Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen review
Old Ideas, the first collection of new songs by Leonard Cohen in eight years, opens with the artist considering his own persona. “I love to speak with Leonard,” he intones... [more]
Music
Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen review
Old Ideas, the first collection of new songs by Leonard Cohen in eight years, opens with the artist considering his own persona. “I love to speak with Leonard,” he intones in his gravelly whisper. “He’s a sportsman and a shepherd. He’s a lazy bastard living in a suit.” The character he... [more]
Echoes of Silence by The Weeknd review
Abel Tesfaye appears to have crammed the creative arc of a career into little more than nine months. [more]
Donation Manu‘asi interview
The musical director and lead pan-piper of Solomon Islands band Narasirato discusses the "big journey" his acclaimed group is on. [more]
Purple Pilgrims and Radiant Door by Crystal Stilts review
A release from two sisters comes with a hand-sewn 12-page zine. [more]
A Journey Through the First Dimension with Kraus by Kraus review
One-man band Kraus is a national treasure. [more]
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Presents Nu Sound & Version and If You Want Loyalty Buy a Dog by Little Axe review
Skip McDonald's seventh album is a genuine late-career surprise and a new album of Lee Scratch Perry tracks deserves big-speaker attention. [more]
The Original Sound of Cumbia review
The Original Sound of Cumbia is a remarkable compilation that has been put together with love. [more]
The Late Night Plays by Whirimako Black and Te More by Whirimako Black and Richard Nunnsreview
Two utterly different albums are each a demonstration of Whirimako Black’s... [more]
Belle review
It’s a lighter, brighter Bic Runga that greets us on BELLE (Sony), her first album of new material in almost six years. From the Supremes-style Tiny Little Piece of My Heart, through the irrepressibly boppy Hello Hello to the psychedelia of Darkness All Around Us, there is little trace of... [more]
The best pop & rock CDs of 2011
Looking for a last-minute pressie? Listener reviewers Nick Bollinger and Jim Pinckney have the best pop and rock of the year. [more]
Biophilia by Björk review
Biophilia is Björk’s eighth album, if album is not an obsolete term. It comes in a variety of formats. You can purchase it as a download, or even as an old-fashioned CD in a jewel case with a lyric booklet. But it’s the first collection of music you can buy... [more]
New releases: November 19
BAD AS ME (Anti/Warner), the first album of new songs in seven years from Tom Waits, does not venture into any musical corners he hasn’t explored before. Guests like Keith Richards, Marc Ribot and Los Lobos’s David Hidalgo are familiar faces at Waits’s table, and they bring their specialised skills... [more]
Bad Luck Man by Delaney Davidson review
Delaney Davidson is a master of magnificent miserablism. [more]
Damon Albarn and M83 album review
Seemingly unable to put a foot wrong no matter what he takes on, ex-Blur leader Damon Albarn has scooped up a mob of producers du jour (Actress, Kwes, Richard Russell, Dan the Automator, etc) and shipped them to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital to collaborate with contemporary domestic acts... [more]
Haunted love spirit revival and Donkey Deep review
Appearances can be deceptive. A clever artist knows that and makes use of it. In HAUNTED LOVE SPIRIT REVIVAL (Round Trip Mars) the Dunedin-based duo of Geva Downey and Rainey McMaster have just made one of the most cunningly deceptive albums in a long while. The initial impression is of... [more]
Revelation Road by Shelby Lynne review
Shelby Lynne produces a personal record touching on her Alabama past. [more]
Recent releases: 22 October
Despite being a notorious alcoholic and first-rate carouser and not being the world’s greatest tenor sax player, Charles “Packy” Axton presents a compelling musical story on LATE LATE PARTY 1965-67. His mother, Estelle Axton, and uncle Jim Stewart were co-originators of the Stax label and Packy found himself consorting with... [more]
Beautiful rivers and Mountains review
At 73, South Korea’s Shin Joong Hyun has released his first collection outside his homeland. [more]