fri 20/06/2025

New Music Reviews

Laufey, Royal Albert Hall review - fans in heaven

Sebastian Scotney

In many ways, Laufey’s emotionally charged, sold-out Royal Albert Hall debut was a masterclass.

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Hidden Door 10th Birthday Party, St James Quarter, Edinburgh review - going underground

Miranda Heggie

It’s hard to imagine that The Arches – a string of stylish glass-fronted units in prime city centre location, housing boutique bars, high-end eateries and stylish salons – were once a bunch of old storage units which were opened up a decade ago by a volunteer-run, grassroots arts festival calling itself Hidden Door.

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Conchúr White, St Pancras Old Church review - side-stepping the past to embrace the future

Kieron Tyler

If there’s a feeling of déjà vu, it isn’t detectable. Conchúr White played St Pancras Old Church in April 2016 with County Armagh’s Silences, the band he fronted. This evening, a mention of having been here before is absent. Nothing in the body language suggests any familiarity with where he’s playing.

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Pop Will Eat Itself, Chalk, Brighton review - hip hop rockers deliver a whopper

Thomas H Green

By midway, things are cooking. “Can U Dig It?”, a post-modern list-song from another age (Ok, 1989), boasts a whopping guitar riff. Keys-player Adam Mole, his ushanka cap’s ear-covers flapping, leaps onto his seat, waves his synth aloft.

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Music Reissues Weekly: Little Girls - Valley Songs

Kieron Tyler

The name, Caron and Michelle Maso explained to Los Angeles radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, was a literal description. “We’re both like five feet. We’re all grown up, but we’re still little.”

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Music Reissues Weekly: West Coast Consortium - All The Love In The World

Kieron Tyler

West Coast Consortium’s first single was July 1967’s “Some Other Someday,” a delightful slice of Mellotron-infused harmony pop which wasn’t too far from The Ivy League’s “Funny How Love Can be” and The Rockin’ Berries’ “He’s in Town” – each of which were hits in, respectively, 1965 and 1964. All three bands were on the Pye label and its associated imprint Piccadilly.

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CVC, Concorde 2, Brighton review - they have the songs and they have the presence

Thomas H Green

The joy of CVC, when they catch fire, is the zing of gatecrashing a gang of cheeky, very individual personalities having their own private party. There’s a moment tonight, for instance, midway through the evening, when guitarists David Bassey and Elliot Bradfield, close in on each other, lock eyes, and spar clanging notes with spine-tingling precision. This band are tight, tight, tight.

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Mitski, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - cool and quirky, yet deeply personal

Miranda Heggie

It was her 2018 album Be the Cowboy which saw Mitski propelled to stardom status. Laurel Hell, which followed in 2022, saw her continue on the popstar trajectory with synth-heavy songs, so the more laid back folkiness of last year’s release, The Land is Inhospitable and So are We came as a bit of a surprise.

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Nadine Shah, SWG3, Glasgow review - loudly dancing the night away

Jonathan Geddes

First Nadine Shah raised hopes, then dashed them. “I’ve never had a dance off onstage before,” she observed at one point, impressed by the shapes a crowd member was cutting, before confirming it wouldn’t be happening on this evening either. You’d have backed Shah to triumph too, given how the rest of the gig showcased her skills with style.

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Orbital, O2 Institute, Birmingham review - the techno titans celebrate their rave years in style

Guy Oddy

On Friday evening, dance veterans Orbital touched down in Birmingham to celebrate two of the most significant and acclaimed albums in rave culture. These discs may both be over 30 years old, but the Brummies were out in force, packed into an overfull O2 Institute, and lapped it up.

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