Disc of the Day Celebrates 10 Years of Album Reviews

DISC OF THE DAY - 10 A significant birthday for theartsdesk's daily music reviews section

Theartsdesk's daily music reviews section reaches a significant birthday

Ten years ago yesterday, on Monday 14th February 2011, one of theartsdesk’s writers, Joe Muggs, reviewed an album called Paranormale Aktivitat, by an outfit called Zwischenwelt. It was the first ever Disc of the Day, a new slot inserted into theartsdesk’s front page design, where it still resides today.

New Music Lockdown 7: Soundgarden, Carl Cox, Tim Burgess, Island Records Auction and more

NEW MUSIC LOCKDOWN 7 Soundgarden, Carl Cox, Tim Burgess, Island Records Auction and more

The latest, liveliest selection of music-related stuff to watch, do and listen to at home

Onto our seventh Lockdown selection and things are only getting busier out there, with more to see, hear and get involved in. Below are five of the best for this week. Dive in!

BBC Radio One Big Weekend 2020

Dinosaur Pile-Up, O2 Institute, Birmingham review - grungy punk poppers end the weekend on a high

★★★★ DINOSAUR PILE-UP, O2 INSTITUTE, BIRMINGHAM Leeds grungy punk poppers chase the winter blues away

Leeds grungers chase the winter blues away

Dinosaur Pile-Up may have been around for more than a decade, but it would be fair to say that their career has been something of a slow burn. Indeed, while thanking tonight’s support acts, main man Matt Bigland claimed that they’d supported more bands than any other group in the UK. The release of 2019’s Celebrity Mansions album looks like it may be the shot in the arm that Dinosaur Pile-Up have been waiting for, though. This weekend saw them sell out Birmingham’s O2 Institute.

CD: Mudhoney - Morning in America

A fearsome State of the Nation address by Mark Arm’s grunge veterans

Mudhoney’s new album Morning in America is a strange beast. Made up of outtakes from last year’s Digital Garbage, a cover version and rerecorded versions of limited edition 7” singles, one look at the track listing suggests a second CD that might eventually accompany a reissue somewhere down the line. It also implies a release forced by contractual obligations or a cash-flow problem at their label, Sub Pop.

CD: Grenades - Primate

Debut from UK punk outfit shows black wit and sonic imagination

South-coast four piece Grenades’ debut album is that most unlikely of musical outings, an ecological grunge-punk concept album. This is no wafty, feel-good affair, though, its environmental concern is akin to the eco-parable shock tactics of rough’n’ready Eighties exploitation flicks such as Cannibal Holocaust and Green Inferno.

theartsdesk on Vinyl 51: Suicide, Soundgarden, Soft Cell, Stax, Spice Girls and more

The most extensive monthly vinyl reviews round-up on the internet

As this month’s edition of theartsdesk on Vinyl appears the sun is blazing outside, a heatwave hits, and our record collections must hide in the shadows or warp. Yet still we want more to join them in their sheltered rows and where better to seek the greatest new releases than the longest, most complete monthly round-up of new vinyl releases. As ever, we run the gamut.

theartsdesk on Vinyl 49 - Part 1: Keith Richards, Asian Dub Foundation, Popul Vuh, Nirvana, Cage the Elephant and more

THE ARTS DESK ON VINYL 49 Keith Richards, Asian Dub Foundation, Popul Vuh, Nirvana & more

The largest, most wide-ranging monthly record reviews on the planet

Due to exciting matters beyond theartsdesk on Vinyl’s control there’s been a slight delay to this month’s edition but, never fear, to ensure we cover all that’s juicy, we’re doing a special two-volume version, with Part 2 coming next week. Watch this space.

CD: J Mascis - Elastic Days

The wizard of introspection completely fails to peak, and that's the magic

“I don't peak early / I don't peak at all,” goes the wryly self-aware line in the opening song here, “Take me to the Movies”. Thirty-five years since he started releasing records, Mascis isn't interested in peaking, progress or much else beyond delivering the same he always has.

Best Albums of 2018

THE ★★★★★ ALBUMS OF 2018 SO FAR You need to hear these

theartsdesk's music critics pick their favourites of the year so far

Disc of the Day reviews new albums, week in, week out, all year. Below are the albums to which our writers awarded five stars. Click on any one of them to find out why.

 

Baxter Dury, Etienne de Crécy and Delilah Holliday - B.E.D. ★★★★★ A small but perfectly sleazy work of sweary, cynical brilliance

Smashing Pumpkins, Wembley Arena review - Corgan and company deliver the goods

★★★★ SMASHING PUMPKINS, WEMBLEY ARENA Corgan and company deliver the goods

Nineties alt-rockers reconstitute to shine a light on all the hits and more

A three-hour show? There’s no doubt that The Smashing Pumpkins give good bang for the buck but it’s rare to see a band of this size and stature play for more than two hours in London. So it’s a testament to their back catalogue that at the SSE Wembley Arena those three hours fly by faster than the college years soundtracked by the Pumpkins at their absolute peak in the mid-Nineties.