rock
Peter Doherty: Stranger In My Own Skin review – close-up on chaosSaturday, 11 November 2023![]() Pete Doherty’s notorious tabloid image as Kate Moss’s junkie rock star boyfriend blessedly faded following that relationship’s end, stopping short of Amy Winehouse territory. Katia deVidas’s documentary focuses on that addiction through his... Read more... |
Korea On Stage, OVO Arena Wembley review - a symphony of lights, beats and empowermentFriday, 10 November 2023![]() Choruses rocked, choreo popped, and thousands of light sticks danced in unison, as an incredible lineup of nine acts lit up this fourth edition of Korea On Stage, celebrating 140 years of UK-Korea relations.The evening commenced with the beautifully... Read more... |
Snayx/Shelf Lives/Monakis, Patterns, Brighton review - storming, punking triple-headerFriday, 20 October 2023![]() Patterns is a small, low-ceilinged, underground, seafront venue. Tonight it would be a feast for any passing ancient succubae who happens to feed on raw human energy. From 7.00 PM until 10.00 PM, the room plays host to a package tour of three rising... Read more... |
The Last Dinner Party, SWG3, Glasgow review - affection and adulation for rising starsWednesday, 11 October 2023![]() The first declaration of love for the Last Dinner Party arrived approximately one song into their set. “I love you too,” declared a delighted looking Abigail Morris, the band’s pirouetting frontwoman, in response, and the ensuing hour suggested... Read more... |
New Order, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - a nostalgia trip with a modern feelSaturday, 07 October 2023![]() Early on in this arena gig by New Order, a youthful, enthusiastic voice could be heard to say gleefully, “They’re just so 80s!”. That statement was both accurate and yet also misleading, for as this near two-hour performance showcased New Order’s... Read more... |
Album: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers - I Love YouWednesday, 04 October 2023![]() Canberra band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers continue the recent tradition of Australian indie bands having unwieldy comedy names. However, their music, as laid out on their debut album, has higher aspirations, bridging their scuzzy punkin’ roots... Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Bowes Road Band - Back in the HCASunday, 01 October 2023![]() The acronym “HCA” in the title stands for Hornsey College of Art, the North London college which, in late May 1968, was occupied by its students and a few staff in a high-profile protest which went on into that July. What was wanted were changes in... Read more... |
The National, OVO Hydro, Glasgow, review - commanding arenas with easeTuesday, 26 September 2023![]() There remains something disconcerting about seeing the National as arena rockers. Perhaps it’s the nonchalant stage entrance as they stroll on, a far cry from the pyro heavy displays this Glasgow venue usually witnesses. Maybe it’s the unassuming... Read more... |
Album: Ash - Race the NightThursday, 14 September 2023![]() Northern Irish rockers Ash appeared in the mid-Nineties, channelling The Ramones when the UK was in thrall to either bangin’ club music or Britpop. They had a good commercial run, longer than almost all their contemporaries, mustering 18 Top 40 UK... Read more... |
Bolan's Shoes review - good-natured film about the healing power of a pop idolWednesday, 13 September 2023![]() Older fans of T Rex will get pleasure from hearing the band’s tracks and reliving some of the buzz of being a dino-rocker, but, despite the title, this isn’t strictly a fan film. Describing what kind of film it is, though, would involve a... Read more... |
'We wanted to make a record we really love': The Rolling Stones at Hackney EmpireFriday, 08 September 2023![]() One day, someone will compile a full illustrated history of Rolling Stones press conferences, going right back to Mick and Keith in 1964 buying a couple of pints in a pub in Denmark Street for journalists from the NME and Melody Maker – both now in... Read more... |
Album: Kristin Hersh - Clear Pond RoadWednesday, 06 September 2023![]() Kristin Hersh’s voice, it transpires, is ageless. In the 80s when Throwing Muses broke through, she hit a particular combination of tones – blurring boundaries between harsh and smooth, melodic and discordant, trad and weird – that became vastly... Read more... |
