https://www.scmp.com/rss/39370/feed From Beyoncé to Blur and beyond, we check out the latest and greatest releases en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When Billie Eilish dropped the No Time to Die theme song this week, it left us wondering what had happened to one of her predecessors – Adele. The Skyfall singer received widespread critical acclaim and went on to win a whole host of awards, including the Oscar for best original song, in 2012 – marking the first time a Bond theme had done so since 1981. Best and worst dressed at the Grammys 2020 – video She followed that success with her third studio album “25”, in 2015, and a world tour a year... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3051352/adeles-new-album-release-leak-everything-you-need-know?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3051352/adeles-new-album-release-leak-everything-you-need-know?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Feb 2020 07:01:11 +0000 MarmozetsKnowing What You Know Now (Roadrunner) 4/5 stars In a world of instant gratification and widespread attention deficit disorder, leaving a three-year gap between a debut album and it’s follow up is a risky proposition. Having graced festival main stages on the back of spiky The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets, the band’s rise to stardom was interrupted as singer Becca Macintyre recovered from a crippling knee injury, and with a gaggle of next big things lurking around every corner, the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2133029/female-fronted-rock-group-marmozets-new-album?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2133029/female-fronted-rock-group-marmozets-new-album?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Feb 2018 08:45:45 +0000 Miley CyrusYounger Now (RCA) It’s been four years since Miley Cyrus swung butt naked into our conscious­ness with all the eroticism of a half-cut construction worker. Post-Wrecking Ball, the 24-year-old has continued on her image-shifting mission, despite some questionable twerking and her pysch-pop Dead Petz project, wiping away lingering memories of the innocent Disney years that kick-started her career. Her sixth album supposedly marks another change of trajectory, leaving behind her recent... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2114080/miley-cyrus-delivers-generic-sixth-album-devoid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2114080/miley-cyrus-delivers-generic-sixth-album-devoid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 10:01:09 +0000 Fazerdaze Morningside Flying Nun Written and recorded in various homes and bedrooms, the debut album from New Zealand singer-songwriter Amelia Murray, who goes by the moniker Fazerdaze, has a deeply personal vibe. Listening to her blissful indie pop is like basking in the sun and staring at the sky as the 24-year-old reads from her diary. Like all good DIY music, it borders on the confessional, without the listener ever feeling they are prying. Murray (who will play North Point’s Mom Livehouse... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112986/morningside-fazerdaze-intimate-dreamy-debut-album?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112986/morningside-fazerdaze-intimate-dreamy-debut-album?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:33:54 +0000 Tricky Ununiform False Idols Tricky’s 13th album is billed as “a journey into happiness and content­ment”, a description that sounds incongruous to anyone who knows the veteran British rapper/producer’s earlier work. Recorded in the Bristolian’s newly adopted home of Berlin, this is the first album created by trip-hop pioneer Adrian Thaws without monetary obligations. If this is the sound of Tricky at peace, we should be grateful we don’t share his head space – he’s hardly hanging out the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112992/tricky-tussles-happiness-13th-album-ununiform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112992/tricky-tussles-happiness-13th-album-ununiform?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Sep 2017 12:04:01 +0000 The Horrors V Wolf Tone Once seen as a joke band, the Horrors are – perhaps surprisingly – on album No 5 in just over a decade. Armed with two chords and the skinniest legs this side of a sparrow convention, the British electro-goth rockers were not expected to last much past their punkish debut, Strange House (2007). But, with each subsequent outing, they have proven to be more than overhyped pretenders with fabulous hair. Produced by arena-pop maestro Paul Epworth (who has also delivered for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112996/horrors-fifth-album-continues-confound-doubters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112996/horrors-fifth-album-continues-confound-doubters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Sep 2017 12:02:34 +0000 Vianney Vianney Lili