Lahai review | Sampha soars from a bird’s-eye-view
★★★★★ Sampha's Lahai is another work of art, a hand-built universe of clocks, birds and spaceships, as Sampha seeks out the meaning of life.
Posts by: Millie O'Brien
Lana Del Rey at Glastonbury 2023 review | Exceptional talent, terrible timekeeping
★★★☆☆
Lana Del Rey certainly made her return to Worthy Farm last night with a spectacle. Nine years on from her first Glastonbury performance in 2014 and with her UK shows scarce, the singer, born Lizzy Grant, delivered an intense and confusing hour-long set, writes Millie O’Brien.
Fountain Baby review | Amaarae dives into almost every genre with aplomb on sophomore album
★★★★☆
Pop sensation and all-round powerhouse Amaarae has returned with her second studio album Fountain Baby. With the title alone signalling fluidity, the neatly-packaged fourteen tracks refuse boundaries, fusing the singer’s Ghanaian and American nomadic roots to create a genre-blending pop masterpiece.
Clear 2: Soft Life review | Summer Walker provides heavenly, pared-back RnB on EP follow-up
★★★★☆
Summer Walker offers the second part of her Clear project with Clear 2: Soft Life – an emotionally weighty nine-track project that enlists the work of J. Cole and Childish Gambino.
‘We have a bag of ideas that are arena-ready’ | How to curate the ultimate FLO experience
With fast-rising RnB trio FLO currently amid their North American tour, we speak to Amy Bowerman, the creative director for the tour, which kicked-off with a sold-out, smash-hit of a show at HERE at Outernet.
Never Enough review | Daniel Caesar offers five-star bangers among mediocrity
★★★☆☆
Neo-soul pioneer Daniel Caesar has returned after a four year hiatus with his highly-anticipated third studio album Never Enough. Whilst there are many undoubted Caesar classics, the project as a whole lacks consistency. Read our review.
Biig Piig at Electric Brixton | Infectious energy from a Biig Piig Giig
★★★★☆ Electric Brixton welcomed Biig Piig with open arms last night, as the biiggest piiglets filled up the sold-out, 1500-capacity venue.
Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume… review | Mesmerising mania from Yves Tumor
★★★★☆
Yves Tumor is back with their fifth studio album Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds). As a polished second part to 2020’s critically acclaimed Heaven To A Tortured Mind, these 12 tracks indulge in the zeitgeist of experimental, gothic grunge and pure punk, further defining the Yves Tumor trademark.
Billie Marten: ‘I’m not scared of anyone’s opinion about this album’
Endearing indie-folk sensation Billie Marten is back with her harmonious fourth studio album Drop Cherries next month, with the track’s latest single ‘I Can’t Get My Head Around You’ out today.
Red Moon In Venus review | Quintessential Kali Uchis
★★★★☆
Kali Uchis is officially back with her glossy third studio album, Red Moon In Venus. The project sees the Columbian-American powerhouse effortlessly soaring through her signature colourful soul, RnB, and funk-heavy sounds explored on her previous two experimental albums, Isolation and Sin Miedo.
Reunion tours: money-making gimmick or worthy cultural comeback?
S Club 7 aren’t the only noughties act to recently announce a comeback, but follow in the footsteps of Sugababes, N-Dubz and more. Millie O’Brien explores the proliferation of these recent reunions and how they’re riding the wave of a Y2K revival.
The art of the acceptance speech | How to win awards and alienate people
It’s awards season, and we all know what that means: speechmaking blunders and much-maligned moments onstage. Millie O’Brien explores a recent history of music awards acceptance speeches.
Raven review | Kelela revels in both the dancefloor and the afterglow
★★★★☆
After a hefty six-year hiatus, Kelela is finally back on the scene with her second studio album RAVEN. The singer re-emerges to add to the sanctified canon of her previous discography, all the way from her mixtape Cut 4 Me, released a decade ago, to her 2017 debut album Take Me Apart, with a scattering of features on tracks from the likes of Solange and Gorillaz along the way.
Beabadoobee at Lafayette review | Swaying in song for Gen Z’s matriarch
★★★★☆
Friday night saw 600 of Beabadoobee’s most determined fans filling London’s Lafayette as part of the Brits Week roster of balloted, intimate gigs in support of War Child. This surprise show came sandwiched between the end of the singer’s sell-out solo world tours and prior to her next bout of shows supporting Taylor Swift next month.
The Family review: BROCKHAMPTON disappoint on their now-penultimate album
Perhaps BROCKHAMPTON knew it would be wise to drop another album after The Family – otherwise they’d be ending their union on a disappointing low.
