The National’s ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, derives its title from a moment deep in singer Matt Berninger’s bout with writer’s block. To break the lock, he will often grab a book off the shelf just to get some words in his head. In this case, the first two pages of Frankenstein…
Set against the backdrop of the Holocaust, Driftwood The Musical is a deeply moving tale of tribulation and triumph. The starting point for creator Tania de Jong AM was her mother Eva de Jong-Duldig’s 2017 memoir “Driftwood – escape and survival through art”. The musical focuses on the true story of Eva’s mother (Tania’s grandmother), Slawa Horowitz-Duldig….
The plaudits are mind blowing, the statistics staggering, the downfall tragic, but her musical legacy lives on. I refer to the incomparable Whitney Houston (August 9th, 1963 – February 11th, 2012), whose record sales exceed 200 million. She was cited by Rolling Stone as being in the top two singers of all time. Tilarni, together with…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 28 April 2023. Over three decades ago, Peter One was a STAR – a country music star – in West Africa. With his singing partner Jess Sah Bi, Peter played in sold-out arenas. In 1985, Our Garden Needs Its…
OMG! Wow. If you are after a show that is energy on steroids and positively sizzles, you simply have to see Velvet Rewired – a celebration of the sensational ‘70s and the disco beat. What a superb production. It is electrifying and takes much pride and pleasure in whipping the audience into a frenzy. Slick and dynamic,…
On their fourth full-length album, the often-labeled psychedelic pop/rock quartet Temples, have chosen a title that comes close to describing both the breadth of their compositions and the lush musical textures they created with producer Sean Ono Lennon. With their 2019 release, Hot Motion, the quartet displayed their dexterity with a broad spectrum of rock…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 21 April 2023. Guitar virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela have announced the follow-up to the GRAMMY-winning album Mettavolution. In Between Thoughts…A New World is the duo’s first full-length album in four years. It is a spontaneously composed yet unified work…
Circus Royale is an artistic triumph. I have seen a great deal of circus, but the calibre of acts in this hour and a half show (plus interval) is top shelf. As breathtaking as many performances are, the best of the best are undoubtedly the Colombian-born Lion Brothers – Saret, Sarius and Samir Leon. Not for…
Nominated for eight Oscars, David Lynch’s 1980 dramatic biographical film The Elephant Man – featuring Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft and John Gielgud – remains seared into my consciousness. Now a clever and creative group of writers and composers (Marc Lucchesi, Sarah Nandagopan and Jayan Nandagopan) has taken the story’s essence, twisted it and turned…
boygenius is the supergroup trio comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Their debut album is the follow up to the group’s fantastic 2018 self-titled EP. At the time of its 6-song release, boygenius seemed like a real treat getting to hear these talented artists come together in one place and sound like…
