sat 16/08/2025

New Music Reviews

Lloyd Cole and the Leopards, Shepherd's Bush Empire

Russ Coffey

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”.

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Just in From Scandinavia: Nordic Music Round-Up 10

Kieron Tyler

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.

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Depeche Mode, LG Arena, Birmingham

Guy Oddy

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.

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Reissue CDs Weekly: Dory Previn, Count Basie

Kieron Tyler

 

Dory Langdon: My Heart is a HunterDory Langdon: My Heart is a Hunter

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Warpaint, Brighton Dome

Thomas H Green

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.

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Stockton's Wing/Frankie Gavin & De Dannan, St Patrick's Cathedral

peter Quinn

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.

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Zhenya Strigalev's Smiling Organizm, Ronnie Scott's

Matthew Wright

The musical concept behind this constellation of international stars at Ronnie Scott’s last night was simple. Take a sextet of some of the world’s finest improvising jazz musicians, give them either a funky groove, gentle swing or a bass-fired post-bop beat, and ample space to improvise. Sit back and enjoy the sonic fireworks.

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Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards 2014, Koko

joe Muggs

In a world where everyone is expected to be a “brand”, Gilles Peterson sets some very interesting precedents.

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Reissue CDs Weekly: Small Faces

Kieron Tyler

 

Small Faces Here Comes the Nice The Immediate YearsSmall Faces: Here Comes the Nice - The Immediate Years

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CD: The Gloaming - The Gloaming

peter Quinn

Musically, lyrically, dramatically, on every count this debut album from The Gloaming is exceptional. Four-fifths of the group - Clare fiddle player Martin Hayes, Chicago guitarist Dennis Cahill, the Cúil Aodha sean nós singer Iarla Ó Lionaird and Dublin-born hardanger player Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh - are all well-known figures within traditional Irish music.

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