Freaky Party

Music Reviews and more

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Pop/Rock
  • Metal
  • Indie
  • Electronic
  • Folk
  • Jazz
  • Classical

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Various Artists – Pasé Bél Tan: Francophonies and Creolities in Louisiana review – foot-stomping joy

Influenced by jazz and early blues, this collection of largely African American folk music from the 50s to the 80s spans poignant lyricism to full-throated celebration

Geese: Getting Killed review – Cameron Winter and co’s surreal, swaggering spectacular

Opaque but brilliant, the Brooklyn indie-rock band’s fourth album is full of the dread and dark absurdity of our current moment

Olivia Dean: The Art of Loving review – British pop’s biggest new star sheds the neo-soul cliches to really shine

Already dominating the charts and seemingly inspired by 70s LA, this exceptionally well-made record is full of diaristic detail and sweetly understated vocals

Chappell Roan review – pop’s patient princess triumphantly takes the throne in New York

The star claims she wasn’t ‘feeling 100’ for her Queens stadium show but it was hard to see any fatigue as she carried the crowd through her dazzling setlist

Deacon Blue review – Scottish hitmakers are more poignant and potent than ever

Still an arena-filling prospect long after their late-80s heyday, the veteran band bring political bite and pop prowess to a crowd-pleasing set

Busted vs McFly review – millennial ‘rivals’ let the pop-rock punches fly

The boybands go toe-to-toe with their catchy teenage anthems – and after a hefty 90-minute bout of greatest hits McFly just about edge it on points

Post Malone review – megawatt charisma and anthemic hooks from an irresistibly genial outlaw

Though his slick country is more Jon Bon Jovi that Johnny Cash, there’s only one artist who could unite rock, rap and twang with such effortless panache

Joy Crookes: Juniper review – sadness made sublime by streetwise soul and snappy wit

Four years ago, the south Londoner’s star was on the rise with her debut Skin – then she vanished. Now, she’s back with shimmering sounds and cleverly unsentimental lyrics, plus explosive cameos by Vince Staples and Kano

Mark William Lewis: Mark William Lewis review – A24’s first musical signing’s cinematic south London scenes

Haunting harmonica and poetic banality add to the Londoner’s spookily sonorous baritone to create a hypnotically familiar yet ineffably fresh album

Ed Sheeran: Play review – subcontinental sounds and shards of darkness – but still unmistakably him

Despite embracing Indian and Persian sounds, Sheeran’s eighth album goes back to basics after two records of muted melancholy – albeit with some surprising undercurrents

Belinda Carlisle review – gleeful veteran lassoes devoted audience with ageless hits

Rattling through her 80s hits the singer is clearly revelling in the nostalgia – in a showcase that makes her a strong candidate for the Glastonbury legends slot

Justin Bieber: Swag II review – more filler with an occasional pop killer

Part two of Bieber’s seventh album adds very little: it’s largely bland pop with glimpses of quality thanks to a buzzy supporting cast including Dijon and Bakar

Jade: That’s Showbiz Baby! review – former Little Mix star thrives in chaos on an idiosyncratic debut

Jade Thirlwall offers a wild ride through electroclash, Eurovision drama and emotive synth-pop – albeit one she can’t quite maintain for a whole album

Lewis Capaldi review – an emotional return to the spotlight for pop’s most heart-on-sleeve star

The singer announces he is thrilled to begin his first tour since taking time off for his mental health, but is visibly nervous and at one moment breaks into tears

Suede: Antidepressants review – edgy post-punk proves reunited Britpoppers remain on the up

Great 10th albums are rare – but that is exactly what the band’s killer riffs, eerie atmosphere and midlife reflections achieve

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →
  • La Rondine review – new version of Puccini’s opera makes aftertaste bitter rather than sweet
  • Lady Gaga review – the Mayhem Ball shows Mother Monster is still the reigning queen of spectacle
  • Kendrick Lamar review – with Doechii revving up the crowd, this is an extraordinary show for the ages
  • HMS Pinafore review – carry on up the poop deck in ENO’s daffy Gilbert and Sullivan staging
  • Melody’s Echo Chamber: Unclouded review – an enchanted, balmy garden of dreampop
  • Laura Cannell: Brightly Shone the Moon review – bleakness and beauty in a haunting carol collection
  • This Is Lorelei: Holo Boy review – sweet-sad songs from a new pearl of the US alt scene
  • Strauss: An Alpine Symphony; Four Songs Op 27 album review – nothing is overblown or indulgent
  • Nash Ensemble: Ravel album review – catches the music’s dazzling light and intriguing shade
  • Dove Ellis: Blizzard review – Irish indie enigma’s glorious debut justifies the buzz
  • Jamiroquai review – hat-sporting acid jazz superstars are slick but lack substance
  • Life in One Chord review – the Dunedin sound through the eyes of a music maverick
  • Philharmonia/ Rouvali review – Fazil Say’s concerto sounds an urgent wakeup call
  • Cameron Winter review – Geese wunderkind whittles confident rearrangements in an intimate show
  • Wolf Alice review – indie chameleons sparkle on a glam-rock bender
  • Nicola Benedetti and friends review – delicious bite-sized musical snacks from a violinist still top of her game
  • Ikonika: Sad review – vocal-led new direction is a hit for the Hyperdub veteran
  • HTRK: String of Hearts (Songs of HTRK) review – friends from Liars to Kali Malone rework their noisy gems
  • Lachenmann: The String Quartets review – Quatuor Diotima draw you into his strange and compelling soundworld
  • Beethoven & Brahms: Violin Concertos album review – as supple and coherent as ever as the ACO celebrates 50
  • The Durutti Column: The Return of the Durutti Column review – fragile classic that echoes far beyond its time
  • Hania Rani: Non Fiction review – atmospheric and absorbing storytelling by Polish composer
  • Doja Cat review – ignore the headlines, this is a pop provocateur at the top of her game
  • My Bloody Valentine review – shoegaze pioneers find prettiness in pulverising noise
  • The Hives review – veteran punk’n’rollers fizz with megawatt energy
  • Bad Omens review – anthemic songs and pillars of fire dampened by arena nerves
  • Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival review – ghostly echoes, fearless voices and the rattle of milk frothers
  • Brandy and Monica review – 90s R&B heavyweights bring star-studded reunion to New York
  • Partenope review – edgy and erotic Handel update
  • LSO/Pascal review – from an effervescent marimba to funeral gongs in compelling new music concert

Contact www.freakyparty.net   Terms of Use