CD: Mogwai - Every Country's Sun

★★★★ CD: MOGWAI - EVERY COUNTRY'S SUN Scottish stalwarts find the post-rock/electronica sweet spot

Scottish stalwarts find the post-rock/electronica sweet spot

Mogwai’s ability to create both frighteningly intense and gorgeously understated compositions has led to them being one of post-rock’s most celebrated and accessible bands. In recent years, they’ve increasingly become known for their unnerving and ingenious soundtracks (most recently Atomic, which underscored Mark Cousins' documentary Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise).

CD: Lory D - Strange Days

★★★★★ CD: LORY D - STRANGE DAYS From Rome via Glasgow, techno boiled down to its most potent essence

From Rome via Glasgow, techno boiled down to its most potent essence

Imagine that The Ramones were not only still playing into the mid 2000s, but were still writing new songs as good as “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” and still sending young audiences completely delirious to boot. That might seem fanciful, but it's a pretty accurate analogy for where Lorenzo D’Angelo – Lory D – is now.

Ayesha Hazarika, Soho Theatre review - 'politics is her patch'

★★★ AYESHA HAZARIKA, SOHO THEATRE Former Labour adviser finds the funny in politics

Former Labour adviser finds the funny in politics

What a day to open your political stand-up show, entitled State of the Nation, a few hours after Theresa May had announced a snap election. If Ayesha Hazarika needed any extra material, yesterday morning's events would certainly have supplied it.

Expensive Shit, Soho Theatre, review - 'strong but slender'

A tale of two toilets: Edinburgh Fringe First winner comes to Soho Theatre

It’s hot. Real hot. And you’re dancing, just lost in music. You’re at the legendary Shrine nightclub in Lagos, where Afrobeat star Fela Kuti is king. It’s 1994. And it’s hot. Sweat is just pouring off you, no longer in little trickles but soaking through your clothes. And still you dance. As the beat pounds along, you can hear Fela intone: “Men are born; kings are made”, then something about “one nation, indivisible”, before he says, “War has never been the answer — long live Nigeria!

Bluebeard's Castle & The 8th Door, Scottish Opera

BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE & THE 8TH DOOR, SCOTTISH OPERA Provocative premiere shines revealing new light on Bartók's dark masterpiece

A provocative premiere shines revealing new light on Bartók's dark opera masterpiece

What to pair with Bluebeard’s Castle? It’s always a dilemma for opera companies. Something lightweight, even comic, provides contrast but also risks trivialising Bartók’s dark, symbolist drama. Something equally brooding risks submerging the audience into an evening of endless gloom.

Lost in France

LOST IN FRANCE Nostalgic music documentary gets a hero's welcome at Glasgow Film Festival

Nostalgic music documentary gets a hero's welcome at Glasgow Film Festival

Pulling together a music documentary strikes me as a simple enough concept. Gather your talking heads in front of a nice enough backdrop, splice with archive footage in some semblance of a narrative order and there you go. There’s no need to, say, hire a minibus and attempt to recreate a near-mythological gig from 20 years ago. Especially if that gig happened in France.

The Last Supper, BBCSSO, Brabbins, City Halls, Glasgow

THE LAST SUPPER, BBCSSO, BRABBINS, CITY HALLS, GLASGOW A thrilling renaissance for Birtwistle's ritualistic religious opera

A thrilling renaissance for Birtwistle's ritualistic religious opera

You can tell it’s a big deal when even a handful of London critics abandon the capital for a Saturday evening in chilly Glasgow. And there were more besides in the capacity crowd for Birtwistle’s opera The Last Supper, given a semi-staged performance by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra – seemingly anyone who’s anyone in Scottish music, from international composers to conductors and orchestra heads, and way beyond too.