CDs/DVDs
DVD/Blu-ray: When the Wind BlowsTuesday, 23 January 2018
Adapted by Raymond Briggs from his best-selling graphic novel, When the Wind Blows was released in 1986 and stands up so well that you’re inclined to forgive its flaws: namely David Bowie’s leaden theme song and an abundance of fairly flat black... Read more... |
CD: Craig David - The Time is NowMonday, 22 January 2018
The Time is Now sees Craig David's career well into its Indian summer. The story of how he got here is well known: back in the early noughties a series of hits like "7 Days" made him the toast of the UK Garage scene. Then comedian Leigh "Bo'... Read more... |
CD: Hollie Cook - Vessel of LoveSunday, 21 January 2018
If sunny tunes that put a spring in your step and a positive spin on the day are what you are looking for to blast away the Arctic-powered January Blues, then Hollie Cook has them in spades. Vessel of Love is the daughter of Sex Pistol Paul Cook and... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: I Am Not a WitchSaturday, 20 January 2018
Rungano Nyoni’s debut feature premiered at last year’s Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, and immediately marked the Lusaka-born, Wales-raised director down as a figure to watch. Putting her film into any category is more challenging, though, with... Read more... |
CD: The Fiction Aisle - Jupiter, FloridaFriday, 19 January 2018
The third album from Thomas White under his Fiction Aisle moniker is a match for its delicious, under-heard predecessors. White remains best known for his output with The Electric Soft Parade and Brakes but the prolific Fiction Aisle (three albums... Read more... |
CD: Tune-Yards - I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private LifeThursday, 18 January 2018
Growing up with the music of David Bowie is probably not the best grounding for being a music critic because it raises expectations unreasonably high for every other adventurous musician one happens upon. When I first heard the intense, bordering-on... Read more... |
CD: First Aid Kit - RuinsTuesday, 16 January 2018
With the tragic passing of Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan, I've been thinking a lot about the importance of the soundtrack to youth. I spent days wailing along to "Ode to My Family", raging out to "Zombie" or bouncing around the local... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: Hounds of LoveTuesday, 16 January 2018
Hounds of Love is the latest in a long line of small-budget Australian horrors “based on true events” – it must be something about the heat. However, stellar performances and a refreshing depth in characterisation make this thriller stand apart from... Read more... |
CD: Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons - The Age of AbsurdityMonday, 15 January 2018
Many hard rock aficionados say that Motörhead’s greatest work was all with the “classic” line-up of Lemmy, drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor and guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke (who died last week aged only 67 - this review was written before that... Read more... |
CD: The Limiñanas - Shadow PeopleSunday, 14 January 2018
The Limiñanas are considered something of a musical jewel across the Channel but, like many fine mainland European bands before them, have been somewhat criminally ignored in the UK over their nine-year career. In a just world and with the wind... Read more... |
DVD/Blu-ray: The Cat o' Nine Tails/PhenomenaSaturday, 13 January 2018
Dario Argento’s Suspiria was confirmed as one of horror’s great fever dreams on its 40th anniversary re-release last year. The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971) and Phenomena (1985) are lesser book-ends of the director’s peak period, when his global genre... Read more... |
CD: La Féline - TriompheFriday, 12 January 2018
As a prime example of high-end Gallic art-pop, Triomphe pushes the right buttons. The mid-tempo opening cut “Senga” sets the tone. A motorik rhythm and a shuffling counterpoint are complemented by bubbling bass guitar, insistent single note guitar... Read more... |
