Music news

• Kings of Leon: Can We Please Have Fun review – polished but tired

  10-05-2024 12:30
  
  (Polydor)
  The Nashville rockers still sound great, but their lyrics seem bereft of ideasCan We Please Have Fun is such a horrible phrase. It adheres to the Nashville rockers’ favoured five-syllable album title structure, if that’s important to you, but is prickly and passive-aggressive coming from four middle-aged men. Its intended message feels like inane boosterism given the state of the world; further proof of the quartet’s unending insularity. And why should rock be fun any
  
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• Children of Robbie Robertson sue late musician’s widow, alleging elder abuse

  24-05-2024 12:43
  
  Lawsuit disputing fate of $6m house alleges that Janet Zuccarini took advantage of Robertson, with her lawyers calling it ‘meritless fiction’The children of the late Robbie Robertson, songwriter and guitarist with the Band, are suing his widow, Janet Zuccarini, over his assets.In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles and seen by the Guardian, Alexandra, Delphine and Sebastian Robertson allege elder abuse, claiming that Zuccarini had Robertson sign documents he was not capable o
  
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• Kelly Rowland alleges racial profiling in Cannes film festival usher incident

  24-05-2024 12:25
  
  Destiny’s Child singer confronted usher at Marcello Mio premiere earlier this weekKelly Rowland, the Destiny’s Child singer who has gone on to have a successful acting and solo singing career, has addressed a highly publicised incident at the Cannes film festival where she argued with a festival usher, suggesting she was racially profiled.Rowland was attending the premiere of Catherine Deneuve film Marcello Mio on Tuesday, where she smiled and waved to fans and photographers on the r
  
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• Ezra Feinberg: Soft Power review – trippy, bucolic and playfully minimal

  24-05-2024 09:30
  
  (Tonal Union)
  Feinberg has moved from psychedelic rock to a hypnotic romanticism that invites us to share in its gently throbbing pulses and heart-tugging beautyEzra Feinberg came to our attention around 20 years ago as the leader of the San Francisco-based collective Citay, whose woozy, Beach Boys-inspired explorations were central to a psychedelic indie scene that flourished in north California at the time. In recent years he’s moved to the other side of the States and is now a practisin
  
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• ‘He’s never worked a day in his life!’: Paul McCartney honours Bruce Springsteen at Ivor Novello awards

  24-05-2024 09:10
  
  Springsteen receives Academy fellowship as Raye named songwriter of the year, and Yussef Dayes, Victoria Canal and Speakers Corner Quartet pick up major awardsBruce Springsteen was the top honouree at the 2024 Ivor Novello awards, given an Academy fellowship – the first international artist to be handed that accolade.Paul McCartney presented him with the award in a playful speech: “I couldn’t think of a more fitting recipient,” he said. “Except maybe Bob Dylan. Or P
  
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• Nathy Peluso: Grasa review – don’t overlook this Latin pop polymath

  24-05-2024 09:00
  
  (5020)
  The Grammy-nominated Argentine–Spanish singer moves between snarling bombast, acoustic yearning and lavish salsa in her eclectic second albumIn pop’s multilingual landscape, it’s curious that Nathy Peluso isn’t a household name. Huge in Argentina and Spain, her debut album Calambre picked up a Grammy nomination with its blend of neo-soul, Latin trap and 90s hip-hop. Her live performances rival Rosalía, and she has the Instagram-friendly aesthetics of Dua Lip
  
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• Ten-gallon hits! Why country is the biggest pop music craze of 2024

  24-05-2024 06:00
  
  Beyoncé and Dua Lipa have swapped mirrorballs for rhinestones, while new stars such as Shaboozey and Dasha are making hay with uptempo hoedowns. Even the UK is enjoying its first rodeo – but can it last?Collins Obinna Chibueze, better known as Shaboozey, has to fit in interviews as and when he can; his schedule is “crazy”. He is peering into his phone’s camera, his dreadlocks silhouetted against the stark white of the photo studio where he is ensconced. He is answe
  
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• Danny Brown review – rap icon delivers each bar with purpose and poise

