Author: jerobear
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Vyacheslav Artyomov: The Way to Olympus
Artyomov is a modern composer from Russia writing with the ambition and scope of a man who knows his work is important. From what we read, his life in Russia has been hard, so perhaps a belief in your own standing in the history of music is crucial. He writes big, ambitious tunes; listening to…
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Death Cab for Cutie: Thank You for Today
We’re big fans of Death Cab but even we can see they’re on a downward trajectory. They started high and they’re always well above average — most bands would kill to be as good — but they’ve gone from masterpieces to pop tunes. Songs like the epic Transatlanticism, the title track of the 2003 album…
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Lars Danielsson/Paolo Fresu: Summerwind
Some albums simply blindside you: a few plays of moderate attention and suddenly you love it. Such is the case with this minimalist late night jazz album that leans towards trip hop. We initially thought the laid-back set would be for people who find late night jazz too loud. As its depths began to unfold,…
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Eric Craven: Entangled States
This double CD of solo piano (with the ever-reliable Mary Dullea) reminded us of Bach’s Goldberg Variations — not because of the variations (there aren’t any) but because of the way it wends in and out of your consciousness, and because there’s a lot of silence. (We also like Mr Craven: he emailed and thanked…
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The Beta Band: The Three EPs (Reissue)
Some years ago we went to the Green Man festival; we saw the best live band in the world, Flaming Lips, we saw Mumford and Sons and we even saw Gruff Rhys in wellies, but if you asked for one memory of the event it would be the solo set from Steve Mason, ex Beta…
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Caiti Baker: Zinc
The PR for Australian singer Caiti Baker claims it’s a “really cool and classy mix of pop, hip-hop, blues, 90s R&B and neo soul”. It’s true that it’s classy, and it’s mostly cool, too, but the mix of genres is a weakness to our ears. You might disagree and singers such as Caro Emerald do…
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Wolfgang Rübsam Bach: Goldberg Variations
This not just a different version of Variations; it is, the sleeve notes imply, the one Bach wanted you to hear, played as it is on a lute harpsichord (one of only a few in existence, built by Keith Hill) at a sensible tempo. The “so-called” (as the sleeve notes put it) Goldberg Variations were…
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The Little Unsaid: Selected Works
The Little Unsaid is the work of John Elliott, who started recording in his bedroom and originally played all the instruments himself. This, as the name suggests, is an introduction to the band’s work. It’s intense stuff, mainly because of Elliott’s struggles with mental health (“The Little Unsaid chart(s) my journey from small, bewildered boy…
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Hanzhi Wang: On The Path to HC Andersen
We’re not often taken aback in the Review Corner (at least not in a good way) but such an event has occurred with this new programme of accordion music. We usually associates the accordion with Last Of The Summer Wine tweeness, or of pirates with one parrot and fewer legs, or Cajun or, in more…
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The Kooks: Let’s Go Sunshine
“Consider the lilies” said Brian in Life of Brian only for a member of his audience to heckle, “He’s having a go at the flowers now”. We feel the same about The Kooks; what can you say? The music might be bland but they’ve made a career and have got a strong fanbase who doubtless…
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