Tag Archives: Music

Film Review: The Public Image Is Rotten (2017)

Director Tarrbert Fiiller’s documentary on Public Image Ltd. is downbeat, insightful and strangely touching, poking at the open wounds involved when working alongside the inimitable John Lydon. With rare access to interviews with the imp himself, plus ex-band members like Keith Levene, Allan Dias and Martin Atkins, it’s more intimate and candid than your average,Continue reading “Film Review: The Public Image Is Rotten (2017)”

Album Review: SPELLING- Portrait Of My Heart

How you perceive this album will very much depend on your liking for eighties nostalgia. Still only in her thirties, Californian artist Chrystia ‘Tia’ Cabral mines the era, despite not having grown up then. Cabral has an incredible, beautifully soulful voice,and the production quality is undoubtedly high. However, tracks like ‘Alibi’ feel like the worstContinue reading “Album Review: SPELLING- Portrait Of My Heart”

So Long, Marianne

Marianne Faithfull has passed away, aged 78. She had long battled various health conditions, and was a battler right up until the end. They broke the mould when they made Marianne, a member of the Austrian aristocracy whose career was as complex as she was. Few singers can boast both a career in their teensContinue reading “So Long, Marianne”

Film Review: Since Yesterday- The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands

Carla J Easton and Blair Young’s film focuses on the best girl bands from Scotland, asking why they’re lesser known than their male counterparts, and why this is still happening in today’s music industry. Easton herself, ex- Teen Canteen and now a solo artist, narrates the film. It’s a heartfelt look at more obscure artistsContinue reading “Film Review: Since Yesterday- The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands”

Overlooked Classics: Sound Of Metal

Is this too recent to be considered a cult classic? I don’t think so. Not enough people have seen this masterpiece from director and co-writer Darius Marder, it would seem. But everyone should, it’s nothing short of exceptional, a beautifully crafted story of love and survival. British actor Riz Ahmed portrays Ruben, a battering ramContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Sound Of Metal”

Album Review: Anna B Savage -You & I Are Earth

A new Anna B Savage album is always something worth investing time in. Her voice is so disarmingly beautiful that everything else melts away. This is not background music. It’s intimate and raw, and you lean in to listen, as though she’s sharing precious secrets with you alone. This time, Savage is, as with BjorkContinue reading “Album Review: Anna B Savage -You & I Are Earth”

Favourite Cover Versions: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against the Pricks

Photo: Alamy This 1986 album, entirely comprising cover versions, shows Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds playing with the duality of their sound. There’s the bombast of their take on The Velvet Underground’s ‘All Tomorrow ‘s Parties’ running counter to Jimmy Webb’s legendary ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ with a softer, but noContinue reading “Favourite Cover Versions: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against the Pricks”

Lost In Music: Klaus Nomi

Klaus Nomi is all too often rendered a footnote in musical history, a quirk in queer culture’s lineage, as his musical outpourings veered from the sublime to the ridiculous. He’s there, lurking like a camp Zelig figure on the disco dancefloors along with his more respected peers, or wiggling on TV behind Bowie like aContinue reading “Lost In Music: Klaus Nomi”

Freelancer’s Blues

It isn’t easy being a freelance arts writer. While I’m fully aware there are worse jobs to have (I previously worked in a call centre, a hotel and in retail, uggghhh) there are a few issues with this bizarre occupation. Firstly, some publications insist that they will pay you, only to renege at the lastContinue reading “Freelancer’s Blues”