  23-05-2024 16:46
  
  Kentish Town Forum, London
  Celebrating sobriety at 40, Brown animates the crowd with his energy, expressions and enunciated linesDanny Brown runs on stage dressed as a steampunk supervillain in a metallic high-collar overcoat, an eye-strikingly large belt and superspy-style sunglasses that cover half of his face. He’s radiant, illuminated further by colourful stage lighting, and looks genuinely happy to be performing as he zigzags around. “I’m 40 and don’t drink or smoke
  
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• Paul Weller: 66 review – sumptuous rumination on older age springs some surprises

  23-05-2024 15:20
  
  (Polydor)
  In this elegiac 17th solo album made with guests including Noel Gallagher, Weller contemplates mortality with sun-dappled ballads – but there’s still an experimental edgeAmong the tracks on Paul Weller’s 17th solo album, A Glimpse of You isn’t really a standout. It’s melodically pretty, but a bit slight; pleasant enough, but unlikely to elbow The Changingman or Broken Stones from the setlist when its author plays live. Yet A Glimpse of You still has the ca
  
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• Rap-rock beasts and drive-by eggings: Beastie Boys’ 20 greatest tracks – ranked!

  23-05-2024 13:00
  
  Thirty years after the release of Ill Communication, we celebrate the New York trio’s gonzo blend of hip-hop, funk, punk and pop-cultural flotsamPasting prank calls and garbled Steve Martin routines on to a delicious ESG-esque garage-funk of their own making, the Beasties’ first swing at hip-hop improbably got these former punk-rockers played at New York nightclubs such as Danceteria and Roxy’s. Meanwhile, a subsequent lawsuit against British Airways, which had sampled the B-si
  
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• ‘I thought I was going to drown Otis Redding!’ Patti LaBelle at 80 on soul, sex, survival and superstardom

  23-05-2024 11:00
  
  She is still touring seven months a year – and loving it. The legendary singer discusses smoking, swimming, sweet potato pie and her phenomenally famous friends: Elton, Otis, Laura Nyro and the StonesPatti LaBelle is approaching a big birthday. “Eighty good ones, right? Eighty!” she says incredulously. “And it’s still getting better.” How are you going to celebrate on Friday? “It’s a surprise. My son’s not telling me anything, but I have my b
  
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• ‘When things dry up, we can’t just call daddy’: Elefant Traks, the DIY label that changed Australian music

  22-05-2024 17:00
  
  On the eve of its final shows, the label’s key members reflect on their ‘activist roots’, their global success and the acts they broke – including Hermitude, Horrorshow and the HerdGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIn March, the Elefant Traks managing director, Tim Levinson, took to Instagram with an announcement: after 26 years, the independent hip-hop and electronic music label that broke beloved Australian artists including the Herd, Hermitude and Horrorshow w
  
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• ‘It’s basically inaccessible without a phone’: are kids losing their love for music?

  22-05-2024 13:03
  
  Children used to obsessively put CDs and 7-inches on repeat, but streaming means they need digital devices and parental permission to play music. And there’s little being done to helpMy daughter is nine years old. When I was her age, in 1989, I had my own small cassette player and a beloved pile of my own tapes – brand new, or made up of songs from the radio – that I could listen to whenever I wanted. The same went for my parents’ modest CD collection (Genesis’s Inv
  
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• New Orleans rapper BG won’t go back to prison – but judge will scrutinize lyrics

  22-05-2024 13:00
  
  Musician is on supervised release, and judge’s reading will decide whether he is adequately attempting to ‘re-enter society’The rapper BG is no longer at risk of a return to federal prison after performing alongside fellow artists with prior felony convictions while on supervised release from custody, according to prosecutors.But a federal judge is prepared to scrutinize every lyric the musician, whose legal name is Christopher Dorsey, has written since he got out of prison on
  
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• Benson Boone review – echoes of Harry Styles in pop’s newest star

  22-05-2024 12:18
  
  Kentish Town Forum, London
  His song Beautiful Things has been a global hit this year and, looking like Paul Mescal meets Mario, the US singer has the voice and charm to go even further‘I see you winning American Idol if you want,” judge Katy Perry told Benson Boone when he was on the show in 2021. He pulled out of the running, not wanting to be known for being a talent show winner, but fame was written in the stars regardless. Soon he had viral tracks on TikTok and had been taken und
  
