wed 11/06/2025

New Music Reviews

theartsdesk on Vinyl 83: Deep Purple, Annie Anxiety, Ghetts, WHAM!, Kaiser Chiefs, Butthole Surfers and more

Thomas H Green

VINYL OF THE MONTH

London Afrobeat Collective Esengo (Canopy)

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Music Reissues Weekly: Congo Funk! - Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River

Kieron Tyler

Brazzaville is on the north side of the Congo River. It is the capital of the Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is on the south side of the Congo. It is capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaïre. The cities face each other, about 1.5km apart, divided by the river and being in different nations.

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theartsdesk at Tallinn Music Week - art-pop, accordions and a perfect techno hideaway

joe Muggs

Tallinn is a very civilised city. It’s enough to provoke intense jealousy on arrival from the land of potholes, two year waiting lists and seven pound pints to find that not only do they have pretty much all the infrastructure of their Nordic neighbours, but you can get a beer for €5 to boot.

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Julia Holter, EartH Theatre review - loosening up can take time

Kieron Tyler

“Betsy,” a voice shouts from the audience as the encore begins. The request for “Betsy on the Roof,” from Julia Holter’s 2015 Have You in my Wilderness album, is met – it was already in the set list – but only after “Les Jeux to You” is performed. That originally appeared on 2018’s Aviary.

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Music Reissues Weekly: Patterns on the Window - The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974

Kieron Tyler

Half-way through this three-CD set, the energy level suddenly shifts upwards. It’s just one track of the 67 collected, but in this context this basic, blunt recording stands on its own. Issued in October 1974, Dr. Feelgood’s debut single “Roxette” was an early sign that British music could change, needed to change.

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Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - guitar heroics against a low-key backdrop

Jonathan Geddes

The theme tune to John Carpenter’s horror classic The Thing rang out as Slash and his crew of collaborators took to the stage. Unlike that film’s famous climax though, there was no ambiguity here, for these were experienced stalwarts of rock music putting on a traditional, no frills show with a minimum of fuss.

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The Hives, Brighton Dome review - Swedish power-pop dynamo are as entertaining as ever

Thomas H Green

The joy of The Hives on record is encapsulated by their 2012 micro-song “Come On”. Despite being one-minute long and consisting solely of the title phrase, it fizzes with righteous, effervescent buzzsaw euphoria. They open their encore with it, showcasing with ease that, whatever the pleasures of their studio output, live in concert is where The Hives truly explode.

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Thundercat, The Halls, Wolverhampton review - jazz-funk bassist lets loose

Guy Oddy

Thundercat is known for his love of having a good old noodle on his six-stringed bass guitar – and there was plenty of that going on at the Halls in Wolverhampton on Easter Sunday. But this was far from the whole story of his show that threw in sci-fi funk, prog jazz and hip-swinging soul music to a performance that was dedicated to Anime master Akira Toriyama.

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Music Reissues Weekly: Status Quo - The Early Years

Kieron Tyler

“So Ends Another Life” is strange. Very strange. The song’s dolefulness is immediately set up with a strummed guitar along the lines of the intro to The Bee Gees’ “New York Mining Disaster.” “In a world of agitation, there’s no time for compassion” are the opening lyrics.

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Album: Jane Weaver - Love In Constant Spectacle

Kieron Tyler

“Motif,” Love In Constant Spectacle’s fourth track, is the closest Jane Weaver has come in over a decade to the folk influences embraced on her 2007 and 2010 albums Cherlokalate and The Fallen By Watch Bird. Not that her new album is rooted in past ventures, more that it appears she has taken a step back to consider what she has done, and has found this reflection comfortable.

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