Louise Musique Much like my grasp of the language, my knowledge of French music is embarrassingly limited, beginning – and pretty much ending – with Vanessa Paradis’ 1988 hit Joe Le Taxi. Apparently, 26-year-old French singer-songwriter Vianney Bureau is a bit of a thing in his home country, and understanding why isn’t exactly science-roquette. Vianney, as he is known, sings heartfelt tunes straight out of the Ed Sheeran/James Blunt silky-smooth songbook, although the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112211/vianney-bring-his-honey-soaked-tones-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2112211/vianney-bring-his-honey-soaked-tones-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Sep 2017 00:02:25 +0000 Motorama Dialogues Talitres While Russia’s Motorama may take their cues from Soviet New Wave bands such as Kino and Megapolis, the earlier output of the post-punk quintet from Rostov-on-Don, who will play the Mom Livehouse, in North Point, on September 22, seems more like the work of the world’s most faithful Joy Division cover band. Their self-produced debut album, Alps (2010), sounds like what you’d have heard if Manchester’s Factory Records had opened up a dingy rock dive a stone’s throw from... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2110999/motorama-expand-coldwave-sounds-fourth-album?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2110999/motorama-expand-coldwave-sounds-fourth-album?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Sep 2017 09:31:42 +0000 Diiv Is the Is Are Captured Tracks Last year’s recording sessions for the sophomore album by American indie rockers Diiv were plagued with controversy and excessive drug consumption. Is the Is Are was self-produced by vocalist, guitarist and chief songwriter Zachary Cole Smith. His desire to create an “imperfect and flawed” record was helped by drummer Colby Hewitt’s departure (due to drug addiction), Smith’s own struggle with narcotics, and his arrest, along with girlfriend Sky Ferreira, for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2109194/are-american-indie-rockers-diiv-delve-deep?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2109194/are-american-indie-rockers-diiv-delve-deep?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Sep 2017 10:02:35 +0000 Queens of the Stone Age Villains Matador Like a gigantic ginger Elvis, Josh Homme approaches his music with a hip-shaking swagger. Whether it’s the strip-club sleaze of The Eagles of Death Metal, the bass-driven Them Crooked Vultures, or the slinky grooves that flavour the fiery riffs of his Queens of the Stone Age day job, the towering desert rocker knocks out tunes that make you boogie as easily as they break your nose. For the seventh QOTSA album and the follow up to 2013’s … Like Clockwork,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2109200/review-queens-stone-age-team-mark-ronson-seventh?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2109200/review-queens-stone-age-team-mark-ronson-seventh?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2017 09:17:20 +0000 LANY LANY Polydor Ever since people started writing songs, love has been music’s strongest muse. Deep, eternal, unrequited, forbidden. Love is all around us and there will always be demand for love songs. So much so that smooth R&B pop princes LANY have thrown all their eggs into one heart-shaped basket and dedicated their entire debut album to millennial lurve. It clocks in at nearly 60 minutes, over 16 tracks, so you can’t knock the Californian trio’s stamina. Backed by the sound of rainfall,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2104711/lany-their-way-hong-kong-put-all-their-eggs-heart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2104711/lany-their-way-hong-kong-put-all-their-eggs-heart?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Aug 2017 00:31:34 +0000 Oh Wonder Ultralife Island On a world tour that will bring them to Kitec, in Kowloon, on August 4, alt-pop sensations Oh Wonder will be in high spirits as they celebrate their second release. Following on from their 2015 debut, which gathered a year’s worth of songs, each recorded over a month and then released, Ultralife was preceded by the release of seven new songs, at fortnightly intervals. The London-based duo of Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony Westappear to be more confident in their... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2104292/alt-pop-sensations-oh-wonders-second-album?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2104292/alt-pop-sensations-oh-wonders-second-album?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jul 2017 00:31:17 +0000 Higher Brothers Black Cab CXSHXNLY “This is Chinese rap music?” a whiny voice asks over a plucked mandolin at the start of the Higher Brothers’ Made in China. “Sounds like they’re just saying, ‘ching, chang, chong.’” Such dark humour is typical in the Chengdu rap crew’s lyrics, and continues through their debut release. The quartet of DZ, Psy.P, Melo and MaSiWei have built a strong underground following in their homeland with the help of a couple of viral hits. Rhyming in their native dialect... