Pop
The problem with pop-literary collaborations
‘We all secretly want to be rock stars,’ the 2022 Booker Prize-winning author Shehan Karunatilaka said recently. By ‘we’ he…
A giddy delight: Regina Spektor, at the Royal Festival Hall reviewed
We’ll get on to the brilliance of Regina Spektor in a moment. But first a question: why are pop music…
An album of not terribly happy ballads: Blur’s The Ballad of Darren reviewed
Bands that have hung around, or gone away and come back again, occupy an increasingly sizeable percentage of pop’s bandwidth.…
Intoxicating: Bruce Springsteen, at BST Hyde Park, reviewed
Seven years ago, I asked Bruce Springsteen what he meant when he talked of the covenant between himself and his…
Still one of the great vocalists: Peter Gabriel, at OVO Hydro Glasgow, reviewed
Most artists begin an arena show with a bang: emerging from the floor, the gods, on a hoist, everything short…
Why aren’t Spoon filling stadiums?
Here’s a mystery for you. Why were Spoon, one of the most dynamic, sharpest rock bands in the world, playing…
Is Richard Thompson Britain’s Bob Dylan?
There are artists you go to see expecting to be challenged, surprised, even let down. And there are artists you…
Brilliantly unhinged: Grace Jones, at Hampton Court Palace, reviewed
Some artists need flash bombs to make an impression on stage. Some need giant screens. Some need to run around…
Let’s hear it for the lesser-spotted nepo daddy
Rob Grant releases his debut album, Lost at Sea, this week. A 69-year-old millionaire and former ad man, furniture exec…
One of the most tuneless, vapid, dismaying things I’ve ever seen: Mötley Crüe, at Bramall Lane, reviewed
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything worse than Mötley Crüe in Sheffield. Nothing more tuneless, empty, vapid and dismaying.…
Dazzling – if you ignore the music: Beyoncé, at Murrayfield Stadium, reviewed
Scheduling open-air concerts in mid-May in northern Europe is a triumph of hope over experience. I last spent time with…
The new Pogues: The Mary Wallopers, at O2 Forum Kentish Town, reviewed
I was listening the other week to a solo album by an ageing rock guitarist, once terrifically famous. It was…
Heartfelt but bland: Ed Sheeran’s – (Subtract) reviewed
Whether by accident or design, the mathematical theme of Ed Sheeran’s previous album titles (+, ×, ÷ and = respectively)…
A phenomenally exciting new band: The Last Dinner Party, at Camden Assembly, reviewed
A user’s guide to how pop music works in the 21st century. Step one: you see a great new band.…
Americana Coldplay: The National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein reviewed
Once upon a time, rock bands wished for nothing more than to look as though they posed a clear and…
Glorious: Elton John’s farewell tour, at the O2 Arena, reviewed
Elton John has now been retiring for nearly five years. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour began in Allentown, Pennsylvania,…
Why can’t I let go of my records?
I’m not a natural lender. I’m a reasonably soft touch when it comes to money, but regarding the important things…
Why supergroups nearly always suck
Recently in these pages, ruminating on the ghastly Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I wrote that music does not…
Pretty, charming and largely unremarkable: Devonte Hynes & the LSO reviewed
Think of pop music as being like the parable of the sower. These days the seed falling on stony ground…
The most exciting live band in Britain right now: Young Fathers, at the O2 Academy, reviewed
There are several reasons why Young Fathers currently feel like the most exciting live band in Britain, but for now…
Full of love: Butler, Blake and Grant, at the Union Chapel, reviewed
Years ago, I asked Robert Plant what he felt about the world’s love of ‘Stairway to Heaven’. He said he…
His nasal American-Yorkshire voice struggles to convince: Yungblud, at OVO Hydro, reviewed
Even before albums became bloated, thanks to the largesse offered by CDs and streaming, most contained filler: those so-so songs…
The crowd was the star of the show: Carly Rae Jepsen, at Alexandra Palace, reviewed
The other week I saw a T-shirt bearing the caption ‘For the girls, the gays and the theys’. And if…
Down with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!
There is footage on the internet of Robert Smith, lead singer in the Cure, being interviewed on the occasion of…
Going Metric
Why aren’t Metric stars? In their native Canada, several of their albums have gone platinum, but the rest of the…
