International is Saint Etienne’s 13th album. It is their last. According to the promotional material, it was written while recording their last album, 2021’s I’ve Been Trying To Tell You. The trio – Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs – must have known back then they were planning to bow out.
Brad Mehldau’s three trio concerts in the UK in June showed what it is he does so brilliantly. The group (with bassist Felix Moseholm and drummer Jorge Rossy) played with a freedom and a sense of flow in their musical conversation, a sense of collective listening which were astonishing. And there is another remarkable thing. Mehldau wants to cast his musical net wide; the three played a completely different setlist for each of their concerts.
The Outer Limits were from Leeds. Active over 1965 to 1968, the soul-tinged mod-poppers didn’t chart, but their two regular singles are now pricey collector’s items. There was also, before the orthodox 45s, a track on a Leeds University charity fund-raising single.
This edition of Peter Culshaw’s peripatetic radio show features guest Pete Lawrence. Pete is one of the good guys – a positive force in the culture, as he says "my life's work is bringing people together".
Following the success of 2024’s flirtatious Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter has fully committed to her pin-up popstar status with Man’s Best Friend, perhaps to its detriment. It was clear from the release of the album artwork and recent press that the dominant theme would be sex, but the question over whether it was satirical or not genuinely remains unanswered because of its general lack of creativity. It’s more explicit than we have previously heard her, and it is humorous at times, but its entire identity does seem to be based around the fact she likes sex.
Queen of the earworm Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson has had quite the summer, capturing imaginations and sparking indignation. The brazen hussy has the audacity to wear what the hell she likes while belting out her stream of catchy country-pop, life-affirming hits. She’s in your face, unapologetic and going absolutely nowhere.
The Hives must be one of the most self-assured bands around – but not without good reason. Ever exuberant, all their tunes are short and sweet, speedy and sharp – just the way that rock’n’roll is meant to be.
During the opening seconds of Mirra, an unusual sound leaps out – a grunting. It’s integral to a shifting aural pallete which also features a bowed violin and chiming percussion along with a recurring grind like that of a rotating waterwheel. The mood is chilly, suggesting an environment where unalloyed nature has the upper hand, a place where the seasons define what comes to pass.
For Nova Twins, the alternative rock/metal duo of Amy Love and Georgia South, the years since 2020 have been a non-stop journey of evolution. Exploding from the independent UK rock scene, to sharing the stage with headline names like Bring Me The Horizon; attention has come very quickly for the now twice BRIT nominated duo.
“What's the New Mary Jane” is a nursery rhyme-like song, one of John Lennon’s most peculiar offerings. It was recorded for late 1968’s double album The Beatles (i.e. the White Album) but, literally, did not make the cut. Nonetheless, John Lennon would not let it go.