Music news

• Linden: Rest and Be Thankful review – gently uplifting sunshine pop

  18-06-2015 23:30
  
  (AED)Linden’s Joe McAlinden formerly fronted 90s Creation signings Superstar, purveyors of Big Star-influenced, sunshine-drenched guitar pop. They weren’t as successful as Scottish labelmates Teenage Fanclub, although they did earn the unlikely honour of Rod Stewart covering one of their songs. These days, McAlinden runs a “small, characterful” restaurant on the shores of Loch Fyne, which serves up the delights of “new garlic and pheasant’s egg”, but he clearly still allo
  
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• Desaparecidos: Payola review – middling return for Conor Oberst's punk project

  18-06-2015 23:00
  
  (Epitaph)Before Conor Oberst became tender indie introvert Bright Eyes, he was part of punk outfit Desaparecidos. The Omaha group released one album in 2002 before going on an apparently permanent hiatus. But 13 years later they’re back, seemingly just as angry as they were in those restive, confusing, post-9/11 days. Though they might cite New York hardcore groups such as Cro-Mags as influences, musically everything here is much cleaner. They take aim at targets rangi
  
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• Son Lux: Bones review – symphonic pop that proves too much to take in

  18-06-2015 22:45
  
  (Glassnote)“This moment changes everything,” trembles Son Lux, as a drum blasts through what sounds like concrete blocks, choral samples swell and distorted strings flutter drowsily like mechanical butterflies that need winding up. Bones certainly tries to change the confines of pop production, at least. Lux has collaborated with Sufjan Stevens, Lorde and Beyoncé’s producer Boots, which hints at the sort of electro-classical/experimental/R&B style he deals in. But his attempt to
  
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• We’re One of the Largest Independent Labels. And We’re Not Licensing Apple Music…

  18-06-2015 22:38
  
  The post We’re One of the Largest Independent Labels. And We’re Not Licensing Apple Music… appeared first on Digital Music News.
  
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• The Orb: Moonbuilding 2703 AD review – ambient heroes still making magic

  18-06-2015 22:30
  
  (Kompakt)The Orb could probably have made Moonbuilding 2703 AD, their 13th album, at any time in their 27-year career. But it has a back-to-first-principles feel to it – not surprising, since Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann are working without collaborators after a series of albums featuring the likes of Lee “Scratch” Perry, Youth and David Gilmour. Opening track God’s Mirrorball quickly establishes that the Orb’s talent for arch ambient techno is undimmed. It begins with a port
  
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• Leon Bridges: Coming Home review – new soul talent in search of direction

  18-06-2015 22:15
  
  (Columbia) Related: Leon Bridges – Coming Home: Exclusive album stream Earlier this year, Leon Bridges explained his love of vintage soul music in a way that made it seem like it borders on the obsessive. “I became so fascinated with that sound I wanted to recreate it exactly,” he said. In many ways he has achieved his aim: Coming Home, which has clocked up more than 1m YouTube views, sounds like a long-lost soul standard, recorded with era-stamped crackle. On Better Man, which opens almos
  
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• One Man Can Change The World (Ft. Kanye West & John Legend)

  18-06-2015 22:08 via mtv.co.uk
  
  One Man Can Change The World
  
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• Mercy

  18-06-2015 22:08 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Mercy
  
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• Rihanna's new range of gorgeous metallic tattoos is what you want on your body this summer

  18-06-2015 22:06
  
  The singer debuts own line of temporary tats.
  
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• Kacey Musgraves: Pageant Material review – country princess files down her spikes

  18-06-2015 22:02
  
  (Mercury) Related: Kacey Musgraves is country's smartest, most down-to-earth songwriter Kacey Musgraves was drowning in wholly justified plaudits after the release of Same Trailer, Different Park, her major-label debut, in 2013. She won the best country album Grammy for a record that was full of empathetic but sharp-tongued portrayals of poverty and small-town life in middle America. What a disappointment its follow-up turns out to be, then. Though her songwriting partners – Nashville A-l
  
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• Wolf Alice: My Love Is Cool review – familiar but invigorating indie-rock

  18-06-2015 22:00
  
  (Dirty Hit)At this stage in music’s evolution, the arrival of a truly innovative indie album is about as likely as Morrissey demanding foie gras on his rider. So Wolf Alice’s debut should therefore be approached without cynicism: while the foundations of My Love Is Cool are 90s/00s shoegaze and grunge, the London quartet defibrillate their influences with the ambition of youth. It also feels like an album that’s been allowed time to gestate: despite being virtually veteran in buzzband term
  