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2104299/chengdu-rap-crew-higher-brothers-show-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2104299/chengdu-rap-crew-higher-brothers-show-their?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jul 2017 06:30:45 +0000 The Tracy Lords The Tracy Lords Artefracture Named after a 1980s porn star, The Tracy Lords are a new addition to the Hong Kong hardcore scene. Their eight-song demo, which they produced and released themselves late last year, has recently been remixed and re-released on cassette (look it up, kids!) with two additional tracks, and it’s a project of passion and purpose. High school buddies Owen Fung (former Kestrels and Kites drummer) and guitarist/vocalist Arthur Urquiola (who also plays in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2103309/tracy-lords-are-welcome-addition-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2103309/tracy-lords-are-welcome-addition-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jul 2017 00:30:15 +0000 Various Artists Billboard Presents Electric Asia Volume One b2 Music Brought to you by Hong Kong-based talent management company b2, Billboard Presents Electric Asia Volume One is billed as a compilation of “the most exciting EDM / dance music from across Asia”. The first volume in a proposed 10 album series, it’s a collection of 15 tracks by artists from China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and India, and is heavily influenced by our disco-happy city. While its cheesy vibe is hardly likely to elevate... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2102168/electric-asia-volume-one-heavily-under-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2102168/electric-asia-volume-one-heavily-under-hong-kongs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jul 2017 00:01:54 +0000 Bulletproof Nostalgia Self released “Talk to me, ’cause I want clarity. About democracy, and all the lies bout equality,” sings Lorenzo “Bai” Nuñez, frontman of Filipino ska-punk band Bulletproof. “There’s a conspiracy, absence of transparency, who is the enemy?” he continues on Crooked Authorities, the swaggering standout track of the band’s debut album, Nostalgia. Accompanied by a video that highlights an anti-United States rally in Manila, where the police ran over left-wing protesters... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2100370/hong-kong-ska-punk-band-bulletproof-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2100370/hong-kong-ska-punk-band-bulletproof-deliver?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jun 2017 09:08:36 +0000 Dagger Dagger Dangerous Goods Recorded by Naseem Khan, of Hong Kong band Parallel Horizons, and mixed at California’s Pit studio, the debut EP from new local metalcore act Dagger blasts the listener with a tight, heavy sound slashed by stinging metal riffs. Dagger are the latest project from King Ly Chee frontman Riz Farooqi and they are the first non-Singaporean band to have material released on Lion City label Dangerous Goods. The pounding rhythm section of bassist To and drummer Ivan is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2099207/hong-kong-metal-outfit-dagger-get-straight-point?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2099207/hong-kong-metal-outfit-dagger-get-straight-point?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jun 2017 00:00:45 +0000 Hyukoh 23 Highgrnd Seoul-based indie darlings Hyukoh (who return to Hong Kong for a gig at Kitec on June 22, having played Clockenflap last year) have been a fixture in the Korean charts since their inception, three years ago, but can their debut album keep the ball rolling? Lightfooted tracks such as Tokyo Inn build on the young quartet’s upbeat 20 and 22 EPs and the smooth melodies continue with the infectious Leather Jacket, a cheeky little number through which an irresistible pop hook rips.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2098329/korean-indie-darlings-hyukoh-reveal-mature-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2098329/korean-indie-darlings-hyukoh-reveal-mature-side?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:01:55 +0000 Lorde Melodrama Republic Records 4/5 stars Nearly four years after Royals and the album that propelled her to global fame, New Zealand singer Lorde returns with Melodrama, her long-awaited follow-up. While Pure Heroine, her 2013 debut, was all sparse electronica and relatable tales of suburban teenhood, the new record picks up the pieces after a break-up with anthemic dance tracks and lovelorn piano ballads. “It’s a record about being alone – the good parts and the bad parts,” she said... