
Weathervanes review | Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit get political
★★★★☆
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit show that country music can be as politically direct as any genre on their latest album, Weathervanes.
★★★★☆
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit show that country music can be as politically direct as any genre on their latest album, Weathervanes.
★★★★★ On King Krule’s fourth album, Space Heavy, Archy Marshall sticks his head above the surface to drift beautifully across choppy seas in a way only he could.
★★★★☆
Red Velvet bring their iconic Queendom to London, taking fans on a journey through their musical performance. Armed with the best discography in K-pop and excellent vocals, they remind us it’s more than a concert, but an experience – even with group member Joy’s absence.
★★★★☆
Squid rejuvenate a mishmashed post-punk scene with their sophomore album, O Monolith, writes Lucy Harbron.
★★★★☆
Dave and Central Cee’s surprise collaborative EP Split Decision demonstrates the pair’s penmanship, with puns on cars, clothes, women and footballers seamlessly interspersed with an impressive blend of swagger and introspection.
★★★★★
Beyoncé confirms there really is no one on her level at the fifth and final show of her Tottenham Hotspur Stadium residency. Ali Shutler went to watch the glittering spectacle.
★★★☆☆
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are, to some extent, underrated; overshadowed by the noise that surrounds the former Oasis man’s former outfit with brother Liam. Despite some moments of majesty, however, Council Skies is by no means their best work.
★★★★☆
Unknown Mortal Orchestra provided a whistle-stop dive into their terrific catalogue at Troxy, placing emphasis on the rock in their psych-rock output.
★★★★☆
Metro Boomin enlists some of the biggest names in music to create a dazzling 13-song album as the soundtrack for the new movie, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.
★★★★☆ This summer the Serpentine is hosting Tomás Saraceno’s largest exhibition in the UK to date. But don’t expect a typical exhibition – Saraceno has injected a number of interventions into the format to shake things up.
★★★★☆
Tanya Tucker provides the full, authentic country experience on her latest and 26th studio album, Sweet Western Sound.
★★★★☆
Kassi Valazza’s sophomore album, Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing, is a poetic package of tender tunes – for home, healing or the highway. Read our review.
★★★★☆
Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers Hermanos Gutiérrez took the crowd on a desert road trip at Cross The Tracks, with their hypnotic, soulful instrumentals. Read our review.
★★★★★
After Stade de France had practically run out of alcohol and the Parisian sun had begun to set, the one and only Beyoncé – a true Queen of our times – arrived for the sixth night of her highly coveted tour.
★★☆☆☆
Lil Durk has a lot to say and a track record for possessing an ability to deliver it – but that’s not what we get on his latest album, Almost Healed.
★☆☆☆☆
Kodak Black’s Pistolz & Pearlz is likely to be the Florida rapper’s final album with Atlantic Records, but he seems as uninterested making the album as I am listening to it.
★★★★☆
Lola Young sets out her stall as a bold new force on her debut album, My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely. Read our review.
★★★☆☆
Prima Queen took to London’s Lafayette amid a current run of headline UK shows, in a gig that demonstrated just why they’re ones to watch – and how much more they’ll give in years ahead.
★★★☆☆
Sleep Token adopt a ‘boy-next-door’ appeal on their latest album Take Me To Eden, making it thematically inconsistent, even if it is sonically compelling.
★★★☆☆
Lewis Capaldi releases his second album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent four years on from his hugely successful debut. Whilst sticking to a tried and tested formula seems an obvious approach, it sounds samey nonetheless.
★★★★☆
London’s long-heralded art-rockers HMLTD put on a creative tour de force at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, reeling off from the wild and varied work of their latest album, The Worm.
★★★★☆
Gag Order sees Kesha offload the plentiful emotional ordeals she’s experienced, arriving at a state of inner peace – with the help of producer Rick Rubin, Ram Dass and, of course, her wizard friend.
★★★★☆ Potter Payper unleashes evocative, polished storytelling on his debut album, Real Back in Style, detailing exactly the sort of life experiences that sees him presently in jail.
★★★★☆
Texan country singer Parker McCollum’s latest album Never Enough might have a variety of substance, but that’s exactly what keeps things fresh.
★★★★☆
Overmono have experienced a meteoric rise over the last few years. Having gone from making niche solo work to a string of popular EPs, they’ve now become one of Britain’s biggest dance acts. Off the back of a successful recent Coachella performance, the Welsh brothers are set release their most ambitious project to date: the 12-track album Good Lies, complete with Doberman-themed artwork by frequent visual collaborator, Rollo Jackson.
★★★★★
Four Tet billed Fred Again.. and Brian Eno’s Secret Life as “the most beautiful album of 2023”. Bias aside, given it was released via the electronic artist’s Text Records label, he has a point – even if only to a subset of ambient music devotees.
★★★★☆
As Yard Act say goodbye to their debut album The Overload, they’re starting to break more new ground. The Leeds-based four-piece played their biggest ever headline show at London’s Troxy this week, including on Friday night. Ali Shutler went to watch.
★★★☆☆
Ed Sheeran brings his decade-spanning mathematical series to a close with an album that draws on the pain and suffering of his wife’s cancer diagnosis and the loss of his friend Jamal Edwards.
★★★★☆
Duran Duran proved they are still pop-rock giants never scared to reinvent themselves, with a nostalgia-fuelled set at the O2. whynow went to watch.
★★★☆☆
JME and his special guest mates played a relentless set at Bristol’s Motion, as part of the Boy Better Know co-founder’s ‘Grime MC FM’ event series. Whilst grime prides itself on intensity, with no let-ups, the show was only really ever in one gear.