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• Readers recommend: songs about books | Peter Kimpton

  18-06-2015 21:00
  
  Climb those library ladders and dust off the shelves to find music influenced by or making reference to authors, characters, quotes or plots in novels or any other form of the printed volume“So many books, so little time.” - Frank Zappa.The voracious reader, the ebullient book fan, the edgy eccentric, the pithy polymath – what better characteristics are there for the process of songwriting? It was just over 20 years this week that I was lucky enough to be present at a recording, in the old
  
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• Juliet Kelly: Spellbound Stories review – charming set inspired by jazz singer's favourite books

  18-06-2015 20:00
  
  (Purple Stiletto)British vocalist Juliet Kelly’s latest album is dedicated to her favourite books, featuring songs inspired by Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and a cover of Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights. Polar Bear drummer/producer Seb Rochford imaginatively mixes the wordless, Beloved-inspired track Ghosts – an evocation of a lost spirit that features Kelly drifting through a dark landscape visited only by Nick Ramm�
  
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• John Cage: Aria CD review – fun and forthright vocal collection, cow moos and all

  18-06-2015 19:45
  
  (BIS)American bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood says it took him a long time to appreciate the music of John Cage, but you’d never guess. Spanning 43 years of Cage vocal works not included in his Song Books, this collection is affectionate and forthright, meticulous when it matters and generally great fun. Isherwood’s voice is rich, clear and lyrical; the same delivery would suit a disc of American folk ballads. Recorded up close to catch all its fragile edges, the set opens with the slip-sli
  
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• Ivo Neame: Strata review – jazz composition and improv in beautiful balance

  18-06-2015 19:45
  
  In the late noughties, young British pianist Ivo Neame began to reveal his composing potential, and this sextet including expressive tenor saxist and flautist Tori Freestone and vibraphonist Jim Hart plays eight of his challenging originals in an engagingly laidback manner, almost as if they were Broadway songs. The polyphonic labyrinth of Personality Clash gets an imploring warmth from Freestone’s tenor tone before it becomes a fast bass-walk skimmed over by the leader’s fleet, somewhat Joh
  
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• Mbongwana Star: breaking out of Kinshasa

  18-06-2015 19:36
  
  On their brilliant debut album From Kinshasa, two former members of Staff Benda Bilili have teamed up with Irish producer Liam Farrell to create a heady mix of frantic rhythms, psychedelia and weaving soukous guitar lines that rip up any preconceptions of Congolese musicIf you were ever trying to get your head around the chaotically creative scene that exists on Rue Kato, in the heart of the DRC’s capital Kinshasa, then a good place to start would be with the Congo Astronaut. Wearing a futuris
  
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• Kamasi Washington: The Epic review – a spectacular new jazz odyssey

  18-06-2015 19:30
  
  (Brainfeeder)The title isn’t kidding – this is a 172-minute spectacular for choir, classical orchestra and jazz band. Leader Kamasi Washington, a flamethrower of a saxophonist with John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders connections, also works for West Coast hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar. Dedicated to bringing jazz to the uninitiated, Epic features soul and gospel vocals, boiling drumming (Art Blakey was a declared inspiration), swing, funk, and voicelike free-jazz blowing. Swing riffs, wailing H
  
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• Grieg: Lyric Pieces review – Fialkowska's account has elegance and poise

  18-06-2015 19:30
  
  Janina Fialkowska
  (Atma)There’s been a spate of Lyric Pieces recently: Stephen Hough’s no-nonsense collection on Hyperion, Javier Perianes’s sunny accounts for Harmonia Mundi, and this – an uncluttered, intimate, sweetly solemn offering from Canadian pianist Janina Fialkowska. She doesn’t quite match the other two for colour or flare, but the elegant poise of her playing is all the explanation you’d need for why so many great pianists are seduced by the seemingly simple pieces. Grieg
  
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• Monteverdi: Madrigals Vol 1 CD review – Les Arts Florissants capture the exuberant invention