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2098523/review-inspired-heartache-lordes-melodrama-sounds-future-music?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2098523/review-inspired-heartache-lordes-melodrama-sounds-future-music?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:17:05 +0000 Born of Osiris The Eternal Reign Sumerian Records On an album that’s less of a new offering and more of a reimagining, American progressive-metal band Born of Osiris have come full circle to where they began more than a decade ago. The Eternal Reign is a revised and rerecorded version of their debut EP, The New Reign (2007). Recorded over spring break when the band were high school seniors, the original EP launched their career and got them signed to Sumerian Records. Now a tighter, more... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2097277/born-osiris-older-and-wiser-revisit-their-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2097277/born-osiris-older-and-wiser-revisit-their-first?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jun 2017 12:00:53 +0000 Katy Perry Witness Capitol 2.5 stars It’s a challenging time for pop stars: they’re saddled with the conundrum of remaining relevant and socially aware, yet fear alienating themselves from the charts with party-stopping talk of politics. When big-label names go on the hunt for wokeness, many fall back on the same stodgy tropes. Much has been made of Katy Perry’s refreshed world view on her latest album, Witness, on which the 32-year-old star finally takes a stand against vague societal issues.... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2097612/review-katy-perrys-new-album-witness-takes-stand-ultimately-doesnt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2097612/review-katy-perrys-new-album-witness-takes-stand-ultimately-doesnt?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jun 2017 04:45:28 +0000 Juana Molina Halo Crammed Discs After abandoning acting for music more than two decades ago, Juana Molina has been on a long and interesting sonic journey. Although the Argentinian folktronic composer has never followed a formulaic song­writing structure, each of her albums has been an extension of the previous and, while far from traditional, 2013’s Wed 21 felt the most accessible. Perhaps it was simply the introduction of an electric guitar. On her seventh album, Molina is accompanied by three... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2096377/juana-molinas-seventh-album-her-darkest-and-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2096377/juana-molinas-seventh-album-her-darkest-and-most?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2017 12:02:13 +0000 Harry StylesHarry Styles Columbia Harry Styles is only 23 years old. That’s right, 23. With the massive success of plastic pop monkeys One Direction (Styles was one of the fresh-faced, all-dancing, all-singing puppets, in case you weren’t aware), it feels as if the boy from Cheshire must have been thrust into the limelight as a well-coiffeured embryo. This self-titled solo debut is the next step in the freshly shorn singer’s evolution, his first stab at artistic maturity. And just like every... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2096380/harry-styles-gives-credibility-stab-self-titled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2096380/harry-styles-gives-credibility-stab-self-titled?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:31:46 +0000 Evan Dando Baby I’m Bored Fire Records While this won’t mean much to your average millennial, Evan Dando was a bit of a thing back in the 1990s. With a penchant for hard drugs, much like his friend Kurt Cobain, Dando was an indie pin-up who created sweet, jangly, alternative pop just as the US music scene was embracing heroin-fuelled grunge. The slacker icon and his band, The Lemonheads, were one of the first underground grunge acts to eye mainstream success, but, of course, it didn’t last. When... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2096375/evan-dando-baby-im-bored-reissue-heartfelt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2096375/evan-dando-baby-im-bored-reissue-heartfelt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:30:27 +0000 Sting 57th & 9th A&M From the jangly guitars and the driving urgency of Sting’s vocals on I Can’t Stop Thinking About You, the punchy opening track of his 12th solo album, it seems Mr Sumner has returned to his rocking roots, following 2013’s The Last Ship, an album that became a Broadway musical. “This record is a sort of omnibus of everything that I do, but the flagship seems to be this energetic thing. I’m very happy to put up the mast and see how it goes,” says the former Police frontman,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2095600/sting-goes-back-his-rocking-roots-cant-escape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2095600/sting-goes-back-his-rocking-roots-cant-escape?