New Music Reviews

Van Dyke Parks, Britten Sinfonia, Barbican

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 24 June 2012

“America treats its musical titans as disposable, and I’m not disposable.” Coming from anyone else, Van Dykes Parks’ declaration last night might have been self-aggrandising. Parks is 69, but he could have said this during any of the last four decades with no problem. He is a titan, and he is not disposable. Coinciding with the reissue of his first three albums, this concert reached back to 1968 and stopped off at all points from then on. And before too.

MBC Korean Culture Festival, Indigo2

Natalie Shaw Sunday, 24 June 2012

The rise of Korean pop (or K-pop, for short) in Europe has been steady; conceivably, all that’s needed for the common or garden music fan to become enraptured is one crossover artist. Countless new acts sprung up following the first wave of K-idols - G.O.D., SES, H.O.T., Shinhwa - and a new one continues to appear almost every week, unveiled after years of training.

Reissue CDs Weekly: Vanguard Records, Tony Blackburn, Lon & Derrek Van Eaton

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 24 June 2012

Jack White, O2 Academy Brixton

Andrew Perry Friday, 22 June 2012

The suspicion that Jack White is a humourless plank-spanker, harboured by certain members of the media at least, has been thrown into deeper conjecture this past month, with the news that he’s entered into a war of words with the compilers of The Guinness Book Of Records.

Cloclo

Kieron Tyler Friday, 22 June 2012

Claude François doesn’t have the hipster cachet of Serge Gainsbourg, but he did lead an extraordinary life and died young. He also wrote “Comme d’habitude” which was Anglicised to become “My Way”. His live shows were spectacular, the women he married, dated and flirted with were striking, he had tax debts, a father who rejected him and his chosen career, and a mother addicted to gambling. It’s more than enough to fuel this two-and-a-half hour biopic.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Royal Albert Hall

Adam Sweeting Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Back in Britain for the first time in 13 years, Tom Petty and his indestructible crew seemed delighted to be playing at the Albert Hall, and taken aback by the frenzied reception from the audience. They have a soft spot for Blighty, since this was where their debut album first started making waves in 1977 after being initially ignored in the States, but their long absence seemed to have had the effect of turning them into long-lost legends.

Comment

Chris Cornell, London Palladium

Russ Coffey Tuesday, 19 June 2012

If, stripped-back and acoustic, a rock singer’s worth may be judged, then last night the Palladium sure had the opportunity to measure Chris Cornell. And, although these days unplugged can just mean the addition of a couple of steel-stringed guitars, that wasn't how Cornell played it. One man with a six-string and a microphone. That was it.

Lars Horntveth, Jaga Jazzist, Britten Sinfonia, Barbican

Kieron Tyler Sunday, 17 June 2012

“This is such fun”. Martin Horntveth, Jaga Jazzist’s drummer, can’t contain his excitement. Standing up behind his kit, he radiates joy. Considering that he and his band are Norwegian, typically not given to overstatement, what he describes as fun would be off the pleasure scale by non-Nordic standards. The meeting of Jaga Jazzist and The Britten Sinfonia was an unqualified success, one of those rare one-off concerts where band and their temporary collaborators seamlessly connect.

Best Coast, O2 ABC2, Glasgow

Lisa-Marie Ferla Sunday, 17 June 2012

Best Coast has always been the quintessential California band, an identity the duo has embraced so fully that the artwork for their latest album features the bear that is the state’s mascot.

Reissue CDs Weekly: Can, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Dreamboats & Petticoats

theartsdesk Sunday, 17 June 2012

Can: The Lost Tapes

Kieron Tyler

inside new music

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