New releases on CD & DVD
CD: Snow Patrol - Wildness
Thursday, 24 May 2018
Few bands divide opinion quite like Snow Patrol. Their fans see their slow anthems as intense, cathartic friends. Others - myself included - consider their music to be a kind of insidious, dreary presence. As Nicky Wire (of the Manics) once put it, "the same drab little thing, over and over". Wildness, their first album in seven years, is being billed as being something different - a little more passionate, with a lighter touch.According to the band, the shift in musical direction is down to...
CD: Chvrches - Love Is Dead
Wednesday, 23 May 2018
When bands move to the US, some find themselves drawn into the commercial machine; when Scottish band Chvrches crossed the Atlantic, they were targeting direct assimilation from the start. Recorded with mega-producer Greg Kurstin, the band are aiming to be more direct than ever; perhaps a wise move considering they’ve always leaned heavily on the pop side of electro.
DVD/Blu-ray: Coco
Tuesday, 22 May 2018
The brightness and colour are deceptive; at its heart, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina’s Coco is an affecting reflection on death, remembrance and the...
CD: Gretchen Peters - Dancing with the Beast
Monday, 21 May 2018
Gretchen Peters arrived in Nashville in the late eighties from Bronxville, New York, where she was born, and Boulder, Colorado, where she grew up....
CD: Caroline Rose - Loner
Sunday, 20 May 2018
Loner’s opening track “More of the Same” lyrically tracks being at a party where “everyone’s well dressed with a perfect body and they all have...
CD: Judith Owen - redisCOVERed
Admirably improbable set of cover versions is only partly successful |
DVD/Blu-ray: The Post
Streep, Hanks and Spielberg back the press at their best |
CD: Hailey Tuck - Junk
Jazz-pop newbie proves easy going but likeable |
CD: Ray LaMontagne - Part of the Light
Music for romantics that rocks as well as lulls |
DVD: All the Money in the World
All in the family: Christopher Plummer refuses to pay Charlie Plummer's kidnap ransom in Ridley Scott's Getty drama |
Blu-ray/DVD: Neon Bull
Rough but sensual, an enthralling immersion in Brazil's rodeo world |
CD: Brad Mehldau Trio - Seymour Reads the Constitution!
Prolific improvising pianist creates the apotheosis of the piano trio |
CD: Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
Indie guitar heroes head into completely new terrain with fine results |
CD: Ryley Walker - Deafman Glance
Far-out and fractured fifth album from the idiosyncratic Chicago dweller |
CD: Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son
Stunning blast of stirring gospel and politics |
CD: Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel
Australian slacker queen’s star continues to rise |
DVD: The Ice King
The pioneering talent and complicated life of skater John Curry |
CD: RSO - Radio Free America
Ex-Bon Jovi guitarist and Alice Cooper’s present guitar-slinger celebrate their relationship in song |
CD: Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations
Humanity and machinery blend beautifully on the producers' latest offering |
CD: Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard - Perfectly Unhappy
Intermittently striking union of Norwegian jazz combo and British saxophonist |
CD: Jon Hopkins - Singularity
Dazzling rollercoaster of an inner journey |
CD: Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man
Supergrass frontman goes from strength to strength in his third solo effort |
DVD: 50 Years Legal
Simon Napier-Bell's moving survey of a gay half-century, presented with rapid-fire acuity |
CD: Plan B - Heaven Before All Hell Breaks Loose
Explosively enjoyable return by Brit hip hop soul star after a half decade away |
CD: Confusion Master - Awaken
German metal-heads unapologetically worship at the shrine of Black Sabbath |
CD: Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
The Kansas pop futurist discovers her own inner Rihanna |
DVD/Blu-ray: They Came to a City
A Priestley experience - stagey but fascinating wartime social fantasy |
CD: Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco - You're Driving Me Crazy
The Irish soulman sings jazz |
CD: Blossoms - Cool Like You
Second album from rising five-piece successfully hones their synth-pop credentials |
latest in today
CD: Snow Patrol - Wildness
Few bands divide opinion quite like Snow Patrol. Their fans see their slow anthems as intense, cathartic friends. Others - myself included -...
Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA, BBC Four revi...
“Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light” was a vision of the...
The Rolling Stones, London Stadium review - only rock'n...
As the veteran combo roll around one more time, five years after they last performed in the UK, many a ticket-buyer for their No Filter tour has...
A Change is Gonna Come, Brighton Festival review - lively, w...
Watching this band in action is a treat. They gel absolutely and play off one another in a manner that’s easy and mellow, yet also sparks by...
Edie review - Sheila Hancock gets summit fever
There have been plenty of films about mountains, and they are mainly about men. The plot tends not to vary: man clambers up peak because, as...
Manchester: The Night of the Bomb, BBC Two review - devastat...
“I thought she maybe had superpowers to go that high.” Emilia Senior, 12, watched her sister Eve, 15, thrown into the air by the force of the...
The Best Plays in London
London is the theatre capital of the world, with more than 50 playhouses offering theatrical entertainment. From the mighty National Theatre to...
The Best Films Out Now
There are films to meet every taste in theartsdesk's guide to the best movies currently on release. In our considered opinion, any of the titles...
CD: Chvrches - Love Is Dead
When bands move to the US, some find themselves drawn into the commercial machine; when...
Ian Rickson: 'I'm an introvert, I want to stop tal...
Ian Rickson’s route into theatre was not conventional. Growing up in south London, he discovered plays largely through reading them as a student...