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 May 2017 00:01:50 +0000 At the Drive-In in*ter a*li*a Rise At the Drive-In, post-hardcore punk rockers from El Paso, Texas, have never made things easy. From their off-kilter time signatures to their often incomprehensible lyrics, they have always been a bludgeoning assault on the senses that threatens to spin gloriously out of control. Now, five years after their first reunion, guitarist Jim Ward has departed for a second time (relations within the band have ever been volatile), to be replaced by Keeley Davis, his... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2095606/drive-still-burn-first-studio-album-17-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2095606/drive-still-burn-first-studio-album-17-years?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 May 2017 10:00:34 +0000 Feist Pleasure Interscope With dirty jagged stabs of guitar permeating the eerie soundscape of the opening title track of her fifth studio album, Canadian indie-pop musician Leslie Feist takes another step away from the quirky folk of her 2006 breakout hit, 1234. Pleasure is a song of slow-burning intensity that brings to mind the rawness of early P.J. Harvey, especially with the handclap finale, a vibe that continues through the intimate, acoustic-driven I Wish I Didn’t Miss You and the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2095605/feists-stripped-back-sound-highlights-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2095605/feists-stripped-back-sound-highlights-her?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 May 2017 05:02:28 +0000 Gorillaz Humanz Parlophone Seven years after their previous outing, The Fall, along struts the fifth album from Gorillaz, the mega-selling virtual band created by comic-book artist Jamie Hewlett and musical chameleon Damon Albarn. And it’s the perfect soundtrack to the coming apocalypse. Created with “the party for the end of the world” in mind, Humanz is political and abrasive; Albarn doesn’t make obvious references to the tangerine Twitter pest but the darkness at the heart of America hangs... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2094757/gorillaz-soundtrack-party-end-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2094757/gorillaz-soundtrack-party-end-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 May 2017 00:30:30 +0000 British Sea Power Let the Dancers Inherit the Party Caroline It’s almost eight years since Brighton’s British Sea Power played one of the most mesmerising gigs Hong Kong indie fans have ever seen. And just as they did that night at Grappa’s Cellar, the eccentric Mercury Prize-nominated rockers walk the line between cult act and pop stardom on Let the Dancers Inherit the Party, the follow-up to 2015’s experimental Sea of Brass. However, whereas the band’s unbridled ambition often leads them to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2094761/british-sea-power-walk-line-between-cult-act-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2094761/british-sea-power-walk-line-between-cult-act-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 14:02:20 +0000 Low Ones and Sixes Sub Pop Although they have flown under the radar for most of their 24-year career, I’ll bet a banker’s bonus that critically acclaimed Minnesota slowcore trio Low will put on one of the most entrancing performances our city will see this year – if it goes ahead, that is. Characterised by minimal arrangements and the striking vocals of guitarist Alan Sparhawk and drummer Mimi Parker, who are also husband and wife, Low will no doubt throw in an obscure cover or two (perhaps... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2094752/lows-minimalism-should-mesmerise-hong-kong-if-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2094752/lows-minimalism-should-mesmerise-hong-kong-if-its?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 05:00:45 +0000 Multi-Ego Pieces of a Dream Bandcamp Last in Hong Kong for a show in 2011, Beijing post-hardcore quintet Multi-Ego will attempt to bring down the rafters of Hidden Agenda on May 20, assuming the Kwun Tong venue remains open after the recent police raid, touring their first full-length album, Pieces of a Dream. Formed in 2008 on the campus of the Beijing Contem­porary Music Academy, Multi-Ego’s hard-won live pedigree shines through from the fast and furious opener, Ink. Built on a filthy bass... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2093564/chinese-post-hardcore-outfit-multi-ego-bring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2093564/chinese-post-hardcore-outfit-multi-ego-bring?