New releases on CD & DVD
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 Manchester Arena bomber’s victims to an Eminem lyric briefly assuming the killer’s identity has already defused a strictly local scandal, which pales beside his gigs’ picketing in his early 2000s folk-devil prime.
Album: Bombay Bicycle Club - Everything Else Has Gone Wrong
Friday, 17 January 2020
Bombay Bicycle Club have a knack for quasi-prophetic titles. Their fourth album, So Long, See You Tomorrow, released in February 2014, turned out to be their last, at least for a while. For when the accompanying tour concluded at London’s Earls Court – the final event before the wrecking ball deprived London of another iconic venue – the band decided they’d had enough.
Album: Aoife Nessa Frances - Land of No Junction
Thursday, 16 January 2020
What a lovely surprise. A debut album with its own sensibility that’s come out of the blue. Aoife Nessa Frances is from Dublin and the terrific Land...
DVD: The Cakemaker
Wednesday, 15 January 2020
The Cakemaker is Ofir Raul Graizer’s debut feature, and the film must somehow reflect the parabola of the Israeli-born director's life: it’s set...
Album: Las Cobras - Selva
Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Selva is the sophomore album from Uruguay’s arch tripsters, Las Cobras. More ethereal and even less direct than its predecessor, Temporal, it is a...
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 |
Albums of the Year 2019: Angie McMahon - Salt
Ennui, desperation and longing from stunning singer-songwriter debut |
Blu-ray: A Fistful of Dynamite
Sergio Leone's glorious Mexican revolution epic receives a suitably opulent new release |
Albums of the Year 2019: Imperial Wax - Gastwerk Saboteurs
Ex-Fall guys top the year with vicious rockabilly and razor-sharp guitars |
CD: Josh Rouse - The Holiday Sounds of Josh Rouse
Likeable singer-songwriter serves up an undemanding Christmas confection |
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