progressive rock
Rick Wakeman’s Grumpy Old Christmas Show, Cadogan Hall review – solo piano and Yuletide nostalgiaSaturday, 07 December 2019
The cape, the banked-up synths and the glam have gone. Rick Wakeman’s Grumpy Old Christmas Show consists of just the man, his piano and his stories and jokes, mostly about Christmas and family. The music is partly from his new solo piano album... Read more... |
Muse, 02 review - bombastic Brit-rock with a sci-fi themeMonday, 16 September 2019
For a band mostly known as a brilliantly ludicrous cocktail of other’s people’s sound-styles, the Simulation Theory tour is proof that Muse have become musical legends in their own right.Yes, their progressive rock is the combined conglomeration... Read more... |
The Flaming Lips, Brixton Academy review - an explosion of joyTuesday, 10 September 2019
“Thanks for being in here with us tonight,” Wayne Coyne begins, “when you could be outside with the universe shining down on us.” Having clearly experienced a pre-gig epiphany from the unexceptional South London sky, The Flaming Lips singer seems... Read more... |
Public Service Broadcasting, Caerphilly Castle review - rising to the occasionTuesday, 09 July 2019
Among the summer gigs being held in Caerphilly this summer, it seemed a tall order for electronic/math rock instrumentalists Public Service Broadcasting to pack out a castle. They may be more current, but the others (The Stranglers, Groove Armada,... Read more... |
Oh Sees, Tramshed, Cardiff review - breakneck wig outsFriday, 24 May 2019
Oh Sees have long been touted of as the perfect festival band. Their racuous, high-tempo rock'n'roll always riles up the drunken swathes, even if no-one recognises the song. However, going to a headline show is a different prospect - these swathes... Read more... |
The Great Escape Festival 2019, Brighton review - a juicy smörgåsbord of new music from all overTuesday, 14 May 2019
Now going for over a dozen years, ever-busier since Live Nation took over its parent company in 2015, The Great Escape Festival is the annual multi-venue band showcase and music conference which sees Brighton swamped with music biz sorts. This year... Read more... |
Rodrigo y Gabriela, Roundhouse - sound and (new) noiseThursday, 25 April 2019
It was in the early 2000s in a tiny, gritty bar that I first saw Rodrigo y Gabriela live. Camden was less pretty then – a look was close to a glare and there were more spikes and kohl – the nineties were that much closer. I was right at... Read more... |
CD: Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - Yn Ol I AnnwnSunday, 24 February 2019
Their music is a bit wizard-y. It’s certainly imbued with a pungent sense of mammoth weed. And the “bastard” is surely for the sheer, meaty rock’n’roll heft of the word (much as Motörhead used it to title an album). But don’t be fooled. Mammoth Weed... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 45: Ian Dury, Janis Joplin, Oneohtrix Point Never, Stereolab, Charles Mingus and moreTuesday, 11 December 2018
It’s the season of giving so theartsdesk on Vinyl feels compelled to draw your attention to Unicef’s Blue Vinyl campaign. This sees 17 celebrated albums auctioned off in special editions on givergy.com with all proceeds going to Unicef’s Children's... Read more... |
Best Albums of 2018Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Disc of the Day reviews new albums, week in, week out, all year. Below are the albums to which our writers awarded five stars. Click on any one of them to find out why. Baxter Dury, Etienne de Crécy and Delilah Holliday - B.E.D. ★★★★★ A small... Read more... |
CD: Hawkwind - Road to UtopiaSaturday, 15 September 2018
Implausible times call for implausible music, and it doesn't come much more unlikely than this. Hawkwind, the die-hard troupers of gnarly cosmic squatter drug-rock, have re-recorded highlights from their catalogue, arranged and produced by Mike Batt... Read more... |
CD: Oh Sees - Smote ReverserTuesday, 14 August 2018
Oh Sees have been perennial festival favourites for over 15 years now, releasing 21 albums under seven different band names. The change of name usually indicates a new direction, with previous records ranging from alt Americana (OCS) to lo-fi garage... Read more... |