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 12:15:42 +0000 The Black Angels Death Song Partisan It’s been four years since we’ve heard from Texan psych-rockers The Black Angels and much has changed in their home country since the slight misstep of 2013’s Indigo Meadow. Written and recorded before last year’s US presidential election, their fifth album reflects the anxiety felt by the band about the crowning of a trumped-up megalomaniac. On the blistering lead single, Currency, vocalist Alex Maas declaims: “One day it will all be over, one day it will... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2093567/death-song-psychedelic-rockers-black-angels-turn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2093567/death-song-psychedelic-rockers-black-angels-turn?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 May 2017 23:00:43 +0000 Maxïmo Park Risk to Exist Cooking Vinyl “What did we do to you to deserve this?” Maxïmo Park’s behatted frontman Paul Smith sings on the opening salvo from his band’s sixth album. Built around a swaggering 1980s pop chorus, the track directs its anger at Britain’s elitist society: “You’re doing everything in your power to preserve this / Let’s all pretend to tell the truth.” It’s this sociopolitical edge, paired with insanely catchy melodies, that has kept Maxïmo Park in the game for so long. In... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2093572/maximo-parks-funky-pop-has-message-they-dont?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2093572/maximo-parks-funky-pop-has-message-they-dont?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 May 2017 10:02:37 +0000 Future Islands The Far Field 4AD Many moments in music will never be forgotten: the deaths of Prince and David Bowie, for instance, or when One Direction split up (devasta­ting!), but I’ll always remember a day in March, three years ago, when Samuel T. Herring, a chunky Kevin Spacey lookalike with the slinky hips of a 1970s disco king, created one of the greatest pop moments of recent years. Future Island’s performance of their 2014 track Seasons (Waiting on You) on the Late Show with David... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2092680/future-islands-have-hooks-back-spectacle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2092680/future-islands-have-hooks-back-spectacle?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 May 2017 00:00:39 +0000 Cigarettes After Sex Affection/Apocalypse Partisan Records Making their Hong Kong debut on May 12, at the Kitec Music Zone, wistful pop collective Cigarettes After Sex have been touted as a band to watch on the back of a huge YouTube following and a handful of well-received shoegazing singles. Formed in El Paso, Texas, by band mastermind and chief songwriter Greg Gonzalez, CAS released their first EP in 2012, and after several changes in style and a relocation to hip and happening Brooklyn, the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2092678/cigarettes-after-sex-are-bringing-their-sultry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2092678/cigarettes-after-sex-are-bringing-their-sultry?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 May 2017 05:03:43 +0000 Lillie Mae Forever and Then Some Third Man Records Having dazzled audiences with her dandy fiddle skills as part of Jack White’s all-female backing band, The Peacocks, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Lillie Mae has stepped into the spotlight. This album was recorded at White’s studio and released on his Third Man Records, so it’s hardly surprising the bluesman has his hands all over the production, too, pushing the multi-instrumen­talist Mae in a multitude of directions. Joined by musical... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2092682/jack-white-has-his-hands-all-over-lillie-maes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2092682/jack-white-has-his-hands-all-over-lillie-maes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 May 2017 10:01:38 +0000 Goldfrapp Silver Eye Mute Following the intimate stripped-back soundscapes of 2013’s Tales of Us, the British duo of Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp pull on their glitter boots once again as they make a welcome return to their glam synth-pop ways on their seventh album. While the cinematic folk of their previous album certainly had its moments, there’s no denying that Goldfrapp are far more enjoyable when they’re dolled up and strutting across the dance floor. The squelchy disco thump of lead... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2090133/goldfrapp-get-back-dance-floor-seventh-album?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2090133/goldfrapp-get-back-dance-floor-seventh-album?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 May 2017 00:00:53 +0000 Father John Misty Pure Comedy Sub Pop With the 2015 album I Love You, Honeybear, Josh Tillmanmade the sweeping transformation from “that Fleet Foxes drummer guy” into a bona fide indie rock darling. While Tillman had released several solo records before switching to his Father John Misty alias, that break­through album brought fresh adulation and pop star collaborations, and made his new moniker a household name, at least in hipsterville. But Tillman isn’t exactly a bellyful of laughs on his... