Kings Of Convenience showcase the seductive purity of sonic minimalism at Webster Hall in New York City
When indulging in commentary around Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings Of Convenience, context around their unlikely rise to prominence and their place in the sphere of pop music is king (please forgive the pun). It is impossible to dive right into the core of a review of...
Duran Duran put on a high-octane performance at Forest Hills Stadium in New York City to celebrate 40
An unwavering tenacity coupled with a spirit of perseverance appears to be the recipe for longevity and survival in the music business. This might be the overarching lesson of New Wave gods Duran Duran’s final concert for their 40th anniversary and Future Past album...
Belinda Carlisle embodies the dreamy-eyed optimism that permeates her music at Sony Hall in New York City
In his video titled “Why Old Music Is Killing New Music” youtuber and former music producer Rick Beato calls to attention the limited cultural relevance of new music. Some of this can be attributed to the slow but steady disappearance of mass pop culture as it applies...
Netflix’s Wham! is a treasure trove of stories chronicling the meteoric ascent of two boys to global megastardom
“The music community took the piss. I mean, how can they look like that and make music like this? How can the country be in love with these two idiots?” – said the late international British popstar George Michael as he assessed the response of UK music critics and...
HANA just might be Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s magnum opus
By guest blogger Kaushik Chakravarthy British singer-songwriter, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been known to wildly oscillate from one side of the sonic spectrum to another on her albums. Her rich and diverse catalogue spans a wide spectrum encompassing everything from...
Seal enthralls at Beacon Theatre in New York City
It is baffling to think that British popstar and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Seal, whose signature single is a ballad (i.e. the timeless classic “Kiss from a Rose”) and a modern pop standard, initially rode the coat-tails of the early 90s burgeoning rave...
Peter Cox of Go West showcases swagger and soul on “Seaglass”
In the American musical mainstream of yesteryear, the hits of some bands enjoy far more name recognition than the bands themselves do – especially if these music acts only had two or three singles that cracked the Billboard Top 40 singles chart. One noteworthy example...
“Kismet” intervenes gloriously to expand the Belinda Carlisle story
Conventional wisdom in the music industry suggests that songwriters are far more in control of their creative and commercial trajectories than are singers that leverage a team of stellar songwriters to provide the sonic foundation for their musical careers. This might...
Everything But the Girl Remain Creatively Vital on Unexpected Comeback “Fuse”
By guest blogger Joel Blechinger For diehard Everything But the Girl fans (Everything But the Girlies?), the mere existence of their eleventh studio LP, Fuse, is a wonder. This is because it arrives nearly 24 years after their last album, "Temperamental", and it...
Dancing with the big boys: David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” at 40
By UK-based guest blogger Eric Generic "Bring me the Disco King" was a song on David Bowie's 2003 album Reality, but it could just as easily apply to the manifesto behind his decision to hook up with Nile Rodgers two decades previously. Having laid Major Tom to rest...
Darren Hayes brings his sanctuary of escapism to Town Hall in New York City
Date: April 13, 2023 Venue: Town Hall (New York City) Tour: Do You Remember? For the longest time, it appeared that the name Darren Hayes had been one that was associated exclusively with yesteryear. Darren‘s return to the limelight after a hiatus of over a decade was...
Depeche Mode explores the darkness of death on “Memento Mori”
By guest blogger Ethan Guddal Depeche Mode as a band has now been in existence for over 40 years old and just released their fifteenth album titled “Memento Mori” - meaning 'remember that you [have to] die,' – a concept that undoubtedly permeates throughout the album....
