sat 04/10/2025

New Music Reviews

Pat Metheny & Side-Eye, Eventim Apollo review - energy and melodic clarity

Sebastian Scotney

Nobody could ever force guitarist Pat Metheny into doing the touring schedule he imposes upon himself. The 67 year-old still does well over 100 concerts a year. The current European tour alone, which started at the end of April and finishes in 10 days' time contains no fewer than 44 dates.

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Harry Styles, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow review - pop prince lets the music do the talking

Jonathan Geddes

A guessing game could be played prior to Harry Styles taking to the stage at this gig, the first night of his UK tour and, as he later noted, his first stadium show as a solo act.

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Music Reissues Weekly: Barney Wilen - Zodiac

Kieron Tyler

In 1966, the combo fronted by French sax player Barney Wilen issued an album of musical interpretations of each sign of the zodiac. In the US in 1969, Mort Garson released 12 albums, each dedicated to a single sign.

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The Great Estate, Redruth review - Cornwall's finest festival extravaganza

Katie Colombus

For those wishing to avoid the bloated plutocracy of #PlattyJoobs, the Great Estate Festival was the perfect antidote. Set in the beautiful estate of Scorrier House in Redruth, Cornwall it is described as “the most rambunctious garden fete”.

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Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Brighton Dome review - screams, not whispers

Nick Hasted

The usherette’s hands are clamped over her ears, and Elvis Costello is playing like it’s 1996, when the briefly reunited Attractions played a pummelling last stand, burying fatal internal rifts with punk thunder.

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Album: Shearwater - The Great Awakening

Kieron Tyler

The title The Great Awakening is a metaphor for America’s switch from its previous presidential administration to the current: the arrival of a new era and, with it, a fresh phase of life. Emblematic of this is the xenarthran, a type of armadillo, which lends its name to the album’s third track. Native to South America, it slogs its way into Texas where it deals with a new environment.

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Bloc Party, Barrowland, Glasgow review - falling back on past glories brings a jubilant response

Jonathan Geddes

As Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke noted at one point in this gig, his band have now been visiting Glasgow for nearly two decades. Yet few of the shows played in that 18 year span, which have touched upon nearly all of the city’s main music venues, have been as contrasting as this one.

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Music Reissues Weekly: In A Rocking Mood - Beverley’s Rock Steady 1966-1968

Kieron Tyler

Beverley’s was an ice-cream shop and restaurant on Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica. Records were on sale too. In 1961, an aspiring singer-songwriter named James Chambers turned up there with a song he’d written called “Dearest Beverley.” If it was recorded, it’d give its creator a leg-up on the music scene and also might be good promotion for the business.

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Album: Wren Hinds - A Child's Chant for a New Millennium

Kieron Tyler

Side Two of A Child’s Chant for a New Millennium opens with “Wrenbird,” a consideration of whether it’s possible to have a bird’s freedom of mobility. “Anywhere but here,” sings Wren Hinds. He may not be happy where he is, but the accompanying soundtrack is enough to make anyone stick around.

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ABBA Voyage, Abba Arena, London review - technical mastery and musical joy

Katie Colombus

he first part of one of ABBA’s most famous lyrics, “You can take the future, even if you fail”, has been bought to life in Pudding Mill Lane, in a musical event that has completely re-defined the possibilities of the future of live music – and has put to bed the latter part about failure.

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