The Arts Desk’s Latest New Music Reviews
There is a varied selection of new music on The Arts Desk to kick off the New Year, from a memoir by a hard-living rock star to a celebration of classic themes from spaghetti westerns to the latest top CD choices.
An extract from Mike Doughty’s autobiography The Book of Drugs, is featured in the new music on The Arts Desk this week. Doughty’s chaotic and crippling addiction to drugs is told in this revealing book. As he describes his dependency on drugs and the unforgiving toll it took on him physically, he doesn’t spare himself or others.
Bruce Dessau headed to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank for the rather unusual Spaghetti Western Orchestra concert. Of course, it was a little absurd, but it was done with both affection and conviction and managed to successfully balance playful irreverence with genuine admiration. Despite there being no actual movie material involved, the musicians gave a fantastic comic performers.
In her comprehensive listing of the Barbican’s 2012 season, Ismene Brown includes their scheduled array of new music concerts. The Floating Palace featuring Robyn Hitchcock and KT Tunstall is just one of the collaborations that you can look forward to.
In this week’s selection of the best CD releases, it’s certainly an eclectic bunch of artists. Joe Muggs found grime star Wiley’s baffling but winning waywardness still intact and indeed thriving in his latest album Evolve or Be Extinct. The unlikely combination of thrash metal and clubland trance in Enter Shikari’s A Flash Flood of Colour and the bizarre retro-futuristic “toytronica” of Twink’s Itsy Bits & Bubbles was enjoyed by Thomas H Green. With the eerie, dreamlike solo project of Rayographs singer Astrud Steehouder, Kieron Tyler was captivated by A Box Painted Black by Paper Dollhouse.
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Tags: new music