Pop
A theatrical one-woman show: Billy Eilish at the OVO Hydro, Glasgow reviewed
Like spider plants and exotic cats, certain artists are best suited to the great indoors. Lana Del Rey, for instance,…
A delight: Sabrina Carpenter at BST Hyde Park reviewed
We all know, at heart, that economic theories of rational behaviour are rubbish. And that their application ruins so many…
No amount of discourse will make a good pop song into a great one
There is no higher calling than making great pop music, and no mechanism by which such an achievement can be…
The political climate at Glastonbury was not especially febrile
Everyone who wasn’t at Glastonbury this year knows exactly what it was like: a seething mass of hatred and rabid…
Dua Lipa sparkles at Wembley – but her new album is pedestrian
If, as is said, there are only seven basic narratives in human storytelling, then there should be an addendum. In…
Jarvis Cocker still has the voice – and the moves
For bands of a certain vintage, the art of keeping the show on the road involves a tightly choreographed dance…
The charm of Robbie Williams
What could it possibly feel like to be a sportsperson who gets the yips? To wake up one morning and…
Compelling: Little Simz’s Lotus reviewed
It is not uncommon for (predominantly male) music critics to invert the ‘great man/great woman’ dictum in order to suggest…
Anyone irritated by Springsteen’s speeches hasn’t been paying attention
No one who went to see Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway residency a few years back came away disappointed because they knew…
We’ve underestimated Francis Rossi
I have a friend who insists that had Status Quo hailed from Düsseldorf rather than Catford, they would nowadays be…
I think I’ve found the new Van Morrison
Young male singers won the right to be sensitive in 1963, when The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was released. And in…
The powerfully disorienting world of Mark Eitzel
There’s a lot to be said for an artist making an audience feel uncomfortable. Richard Thompson used to say that…
A triumphant show: Self Esteem, at Duke of York’s Theatre, reviewed
The most compelling character in the newish documentary One to One: John & Yoko isn’t either John or Yoko. It’s…
The disturbing ambient music of William Tyler
One could argue that all musical forms are essentially incomplete until the listener joins the party, but ambient music seems…
Divorce are the best young British band I’ve seen in an age
Can we talk business for a moment? When reviewers like me go to big arenas, we get the best seats…
Van Morrison is sounding better than ever
There is a website called setlist.fm which allows its users to vicariously attend pretty much any concert. Search the name…
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…
