Am I an ABBA fan? You betcha. I love what they created. I adore their songs and their harmonies. And while the closest thing we are likely to see to them performing together again is the hologram concert ABBA Voyage, there is something mighty special in town. I refer to a dedicated choir established by ABBA The…
The unmissable nighttime visual spectacle Lightscape has returned to the Royal Botanic Gardens for a third winter with a reimagined trail and new installations. It is a glorious exhibition of creativity, featuring a stunning array of large-scale illuminated sculptures, many colour-changing. More than that, trees are lit up, there is fire, fog and projections along the two-kilometre…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 14 June 2024. John Grant began thinking about a new album in the autumn of 2022. Earlier that year, John had been introduced to Ivor Guest, producer and composer at Grace Jones’ Southbank show, the finale of her Meltdown…
Habibi, co-founded by Rahill Jamalifard and Lenny Lynch in 2011, quickly gained attention with their distinctive fusion of styles and cultures. Their self-titled debut album in 2014 was met with critical acclaim, noted for its unique blend of 60s girl group surf pop and an edgy, modern twist. Their subsequent works, including the 2018 Cardamom…
Music like, I dare say, you have never seen it performed before. An hour-long pulsating beat, complete with athleticism, instruments struck and strummed outside the norm, treadmill vocals and wild cheering from the bleachers. There’s also a commentator and a highly enthusiastic cheerleader who, too, breaks the conventional mould (in fact, the whole performance piece does). All…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 7 June 2024. There has never been a figure in pop culture like Peggy Gou. The self-managed South Korean-born, Berlin-based producer and artist has ascended from underground sensation to global icon by sticking to her own unwavering vision, becoming…
It really shouldn’t be a surprise that it was impossible to listen to the new Shellac record without mourning the sudden loss of Steve Albini 10 days before its release. With that said, Shellac’s latest album To All Trains, their first record of new material in ten years, is a fierce and now permanent reminder…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 31 May 2024. “The night,” Arooj Aftab confesses, “is my biggest source of inspiration.” By trial or intuition, the GRAMMY® winning artist has come to understand that these still moments of cover uniquely enable healing, desire, shelter, love –…
Spectacular, colourful and creative headdresses, feathers and finery are front and centre as performers from Club Vegas hit the stage. Broad smiles, popular song and dance numbers, athletic, dare-devil acrobatics and comic interludes are the order of the day. It is a show that is dynamic, bold and brassy, and has the enthusiastic audience cheering throughout. For…
Lunchbox return with their second album for Slumberland Records, Pop and Circumstance. Since we last saw them in 2020 with the catchy After School Special, Pop and Circumstance keeps the same spirit as it melds decades of guitar pop influences into a cohesive and explosive album which maintains the band’s signature lo-fi sound while delivering…
