New releases on CD & DVD
Album: Squirrel Flower - I Was Born Swimming
Saturday, 25 January 2020
The first album from the Boston-bred songwriter Squirrel Flower opens and closes with autobiographical songs. “I-80” opens with the artist - real name Ella O’Connor Williams - giving up on lyrics, poetry and, later, giving up on love, its rootless melody channelling the road west to Iowa where Williams went to college before building to a relentless crescendo.
Album: Black Lips - Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart
Thursday, 23 January 2020
Since first getting together at the fag end of the 20th century, Black Lips have largely played the role of garage rockers with a hint of country and western about them. The songs on their latest album, however, turns their schtick somewhat on its head.
Blu-ray: Night Tide
Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Dennis Hopper’s first starring role, in Night Tide from 1961, as a naïve but curious young sailor bewitched by a siren, offers a strange mirror to...
Album: Pet Shop Boys - Hotspot
Monday, 20 January 2020
Remembrance of clubs past motivates Neil Tennant at 65. The melancholy and wit which gave ambiguity and amused bite to the Pet Shop Boy’s pop pomp...
Album: Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By
Saturday, 18 January 2020
The middle-aged rap master of provocation has survived into an era of hair-trigger outrage. The wearily dignified response of parents of the...
Album: Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong
All grown up now, and back on their bikes |
Album: Aoife Nessa Frances - Land of No Junction
Irish newcomer’s translucent debut album is an early candidate for 2020’s best-of lists |
DVD: The Cakemaker
Israeli debut is a sensitive study of grief - and the joy of culinary creation |
Album: Las Cobras - Selva
Dark, dreamlike psychedelia from Uruguay |
Album: Gabrielle Aplin - Dear Happy
Self-love soundtrack to a songwriter piecing herself back together |
Album: Field Music - Making a New World
Audacious concept album examining the still-extant ripples of World War One |
Album: Electric Soft Parade - Stages
Brighton indie-psyche stalwarts offer a luscious, heart-rending exploration of grief |
DVD/Blu-ray: The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
Extraordinary 1987 documentary upends expectations of Japan - and of the genre itself |
Albums of the Year 2019: Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars
The Boss led a bumper year for veteran rockers |
Albums of the Year 2019: Sturgill Simpson - Sound & Fury
Endlessly creative singer's fourth album is country, but not as we know it |
Albums of the Year 2019: Leonard Cohen - Thanks for the Dance
The last magnificent testament of Leonard Norman Cohen |
Albums of the Year 2019: Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
A sound reminiscent of days gone by but with a shoegazy sway that keeps it relevant |
Albums of the Year 2019: Claire Martin - Believin’ It
Award-winning vocalist touches the heart and lifts the soul |
Albums of the Year 2019: Seratones - Power
Heart, energy and some cracking good tunes from a new Louisiana band |
Albums of the Year 2019: Nick Cave - Ghosteen
Beauty and soul out of suffering and darkness |
Albums of the Year 2019: Mark Turner Meets Gary Foster
A remarkable concert from 2003, released in 2019 |
DVD/Blu-ray: Buddies
The first feature to address evolving AIDS pandemic retains real laconic power |
Albums of the Year 2019: Josienne Clarke – In All Weather
A perfect companion for the longer, darker nights of your year |
Albums of the Year 2019: Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind
A place where anger meets sophistication |
Albums of the Year 2019: Mega Bog - Dolphine
Confirmation that Erin Birgy is ready for more than a cult audience |
Albums of the Year 2019: Sault - 7
A punk-funk-soul one-two that leaves you dazed and delighted |
Albums of the Year 2019: Terror Danjah - Invasion
One of grime's earliest production pioneers at the top of his game |
Albums of the Year 2019: The Chemical Brothers - No Geography
Barnstorming album offers uplift during a year of terminal shoddiness |
CD: Harry Styles - Fine Line
Varied sophomore album mixes genuine treats with questionable lyrics |
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