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• Unheard Louis Armstrong recordings to be released

  22-05-2024 11:26
  
  What a Wonderful World and You’ll Never Walk Alone are among five unreleased tracks on compilation Louis in London, performed at the BBC in 1968 Unheard performances by Louis Armstrong at the BBC in 1968, regarded by Armstrong aficionados as some of the jazz legend’s greatest work, are to finally be released.A compilation titled Louis in London, available in July, will feature well-known numbers The Bare Necessities, Mack the Knife and Hello, Dolly!, the latter of which premieres tod
  
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• The spy, the songbird and the sham that wasn’t: how I restored broadcasting history

  22-05-2024 09:00
  
  In 1924, cellist Beatrice Harrison caused a sensation when her duet with a nightingale in her garden was broadcast live. When the truth of this groundbreaking event was questioned, I decided to investigateOne hundred years ago this week, a cellist sat in the gathering gloom of her garden in Surrey, and played. She did so most evenings, by the ivy-clad tree in the woods surrounded by bluebells. But that evening she was not alone. More than a million people were listening. This was Beatrice Harris
  
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• ‘My songs spread like herpes’: why did satirical genius Tom Lehrer swap worldwide fame for obscurity?

  22-05-2024 06:00
  
  In the 1950s and 60s, his songs stunned and delighted listeners with their irreverence, wit and nihilism. Then he gave it all up to teach mathematics. Lehrer is still alive at 96 – so I went in search of answersIn 1959, at the stifling, snobbish Jesuit boarding school to which my loving parents had unwisely subcontracted my care, Tom Lehrer’s songs burst upon my consciousness like a clown in a cathedral. Days there began with mass, and ended with an uplifting homily in the chapel fro
  
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• Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces new lawsuit from ex-model alleging sexual assault

  22-05-2024 04:57
  
  Crystal McKinney’s suit is sixth complaint in six months against rapper, claiming he assaulted her in 2003 at his New York studioHip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a new lawsuit from former model Crystal McKinney who says she was forced to perform oral sex on him at his recording studio in New York City in 2003. This comes just days after Combs says he took “full responsibility” for beating ex-girlfriend Cassie after a video of that incident surfaced.The new
  
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• ‘I hadn’t thought about a drink. Then I saw the pub. Game over’: singer-songwriter Michael Head on beating addiction – again

  21-05-2024 18:00
  
  He’s a national treasure to many, with a remarkable songbook spanning more than 40 years. But after kicking heroin twice, he spiralled back into drinking – until an ardent fan saved his lifeMichael Head is re-enacting the moment he thought he was about to die. In 2019, the beloved Liverpool songwriter “fell off the wagon on a grand scale”. The 62-year-old, who had beaten heroin addiction twice, had been sober from alcohol since 2016. But by 2020 his drinking was so severe
  
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• ‘We got the energy’: Irish children’s rap video goes viral

  20-05-2024 15:22
  
  The Spark, a song created by a group of nine-to-12-year-olds including refugees, has amassed 8.6m viewsIt is called The Spark and has been declared the song of the summer – a viral sensation from a group of children in Ireland who filmed the video in a day.Since launching on 15 May, the song has amassed 8.6m views and been hailed as a drum’n’bass-beat masterpiece with infectious energy. Continue reading...
  
