New Music Reviews
Suzanne Vega, Town Hall, BirminghamTuesday, 04 February 2014
Suzanne Vega clearly likes her new album, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles. Either that or she’s got this promotional lark down to a fine art. Tonight we were treated to seven of its ten tracks, which is not something you might expect of someone who began their recording career in 1985 and has since released seven other albums and a fair few hit singles Read more... |
Taylor Swift, O2 ArenaMonday, 03 February 2014
When the red curtain opens - or drops with delicious melodrama - on the second night of Taylor Swift’s residency at the O2 Arena, the first thing you notice is her eyes. We’re a crowd of thousands, packed into the second largest stadium in the UK, and with our monumental collective gaze directed at one person you wouldn’t expect such intimate details to translate. But Swift need move only her eyes to elicit screams like you’ve never heard in your life. Read more... |
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Assembly Hall, WorthingSunday, 02 February 2014
Kitty Lux is one of the founders of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Her performance of Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" sums up their wonderful act. Sat strumming stonily stationary, clad in black with a red scarf around her short dark hair and an expression of seen-it-all hangdog boredom on her face, she delivers the song beautifully, her compadres adding the sweetest harmonies. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Seeds, The Dream SyndicateSunday, 02 February 2014
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Lloyd Cole and the Leopards, Shepherd's Bush EmpireSaturday, 01 February 2014
Last night Lloyd Cole arrived on stage with a similar suede-and-corduroy air to that of his Eighties college-rock hits. Yet something was different. Over the last few years he has developed a real gravitas. It showed in the lines on his face and gunmetal hair; and it's this depth that critics have perceived on his recent album, Standards. Yet despite the critical acclaim the old troubadour is still not happy with how he’s “ disappearing into a niche”. Read more... |
Just in From Scandinavia: Nordic Music Round-Up 10Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Finland’s Jaakko Eino Kalevi, who played his debut British show last November, heads up theartsdesk’s latest regular round-up of what’s come down from the north. A spellbinding display of individualistic pop, the London outing coincided with the arrival of his first non-Finnish release, the Dreamzone EP. Read more... |
Depeche Mode, LG Arena, BirminghamTuesday, 28 January 2014
Once upon a time, there was an assumption that the DJs and remixers who emerged in the late 1980s would kill off touring bands like Depeche Mode. As it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth and 34 years since they first got together, Basildon’s finest are not only still providing remixers with plenty of raw material for their craft, but they are reproducing their recreations in the live arena. Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Dory Previn, Count BasieSunday, 26 January 2014
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Warpaint, Brighton DomeFriday, 24 January 2014
The best thing about Warpaint is their rhythm section. The all-female LA quartet have received critical plaudits for both their albums, wisely releasing their latest eponymous collection in the dead zone of January, maximizing media attention (why don’t more bands do this? It was the making of the Scissor Sisters back in 2004). The foursome are determinedly un-showbiz, letting their music do the talking and dealing in tasty power-femme sound-bites. Read more... |
Stockton's Wing/Frankie Gavin & De Dannan, St Patrick's CathedralFriday, 24 January 2014
Featuring two of the most celebrated bands in traditional Irish music, this mouth-watering double bill as part of the ninth Temple Bar TradFest drew a capacity crowd to St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. With incredibly tight tune playing, pinpoint phrasing and a powerhouse backing section, Frankie Gavin & De Dannan kicked things off in dramatic fashion. Read more... |
The Seeds: Raw & Alive / The Dream Syndicate: The Day Before Wine and Roses
Dory Langdon: My Heart is a HunterPages
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