Before 2019, Liam Kazar had built a hefty reputation as a band member, dating back to work with the band Kids These Days, and more recently as support player with a variety of local artists, from Tweedy (Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy with his drummer son, Spencer), Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, to Chance the Rapper. Here…
West Side Story has a chequered history. The musical by Jerome Robbins (first staged in 1957) met with wide acclaim, as did the 1961 film version directed by Robbins and Robert Wise. But it hasn’t aged well. The depiction of the Puerto Rican characters was always fraught; but the original film’s largely white-washed casting (Rita…
Colour, movement, quirky characters and an up-tempo soundtrack feature in the animated musical adventure Sing 2. A troupe of performing animals led by impresario Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) – a koala – is playing sold-out shows in a small town. In the audience one night is canine talent scout Suki Lane (Chelsea Peretti), who is…
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…
You have your eyes on the prize. You are so intent on making it that you can figuratively taste it. That is what confronts the couple of guys at the centre of Title of Show. They’re Hunter (Obed Wallis) and Jeff (Noah Janssen) … out to make it on Broadway. To that end, with just three weeks to cut…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 10 December 2021. The Myth of The Happily Ever After is a homegrown project by Biffy Clyro that represents a reaction to their #1 album A Celebration of Endings and a rapid emotional response to the turmoil of the…
Stephen Chbosky’s Dear Evan Hansen is a film adaptation of the Tony and Grammy Award winning musical of the same name. And it features the original Broadway lead actor in the pivotal role. Teenager Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) struggles with anxiety and depression, and is seeing a therapist. He is being brought up by his…
Over the course of her nearly 40 year career, Aimee Mann has pretty much done it all. In the 80’s she led the new wave band ‘Til Tuesday, composing their biggest hit, “Voices Carry,” and even sang a rare duet with Rush’s Geddy Lee. When she went solo, Mann signed to an indie label start…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 3 December 2021. Modern Nature have dropped their new album, Island of Noise, out now via Bella Union. The album is released only as a deluxe double vinyl box set with a second companion LP titled Island of Silence:…
In many ways, Damon Albarn’s official second solo album is as influenced by his physical surroundings in Iceland, as his early breakthrough albums with the band Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife, and The Great Escape – offered a window into the British youth culture of ‘90’s. The singer/songwriter became an official citizen of…
