Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 17 December 2021. Nils Frahm’s double album Old Friends New Friends gathers together 23 solo piano tracks recorded between 2009 and 2021, almost all previously unreleased but, for one reason or another, omitted from other projects. The album offers…
The Palms at Crown is rockin’ out to some of the legends of the music business – from Prince to Michael Jackson, Madonna to Elvis and more besides with Legends in Concert. The original, largest and widely regarded as the world’s greatest live celebrity tribute show is out here directly from Las Vegas. Complete with…
Three disaffected young men are at the centre of Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot. The story is expanded from their album of the same name, (released in 2004) and also features music from the 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. Lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt formed Green Day in…
She’s rude, belligerent and overbearing, and proud of it. She’s crippled and ailing, drinks like a fish and has been a war photographer. She’s Ruth (Charlotte Rampling), a straight-talking English woman, and the central character in Matthew Saville’s film Juniper. It’s 1992. Ruth is visiting her son Robert (Martin Csokas) and grandson Sam (George Ferrier)…
As big, loud and flamboyant as its subject, Rocketman presents Elton John as a not-so-stable genius. If you want loads of Elton’s songs, extravagant costumes and a long spiral into depression, this is the movie for you. If you’re looking for a different take on the rockstar biopic though, you might have to look somewhere…
Charlie Parker walks the world alone, but in his dreams and in the thinner moments between the worlds of those who breathe and those who no longer can, there visits two particular ghosts. The Dirty South is a prequel novel, long awaited for, however may not go back quite as far in the life of…
Dear Brother is a joyous celebration of young Aboriginal masculinity and a theatre experience that’s memorable and uplifting. Any preconceptions that the subject matter of young First Nations men grappling with what it means to be a man might be rather grim, should be thrown out because this work, presented by Queensland Theatre, is far…
Jungle Cruise benefits from the talents of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. This old fashioned, far-fetched adventure fantasy is based on a Disneyland attraction that’s been operating since 1955. Set at the height of World War I, the film concerns a long-standing hunt for an elixir with remarkable healing powers. English botanist Dr Lily Houghton…
With all the anti-Muslim bile being peddled at the moment, along comes Ali’s Wedding. This feel-good entertainment, based in fact, puts a smile on your dial. There’s something of The Castle’s sensibilities about this one. It’s funny and silly at the same time. Some of it seems incredibly far-fetched, but given what we are dealing with here, that…
During The Smiths’ short brilliant career they released 4 albums in as many years in the mid-80’s, guitarist Johnny Marr became the most influential guitarists of the British indie-rock, post-punk scene. At a time when Brit-pop had embraced synthesizers and were leaning into disco more and more, Marr’s jangle-pop approach echoed early rockers like Roger…
