Tag Archives: Lorna Irvine

Eerie Wanda Is Back!

Marina Tadic, aka Eerie Wanda, is back with her gorgeous, ethereal dreampop. After a brief hiatus, the Dutch- Croatian singer -songwriter has a new single, Long Time, released ahead of the forthcoming album Internal Radio, released in September. A more expansive sound doesn’t mean she’s compromising. She’s still unique and low-key, making it all soundContinue reading “Eerie Wanda Is Back!”

Annie Griffin’s Festival

It’s that time of year again. The Edinburgh Festival is both a blessing and curse, as it can make or break careers. Even The Guardian recently acknowledged that it’s increasingly pricing out young actors, playwrights, directors and so on as landlords hike prices up to astronomical levels, meaning you’d better have rich parents or patronsContinue reading “Annie Griffin’s Festival”

Overlooked Classics: Gus Gus- Polydistortion

Why do so many people still not know about Gus Gus? The Icelandic collective are pretty much superstars in their native country, like Hot Chip or Chemical Brothers, but much stranger and sexier. From the bruised vulnerable Why? performed by Emiliana Torrini, to Believe, a squelchy sinister banger, Polydistortion, which came out in 1997, seemedContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Gus Gus- Polydistortion”

THAT DIFFICULT THIRD ALBUM: Kate Bush – Never For Ever

Yeah,yeah, we all love Hounds Of Love and acknowledge that it’s a game changer, but I am rather partial to Kate Bush’s third album , Never For Ever. Released on September 7th in 1980, it is wilfully eccentric (Babooshka, The Wedding List, Violin) febrile and beautiful. Even the cover points to the esoteric strangeness within:Continue reading “THAT DIFFICULT THIRD ALBUM: Kate Bush – Never For Ever”

Edinburgh Festival Preview – Taiwan Season at Dance Base

Dance Base has always had an international remit, and the Festival for 2022 is no exception. The Taiwan Season features world class performance and incredible visuals. Here are three highlights to catch this year. Fusing classical ballet with martial arts and modern influences, Po-Ching Tsai’s Floating Flowers takes Buddhist ceremony and ritual as its centralContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Preview – Taiwan Season at Dance Base”

Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar Wilde

When Oscar Wilde wrote his play Salome in 1894, there was only one artist suitable in his mind, worthy of depicting both the ghoulishness and dark eroticism of his script – Aubrey Beardsley. The pair shared a similar aesthetic sensibility and had no time for the moralising hypocrisy of the times. It seems cancel cultureContinue reading “Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar Wilde”

Edinburgh Festival Preview: Americana- A Murder Ballad

This show, premiering at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, couldn’t have captured the zeitgeist more, as headlines about yet more mass shootings and the new firearms law in New York remain fresh in our minds . Written by leading Scottish playwright Morna Young and featuring music composed by Davey Anderson, the production from Pepperdine Scotland isContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Preview: Americana- A Murder Ballad”

Edinburgh Festival Preview: Shrimp Dance

Paul Michael Henry makes the kind of work that requires audiences to lean in. It’s not safe, bland or reassuring; rather, it’s powerful, intensely rendered and beautiful, the kind of work that resonates and stains your vital organs. His performance for the Edinburgh Festival, Shrimp Dance, is no less a disquieting piece. At once aContinue reading “Edinburgh Festival Preview: Shrimp Dance”

WHEN POP GOES EXPERIMENTAL

Something interesting is currently happening within pop- it’s getting experimental again. Surely it’s no coincidence that Kate Bush, the Queen of reinvention, should be rediscovered by twentysomethings this year, thanks to Running Up That Hill featuring in Stranger Things. The spirit of the eighties which meant more esoteric artists like Bush, Prince and The SugarContinue reading “WHEN POP GOES EXPERIMENTAL”