(Band photo: Jason Quigley). Once you know Silverlake 66 (Maria Francis and Jeff Overbo) are from the US and play country / folk / Americana as it should be played, you can guess the sound. They’re breaking no new ground but they do it well, simple music, plain beats and straightforward lyrics that’s in no […]
Kano: Hoodies All Summer
Kano works in the genre of grime and is well respected. We don’t live in London or have to deal with knives and murder on a daily basis so can’t really relate to the world he talks about. As he says: “And these gunshots never reach your town / It’s never on top when you […]
Ian Krouse: Armenian Requiem
This is a powerful work; perhaps too powerful for some; while it has some beautiful moments, it can also be imposing. Aficionados of choral work will undoubtedly appreciate the power and technical skill, however. It was composed to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, and is an ambitious sacred work built around […]
Shed 7: Going For Gold
This new greatest hits double CD gold vinyl, if that floats your boat) is out in time for Christmas, so if you’ve got a fan in the family, you’re sorted. Oddly, The Review Corner has never heard much by Shed 7 but we did briefly meet them once. (We’ve also only ever been in a […]
Jonathan Östlund: Voyages
We always thought that if the fairies — and they do exist —wanted someone to play a gig, they’d get Östlund. He writes music that’s not wishy-washy or fey (the fey being a less pleasant race than the fairies to boot) but is ethereal and creates the atmosphere of being half-formed, in the sense of […]
Hobo Johnson: The Fall of Hobo Johnson
This is entertaining at first play through, a kid with ADHD’s take on life and its stupidity. It’s clever and funny in places, but the only people who are going to press play a second or third time are frat kids at an American college who want something to sing along to while chugging beer. […]
Code Sangala: Mizu
Last week we wrote about a CD from classical music label Naxos’s new world arm, a rootsy collection of traditional folk from Mongolia; this week is the opposite end of the spectrum, a cheerful collection of radio-friendly tracks from Malawi. Mizu means roots in Chichewa, the national vernacular language in Malawi. Sangala is clearly a […]
Georgie: Live!
Georgie is new to us; we guess she has a devoted fanbase who love her bluesy vocals. This is an acoustic set, recorded live at Trinity Church, Nottingham — she’s from Mansfield so it’s practically a home-coming gig. It’s all about the music. Georgie delivers minimal and deadpan chat between the songs. “This is a […]
Sleeping Beauty: The Regent Theatre, Hanley
The team behind the popular Regent Theatre pantomime return once again this year for their unique take on Sleeping Beauty and fans won’t be disappointed. Spellbinding choreography, slick performances, a laugh-a-minute script and plenty of audience participation make this a night to remember. With Stoke-on-Trent’s own Jonathan Wilkes appearing as Muggles, Christian Patterson returning as […]
Jon Hemmersam and Asal Malekzadeh: In the Moment – Improvisations, Compositions
Jam bands in other genres of music are quite common (Grateful Dead, Phish, lots of jazz) but these are based around some kind of pre-agreed structure or extension to a song, or are improvised around the same tune every gig. Hemmersam and Malekzadeh had never met prior to the recording of this album, and the […]
