Pop
New Order’s oldies still sound like the future
The intimate acoustic show can denote many things for an established artist. One is that, in the infamous euphemism coined…
An awfully long night for a band without any bangers: The National, at Alexandra Palace, reviewed
Over the past few years, the National have become the most important band in modern rock music. The strange thing…
If you can’t get something out of the songs of Shania Twain, you’re a lost cause
Pop critics routinely make the mistake of assuming the most important acts are the ones copied by the groups they…
In praise of the Festival Song – the four-minute wonder that can sustain a career for decades
As the sun sets on another too-long summer festival season, let us take a moment to reflect on the Festival…
Mildly pleasant 1980s hard rock: ‘Angry’, by the Rolling Stones, reviewed
The new Rolling Stones single, supposedly their best in many a decade, is called ‘Angry’. And while on the surface…
The Strokes are always terrible – why do I keep going back to see them?
Quite when the concept of coolness became a thing is uncertain, even to etymologists. As early as 1884, an academic…
Invention and irreverence: Lankum, at The Queen’s Hall, reviewed
In a few days, Lankum will most likely win the 2023 Mercury Music Prize for their fourth album False Lankum…
It was midnight in a field in Wales and I was lying face down in six inches of mud: Green Man Festival reviewed
I love Green Man. The smallish festival is the second most beautiful site I’ve ever visited (after G Fest, which…
Uneasy listening: Kathryn Joseph, at Summerhall, reviewed
I have always been fascinated by artists who bounce between tonal extremes when performing, particularly the ones who serve their…
Is it all an elaborate practical joke? Mac DeMarco, at Hackney Empire, reviewed
It’s not just who our pop heroes are that marks the passing of the generations; it’s how those heroes present…
The problem with pop-literary collaborations
‘We all secretly want to be rock stars,’ the 2022 Booker Prize-winning author Shehan Karunatilaka said recently. By ‘we’ he…
A giddy delight: Regina Spektor, at the Royal Festival Hall reviewed
We’ll get on to the brilliance of Regina Spektor in a moment. But first a question: why are pop music…
An album of not terribly happy ballads: Blur’s The Ballad of Darren reviewed
Bands that have hung around, or gone away and come back again, occupy an increasingly sizeable percentage of pop’s bandwidth.…
Intoxicating: Bruce Springsteen, at BST Hyde Park, reviewed
Seven years ago, I asked Bruce Springsteen what he meant when he talked of the covenant between himself and his…
Still one of the great vocalists: Peter Gabriel, at OVO Hydro Glasgow, reviewed
Most artists begin an arena show with a bang: emerging from the floor, the gods, on a hoist, everything short…
Why aren’t Spoon filling stadiums?
Here’s a mystery for you. Why were Spoon, one of the most dynamic, sharpest rock bands in the world, playing…
Is Richard Thompson Britain’s Bob Dylan?
There are artists you go to see expecting to be challenged, surprised, even let down. And there are artists you…
Brilliantly unhinged: Grace Jones, at Hampton Court Palace, reviewed
Some artists need flash bombs to make an impression on stage. Some need giant screens. Some need to run around…
Let’s hear it for the lesser-spotted nepo daddy
Rob Grant releases his debut album, Lost at Sea, this week. A 69-year-old millionaire and former ad man, furniture exec…
One of the most tuneless, vapid, dismaying things I’ve ever seen: Mötley Crüe, at Bramall Lane, reviewed
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything worse than Mötley Crüe in Sheffield. Nothing more tuneless, empty, vapid and dismaying.…
Dazzling – if you ignore the music: Beyoncé, at Murrayfield Stadium, reviewed
Scheduling open-air concerts in mid-May in northern Europe is a triumph of hope over experience. I last spent time with…
The new Pogues: The Mary Wallopers, at O2 Forum Kentish Town, reviewed
I was listening the other week to a solo album by an ageing rock guitarist, once terrifically famous. It was…
Heartfelt but bland: Ed Sheeran’s – (Subtract) reviewed
Whether by accident or design, the mathematical theme of Ed Sheeran’s previous album titles (+, ×, ÷ and = respectively)…
A phenomenally exciting new band: The Last Dinner Party, at Camden Assembly, reviewed
A user’s guide to how pop music works in the 21st century. Step one: you see a great new band.…
