Review Corner

Author: jerobear

  • The Limiñanas: Malamore

    This came out in June and we’ve dipped into it over the weeks without getting much back. Then we went to the Blue Dot festival at Jodrell Bank, heard lots of pscychadelic rock and got straight into it. The Limiñanas are from Perpignan and there’s a fair amount of French on here, though non-Frenchman Peter…

  • , ,

    Peter Sarstedt: England’s Lane

    Sarstedt is best known for Where Do You Go To My Lovely, which he wrote, and reached number one in 14 countries. It features on the rather lacklustre Ab Fab film soundtrack, which we reviewed, but, curious as to where he was now, we found that this had been re-released earlier in the year and…

  • , , ,

    Jeff Finlin Life: After Death

    This is another album to beat anyone who says “there’s no good music any more” over the head with, before administering a blow to the temples. True, Finlin is a veteran performer who has a decent fan base but not his own Wikipedia page; he’s probably one of those people whose fans can’t believe he’s…

  • Diana Boyle: Mozart Sonatas

    This came out in May and it’s been played a lot — it’s very relaxing on Press day as deadlines loom — and we assumed we’d given it a glowing review. Oops, sadly not. It’s a lovely CD. Boyle makes the music sound fresh yet soothing. As with much gentle solo piano music of a…

  • ,

    Jeff Beck: Loud Hailer

    “The revolution will be televised” via a loud hailer effect are the opening words on this strong new album from Jeff Beck; now 72, he rather disproves our belief that aging white men playing the guitar have little left to say and are mostly dull. This new album is neither dull nor lacking in interesting…

  • , , , ,

    Bat For Lashes: The Bride

      This remarkable album follows the story of a woman whose fiancé is killed in a crash on the way to the church for their wedding (complete with Leader Of The Pack-style sound effects). The bride goes ahead with the honeymoon on her own and the album reflects on meditation on love, loss, grief, and…

  • ,

    Gemma Ray: The Exodus Suite

    This late night, gothic CD sounds like it was made in another era, when albums were albums and twitter was only the sound that birds make. This is meant to be listened to as a complete work, like in the old days. Any fans of geology (or indeed Santorini) will appreciate track one, Come Caldera,…

  • , , , ,

    Mick Harvey: Delirium Tremens

    Fair play to Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey; he’s made plenty of good music in his time, so if he wants to scratch an itch and revisit the songbook of Serge Gainsbourg, he can. Like Nick Cave’s band, Gainsbourg sounded cool but could talk dirty, so Harvey is paying tribute to a man who influenced his…

  • , ,

    Charlie Parr: Stumpjumper

    Listening to albums in recent weeks we’ve despaired at people who moan that “there’s no good music any more”. There’s more good music about than you can shake a big stick at, and Charlie Parr is a case in point, though he’s neither young nor new. See the word “blues” and you might think dull…

  • Victor Herbert: Cello Concertos Nos. 1, 2, and Irish Rhapsody

    We like the sound of Victor August Herbert, an Irish, German American who worked as a composer, cellist and conductor and was well-known in the US a century ago. A prolific composer, he sounds like a hard-working man upon whom no flies would be found: he was among the composers who worked on the famous…