punk
Black Flag, The Mill, Birmingham review – hardcore punk originators come up trumpsThursday, 10 October 2019
Prior to this week, it had been 35 years since hardcore punk firestarters Black Flag had set foot in the UK. That said, it was not without some trepidation that I made my way to one of Birmingham’s more compact venues to see a band who had once been... Read more... |
Alice Cooper, The Stranglers, MC50, Brighton Centre review - a triple-headed blast of vintage rockWednesday, 09 October 2019
The Ol’ Black Eyes is Back Tour celebrates Alice Cooper’s 50 years using his stage name. He’d been around under other names before 1969 but Alice Cooper – originally the title of the band rather than the man – achieved success as the Seventies began... Read more... |
CD: The Menzingers - Hello ExileWednesday, 02 October 2019
Punk rock, more so than any other genre, comes with a built-in age limit. There’s only so long you can play weeknights at basement venues for a share of the door and travel expenses; only so many years your back can withstand so many nights on... Read more... |
Gazelle Twin, Mirth, Marvel and Maud review - sardonic folkSaturday, 14 September 2019
Elizabeth Bernholz, known on stage as Gazelle Twin, comes straight from a line of musical visionaries – rebels and misfits whose influences fleet through her songs like will-o’-the-wisps. Here is the formal, clever ennui of The Stranglers, the... Read more... |
Edwyn Collins, Concorde 2, Brighton review - enjoyable evening of tight guitar popFriday, 13 September 2019
In March of this year Edwyn Collins released his ninth studio album, Badbea, his fourth since two life-altering cerebral haemorrhages derailed him in 2005. It’s a vivacious collection that runs the gamut of what guitar pop can be, from acoustic... Read more... |
CD: Iggy Pop - FREEWednesday, 04 September 2019
It’s half a century since Iggy shrieked that it was “No Fun”, that it was “1969, OK”, that he wanted to be your dog. His original Stooges and his storied cohorts David Bowie and Lou Reed are all no longer with us. The Ig is the last man standing and... Read more... |
CD: Ezra Furman - Twelve NudesMonday, 26 August 2019
“This is our punk record,” says Ezra Furman of Twelve Nudes in its PR bumpf. In practice, the punk slant is manifested through distorted guitars, hell-for-leather tempi and howling vocals. The edgiest moment is the 55-second “Blown”, a close... Read more... |
CD: Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't HoldThursday, 22 August 2019
This album’s title began as a reaction to fractiousness under Trump, but gained more intimate meaning when drummer Janet Weiss quit Sleater-Kinney shortly before release. With production by St Vincent’s Annie Clark pushing these knotty indie-rock... Read more... |
CD: Grenades - PrimateSaturday, 17 August 2019
South-coast four piece Grenades’ debut album is that most unlikely of musical outings, an ecological grunge-punk concept album. This is no wafty, feel-good affair, though, its environmental concern is akin to the eco-parable shock tactics of rough’n... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: 1977 The Year Punk Broke, Optimism / RejectSunday, 28 July 2019
Britain’s musical eruption of 1977 wasn’t just about the now. As the new box set 1977 – The Year Punk Broke amply demonstrates, the flux allowed more than first-timers through the door. Seasoned gig-circuit regulars Stranglers got a leg up. A band... Read more... |
CD: Russian Circles – Blood YearFriday, 26 July 2019
The sound of Blood Year is mesmerising, yet also brutal, like a vast sonic ocean it explodes with relentless violence and then ebbs back to meander in the musical shallows, with soft melodic passages, before picking up the pace and again throwing... Read more... |
CD: Violent Femmes - Hotel Last ResortWednesday, 24 July 2019
Violent Femmes might be one of America’s most distinctive-sounding bands. There’s no mistaking the combination of Gordon Gano’s laconic, speak-sung vocals and Brian Ritchie’s bass that has been at the heart of the band since the early 80s. On Hotel... Read more... |
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