New Music Reviews
theartsdesk on Vinyl 92: Marianne Faithful, Crayola Lectern, UK Subs, Black Lips, Stax, Dennis Bovell and moreMonday, 08 September 2025
VINYL OF THE MONTH Black Lips Season of the Peach (Fire) Read more... |
Blondshell, Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow review - woozy rock with an air of nonchalanceMonday, 08 September 2025
There is such nonchalance with Sabrina Teitelbaum that even her appeals to the crowd appeared laid-back. At points during her set the Los Angeles singer would slowly raise an arm, in the time-honoured tradition of a musician demanding noise, but in a way that suggested she wasn’t bothered if the call was actually heeded. Then again, perhaps it was just a sign that she knew the gesture would have the desired effect, given her evident popularity here. Read more... |
Ganavya, Barbican review - low-key spiritualityMonday, 08 September 2025
At the start or her show, the white-robed singer Ganavya does something unusual: while other performers usually warm their audience up before suggesting they sing along, she plunges straight in, a minute or so into chanting “a love supreme”, and gets everyone to join her in what can only be described as a communal act of devotion. This is a kind of high-wire daring, and it works, suggesting as well that she's assured of a large group of listeners for whom she can do no wrong. Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: Chiswick Records 1975-1982 - Seven Years at 45 RPMSunday, 07 September 2025
Chiswick Records 1975-1982 - Seven Years at 45 RPM is a triple album marking the 50th anniversary of the first release on the titular label. That record was a four-track, seven-inch EP by the rough, Rolling Stones-ish pub rockers The Count Bishops. It came out in November 1975. Read more... |
Edinburgh Psych Fest 2025 review - eclectic and experimentalThursday, 04 September 2025
Now in its third year, Edinburgh Psych Fest returned to multiple venues in the old town and the city’s southside for 2025; namely Summerhall, Queen’s Hall, The Mash House and Sneaky Pete’s. Offering a day long feast of psych-tinged sounds, Manchester-based promoters Now Wave brought a mix of bigger names and lesser-known bands to these various stages. Read more... |
Supersonic Festival 2025, Birmingham review - a deep dive into the spectacularly weird and very wonderfulThursday, 04 September 2025
The annual Supersonic Festival is a major jewel in Birmingham’s musical crown – but not, it seems, one that is particularly valued by the city’s establishment and more powerful decision-makers. Based in the relatively bohemian area of Digbeth, and despite receiving international plaudits and recognition, time and again it is forced to fight for its very existence. Read more... |
Album: Saint Etienne - InternationalWednesday, 03 September 2025
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. Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: The Outer Limits - Just One More ChanceSunday, 31 August 2025
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. Read more... |
Album: Benedicte Maurseth - MirraWednesday, 27 August 2025
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. Read more... |
Music Reissues Weekly: The Beatles - What's The New, Mary JaneSunday, 24 August 2025
“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. Read more... |
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