pop music
Madonna, London Palladium review - a fiesta of the surreal and the fiercely fabulousFriday, 31 January 2020
The first time I heard Madonna, I was 8 years old at a school disco. Horrified parents, who came to pick us up as we jumped up and down yelling along to “Like A Virgin” in a fluorescent flurry of topknots, puffer skirts and lace gloves, subsequently... Read more... |
Album: Kesha - High RoadWednesday, 29 January 2020
Doubters presume Kesha’s multi-million-selling success derives mainly from a decade ago, the time of her monster hit, “Tik Tok”? Since then, the thinking goes, after the gruelling, much-publicised sexual abuse court cases with Dr Luke, she’s more a... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Game Theory - Across The Barrier Of SoundSunday, 26 January 2020
Since this column last caught up with the totemic California art-popsters Game Theory, band mainstay Gil Ray passed away. He died in January 2017. He had joined Game Theory as their drummer and backing vocalist in 1985. The new collection Across The... Read more... |
Bombay Bicycle Club, Cardiff University Students Union review - guitar pop, perfectedSunday, 26 January 2020
When a band claims a crowd is the loudest of the tour, you can usually guarantee they've said it on every other date too. But for one sweaty night in Cardiff, you had to believe them. Bombay Bicycle Club returned after a six-year absence and were... Read more... |
Album: Gabrielle Aplin - Dear HappyMonday, 13 January 2020
According to Gabrielle Aplin, the delicate piano ballad which closes, and provides the name of, her first album in over four years was written as a letter to herself; and one penned at a particularly turbulent point in her life. “It’s not easy for... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: She Came From Liverpool! - Merseyside Girl-Pop 1962-1968Sunday, 12 January 2020
In July 1961, the first issue of the Liverpool music paper Mersey Beat put three items on its front page. One was a surreal article by John Lennon titled Being a Short Diversion on the Dubious Origins of The Beatles. Another was a photo of Gene... Read more... |
Album: Field Music - Making a New WorldSaturday, 11 January 2020
“Only in a Man’s World” is a snappy pop-funk nugget with an Eighties feel. There’s a kinship with Peter Gabriel and “Once in a Lifetime” Talking Heads. Its lyrics though are something else. They begin by asking “Why should a woman feel ashamed?” and... Read more... |
Album: Electric Soft Parade - StagesFriday, 10 January 2020
18 years ago, Electric Soft Parade, centred around brothers Alex and Thomas White, were the latest hyped hope of indie kids and NME-type media. However, their might-have-been moment imploded when they moved too fast for their fans, rocketing off in... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2019: Liz Lawrence - Pity PartyFriday, 03 January 2020
Picking the best album at the end of the year is always unfair on the early releases. Recency bias means the newer albums carry more excitement. Better Oblivion Community Center's self-titled debut would be a major contender if it had released in... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: The Best of 2019Sunday, 29 December 2019
Earlier this year, the Peter Laughner box set was more than an archive release. Its diligence and scale forced a wholesale reinterpretation of the evolution of America’s punk-era underground scene. What it collected – aurally and in its book –... Read more... |
Albums of the Year 2019: Seratones - PowerSaturday, 28 December 2019
Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had every intention of making Songs Of Our Native Daughters featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell and Amythyst Kiah my Album of the year. It’s a solid work of great beauty, elegance and... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl Christmas Special 2019Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Season’s greetings, vinyl junkies. It’s unfortunate things grew so stinky just as we headed towards the one time when Britain downs tools and disappears to the enjoy itself for a week or two. But let’s try for good will towards all. To help along... Read more... |
