Author: jerobear
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Re-TROS: Before The Applause
Re-TROS were formerly known as Rebuilding The Rights Of Statues and, for entirely sensible reasons, have shortened it for this new album. They’re one of those Chinese bands (or Korean, or whatever) we sometimes get to review, copying Western rock but with the addition of quirkiness — something always gets lost in cultural translation. The…
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Alfonso Soldano: Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Music
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) was Italian, and one of the foremost guitar composers in the 20th century. In 1939 he went to the US and became a composer for MGM Studios, working on some 200 Hollywood films. He was an influence on other film composers, including Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle and André Previn, and Jerry Goldsmith…
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Liam Gallagher: As You Were
All the boy Liam has got to do to stay in the game is turn out stuff that’s not actually bad. He’s got the name and everyone likes him; the career is his to lose. But his post-Oasis output has been patchy. Even mad-for-it Oasis fans who’d buy any old rubbish Oasis released (and did)…
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Clare Howick / John Paul Ekins: Violin and Piano Recital
This CD from Howick (violin) and Ekins (piano) features music from Elgar, Bridge, Delius, and Scott, with Elgar (Violin Sonata and Mazurka) opening and closing the programme. The Review Corner used to work in Malvern and tramping the hills on a windy autumn day, the wind blowing the top of the grass, was ideal for…
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Michael Malarkey: Mongrels
Malarkey is an American actor and musician though he sounds English: his father is Irish American, his mother British and he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He is best known for playing the role of Enzo in the series The Vampire Diaries (apparently). Some actors make terrible musicians, but Malarkey…
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Gabriel Latchin Trio: Introducing…
This is jazz you can listen to over and over, a palatable mix of the modern and old. It’s lively, crisp, and got swing, while retaining a kind of after-dinner feel. While the playing is proficient it’s never showy and while there are solos, it always feels like an ensemble piece. Latchin is a pianist…
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Reverend and the Makers: The Death Of A King
While listening to the dub reggae-tinged Boomerang, we were able to place this album: The Rev (aka Jon Mclure) is the white middle-aged Rastafarian you see down the pub. Nice bloke, intelligent, knows a lot of stuff, but while you half think he’s cool, you’re never going to want to look, or live, like him.…
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Cara Dillon: Wanderer
Sometimes all you want is music that’s nice. Dillon’s voice is one of the sweetest out there, and this latest album offers a beautiful selection of delicate pop/folk. It might be a little pretty in places for people who like their folk earthy but on the other hand, despite the Irish roots of the music,…
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Robert Plant: Carry Fire
We’ve been giving Robert Plant money for 40 years, so we’re rocking out around the zimmers to this (and it’s the 200th review we’ve written this year, go us!). A decade or so ago, we read that Plant expected to lose his record deal and sell purely to his fanbase; then came Alison Kruze and…
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The War On Drugs: A Deeper Understanding
It’s not often that we agree with the national critics, whose albums of the year are always works we never thought much of, while our favourites never feature in anyone else’s top 50 CDs. This new The War On Drugs album, their fourth, has been universally praised and analysed and, for once, we’re on board.…
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