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2090138/father-john-misty-entrenches-his-position-indie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2090138/father-john-misty-entrenches-his-position-indie?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Apr 2017 03:30:29 +0000 Pitbull Climate Change RCA The Latino rapper (and actor, musician and fashion icon) known as Pitbull sticks his paws into several pop pies on Climate Change, the 10th album from the global pop superstar born Armando Christian Pérez.Returning to the AsiaWorld-Expo later next month,Pérez has made a valiant attempt to cover as many unit-shifting bases as possible over the 12 party tracks. Opening with the light tropical house of We Are Strong, the Miami emcee spouts nonsense (“Politicians want to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2090135/ahead-hong-kong-show-pitbull-shows-he-has-paws?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2090135/ahead-hong-kong-show-pitbull-shows-he-has-paws?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Apr 2017 09:15:15 +0000 The Moonlandingz Interplanetary Class Classics Transgressive It’s not every day you encounter a lead singer with meaty cold cuts on his face and a bracelet carved from a loaf of bread around his wrist, but then Johnny Rocket is not your average frontman. A “dutiful masochist and world ranking narcissist”, Rocket is the deviant alter ego of Fat White Family’s Lias Saoudi; he’s also the eccentric, somewhat food-obsessed frontman (in one video he’s wearing a basque made from cling film and two... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087737/semi-fictional-band-moonlandingz-have-created?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087737/semi-fictional-band-moonlandingz-have-created?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Apr 2017 07:00:37 +0000 Priscilla Ahn La La La In a Tree Inc Not to be confused with the award-winning La La Land (2017), on which her voice can be heard, La La La is the latest album by American singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn, and her first foray into the world of children’s music. Ahn, who will play the Kitec Music Zone on May 11, says she was inspired by the birth of her first son to write songs “that moved children to happy places, but also to introspective and imaginative places”. Although the album’s 12... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087728/mellow-folkie-priscilla-ahn-enters-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087728/mellow-folkie-priscilla-ahn-enters-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:31 +0000 Jamiroquai Automaton EMI Back in the late 1990s, when the space cowboy had canned heat in his heels, Jay Kay was one of life’s guilty pleasures. Sure, the young British singer had the bravado and playboy lifestyle that led to him being branded the “twat in the hat”, but we were quite partial to the cheeky little funker and his retro-styled acid-jazz outfit, Jamiroquai. By the time 2010’s Rock Dust Light Star came and quickly went, few people were craving another dose of the ol’ slinky grooves.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087746/jamiroquai-are-back-new-angle-jay-kays-acid-disco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087746/jamiroquai-are-back-new-angle-jay-kays-acid-disco?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000 Creeper Eternity, in Your Arms Roadrunner As shown by the reception that greeted Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible when they took to the stage in Hong Kong recently, the music of The Damned still reaches far and wide. Admittedly, most of that crowd are getting on a bit, but the sound and vision of the punk legends is touching a younger gener­ation of snotty rockers, too. While British horror-punk outfit Creeper may have more in common with bands such as Alkaline Trio, Misfits and AFI, they tip... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087368/horror-punk-outfit-creeper-mix-big-choruses-slab?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087368/horror-punk-outfit-creeper-mix-big-choruses-slab?