Pop
Joyous and sexy: Nathy Peluso, at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, reviewed
Few forms of music have colonised the world like metal and hip-hop. Wherever you go you will find these two…
Confounding and fantastic: 100 Gecs, at O2 Forum Kentish Town, reviewed
Let me introduce you to the two poles in pop and rock. One is marked by authenticity, musicianship, a certain…
The new master of the American Whine: Ezra Furman, at Edinburgh Festival, reviewed
The American Whine is one of the key vocal registers in rock and roll. You can trace that thin disaffected…
Full of unexpected delights: Green Man Festival reviewed
One learns the strangest things at festivals. That, for instance, this summer has been a bit of a blackcurrant disaster…
A magnificent farewell: Stornoway, at Womad Festival, reviewed
The greatest pleasure of writing about pop music – even more than the free tickets and records, nice as they…
She’s pop’s Damien Hirst: Beyoncé’s Renaissance reviewed
You feel a little sorry for Renaissance, the first solo album by Beyoncé in more than six years. It just…
Only traces of their eerie early spirit remain: Kings of Leon, at OVO Hydro, reviewed
A few years ago, I spoke to Mick Jagger and asked him which of the (relatively) new crop of rock…
Glastonbury has become a singalong event for OAPs
‘Well, it’s just not Glastonbury, is it?’ said my daughter aggressively, when told that our yurt featured an actual bed,…
The subtleties of her songbook were lost in this enormodome: Diana Ross at the O2 reviewed
When Motown first packaged up a roster of artists and songs that could be embraced by a non-black audience, no…
The power of cultural reclamation
‘Version’ is an old reggae term I’ve always loved. It refers to a stripped-down, rhythm-heavy instrumental mix of a song,…
They have the weakest catalogue of any major act: Abba: Voyage reviewed
One of the biggest talking points in pop these past couple of years has been how successful old musicians have…
Harry Styles has entered his imperial phase – but his music still has no distinct identity
At the turn of this century, looking back on the late 1980s when the Pet Shop Boys could do no…
I’m not sure they ever reached a fourth chord: Spiritualized, at the Roundhouse, reviewed
Every so often, Jason Pierce drifts into focus. It happened at the end of the 1980s, when his then group…
A joy – mostly: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, at Usher Hall, reviewed
Drummers are patient chaps, in the main. Think of Ringo in Peter Jackson’s recent Beatles docuseries, Get Back. Lolling around…
The perfect pop star: Dua Lipa at the O2 Arena reviewed
Dua Lipa’s second album, Future Nostalgia, was released at the least promising moment possible: 27 March 2020, the day after…
I would be surprised if his next tour included arenas: Louis Tomlinson at Wembley reviewed
You don’t need to be a historian of pop to realise that having been part of a huge manufactured group…
The awfulness of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has always felt weirdly personal
Squaring up to the prospect of a new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, I’m reminded of a vintage quote by…
He is now a family entertainer: Stormzy at the O2 Arena reviewed
Stormzy occupies a curious place in British pop culture right now. He’s the darling of liberals for all his good…
Felt like being caught on the moors in a storm: Keeley Forsyth, at the Barbican, reviewed
It took a moment to realise Keeley Forsyth was there. There were already three musicians, faint figures on a dark…
The buzz band of 2022 sound like they're from 1982: Yard Act, at Village Underground reviewed
One of the curiosities of modern pop’s landscape is that no one knows any longer how to measure success. An…
Expectations were met and then exceeded: Arooj Aftab, at Celtic Connections, reviewed
We gathered on a freezing Sunday night, inside a barrel-vaulted church designed in the 1890s by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to…
One of the most exciting hours I’ve spent in ages: Turnstile at O2 Forum Kentish Town
Even leaving aside its origins as prison slang, punk has always meant different things on either side of the Atlantic.…
Triumphant: Idles at the O2 Brixton Academy reviewed
The single thing you don’t want when you are beginning a run of four shows in a prestige venue, with…
A story of reflection and self-discovery: Anaïs Mitchell's new album reviewed
Any artist who has habitually written or performed in character — from David Bowie to Lady Gaga — eventually arrives…
In praise of seasonal chart fodder
Christmas: the most vulnerable time of the year. I heard ‘A Winter’s Tale’ by David Essex on the radio the…
