Pop
The death of the live album
Next week The The release The Comeback Special, a 24-track live album documenting the band’s concert at the Royal Albert…
A terrible joke gone wonderfully right: Rick Astley and Blossoms Perform the Smiths reviewed
Many of us who grew up loving the Smiths have rather shelved that affection in recent years. Many of us,…
Banal and profound, bent and beautiful: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis at Edinburgh Playhouse reviewed
Nick Cave has always been drawn to parable and fable, but more than ever these days he is engaged in…
Teenage Fanclub are not a dramatic group, but they are lovely
They may no longer get many teenagers at their shows spending all their money on merchandise, then throwing up on…
Cast a spell, clear and sharp as frost: The Unthanks, at Edinburgh International Festival, reviewed
As August unwound, the EIF settled into the cavernous gazebo that is Edinburgh Park, and things began to loosen up.…
Good noisy fun: black midi, at the Edinburgh International Festival, reviewed
This year we must love Edinburgh for her soul rather than her looks. The EIF should be commended for making…
What a genuine delight to be among people: Gorillaz, at the O2, reviewed
The new music economy relies on cross-promotion and artists reaching out to different scenes. And the rise of streaming means…
Hugely unmemorable: Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever reviewed
Grade: C+ Time to get the razor out again — Billie’s back. The slurred and affected can’t-be-arsed-to-get-out-of-bed vocals. The relentless,…
When musical collaborations go right – and when they go horribly wrong
Big Red Machine release their second album later this month. It’s a fine name for ten tonnes of agricultural apparatus…
Could she be the new Sade? Celeste at Union Chapel reviewed
Some years ago, when I was the music editor of a newspaper, I called a number of historians of black…
Is there anyone more irritating and stupid than Bobby Gillespie?
Grade: B– Is there anyone in rock music more irritating and stupid than Bobby Gillespie? The rawk’n’roll leather-jacketed self-mythologiser. The…
Whiny, polite and beautiful: Kings of Convenience's Peace or Love reviewed
Grade: A– The problem with Norwegians is that they are so relentlessly, mind-numbingly pleasant. Well, OK, not Knut Hamsun or…
The joys of musical comfort food
I’ve given up comfort food. I’m trying to shift lockdown pounds that have left me with the physique of the…
How Trojan Records conquered the world
When Trojan Records attempted to break into the United States music market in the early 1970s, it hit an insurmountable…
Annoying but good: Black Midi's Cavalcade reviewed
Grade: A– Imagine a really disgusting and immoral scientific experiment in which the members of Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra,…
Wispy, gauzy beauty: This Is The Kit, Barbican, reviewed
On the way home from This Is The Kit’s show at a socially distanced Barbican, I listened to Avalon by…
'Germans thought we couldn't play': Irmin Schmidt, of Krautrock pioneers Can, interviewed
Krautrock pioneer Irmin Schmidt talks to Graeme Thomson about taking risks, playing badly and ignoring the Brits
‘My voice is a curse’: Gary Numan interviewed
Steve Morris talks to Gary Numan about luck, plane-spotting and Asperger’s
A perfect welcome back to live music: Sarathy Korwar at Kings Place reviewed
There is a reason music writers tend to stick with music writing rather than transferring their manifold talents to the…
The Byrds without the drugs: Teenage Fanclub's Endless Arcade reviewed
Grade: B– Advancing age has smoothed the edges of Bellshill’s finest lads, once — back in the early 1990s —…
The sermons poked out of the songs like busted bed springs: Van Morrison livestream reviewed
Over the decades, Van Morrison’s role within the tower of song has shifted from chief visionary officer to head of…
‘I’m not interested in moral purity’: St Vincent interviewed
Michael Hann talks to St Vincent about Sheena Easton, Stalin and performing in five-inch heels
Tom Jones is as nuanced a vocalist as Ian Paisley
Grade: C Revisionism has been extraordinarily kind to Tom Jones, ever since he barked his way through Prince’s ‘Kiss’ with…
Watch kids go giddy in Niamey: Mdou Moctar live in Niger reviewed
The other week someone posted on Twitter a link to a YouTube clip titled ‘Family Lotus and D.J. Cookin’ at…
A redemption song, conventionally sung: Sky's Tina reviewed
It has never been easy for women in the music industry. Once upon a time the evidence was largely anecdotal.…
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