I remember the first time I heard Jeff Buckley singing. I was hanging out at my then boyfriend Paul ‘s flat. He’d just bought the album. I sat frozen in my seat, jaw dropping. I perused the album cover: the impossibly beautiful man in a sequinned coat, looking soulful and untouchable, clutching an old-fashioned microphone.Continue reading “Grace at 30”
Category Archives: Lorna Irvine
Album Review: Masayoshi Fujita- Migratory
Inspired by the endless wonders of nature, and in particular the flight paths of birds, Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player Masayoshi Fujita has created a beautiful, meditative album here, with enough left turns to stop it fading into the background. In that sense, it’s a post-ambient work. ‘Tower Of Cloud’ is hypnotic and dreamy, butContinue reading “Album Review: Masayoshi Fujita- Migratory”
Album Review: Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan- Dear Alien
This debut is a glorious thing indeed, bringing some much needed sunshine as days get colder. The duo, both based in Manchester, recorded the album in Greenwich, and it’s both melodic and full of improvised energy. Sleepy, feline cellos mesh with tape loops and it’s Holland -Fricke’s unique approach to cello playing that feels soContinue reading “Album Review: Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan- Dear Alien”
(From Across The Arts Archive) GFF Review: Burroughs -The Movie
Arts:Blog POSTED BY ACROSS THE ARTS ON FEBRUARY 28, 2015, AT 7.44AM Lorna Irvine reviews ‘an excellent portrait of a contrarian and genius’. William S Burroughs, one of the most influential writers of all time, has been on screen before–notably in Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy as Tom the Priest–but this lesser-seen documentary by Howard Brookner predates it byContinue reading “(From Across The Arts Archive) GFF Review: Burroughs -The Movie”
(From Across The Arts Archive) Theatre Review: A Respectable Widow Takes To Vulgarity at Oran Mor,Glasgow
Arts:BlogTheatre Review: A Respectable Widow Takes to VulgarityPOSTED BY ACROSS THE ARTS ON FEBRUARY 26, 2013, AT 10.09AMLorna Irvine is charmed by a comedic parade of profanities. Like Pygmalion in reverse, Douglas Maxwell’s new play for Oran Mor and the Traverse upends familiar theatre troupes and tickles them into submission. The delightful duo of JoannaContinue reading “(From Across The Arts Archive) Theatre Review: A Respectable Widow Takes To Vulgarity at Oran Mor,Glasgow”
Book Preview: Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium
Long before Alan Cumming made ill-advised dance theatre pieces about Robert Burns, he was, alongside Forbes Masson. the cheeky double act Victor and Barry, two plucky aspiring thespians from the mean streets of Kelvinside. Who can forget such timeless musical theatre gems as ‘Marks and Spencer ‘ or ‘Kelvinside Men’? Luckily for us. we canContinue reading “Book Preview: Victor and Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium”
New Release: Kim Deal- Crystal Breath
*Klaxon* Attention, good people of Earth! American indie goddess and Breeders/Pixies icon Kim Deal has a new solo album forthcoming in November, and the second single to be lifted from it, ‘Crystal Breath’, is absolutely brilliant. See the video here, it’s glitchy, it’s itchy, and you’ll want to shake your bones to it. Nobody LovesContinue reading “New Release: Kim Deal- Crystal Breath”
The Glorious Surrealism of The Lovely Eggs
Everyone knows eggs are the best way to start the day. So whenever life is challenging and…well.. pretty shit, I turn to Holly Ross and Dave Blackwell, aka Lancaster psych punk duo The Lovely Eggs. The uncompromising, fiercely DIY indie band, who are also a married couple, make surreal, day-glo music with absurdist nursery rhymeContinue reading “The Glorious Surrealism of The Lovely Eggs”
Reblog
Overlooked Classics: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – From Her To Eternity
Debut albums rarely feel as raw as From Her To Eternity. The Birthday Party had dissolved pretty messily, amid drug abuse and ego problems, so Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds could have toned things down a little in order to hit that commercial paydirt. Ha, as if. Cave was far too independent, too contrarianContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – From Her To Eternity”
Hit The North 