New releases on CD & DVD
Album: NewDad - Altar
Thursday, 18 September 2025
With their second album Altar, the Irish combo NewDad has moved from the love-embittered shoegaze of their 2023 debut Madra toward a worldlier perspective married to a comparatively sophisticated but confrontational style.
Album: The Divine Comedy - Rainy Sunday Afternoon
Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Neil Hannon has been recording and touring as the Divine Comedy since 1989 and has tried a fair few flavours along the way, from chamber pop to Britpop, while sounding fundamentally himself throughout. Rainy Sunday Afternoon, however, sounds like a stocktaking, a deep breath and a meditation on late middle age.
Blu-ray: The Sons of Great Bear
Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Westerns had long been popular with German cinema audiences, some of the most successful being early 1960s West German adaptations of novels by Karl...
Album: Twenty One Pilots - Breach
Sunday, 14 September 2025
For the past decade, the Ohio alternative superstars Twenty One Pilots have cultivated a deep lore starting with 2015’s Blurryface, and continued...
Album: Ed Sheeran - Play
Saturday, 13 September 2025
“It’s a long way up from rock bottom/There’s been times I felt I could fall further.” So runs the opening line of Ed Sheeran’s eighth studio album....
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Album: Motion City Soundtrack - The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World
A solid return for the emo veterans |
Album: Baxter Dury - Allbarone
The don diversifies into disco |
Album: Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget بنسى وبتذكر
Paris-based Lebanese electronica stylist reacts to current-day world affairs |
Blu-ray: The Sweeney - Series One
Influential and entertaining 1970s police drama, handsomely restored |
Album: Josh Ritter - I Believe in You, My Honeydew
The alt-country singer's latest isn't consistent but does hit highs |
Album: David Byrne - Who is the Sky?
Born to be weird |
Album: Faithless - Champion Sound
Three decades into their career the perennial dance duo nail a lengthy but likeable set |
Album: Saint Etienne - International
British pop institution’s final communiqué is an unalloyed winner |
Blu-ray: The Graduate
Post #MeToo, can Mike Nichols' second feature still lay claim to Classic Film status? |
Album: Brad Mehldau - Ride into the Sun
A sincere tribute to Elliott Smith |
Album: Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
Short but not so sweet |
Album: CMAT - EURO-COUNTRY
The flame-headed chanteuse with the comic touch hits pop perfection |
Album: The Hives - The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives
No power ballads, no acoustic interludes - just speedy rock’n’roll all the way |
Album: Benedicte Maurseth - Mirra
Haunting, intense evocation of Norway’s uplands and its wildlife |
Blu-ray: Finis Terrae
Bleak but compelling semi-documentary, filmed on location in Brittany |
Album: Nova Twins - Parasites & Butterflies
Exciting London duo turn inward and more introspective with their third album while retaining their trademark hybrid sound |
Album: Blood Orange - Essex Honey
A triumph for the artist who doesn't clamour for attention but just keeps growing |
Album: Wolf Alice - Clearing
Ten years from their debut, Wolf Alice once again make magic from the familiar |
Album: Deftones - Private Music
Deftones give us a glimmer of hope, but that's all... |
Album: Eve Adams - American Dust
Taking inspiration from the Californian desert |
Blu-ray: Who Wants to Kill Jessie?
Fast-paced and visually inventive Czech comedy |
Album: Adrian Sherwood - The Collapse of Everything
The dub maestro stretches out and chills |
Album: Dinosaur Pile-Up - I've Felt Better
Heavy rock power pop trio return after an unwanted lengthy break |
Album: Tom Grennan - Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn't Want To Be
British pop star's fourth exhibits ultra-pop oomph with mixed results |
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £49,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
latest in today
'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages...