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• Frank Ifield obituary

  20-05-2024 13:14
  
  Singer who topped the charts in the 1960s with hits including I Remember You, Lovesick Blues and The Wayward WindFor British pop fans, the summer of 1962 was dominated by the sound of “I remember yoo-hoo”. I Remember You, which topped the singles chart for seven weeks, was sung and yodelled by the British-born but Australian-raised entertainer Frank Ifield, who has died aged 86.In the year that followed, there were four more hits. The first of these, Lovesick Blues (originally made f
  
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• Barry Manilow review – mellow master glides through his hits with grace

  20-05-2024 13:14
  
  Co-Op Live, Manchester
  On his final tour, the 80-year-old gives fans a slick but satisfying treatment of his pleasantly cheesy oeuvreThere’s jubilation in the air tonight. Tens of thousands of Manchester City fans file out into the Etihad campus in a sea of blue as they celebrate winning the Premier League. Moving in the other direction towards the newly opened Co-Op Live arena is a crowd dotted with pink fluffy cowboy hats and Barry Manilow T-shirts, as people flock to see the 80-year-old
  
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• ‘It became a beacon of hope’: the incredible story of Stax Records

  20-05-2024 10:33
  
  A new docuseries traces the highs and lows of the Memphis record label, soaring with major acts like Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes but a victim of both capitalism and racismDuring its breakout phase in the mid-1960s, Stax Records seemed to be soaring. The small company from Memphis managed to score huge, international hits with the new stars it introduced, like Booker T & the MGs (Green Onions), Otis Redding (I’ve Been Loving You Too Long), and Sam & Dave (Hold On, I’m Coming)
  
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• Jon Bon Jovi’s honest playlist: ‘You couldn’t help but learn the moves to Gangnam Style’

  20-05-2024 08:00
  
  The arena rock frontman on his friendship with Ed Sheeran, an embarrassing early Christmas song, and the 80s hit he wishes he’d writtenThe song that changed my life
  Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. I grew up in New Jersey, so the E Street Band was how you were indoctrinated to rock’n’roll – they were the local heroes.The best song to play at a party
  Livin’ on a Prayer because everyone else knows the words. How do I feel when I hear it
  
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• Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs admits he beat ex-girlfriend Cassie: ‘I take full responsibility’

  19-05-2024 21:32
  
  Music mogul says in video statement that he is ‘truly sorry’ after CNN released clip of him attacking Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016The rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted in a video apology that he punched and kicked his ex-girlfriend in 2016 in the hallway of a hotel after CNN released footage of the attack, saying he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable”.“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disg
  
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• Bruce Dickinson review – metal’s charismatic star indulges his goofy side

  19-05-2024 15:43
  
  Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
  Letting rip with that still thrilling and propulsive voice, the Iron Maiden frontman performs an all solo material set – keytars, bongos and demonic laughter includedBruce Dickinson, as is well known, is a qualified pilot – and there is something of the captain preparing for take-off in his interactions with the crowd. “In a moment,” he instructs Glasgow, “we will commence furious jumping.” Then, as the riff to Dark Side of Aquariu
  
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• Richard Hawley: ‘If I stopped what I’m doing the songs would still come’

  19-05-2024 09:00
  
  On a beer-fuelled tour of Sheffield that begins ‘at the crack of midday’, the musician discusses the strange magic of his home city, how his musical, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, hit a nerve in austerity-ravaged Britain, and his main hope for Keir StarmerOn 8 November 2007, the great Pelé visited Sheffield. The occasion was the 150th anniversary of the world’s oldest football club, Sheffield FC, which was celebrated with a match between the hometown team and Inter M
  
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• Jasmine Myra: Rising review – gently insistent jazz

  18-05-2024 17:00
  
  (Gondwana)
  The alto saxophonist leans into her soft and subtle sound with newfound confidence on this second albumWith the release of her 2022 debut album, Horizons, saxophonist Jasmine Myra became a breakout star of the UK jazz scene. Weaving soft and subtle alto saxophone lines through compositions that paired luscious harmonies with snapping rhythms, Myra showcased her skill as a composer rather than an instrumental virtuoso. On her second album, she continues to produce this gently insistent
  
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• One to watch: Myles Smith

  18-05-2024 13:30
  
  A passionate purveyor of anthemic folk-pop with an alt-country vibe, everything this Luton singer-songwriter has released so far sounds like a hitMyles Smith has arrived at just the right time, as if scheduled by an algorithm. The 25-year-old graduate from Luton first surfaced in 2022 with judiciously chosen TikTok covers – Amber Run’s I Found, Neighbourhood’s Sweater Weather – that suit his passionate, expressive voice. Smith learned guitar aged nine, did the singer-song
  
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