New releases on CD & DVD
DVD: Phantom Lady
Saturday, 18 May 2013
The first of the Dresden-born Robert Siodmak’s eight film noirs, Phantom Lady (1944) was adapted from a Cornell Woolrich novel that typically endows its heroine with traditional masculine energy and guile while rendering its hero impotent and passive.Her dynamic investigator-avenger is eventually compromised by her becoming prey to the killer who framed the man she loves. However, Siodmak’s focus on her drive and her brief donning of a femme fatale guise during the second act powerfully...
CD: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
Thursday, 16 May 2013
A wise man once said: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE. It's a simple concept, but it seems so very hard to grasp, even – or especially – in a supposedly media-savvy world. The oddest thing of all is that it seems to be the people who consider themselves the most resistant to, or able to rise above, hype campaigns who have been caught up the most in the frenzy around this album.I have been consistently boggled and slightly saddened by the number of people who should know better that I have seen tripping...
CD: The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Thursday, 16 May 2013
It is no hyperbole to say that The National have made some of my favourite albums of all time. In every case, it has never been a decision I have...
Read more...CD: Club 8 - Above The City
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Pop that summons the word “cute” has a tendency to nauseate. If executed with the correct ratio of candy to content, however, it may persuade. The...
Read more...DVD: Les Misérables
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Fans of this bewilderingly popular musical, and they are legion, will not be disappointed. Director Tom Hooper knows how to tell a fast-moving tale...
Read more...
CD: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell - Love Has Come For You
Monday, 13 May 2013
A captivating and beautiful album featuring songs that are strongly narrative-driven Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Sun Records
Sunday, 12 May 2013
A mind-blowing journey to rock ‘n’ roll’s ground zero with Sam Phillips and some of the most joyful music ever recorded Read more... |
CD: Agnetha Fältskog – A
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Less-than-wonderful return from one quarter of ABBA Read more... |
CD: Primal Scream - More Light
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Has Bobby Gillespie come up with the sound of austerity Britain? Read more... |
CD: Savages - Silence Yourself
Friday, 10 May 2013
They have the presence and the manifestos - but do they have the songs? Read more... |
DVD: Hors Satan
Thursday, 09 May 2013
Bruno Dumont’s oblique meditation on salvation and punishment Read more... |
CD: Pat Metheny - Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol 20
Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Brilliant first meeting between the jazz guitarist and the avant-gardist Read more... |
DVD: White Tiger
Tuesday, 07 May 2013
From a tank-whisperer to the quandaries of historical destiny, a strange film Read more... |
CD: The Fall - Re-Mit
Monday, 06 May 2013
The Fall’s unique and strange journey continues with an album which rewards repeated listening Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Eurovision 2013, Françoise Hardy, James Last, Nico Gomez
Sunday, 05 May 2013
A Eurovision-inspired round-up with this year’s competitors and reissues from France, Germany and Belgium Read more... |
CD: Rod Stewart - Time
Sunday, 05 May 2013
Regret, not marital bliss, brings out the seductive songsmith of yore Read more... |
CD: Benga - Chapter II
Saturday, 04 May 2013
Leading light of bass-led electronic sounds, underground and overground reaches a crossroads Read more... |
DVD: The Long Goodbye
Friday, 03 May 2013
Robert Altman's irreverent Seventies Chandler update remains unpredictable and dark Read more... |
CD: Caro Emerald - The Shocking Miss Emerald
Thursday, 02 May 2013
Swingin' Dutch jazz-pop chanteuse delights once again on her second outing Read more... |
CD: Alison Moyet - the minutes
Wednesday, 01 May 2013
'Alf' is in energetic mode, but can she carry it off? Read more... |
Just in From Scandinavia: Nordic Music Round-Up 7
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
A Norwegian masterpiece, smart Swedish electropop, a unique Danish voice and much more Read more... |
CD: Friedman & Liebezeit - Secret Rhythms 5
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Does a 74-year-old drummer have anything new to say? Read more... |
CD: Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Monday, 29 April 2013
Indie rock's young dream display their staying power on a strong third offering Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Killing Joke, Motown, Bob Marley, The Winkies
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Single-minded British great, soulful females, 35th-anniversary 'Kaya' and a pub rock-era oddity Read more... |
CD: Rudimental - Home
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Hackney drum & bass pop four-piece nail an eagerly good-natured debut Read more... |
CD: Deep Purple - Now What?!
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Can the old rockers justify another album? Read more... |
DVD: The Brontës of Haworth
Friday, 26 April 2013
Not much incident in this five-part dramatisation of the lives of the talented siblings but a strong ensemble cast Read more... |
CD: Kit Downes - Light From Old Stars
Thursday, 25 April 2013
2010 Mercury contender serves up an imposing quintet date Read more... |
CD: Iggy and the Stooges - Ready to Die
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Iconic pre-punks hit enough creative paydirt to offer up thrills Read more... |
Write about music for The Arts Desk
When we started theartsdesk in 2009, one of our goals was to give opportunities to talented young writers. We’re proud of our record so far, but we’d like to be even prouder. We are looking for a pair of young music writers who want to make their names with us. Ideally...
latest in today
La donna del lago, Royal Opera
Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez and Michael Spyres triumph over adversity
theartsdesk Q&A: Kate Lindsey and Katharina Thoma on Gly...
A director and a 'composer' discuss the riches of Richard Strauss...
Rock ‘n’ Roll Britannia, BBC Four
The entertaining tale of the protracted birth of a British rock scene which...
Classical CDs Weekly: Schumann, Sibelius, Maria Schneider
Child-centred pianism, rugged orchestral music and an enjoyable disc of con...
Bullet Catch, Spiegeltent, Brighton
The classic shock trick provides the core for a surprisingly philosophical...
Propaganda: Power and Persuasion, British Library
A thought-provoking exhibition looking at ways in which the state seeks to...
The Victorian in the Wall, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
Will Adamsdale's new musical comedy-drama is touching, quirky and deli...
most read
Rock ‘n’ Roll Britannia, BBC Four
The entertaining tale of the protracted birth of a British rock scene which...
theartsdesk Q&A: Kate Lindsey and Katharina Th...
A director and a 'composer' discuss the riches of Richard Strauss...
The Pirates of Penzance, Scottish Opera, Theatre R...
Gilbert and Sullivan need a lighter director's touch in this musically...
Propaganda: Power and Persuasion, British Library
A thought-provoking exhibition looking at ways in which the state seeks to...
from the archives
CD: Santos - If You Have Meat You Want Fish
Italian DJ Santos injects his pumping house with a sense of pop fun
CD: Pantha du Prince & the Bell Laboratory - E...
German producer embraces the power of bells with likeable results
CD: The Voluntary Butler Scheme – The Grandad Gala...
A throw-it-all-in-the-air-and-then-glue-it-back-together take on classic po...
CD: She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas
Hollywood kook Zooey Deschanel's alt-indie duo goes Yuletide
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