  18-06-2015 19:15
  
  (Les Arts Florissants)What was it with Cremona? The great luthiers Amati, Guarnari and Stradivari all had shops in the sleepy Lombardy town. Claudio Monteverdi was born there in 1567, and although he was eventually lured away by the brighter lights of Mantua, Rome and Venice, his auspicious early works were all crafted at home. Paul Agnew and his stylish baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants are currently performing Monteverdi’s complete madrigals – eight miraculous books spanning the compos
  
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• Blick Bassy: Akö review – charming and wildly eclectic songs

  18-06-2015 19:15
  
  (No Format!/Harmonia Mundi)Born in Cameroon, west Africa, but currently living in a French farming village, Blick Bassy is a fine, soulful singer whose wildly eclectic songs reflect his travels. He has worked in Brazil, researching the musical links with Africa, and his new album echoes the delicacy of bossa nova along with reminders of his other influences, from African styles to the Mississippi blues of his hero Skip James. This is an easy-going but experimental set in which he plays guitar an
  
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• Leon Bridges and Curtis Harding: the new stars of classic soul

  18-06-2015 19:10
  
  Bridges and Harding are just two of a new generation of black musicians reinventing the sound. But why now? Is it a reaction against homogenised dance pop or the 20-year throwback rule?Leon Bridges looks startling. He saunters into an east London courtyard, clad in high-waisted trousers and a lightweight suede jacket, clutching his guitar case. His hair is impeccably sculpted. He’s like a walking, talking Instagram. The only imperfection is a small scar millimetres away from his right eye, the
  
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• Xáos: Xáos review – an epic album of and about modern Greece

  18-06-2015 19:00
  
  (IRL/Proper)This extraordinary album took 10 years to complete, but the timing is perfect. Greece faces serious problems, and Xáos set out to bring the country a new musical image by mixing the ancient with the new and experimental. Nick “Dubulah” Page has long been involved in global fusion projects with Transglobal Underground, Syriana and Dub Colossus, but here he pays tribute to his roots (he was born to a Greek mother and English father) in collaboration with
  
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• Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas; Piano Sonata etc CD review – full of motoric energy

  18-06-2015 19:00
  
  François-Xavier Poizat
  (Piano Classics)Alongside his one-time pupil Astor Piazzolla, Albert Ginastera is the most significant composer from Argentina to date. The centenary of Ginastera’s birth next year may prompt more interest in the whole range of his music, which includes three operas, a couple of ballets and six concertos, but it’s the piano music that François-Xavier Poizat samples in his recital. The first of the three piano sonatas, composed in 1952 and full of motorik, Bart&
  
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• Does Awesome Finn Balor 'Inner Demon' Video Signal His WWE Breakthrough?

  18-06-2015 18:26
  
  ...
  
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• A$AP Rocky at Oxford Union: 'I'm scared of women now'

  18-06-2015 18:14
  
  The Harlem rapper visited the celebrated debating society on Tuesday to expound on moving away from the mainstream, the pitfalls of tackling politics and why the N-word will always be part of his vocabularyA$AP Rocky’s lecture at the Red Bull Academy in April gave slight insight into the mind of the Harlem rapper (namely his love of crisps, King Krule and womens’ soft voices) but would his arrival at the Oxford Union extract any more information from the 26-year-old artist? The rap, fashion
  
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• Forget the narrative yarns, add Keith Urban to genre's 'Country Checklist'

  18-06-2015 18:07
  
  ‘Cornbread, biscuits and beer’ – country singers and songwriters are embracing carousels of images that attempt to evoke a feeling rather than a full storyCountry music is about storytelling. That’s been the party line of Nashville’s most successful songwriters over the past few decades, and it’s a mission statement that has served the genre well and led to more than a few excellent tracks. Modern story songs like Whiskey Lullaby, Unanswered Prayers, and Austin have not only become s
  
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• Lamar Odom's Friend Jamie Sangouthai's Cause Of Death Revealed

  18-06-2015 17:48
  
  His cause of death is different to first expected...
  
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• WWE: Watch Incredible Brock Lesnar 'Suplex City, B****!' Hip Hop Mash Up

  18-06-2015 17:43
  
  ...
  
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• Selena Gomez Teases Us With Clip From New Single ‘Good For You’ And We’re Dying To Hear More!

  18-06-2015 17:20
  
  Miss Gomez has teased fans with a snippet from new music video...
  
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• Snape & Dumbledore Hid A Fart Machine In Harry Potter's What?!

