L&Q Weekly
Sorry sample Guided By Voices, Beth Gibbons live in Boston, the return of Pulp, Gwenno and Pinkpantheress, Bon Iver goes Prince, a John & Yoko doc like no other, Elton and Madonna make up
Supported by Ninja Tune
Track of the Week
London band Sorry have always had a way of making unusually catchy singles – weird enough to keep you on your toes; containing enough semi hooks that they could be hits at another time in history (probably the late 1990s). Is Sorry’s music sexy? Creepy? Aggy? Triumphant or permanently frustrated? Thee jabbering ‘Jetplane’ keeps the questions alive from the only British band playful enough to sample Guided By Voices in the way they have here.
3 Sentence Live Review
Beth Gibbons in Boston, MA
ORPHEUM THEATRE, 4 APRIL: It says a lot that Gibbons’ faithfully trembling, perfect rendition of Portishead’s ‘Roads’ in the encore isn’t necessarily the highlight witnessed in this crumbly old theatre in downtown Boston. It could be the other two oldies – a heart-stopping ‘Mysteries’ and a bluesy and cinematic ‘Tom the Model’, from her 2002 collaboration album with Rustin Man – the latter opening up a truly excellent 7-piece band that sound like an orchestra at the flick of a switch. “Don’t go,” people whisper as Gibbons transform from ice cool siren to awkwardly embarrassed introvert faced with a standing ovation, convinced that the highlight was in there somewhere, many times over, perhaps even now as Gibbons signs albums at the front of the stage whilst the applause continues. Stuart Stubbs
Album News
Albums for your diary announced this week:
Gwenno – Utopia (11 July, Heavenly): Having written her previous three albums in Welsh and Cornish, Gwenno’s fourth is her first in English, with an excellent, Smith-ish lead single, ‘Dancing on Volcanoes’.
Pulp – More (6 June, Rough Trade): 24 years after their last, the thinking Brit Pop fan’s favourite Brit Pop band launched their eighth album with new track ‘Spike Island’ and its very Pulp video, dicking about with AI.
Pinkpanthress – Fancy That (9 May, Warners): Back in mixtape mode following 2023’s debut Heaven Know, Fancy That reportedly includes samples of Panic! at the Disco, Jessica Simpson and Basement Jaxx. lol
Review
Beyond the ick of Bon Iver
I was halfway through my first listen of Bon Iver’s latest album – just coming out of the second chorus of ‘Everything Is Peaceful Love’, to be precise – when I had a moment of realisation about Justin Vernon: on and off, for the past 15 or so years (essentially since he ditched the solo acoustic guitar sadboi cabin-in-the-woods look of his breakout album, For Emma, Forever Ago, and became, to all intents and purposes, a singing producer) he’s wanted to be Prince. Continue reading
Film
One to One: John & Yoko
In the 10 years between the end of The Beatles and his murder, John Lennon played only one full live show. It’s easy to see myth in everything Lennon and his old band, but the numbers have always been easy to remember. The Beatles’ life span: 1960-1970. Lennon’s solo years: 1970-1980. Lennon’s life: 1940-1980. The number of Beatles albums simply sticks because it’s just so freaky to release 13 albums of any quality in a 7-year period, let alone that 13. Even Lennon’s final decade was neatly divided into five years of business as usual and five more of retirement, following the birth of his and Yoko Ono’s son, Sean. When the hiatus finally ended in November 1980 with the release of Double Fantasy, Lennon would be killed within less than a month. But how about that one show, surreptitiously called the One to One concert. Continue reading
Travel
Mindfulness in The Hague, at Rewire festival
Go to The Hague and I bet the first thing you notice is how relaxed everyone is. It's almost unnervingly so for someone accustomed to the constant low-level tension of London. Everyone here seems so figured out. You can see it in the way they navigate the pristine bike lanes, as if it were choreographed, and in how they order their bitterballen without hesitation. There’s an efficient, matter-of-fact quality, from the grand buildings to the neat canals reflecting the gabled houses. For someone used to manoeuvring through the city in a state of anxiety, with my internal GPS constantly recalculating based on the fear of missing out – a better coffee, a cooler bar, the ‘right’ life path – being in a place that appears so outwardly organised only throws my internal chaos into sharp relief. Continue reading
Rumour of the Week
Elton and Madonna make up… to bully others together
The staff backstage at SNL held their breath last week as Madonna (27) entered the same room as her great tormentor of 20 years, Elton John (age unknown). “It was the best and the worst thing that could have happened,” one cast member recalled: best, because the ‘Hakuna Matata’ singer had put on a pair of glasses that nobody could clearly identify as a serious or joke pair, and worst because Elton had once called Madonna a c*nt on Australian TV. Many took out their phones to film the Rocket Man take down his sworn enemy in person, but all they captured was a surprise reconciliation. “Now then, you,” John was later heard saying to his old foe, “how about we put this silliness behind us and collaborate? We should team up, and make some else’s life hell. The double bully!” he is thought to have squealed in delight. Rumours have circled that for the next 2 hours the pair sat in the corner looking through Madonna’s phone to select their first victim, with John thought to have greeted a majority of his new friend’s scrolling suggestions with a simple, “yuck”, “are they still alive?” and “I think we can aim higher than that blob”. Sources close to the pair have suggested that Elton’s and Madonna’s new reign of terror will begin on Monday at 10am Eastern Time, and that their first victim will be Madonna.