

21 September 2024 9:00 am

American Football are a band whose legend was formed by the internet: some Illinois college kids who made an album…

Elvis Costello remains the most fascinating songwriter Britain has produced in the past 50 years

14 September 2024 9:00 am

Song for song, line by line, blow for blow, Elvis Costello remains the most consistently fascinating songwriter Britain has produced…

Delightful: Phoenix, at All Points East, reviewed

7 September 2024 9:00 am

A few years ago, my nephew informed me that he and his friend were planning to come up to London…

The Ava Gardner of the ketamine age: Lana Del Rey, at Leeds Festival, reviewed

31 August 2024 9:00 am

As the American superstar starts singing another slow, sad, rather beautiful song, my mind begins to drift. I’m thinking that…

Triumphant: Big Thief, at Green Man, reviewed

24 August 2024 9:00 am

One of the first things I learned after seeing Big Thief triumph at Green Man is that some long-time fans…

Fun, frenetic and only a little gauche: Declan McKenna, at the Edinburgh Playhouse, reviewed

17 August 2024 9:00 am

Towards the end of Declan McKenna’s snappy, enjoyable 90-minute set at the Edinburgh International Festival, something quite powerful occurs. The…

Fantastic – and genuinely indie: Personal Trainer, at the Shacklewell Arms, reviewed

10 August 2024 9:00 am

Remember when we all knew what indie meant? Indie was what John Peel played. It was music that was recorded,…

Jack White’s new album will be of close interest to Led Zeppelin’s legal team

3 August 2024 9:00 am

The ploy of releasing an album without any advance warning comes into play when an artist feels they are being…