Music
News: Jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold announces April UK live dates
Boundary-breaking, socially-conscious musician and one of America’s most exciting trumpet players to perform exclusive UK shows April 9th to the 13th 2018 sees the inspirationally talented, award-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold travel to the UK to play five live shows in Huddersfield, Manchester, Leeds, London and Southampton, in support of his recent album The Mugician. A …
Album Review: Adam Stafford – Fire Behind The Curtain
Oh bollocks. I lack the vocabulary to do justice to this record. Any knowledge of minimalism I have is, well, minimal. That BBC4 documentary a few weeks back was enough to whet the appetite and draw out the musical and historical threads between things instinctively liked over the years. From the more direct lines running …
See: Kylie releases new video for ‘Stop me from falling’
Taken from her forthcoming album Golden, out via BMG on April 6th, ‘Stop me from falling’ is the new video from Kylie Minogue. For the first time, she has co-written every track on the album, with British songwriters Steve McEwan (whose credits include huge Country hits for Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood), and …
Track: Holy Boy – Elergy
Norwegian artist Helene Alexandra Jæger, trading under the Holy Boy Moniker, is releasing a new single ‘Elergy’, out via Native Habitat recordings, ahead of her debut album expected later in the year. It’s an ode to Los Angeles, where she now resides, saying “Coming from Bergen, Norway, I’d never seen a city like LA before. …
Album Review: Death Alley – Superbia
After a period relentless touring and turmoil, the Dutch powerhouse Death Alley is re-invented, reborn, and ready to take on the world with their refined brand of infectious yet challenging rock n’ roll with their new album ‘Superbia’. This albums starts with a slow burning intensity akin to Tool or Neurosis, which is at the …
Live Review: Field Music / Mary Epworth – Foundry, Sheffield, 23.03.2018
The thing is with inventive bands and music, is it possible to replicate what goes on over months in the studio into a couple of hours live. Now doesn’t necessarily have to be the case all the time, but with the likes of Field Music and Mary Epworth, who teamed up to tour as two …
Not Forgotten: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Extended Revelation For The Psychic Weaklings Of Western Civilization
Extended Revelation For The Psychic Weaklings Of Western Civilization is a cumbersome title, but then again Extended Revelation For The Psychic Weaklings Of Western Civilization is a cumbersome album. Like its predecessor, it weighs in at over an hour, and struggles to contain the musical inventiveness of The Soundtrack of Our Lives. If you think …
Album Review: The Vaccines – Combat Sports
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album. I like The Vaccines a lot, and it’s easy to forget just how quickly they blew up and how massive they got when they did; they appeared on Jools Holland before they even had a record deal, and “If You Wanna” and “Norgaard” …
Track: Tangents – Stents and Arteries (EP)
It’s hard to describe the sound of Sydney-based quintet Tangents – a sort of free form jazz meeting electronica but avoiding any form of excess or preciousness while maintaining a link to acoustic instrumentation and tight song structures. It is hypnotic music with structure and texture enough to please three-minute long indie song lovers with …
See: Didirri – Formaldehyde, plus tour news
Didirri‘s single ‘Formaldehyde’ was reviewed by me last month where I wrote that the song is a slow-burning fuse that lights up with its intelligent thoughtful lyrics. He’s just released a stunning live performance of the song on video before he embarks on a tour around Australia. The video highlights the strength of Didirri’s unadorned …