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Apr 2017 12:02:46 +0000 James Blunt The Afterlove Atlantic It’s just too easy to slag off James Blunt. His poshness and those sickly sentimental ballads have painted a whopping target on the back of this subcutaneous irritant. His acerbic tweets (“I never liked my own voice. Until it made me rich”) and self-deprecating humour may have won over a few fence-sitters, but Blunt is still just a privileged coffee table singer-songwriter with an annoying voice who wrote a catchy mega-selling single. There’s nothing on The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087364/james-blunts-fifth-album-another-dose-slick-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087364/james-blunts-fifth-album-another-dose-slick-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Apr 2017 00:33:26 +0000 TTNG Disappointment Island Sargent House Records Disappointment Island, the third album from British math rockers TTNG (formerly known as This Town Needs Guns) is aptly titled, considering it was released just after last year’s Brexit referendum. Or maybe the Collis brothers (guitarist Chris and drummer Tom) and bassist/vocalist Henry Tremain weren’t making a political statement and, like true Brits, were just sick of the miserable weather. As part of an Asian tour in support of their latest... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087376/ttngs-melancholic-math-rock-should-shine-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2087376/ttngs-melancholic-math-rock-should-shine-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Apr 2017 00:30:24 +0000 Spoon Hot Thoughts Matador Dependability should really be a dirty word when it comes to rock ’n’ roll. But Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, the core duo in Texas rockers Spoon, have been so consistently reliable in their songwriting during the past two decades that the band has become dependably sexy to many an alt-indie rock fan. Quantity and quality have never been an issue and even without a big hit single (something you get the feeling they have never given two hoots about), each of their albums... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2084401/texas-indie-rockers-spoon-have-more-hooks-captain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2084401/texas-indie-rockers-spoon-have-more-hooks-captain?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Apr 2017 10:00:30 +0000 Depeche Mode Spirit Columbia Closing in on 40 years together, Essex trio Depeche Mode are in a rather bleak and gloomy mood on their 14th album. It’s not unfair to say that veteran synth rockers Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher have often viewed the world through pessimistic eyes and, from the slow-burning opener (“We’re going backwards, armed with new technology, going backwards to a caveman menta­lity”), the album is an angry call to arms. Despite appearances, the follow-up to 2013’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2084400/depeche-modes-14th-album-angry-call-arms-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2084400/depeche-modes-14th-album-angry-call-arms-our?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2017 00:31:50 +0000 Amiina Fantômas Mengi Amiina, an all-female quartet formed in Reykjavik College of Music, cut their teeth as the string section for Icelandic buddies Sigur Rós. They return to Hong Kong’s Hidden Agenda on April 26, with an expanded line-up, following the “masculine infusion” of drummer Magnus and electronic artist Kippi. Their latest release, last year’s Fantômas, was conceived as the soundtrack to a 1913 French silent movie of the same name, an original score they plan to perform in its... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2084402/icelands-amiina-revel-atmospherics-theyre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2084402/icelands-amiina-revel-atmospherics-theyre?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Apr 2017 10:00:30 +0000 Laura Marling Semper Femina More Alarming Records Produced by Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes) and recorded in Laura Marling’s adopted Los Angeles, the British folk singer’s sixth album, Semper Femina (roughly Latin for “always a woman”), is an exploration of femininity and womanhood written at a “masculine time” in Marling’s life. “I’m interested in the differences between men and women, of which there are plenty, and they need to be understood better,” says the prolific 27-year-old songwriter,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2082741/semper-femina-bristles-confidence-beyond-laura?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2082741/semper-femina-bristles-confidence-beyond-laura?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Mar 2017 00:01:56 +0000 Alcest Kodama Prophecy Productions French rock band Alcest will bring their wall of blackgaze to the sweaty Hidden Agenda on April 19, in support of their latest album, Kodama. Yes, you read that correctly, Alcest play “blackgaze”, post-black metal mixed with shoegaze (in case you aren’t down with the kids, grandad), a genre the band are widely credited with having pioneered on their 2005 E.P, Le Secret. Founded by Stéphane Paut, who prefers the name Neige, as a solo project in 2000, Alcest... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2082754/french-rockers-alcest-bring-blackgaze-genre-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2082754/french-rockers-alcest-bring-blackgaze-genre-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Mar 2017 05:02:18 +0000