Album: Fontaines DC – A Hero's Death

★★★★ FONTAINES DC - A HERO'S DEATH The Dubliners return, bowed but not beaten by success

The Dubliners return, bowed but not beaten by success

Be careful what you wish for. Turns out the dream that most bands yearn for isn't all it's cracked up to be. Fontaines DC's debut album, Dogrel went large (and won a Mercury Prize nomination and BBC 6 Music's Album of the Year). They toured like crazy and nearly imploded. But, just a year later, they're back. And this time it's personal. The title song perhaps explains the progression "that was the year of the sneer now the real thing's here".

Ailish Tynan, Iain Burnside/Allan Clayton, James Baillieu, Wigmore Hall online/BBC Radio 3 review – alone together

WIGMORE HALL / RADIO 3 Ailish Tynan, Iain Burnside / Allan Clayton, James Baillieu

Fine singing and dramatic flair in hours of sweet solitude

Loneliness haunts the solo song – not simply all those solitary wanderers and defiant wayfarers of the Lied tradition, but the forsaken lovers and questing pilgrims who fill the folk-song repertoire of many lands. So, amid the general poignancy of the Wigmore Hall’s lockdown concerts for Radio 3, the vocal performances have carried a special frisson.

Artemis Fowl review - flash bang nothing

★★★ ARTEMIS FOWL A poor adaptation of a magical world

A poor adaptation of a magical world

It’s taken over 18 years for Artemis Fowl to reach the big screen, with Miramax originally buying the rights in 2001. Finally, Disney have brought the world’s youngest criminal mastermind to life, but was it worth the wait? Well, the fact it’s appearing on streaming service Disney+ rather than waiting for a cinematic release probably answers that question.

'In a country of marvellous communicators': violinist Katherine Hunka on life with the Irish Chamber Orchestra

'IN A COUNTRY OF MARVELLOUS COMMUNICATORS' Violinist Katherine Hunka on life with the Irish Chamber Orchestra

The ICO's leader/sometime music director for 18 years shares the wonder of life in Ireland

As a musician I spend so much time on the road that a day spent at home is a rarity. And now, with the restrictions we all face, and concerts an impossibility, I am becoming a keen gardener and making a lot of soup. It is also a time of reflection. There is nothing like being told to stay at home to make you think about how home came about, particularly when it’s abroad. My 20-year-old self would never have dreamt of anywhere other than my home city London as base.

Blood, Series 2, Channel 5 review - expertly-crafted thriller turns the screw

★★★★★ BLOOD, SERIES 2, CHANNEL 5 Expertly-crafted thriller turns the screw

Examination of family values under extreme duress

Veterans of the first series of Blood will be familiar with writer Sophie Petzal’s fondness for leading the viewer up the garden path and round the mulberry bush as the story develops. Get ready to go through it all again.

Normal People, BBC One review – adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel evokes the deep cut of first love

★★★★ NORMAL PEOPLE, BBC ONE Pain, despair and rapturous joy are captured in this richly-rendered drama

Pain, despair and rapturous joy are captured in this richly-rendered drama

Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel, which was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, was a psychologically rich, emotive journey into the psyches of two Irish teenagers who fall in love. Only two years on from publication, it has been turned into a 12-part series from the BBC and Hulu. 

Calm with Horses review - a stirring debut

★★★★ CALM WITH HORSES A stirring debut

Stark Irish drama with a sympathetic heart

Nick Rowland marks his breakout from TV drama with this very competent feature, an adaptation of Colin Barrett’s short story. Set in a bleak, rural Ireland, Cosmo Jarvis plays Arm, an ex-boxer with an estranged girlfriend, a non-verbal, autistic five-year-old son and the kinds of friends who get him into trouble.