“I didn’t want anyone to know it was me”: on being Joni Mitchell’s “Carey”
For 50 years, the “mean old daddy” immortalised in one of Mitchell’s best-loved songs has been an enigma. Now he…
ByMusic reviews
Read about the best live performances, contemporary music and classic records here.
The fatal flaw in the “final” Beatles song
On “Now and Then”, created using AI, John Lennon’s voice is punchy and crisp. Does that make it a great…
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Britain is scared of jazz
Ezra Collective is the first ever jazz band to win the Mercury Prize – lifting a curse on a genre…
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The Ballad of Darren is one of Blur’s best records
The band’s new album, like all their greatest work, is suffused with melancholy.
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Blur and the strange death of Britpop England
Their gig at Wembley Stadium was their biggest yet. But do the nostalgic guitar sounds of the 1990s have wider…
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The contradictions of Arctic Monkeys
In the run-up to their headline Glastonbury set, the band defied the creative arc of their late career by shutting…
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In the house of Harry Styles
The pop star’s fans have their tricks and traditions to make a stadium gig feel as intimate as possible.
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Elton John is saying goodbye, for one more time
He can no longer hit the high notes and stayed mostly seated at the piano but, even at the age…
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Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour is a vast sci-fi spectacle designed for social media
This retrofuturist extravaganza, like all modern big gigs, is intended to look good on someone’s phone so they can prove…
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The National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein is just too predictable
On their ninth album, the band have collaborated with exciting acts from Taylor Swift to Sufjan Stevens – so it’s…
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The pop starlet reinvention wheel
From Madonna to Taylor Swift, the music industry demands that its female artists stay new, young and relevant forever.
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On The Record, Boygenius find new power and purpose
On this propulsive debut album, the voices of Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers are tonally so singular, yet come…
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Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers: a revolutionary adventure in rhythm
On their fourth album, the Mercury Award-winning band fuse avant-garde pop and hip hop to create a truly exhilarating sound.
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Sam Smith’s Gloria is a bland, contrived pop record
The brilliance of “Unholy” shows up how little originality is to be found on this autotuned, cliché-ridden and inauthentic album.
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First Aid Kit: “We realised constant touring was not a good way to live”
Johanna and Klara Söderberg on making music as sisters, the side effects of ambition, and taking a break from live…
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How the Strokes’ Is This It captured the short-lived optimism of the millennium
Whether or not you believe the band “saved rock music”, it’s difficult to imagine what the 2000s would have looked…
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Not even Taylor Swift can overshadow the 1975
Joined by a special guest at the O2, Matty Healy mused on masculinity as his band paraded their irresistible brand…
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The best albums of 2022
New Statesman staff choose their favourite records of the year.
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Bach’s accidental masterpiece
The keyboard works of The Well-Tempered Clavier sound more novel and luminous 300 years later than in their composer’s day.
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Caitlin Rose: “I’ve never been embarrassed of who I am”
The Nashville-born musician on trauma, getting older and taking nine years away from music.
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