Crete’s mountain musician of mystery
I saw Psarantonis play only once, at the Amari Valley music festival almost a year ago, in a tiny mountain village on the isle of Crete surrounded by the peaks of Kedros and the towering Psiloritis....
View ArticleA beautiful, entrancing mess of an album – with a piercing social critique
Benjamin Clementine’s most recent album I Tell A Fly was released at the end of last month and listening to it is quite an unprecedented experience. This is the artist’s second album, following his...
View ArticleVillians Review – ‘Pop songs with rock sensibilities’
Ever since I first heard ‘No One Knows’, I was in love with Queens of the Stone Age. Their driving riffs were in perfect harmony with notorious frontman Josh Homme’s eerily melodic voice. They created...
View ArticleWhy the Sgt. Pepper’s show cannot be missed
The Sgt. Pepper’s show beginning on the 14th and lasting until the 18th of this month at the Simpkins Lee Theatre should not be missed. The venue at Lady Margaret Hall will be host to a bold show which...
View ArticleIn The Aeroplane Over The Sea – “experimental and weird”
Next year marks the twentieth anniversary of one of the most influential works of indie rock ever produced. Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea was first released in 1998 by Jeff...
View ArticleThe ‘new’ jazz must be seen as well as heard
London-based Ezra Collective’s second album Juan Pablo: The Philosopher was hotly anticipated by the group’s fans. With a sound that resists definition, the band’s influences range from jazz, hip hop,...
View ArticleJulien Baker ‘Turn out the lights’ review – rawness and painstaking detail
Julien Baker’s self-proclaimed “overture” for Turn Out the Lights, titled ‘Over’, shifts between major and minor keys, setting the scene for the next 40 minutes. It’s a beautiful exploration of the...
View ArticleTen years on, Burial’s ‘Untrue’ is still dripping with raw emotion
Ten years ago this month, Burial’s Untrue album was released. At the time, nothing was known about its producer. This element of secrecy piqued the interests of the national media. However, what makes...
View ArticleMemorable sax solos and individual flair at the Varsity jazz-off
In the World of Oxford jazz, events don’t come much bigger than the annual co-hosted gig with Cambridge. A musical equivalent of a Varsity match, the show involves back-to-back performances from the...
View ArticleLucy Rose enraptures and comforts her audience in Oxford
Having had a quick flick through the upcoming schedule for SJE Arts, it’s clear that an artist like Lucy Rose is not a regular. The 19th century former evangelist church, turned university owned music...
View ArticleIn conversation with Matt Maltese
Matt Maltese is definitely one of the most intriguing and exciting new artists that I’ve come across in a while. At just 21 years of age the South London-based singer-songwriter has got a growing...
View ArticleIs it possible to release too much music?
It’s a question that seems more appropriate than ever, with the streaming boom and the advancement of music software meaning producers can create beats in a matter of hours. On sites such as Soundcloud...
View ArticleThis Old Dog review – ‘Convincing signs of newfound maturity’
May 2017 – the month in which Prince Philip announced he was going to retire from royal duties, the dreaded exam season was once again underway, and more importantly, Mac DeMarco gifted us with the...
View ArticleWhy do we love anti-Christmas songs?
Rejoice, Love Actually is on Netflix, meaning that in amongst sequences of Hugh Grant dancing in No.10, adorable shots of Keira Knightley, and a cameo by Rowan Atkinson, are the hilarious one-liners of...
View Article‘Revival’ review – mature and compelling as ever
Months of teasers stacked on top of years of anticipation came to a climax on Friday when Eminem finally dropped his new album Revival. His ninth studio album sprawls across 19 tracks that range from...
View ArticleMelodrama Review: honest without being embarrassing
Lorde’s aptly named Melodrama captures the period after clichéd teenage years but before adulthood, taking the neurotic theatrics we associate with millennials and painting them as considered and...
View ArticleFive playlists for all your vac moods
The winter vac can be very difficult. It is both very long and very short. Too long to be away from all your university friends, but too short to fit in all the work you have been set. In my case this...
View Article2017: The year of Jack Antonoff
Four of 2017’s best albums were co-written and produced by pop’s veiled hero, Jack Antonoff, the man paradoxically behind odes of female liberation and songs of empowerment. His work with Lorde, St...
View ArticleMy album of the year: Leonard Cohen’s valediction
Two days before she died on the 29th July 2016, Leonard Cohen’s erstwhile friend, lover, and muse Marianne Ihlen received a letter from her old devotee as she lay on her deathbed. Marianne first met...
View ArticleDoctor Feelgood offers a happy release from Oxford stress
You’ve seen the same post on your Facebook feed for the past seven days – “looking for Doctor Feelgood tickets”. It seems like everyone and their uncle wanted to go to this night. Understandable,...
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