  18-06-2015 16:50
  
  This is the best story ever...
  
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• Faith No More review – mavericks return with jittery, gnarled intensity

  18-06-2015 16:07
  Roundhouse, London
  The US post-punk band are touring their first new album for 18 years, but the gap has not diminished their thrilling swaggerIn pop, as in colonialism, the pioneers get the arrows and the settlers get the land. Fusing metal, funk, prog rock and hip-hop as early as the mid-1980s, Faith No More were later held partly responsible for spawning the execrable nu-metal scene that was to follow in their wake.Yet the Californian five-piece’s own musical roots lay in arty post-punk
  
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• Chris Brown And Daughter Royalty Have Their Very Own Dance Party And It's The Cutest

  18-06-2015 15:35
  Too cute for words...
  
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• Everything We Learnt From Channing Tatum's Reddit AMA, And Yes, He Does Have A Name For His Penis

  18-06-2015 14:32
  
  There's no such thing as TMI when it comes to Channing...
  
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• Music Review: Hudson Mohawke's 'Lantern' illuminates nicely

  18-06-2015 13:54
  
  Hudson Mohawke, "Lantern" (Warp)
  
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• Watch An Incensed Samoa Joe Demand Opportunity To Give Kevin Owens "Beating Of A Lifetime"

  18-06-2015 13:32
  
  ...
  
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• We Are Absolutely Losing It Over The New Magic Mike XXL Clips And Pics

  18-06-2015 13:16
  
  Someone get us a towel, we can't cope...
  
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• WWE: Cody Rhodes Praises Dad Dusty Rhodes As "World Class Family Man" In Eulogy

  18-06-2015 13:04
  
  ...
  
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• Zayn Malik Leaving 1D Was 'His Decision And Nothing To Do With Perrie'

  18-06-2015 13:01
  
  Debbie Edwards has spoken out in support of her daughter...
  
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• Is Princess Diaries 3 Actually Happening?

  18-06-2015 12:57
  
  Princess Diaries 3 has been confirmed AND denied. So what's actually happening?
  
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• The New Fifty Shades Book Is Here, Here’s What We’ve Learned From Grey

  18-06-2015 12:37
  
  Brace yourselves, people...
  
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• See Selena Gomez's Vampiric Baby In The New Trailer For Hotel Transylvania 2

  18-06-2015 12:05
  The cutest monsters ever, selfies and Selena Gomez all star in the new trailer for Hotel Transylvania 2.
  
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• Prepare To Get Excited As Xtra Factor Has Some Brand New Hosts For You!

  18-06-2015 12:02
  
  Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom will front the spin-off show this autumn...
  
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• This Celebrity Just Got A Tattoo Of The Earth Seen From A Great, Great Distance, Phoebe From Friends Style

  18-06-2015 11:39
  
  Because “it’s the little things that matter”…
  
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• Khloe Kardashian And Mum Kris 'Trying To Console' Lamar Odom Over Friend's Death

  18-06-2015 11:22
  
  Despite their split, KoKo and Jenner are supporting Odom following Jamie Sangouthai's passing...
  
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• Kendall Jenner’s Right Leg Was The Star Of The Fragrance Foundation Awards

  18-06-2015 10:41
  
  Move over Angelina; Kendall is Queen of the Leg Bomb…
  
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• Move Over Vin Diesel! Justin Bieber Turns Action Man For 'Zoolander 2' Role

  18-06-2015 10:30
  
  Beliebers, you won't er, believe what JB will be doing for the flick...
  
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• Nooooo! Charlize Theron 'Calls Off Sean Penn Engagement'

  18-06-2015 09:56
  
  Excuse us while we shed a tear for the couple...
  
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• 10 Reasons Why You’re Failing At Instagram

  18-06-2015 06:44
  
  If you missed the memo, Instagram is hot. Everyone thought that when Facebook bought it for a billion dollars three years ago that it would...
  The post 10 Reasons Why You’re Failing At Instagram appeared first on Digital Music News.
  
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• B***hes N Marijuana (Ft. ScHoolboy Q) [Explicit]

  18-06-2015 04:48 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Bitches N Marijuana
  
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• X Factor's Simon Cowell to receive prestigious music award

  18-06-2015 01:02
  
  A special gala ceremony will see some performances that have a special meaning to Simon.
  
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