A glam rock album on a solid label like Sub Pop should deliver something that’s good fun, musically compelling and—given the singer’s self-professed love of Bob Dylan—lyrically engaging.
But as the Elton John biopic Rocketman scales box office heights, it’s sad to say that Kyle brings nothing new to his craft. The album falls flat on every point—it’s just very, very dull.
Craft has churned out three albums in as many years—and maybe that’s showing.
“See you and me, we’re suckers in a vampire town with deadbeat eyes and not enough blood to go round,” is about as good as the lyrics get on album single Deathwish Blue.
And the album’s not saved by its slick production either.
Reprieve
The more psychedelic O Lucky Hand is a welcome reprieve from an otherwise monotone offering.
It’s not like there aren’t other bands out there doing this stuff—albeit almost entirely men—and they do it much better.
California’s Foxygen, and young New Yorkers The Lemon Twigs both bring better music.
But if Rocketman has left you craving something a bit glam, then Ezra Furman is hard to beat. And Ezra has some kind of social conscience too.
The Grimeborn festival is a series of short-run opera productions that are designed to challenge preconceived ideas about opera, including who it’s for.
The festival includes bold new takes on classics such as Don Giovanni.
But it also focuses on original new shows such as Aurora and Sane And Sound.
The entire of the Barbican Centre has been taken over by AI—More than Human. The exhibition offers insights from artists, scientists and researchers on how technology could have an impact on daily life.
It features research projects by DeepMind, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Neri Oxman.
Also included are exhibits and installations from artists including Mario Klingemann, Massive Attack, Es Devlin and teamLab.
The exhibition uses interactive exhibits to explore the assumptions around AI, as well as the potential problems associated with it, and how culture is beginning to respond to it.
A PechaKucha night is a series of individual presentations lasting six minutes and 40 seconds each. Performances range from the political to the personal.
Judy Cox reviews End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
New sculpture 'Lady in Blue' strides across the Fourth Plinth
Plus: A review of one of the most exciting British jazz records in a generation
