Charli XCX, O2 Academy, Glasgow review - sweat-drenched pop amid feverish atmosphere

★★★★ CHARLI XCX, O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW Sweat-drenched pop amid feverish atmosphere

The singer's commanding presence overcame a slick production

“This town makes me sweat”, declared Charlotte Aitchison at one point in this set, as she took a brief breather between songs. The 29-year-old should have tried being in the audience, for this was a sweat-drenched evening right from the opening seconds, with a wildly devoted crowd which congregated into a heaving mass rapidly and consistently.

Aitchison might have too many quirks to ascend beyond a venue like the O2 Academy, but something about both her personality and performance suggested she is better suited to such a setting anyway.

alt-J, Barrowland, Glasgow review - unlikely anthems from the shadows

★★★ ALT-J, BARROWLAND, GLASGOW Unlikely anthems from the shadows

The Leeds band kept their distance during a variable set

Prior to alt-j’s encore getting underway their video wall switched to the Ukrainian flag. “Fuck Putin!” bellowed keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton, to hearty roars of approval, in what was both a brief reminder of the outside world beyond the increasingly humid Barrowland and also a look at the band themselves and their own emotions, which otherwise remained distant during this show.

Music Reissues Weekly: Saturno 2000 - La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983

MUSIC REISSUES WEEKLY: SATURNO 2000 - LA REBAJADA DE LOS SONIDEROS 1962-1983 Revealed - the slowed-down world of Mexico’s sound systems

Revealed - the slowed-down world of Mexico’s sound systems

What’s in the groove isn’t necessarily the end of the story. Sound is fixed into a record when it’s pressed. Get it revolving on a turntable, dump the needle onto it and what’s heard is what’s intended to be heard. It’s fixed. Nonetheless, DJs realised a record can be part of the route to something else, something which becomes their creation.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow review - pop songstress partying like it's 2020

★★★ SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR, ROYAL CONCERT HALL, GLASGOW Pop songstress partying like it's 2020

The singer provided a spin on some feel-good classics

There are few people, especially musicians, who would wish to revisit the spring and summer of 2020 with any fondness, but Sophie Ellis-Bextor might be an exception. Her kitchen discos, in which she and her husband Richard Jones, aided by their children, played a variety of covers became a lockdown source of solace and regular entertainment at a time when it was much needed.

Album: Ibibio Sound Machine - Electricity

★★★★ IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE - ELECTRICITY Afro-electro crew nails it better than ever

Almost a decade into their career, the Afro-electro crew are nailing it better than ever

The fourth Ibibio Sound Machine album is produced by Hot Chip (who also contribute musically). However, fans will not hear a drastic step away from their last album, 2019’s Doko Mien. Instead, it has the feel of a logical progression, albeit with just that bit more techno-pop heft in places, and a subtle flavour of the Eighties. Business-as-usual, then?

Saturday Night Fever, Peacock Theatre review - crowd-pleaser stays true to its roots

★★★★ SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, PEACOCK THEATRE Iconic film on stage heats up the West End

Iconic film on stage heats up the West End

Wind the clock back 45 years and the Big Apple was bankrupt, the lights had gone out and many native New Yorkers were packing their bags. Gangs controlled whole neighbourhoods, drugs were the currency of choice and, for a kid with no college, prospects were strictly limited. The movie Saturday Night Fever captured this social decay, illustrating the crisis of confidence that suffused so many big Western cities.

Music Reissues Weekly: Jon Savage's 1977-1979 - Symbols Clashing Everywhere

MUSIC REISSUES WEEKLY Jon Savage's 1977-1979 - Symbols Clashing Everywhere

Personal take on three years when disparate outlooks could happily coexist

The title borrows from the lyrics of Siouxsie and the Banshees’s August 1978 debut single “Hong Kong Garden”: “Harmful elements in the air, Symbols clashing everywhere.” It also refers to Marcus Garvey’s prediction that on 7 July 1977 two sevens would clash with damaging consequences, a forewarning acknowledged that year by Culture’s Two Sevens Clash album.

Albums of the Year 2021: Toya Delazy - Afrorave Vol 1

★★★★★ AOTY 2021 TOYA DELAZY - AFROWAVE VOL 1 Dance music from Zulu musical astronaut

The globalisation of dance music personified in a Zulu musical astronaut

2021 might not seem the most likely of years for the globalisation of dance music to intensify, what with the lack of travel and the lack of... well... dancing. But, in fact, thanks partly to the enforced time spent online which led to a lot of discovery for a lot of people, and partly to a simple yearning to get back out there dancing, the connections made have been wild. And no record exemplifies this quite like Toya Delazy’s Afrorave