Our latest reviews
Alela Diane & Wild Divine, Alela Diane
Alela Diane has been alesser-known member ofthis century’s American folkmusic revival. Others, suchas Joanna Newsom or Iron& Wine, have attracted farmore attention and sales. But that may wellchange with the release of her third (proper)album, Wild Divine. She has been…
Sing It Out Loud by K.D. Lang & Siss Boom Bang
It’s off to Nashville withK.D. and the band she haspersonally selected for thisvery laid-back, twangybunch of songs. Many ofthe tracks were recordedlive in Middletree Studios in Nashville,owned by producer Joe Pisapia. Featuringbeautiful dobro guitar by Joshua Grange andkeyboards by Daniel…
Last by The Unthanks
We hear the word ‘buzz’ alot these days, but thesefolks surely deserve it, withtheir fourth albumshowing a marked growth.These folk-ternativemournsters draw on folk iconoclasts likeFairport, Steeleye and the Incredible StringBand, while retaining a modern indiesensibility à la Sufjan/Devendra/Antony/Joanna. All of…
Majestic Silver Strings, Buddy Miller
Buddy is joined by fellow‘pickers’ Marc Ribot, BillFrisell and Greg Leisz foran album of great musicianship;not only in theplaying, but in the singingas well. Featured here is a swag of guestvocalists, including Emmylou Harris, PattyGriffin, Shawn Colvin and Miller’s wife,Julie…
Norwegian Wood (Soundtrack)
Accompanying directorTran Anh Hung’s filmadaptation of HarukiMurakami’s bestsellingnovel Norwegian Wood isthe soundtrack, whichfeatures an instrumental score by JonnyGreenwood (guitarist of Radiohead)performed by the BBC Concert Orchestraand the Emperor Quartet, as well as threetracks written and performed by Can. This isGreenwood’s…
Faithful, Marcin Wasilewski Trio
One of the quiet pleasuresof recent years has beenwatching the amazingtalent of this unit evolve,first as the young groupthat grounded trumpeterTomasz Stanko’s leap to superstar salesfigures and every award in the book, then astheir own unit, releasing two superb discsand…
Here we go again, Nelson, Marsalis & Jones
Given the rousing artisticand commercial success ofthe first recorded collaborationof legendary countrytroubadour Willie Nelsonand jazz statesman WyntonMarsalis on 2008’s Blue Note album TwoMen With the Blues, it’s not surprising that thepair would rendezvous again. This album wasrecorded live at…
Teddy Tahu Rhodes: Serious Songs
The new release from operasuperstar Teddy TahuRhodes is called SeriousSongs and lives up to itsname, right from theopening chords. But farfrom being simply serious, it is profoundand emotional, highlighting his dramaticvoice and style. Tahu Rhodes gets magnificentsupport from the TSO…
J.S. Bach: St Matthew Passion, Veldhoven & Netherlands Bach Society
The Netherlands Bach Society have redefinedthe possibilities of Bach performanceand recording with their string of acclaimedChannel Classics releases in recent times.They conclude with the big ’un, St MatthewPassion, and it is an absolute beauty! The recordingwas made in collaboration…
Britten: Cello Symphony, Orchestral Works, Paul Watkins
As an overview of Britten’s orchestralwriting, this disc makes for an interestingcompilation, contrasting the edginess of hisfamous symphony for cello and orchestra –written originally for Rostropovich – withsymphonic suites drawn from two operaticworks, Peter Grimes and Gloriana. The latter,rarely…