The Last Dinner Party, SWG3, Glasgow review - affection and adulation for rising stars

The hotly tipped band spread a joyful mood at one of their largest gigs yet.

The first declaration of love for the Last Dinner Party arrived approximately one song into their set. “I love you too,” declared a delighted looking Abigail Morris, the band’s pirouetting frontwoman, in response, and the ensuing hour suggested outpourings of affection are just one of many reasons for Morris to be cheerful these days.

New Order, OVO Hydro, Glasgow review - a nostalgia trip with a modern feel

★★★★ NEW ORDER, OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW A nostalgia trip with a modern feel

The Manchester legends found their groove as the night went on.

Early on in this arena gig by New Order, a youthful, enthusiastic voice could be heard to say gleefully, “They’re just so 80s!”. That statement was both accurate and yet also misleading, for as this near two-hour performance showcased New Order’s music is both of that decade and yet above it. 

Album: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers - I Love You

Likeable debut from Aussie outfit which combines punkish bio with a feminist edge

Canberra band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers continue the recent tradition of Australian indie bands having unwieldy comedy names. However, their music, as laid out on their debut album, has higher aspirations, bridging their scuzzy punkin’ roots and a larger sound, loosely somewhere between The Breeders and Foo Fighters, yet very much their own thing.

Music Reissues Weekly: Bowes Road Band - Back in the HCA

Delightful but previously unknown early Seventies British art-school album

The acronym “HCA” in the title stands for Hornsey College of Art, the North London college which, in late May 1968, was occupied by its students and a few staff in a high-profile protest which went on into that July. What was wanted were changes in how student union funds were disbursed and how the college was run. Ultimately, barbed wire and dogs were employed to end the dispute.

The National, OVO Hydro, Glasgow, review - commanding arenas with ease

★★★★ THE NATIONAL, OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW Commanding arenas with ease

A lengthy show served as a thrilling reminder of the Ohio band's rich catalogue

There remains something disconcerting about seeing the National as arena rockers. Perhaps it’s the nonchalant stage entrance as they stroll on, a far cry from the pyro heavy displays this Glasgow venue usually witnesses. Maybe it’s the unassuming stage attire, with frontman Matt Berninger adopting a smart casual look, or the sort of onstage chat that featured the group remarking on unusual time signatures in their songs.

Album: Ash - Race the Night

Northern Irish power pop perennials dig down into the heavy rock side

Northern Irish rockers Ash appeared in the mid-Nineties, channelling The Ramones when the UK was in thrall to either bangin’ club music or Britpop. They had a good commercial run, longer than almost all their contemporaries, mustering 18 Top 40 UK hits, their last in 2007 (although their albums still usually make the grade).

Bolan's Shoes review - good-natured film about the healing power of a pop idol

★★★ BOLAN'S SHOES Good-natured film about the healing power of a pop idol

Leanne Best and Timothy Spall excel as troubled ageing glam-rockers

Older fans of T Rex will get pleasure from hearing the band’s tracks and reliving some of the buzz of being a dino-rocker, but, despite the title, this isn’t strictly a fan film. Describing what kind of film it is, though, would involve a serious spoiler, which points to its wonky narrative ambitions. It expends a lot of screen time building up to an unsurprising reveal (more on that below).

'We wanted to make a record we really love': The Rolling Stones at Hackney Empire

THE ROLLING STONES AT HACKNEY EMPIRE 'We wanted to make a record we really love'

Mick, Keith and Ronnie at their Hackney Diamonds press conference on Wednesday

One day, someone will compile a full illustrated history of Rolling Stones press conferences, going right back to Mick and Keith in 1964 buying a couple of pints in a pub in Denmark Street for journalists from the NME and Melody Maker – both now in the dustbin of history – and telling them, “here’s our album, have a listen” and leaving them to it.

Album: Kristin Hersh - Clear Pond Road

★★★★★ KRISTIN HERSH - CLEAR POND ROAD Alt-rock tropes abide

Alt-rock tropes abide and become something much more in the unfolding career of the Throwing Muse

Kristin Hersh’s voice, it transpires, is ageless. In the 80s when Throwing Muses broke through, she hit a particular combination of tones – blurring boundaries between harsh and smooth, melodic and discordant, trad and weird – that became vastly influential.

Along with the likes of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Pixies’s Kim Deal, she not only reconfigured the sense of what the female voice was in rock music, but helped codify singing styles for men and women vocalists in grunge and alt-rock ever after.