Pop
Metal for people who don’t understand metal: The Darkness at Wembley reviewed
Midway through their thoroughly entertaining show at Wembley Arena, the Darkness played a song from a decade ago called ‘Barbarian’,…
Traditional music at its most graceful, ingenious and jaw-dropping
I was talking recently to a rock guitarist about the amount of music an audience hears during a typical concert…
The death of touring
Touring’s not what it used to be. When I were a lad, even big bands would do 30 or 40…
Silly, moving and imaginative: Steven Wilson’s The Overview reviewed
Progressive rock never died. Whenever some grizzled punk soldier next appears on a BBC4 documentary relaying their version of that…
Finneas has little to offer without his sister Billie Eilish
No truth is more self-evident than that there are those whose best emerges only when they are paired with others:…
Shades of Berlin Bowie and Ian Curtis: Hamish Hawk, at Usher Hall, reviewed
I am a regular attendee at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh’s most ornate and venerable concert venue. On more than one…
Lauren Mayberry is terrific – but it’s not music for middle-aged men
There are nights when one realises quite how much effort the business end of showbusiness must be. On a bitterly…
The art of the anti-love song
Tracey Thorn released an album in 2010 titled Love and Its Opposite. When it comes to songwriting, it’s the ‘opposite’…
A cheaper, shinier, more processed Chris Stapleton: Brothers Osborne reviewed
If you were a frequent viewer of Top Gear in its Clarkson/Hammond/May era, there is a particular laugh you will…
The maudlin, magical world of Celtic Connections
Is it possible to find a common thread running through the finest Scottish music? If pushed, one might identify a…
Like lying down in front of a bulldozer: the Jesus Lizard, at the Electric Ballroom, reviewed
Many indie types from the 1980s and 1990s were secretly metal fans. But it’s not something they ever really wanted…
A new solo album by a former Beatle that – astonishingly – demands repeated plays
For artists lacking any obvious feel for the style, ‘going country’, similar to mainstream white artists dabbling in reggae in…
The problem with Paul McCartney is he wrote too many good songs
Don Bradman, the greatest cricketer of all time, was once asked if he reckoned he could have maintained his batting…
Kneecap are basic but thrilling
It was Irish week in London, with one group from the north and one from the south. Guinness was sold…
What a remarkably bad electric guitar player Bob Dylan is
Finally, a taste of the authentic Bob Dylan live experience. On the two previous occasions that I’ve seen Dylan, in…
Perfectly imperfect: Evan Dando, at Islington Assembly Hall, reviewed
‘Can I have a photo with you, please?’ It’s the most embarrassing question you can ask of someone you’re interviewing.…
Terrifically good value: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds reviewed
A few years ago, I received an early morning phone call from Nick Cave’s former PR, berating me for not…
Nick Cave’s right-hand man Warren Ellis on AI, Gorecki and staying young
In the next few days Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds play Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and London. There are still…
The joy of Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton is a barrel-chested man of 46, who hides his face beneath a beard that must have taken years…
Chrissie Hynde remains outstanding: the Pretenders, at Usher Hall, reviewed
A few hours before the doors opened for the Pretenders’ Edinburgh concert, Chrissie Hynde posted a message on her social…
An uncompromising master: David Gilmour, at the Royal Albert Hall, reviewed
It doesn’t matter which dictionary you consult, they all agree on what a song is: words, set to music, that…
I agree with pop’s war on iPhones – but King Canute might want a word
Before each show on the recent The The tour – reviewed in these pages last week – the pre-recorded voice…
The world is on fire – yet navel-gazing still reigns in pop
There is no better cultural weather vane than pop. It’s not that pop singers possess incredible analytical skills – they…
The ethics of posthumous pop albums
‘At the record company meeting/ On their hands – at last! – a dead star!’ Back when Morrissey was more…
My night with the worst kind of nostalgia
American Football are a band whose legend was formed by the internet: some Illinois college kids who made an album…
