What better antidote to the rapacious commercialism of Black Friday than a night out in Brixton with Savages? The O2 Academy show was the band’s biggest UK headlining performance to date and the packed house signalled that this was a band ready for the big leagues. Walking on to Leonard Cohen’s A Thousand Kisses Deep was a nice touch – a fitting […]
Reviews
It’s easy to be snide and cynical about events like this – why should a bunch of so-called one-hit wonders deserve a headlining tour 35 years after their brief brush with fame? But the fact is – to a significant minority of people – The Vapors meant something and they still do. That’s why their London comeback […]
For a little over an hour on a cold October Sunday a packed O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire was taken back in time to 1981 – when Dallas was TV gold and leather ties, wedge haircuts and ultra-thin ponytails were all the rage. Margaret Thatcher was in power, there were riots on the streets of Brixton and Toxteth and a […]
A dream-like and at times nightmarish ride, Kristin Hersh’s new album is an extraordinarily multi-layered work that’s tough to de-code. It’s a wilfully oblique mosaic of half-realised memories of past events and emotions.
A sultry steamy night in West London provided the perfect backdrop as Oakland’s finest Fantastic Negrito brought a touch of California to W12. The master showman romped through a short but sweet set, which encompassed a bewildering range of genres and styles. There were shades of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix, a soupçon of Al Green and a smidgeon of Prince as Negrito, real name Xavier Dphrepaulezz, […]
New albums by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds are always an event but the release of Skeleton Tree comes with more baggage than most. For those who don’t know the sad story by now, recording was savagely interrupted by the tragic death of Cave’s son Arthur in a cliff fall near the family’s home in Brighton. The fraught recording process […]
A genre-defying collage of electro beats, distorted guitar, jaw’s harp and seductive almost spoken-word vocals, it’s fair to say Bold Ego Fledgling is not your average single release.
Throwing Muses offshoot 50FOOTWAVE are back with their first release in four years and it’s a real humdinger. Louder, faster and heavier than you might expect, the Bath White EP packs more of a punch into its six-tracks than most artists manage on a double album.
There are plenty of artists who’ve had long gaps between releases – Kate Bush, David Bowie and ABC to name but a few. But indie groovers Khartomb are in a class of their own, after reemerging with their first new release since – wait for it – 1983.