CDs/DVDs
Veronica Lee
It's probably no coincidence that non-American reviewers have been less exalted in their praise for this film than US ones, as it's sort of in a foreign language for them – that of baseball, a sport in love with nerdy statistics and clichés, even more than American football is, which is saying something. And it's true to say that if you don't have a passing acquaintance with baseball there will be large stretches of this film, and much of its narrative, that you will have not a clue about. But them's the parts where you just drool over Brad Pitt.In Bennett Miller's slow-moving but engaging Read more ...
Russ Coffey
From Amy to Adele there’s been so much retro of late, frankly it’s becoming old hat. Literally. But if you’re tempted to consign all your wannabe Seventies albums to the bin, hold your horses. Michael Kiwanuka’s much-anticipated Home Again may be living in the past, but unlike most of the other nu-soul chart botherers it feels genuinely hip. Chez Kiwanuka is also a truly cosy place to be: his rich, analogue soul sound conjures up images of Harlem, sideburns, and valve amplifiers. The fact that he’s a softly-spoken 24-year-old from Muswell Hill shouldn’t put you off.Many critics have accused Read more ...
Kieron Tyler
This particular King Charles should watch out. Although he’s assumed the trappings of a Georgian fop, he’d be well minded to pay heed to his predecessors King Charles I - beheaded in 1649 - and King Charles II – dogged by plague and the Great Fire of London. On the evidence of the thin gruel that is LoveBlood, his debut album, our latter-day King Charles’s place in history is far from assured.LoveBlood slots neatly into the gaps between Noah and the Whale, Mumford & Sons, Jamie T, Lily Allen and Jack Peñate, via a layby stop-off with Mika and Olly Murs. The only thing separating the man Read more ...
graham.rickson
Miserere: Choral Music by James MacMillan The Sixteen/Christophers (Choro)Scots composer James MacMillan’s orchestral music has never convinced me, but this collection of a capella choral music is astonishingly accomplished. You can’t help agreeing with The Sixteen’s director Harry Christophers in his opinion that MacMillan’s sacred music can stand comparism with that by Victoria and Poulenc. The brief Miserere, premiered in 2009, opens the disc: its Stygian opening gradually unfolding into music of unbelievable tenderness and cool beauty. It sounds both boldly contemporary and archaic Read more ...
howard.male
All Of Me is an album of cast shadows rather than substance, which is a little baffling given that it’s taken four years to materialise. Recent single “Thank You” has echoes of fellow Brit Sade in her sultry Eighties prime. “Back to Love” aims for the thumping disco euphoria of “When Love Takes Over” by Kelly Rowland & David Guetta but falls somewhat short, and “Speak Your Mind” tries to channel Lauryn Hill while also throwing in the melody of Adina Howard’s “Freak Like Me” for good measure.And please, spare us the vocal interludes between tracks – this isn’t 1990. They are intensely Read more ...
Adam Sweeting
In many respects it's hard to fault director Cary Fukunaga's take on the Charlotte Brontë classic. Fast-rising Australian actress Mia Wasikowska brings appropriate strength and moral clarity to the title role, while Michael Fassbender makes a mocking, sardonic Mr Rochester (albeit a rather too photogenic one). The lovelessness of Jane's early years with her unfeeling aunt, Mrs Reed (Sally Hawkins), is wincingly drawn, and her time at the grim Lowood school leaves the viewer feeling as beaten and abused as the heroine herself.Chuck in a quietly sparkling turn by Judi Dench as Mrs Fairfax Read more ...
Lisa-Marie Ferla
Do you remember a couple of summers ago, when it seemed like you couldn’t turn on the radio without catching a clip of yet another quirky young female songwriter with a clever hook and a regional accent? The artwork to Wallis Bird’s new album reminded me of one of those singers, from the messy pigtails and dreamy expression to the labret piercing. So far, so pigeonholed... until I pressed play and discovered an artist who could be anything but. It’s not uncommon to see the eponymous release early in an artist’s career, the self-title a bold manifesto; but that the Irish singer has chosen Read more ...
Russ Coffey
When an artist releases an album of new readings of old material, there’s usually cause for concern. But not with Lionel Richie’s new release, a foray into light country. In fact, given Richie’s recent efforts to stay down with the kids, maybe he should have tapped his archive before. Here he’s teamed up with (mainly) young country stars to rework his greatest hits with an Alabama radio pulse. The arrangements may sound crisp and contemporary, but the real fun comes from wallowing in the past and remembering Lionel’s evergreen Eighties.There are a couple of hiccups. But just that. One of Read more ...
bruce.dessau
Electropop royalty does not get more illustrious than this. VCMG stands for Vince Clarke (&) Martin Gore, who started out together in Depeche Mode, only for main songwriter Clarke to depart in 1981. Gore stayed in the band and took kinky leather into the pages of Smash Hits, while Clarke became a veritable Tintin-haired hit factory, discovering Alison Moyet, recontextualising Feargal Sharkey and eventually forming an enduring partnership with Andy Bell in Erasure. The latter duo released a new album last year which promised much but ploughed the same old high-energy furrow. Ssss, by Read more ...
Thomas H. Green
This album caught me completely off guard. The Stranglers work of the late Seventies/early Eighties is classic post-punk pop but their critical and (slight) commercial comeback since 2004’s Norfolk Coast album has been less convincing. Giants, however, is a corker. The band’s oldest member, drummer Jet Black, may now be 73 – and is pictured on the CD wearing an oxygen mask – but this is the sound of a reinvigorated quartet utilising their last-gang-in-town status to create music that’s poignant, tuneful, and unafraid of adventure.Giants startles from the start, opening with instrumental “ Read more ...
Lisa-Marie Ferla
It’s a sign of Bruce Springsteen’s contribution to the canon of American rock music that we no longer spend time comparing his music to others. Springsteen’s problem tends to be living up to different versions of himself. It seems like every new album is hailed as a return to somebody’s favourite Springsteen, whether it’s acoustic confessional, balls-out stadium rock or great American storyteller. From what had been trailed of Wrecking Ball I was anticipating the return of the angry man-of-the-people, which is probably my favourite. Wrecking Ball has been billed as Springsteen's response Read more ...
joe.muggs
Jan St Werner, half of German duo Mouse On Mars, recently held forth on their inspirations, citing the tension between metrical freedom and metronomic funk in the work of Sun Ra and Funkadelic as their key motivator. And while it might seem odd to compare two synth-twiddlers from Cologne and Düsseldorf with the great mavericks of mid-century American Afrofuturism, when you hear their music it makes complete sense.Watch the video for "Polaroyced":St Werner and his partner Andi Toma have been making weird music solidly for two decades now. Often they've seemed like the absolute cliché Read more ...