Freaky Party

Music Reviews and more

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Pop/Rock
  • Metal
  • Indie
  • Electronic
  • Folk
  • Jazz
  • Classical

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Nao: Jupiter review – an upbeat, welcome return

After time away, the homegrown R&B star’s ethereal voice shines equally on uptempo tracks and slower grooves

Sam Fender: People Watching review – a lonely yet brilliant document of fame

The North Shields singer-songwriter wrestles with how far life has propelled him away from his roots on his musically adventurous third album

Saya Gray: Saya review – oddball heartbreak anthems bounce around pop history

There are some self-consciously experimental moments, but the Toronto musician’s genre-mashing songs of heartbreak are often focused and fresh

Motionless in White review – gothically glam US metalcore will put a grin on your face

Backed by skeletons, cheerleaders and chainsaw-wielders, Chris Cerulli and co dispense any heavy metal menace in favour of a charming sense of fun

Uriah Heep review – after 56 years, progressive heavy rockers bid a blistering live farewell

They may not have created any true rock touchstones, but they still have the powerhouse vocals and guitar skills to get the audience on their feet

Sam Fender: People Watching review – subtle social realism at stunning blockbuster scale

On his third album, produced by the War on Drugs, the North Shields singer-songwriter shows just how gifted he is at pairing stadium choruses with sharp, bleak vignettes

Billie Eilish review – snarls, seduction and moments of sheer rapture

At one point the singer soars on a pedestal far into the air – a glorious new-age leader exorcising her heartache

Myles Smith review – Brits Rising Star award winner clearly has hidden depths

The Stargazing streaming sensation gives his young fans what they want, but there’s evidently more to him than earworm singalongs

Kylie Minogue review – Tension world tour kicks off with euphoric show stuffed with hit after hit

RAC Arena, PerthThe first stop on Kylie’s biggest tour in two decades reminds us that Australia’s queen of pop has always been a genius at reinvention

Cyndi Lauper review – a freedom fighter’s swan song

Forty years after her feminist breakout hit, the New York singer bows out of live performance with a show rich in colourful pop and personal anecdotes, while never losing sight of women’s basic rights…

Bartees Strange: Horror review – frustratingly timid genre-mashing experiment

With producer-to-the-stars Jack Antonoff on board, the anarchic American rocker offers glimpses of inspiration but fails to follow through

Horsegirl: Phonetics On and On review – a minimalist indiepop masterpiece

With Cate Le Bon as producer, the Chicago indie trio’s second album is a quantum leap, full of poignant restraint and lyrical clarity

Hamish Hawk review – Jarvis Cocker-esque Scot shows why he’s at the edge of the big time

Also channelling Elvis and Scott Walker, the charismatic singer’s character softens as he moves from bold songs from latest album A Firmer Hand to older tracks

Cyndi Lauper review – still showing her true colours in fun farewell tour

There’s still no-one else like the 71-year-old star: she gives rambling speeches and accidentally hits someone with a recorder, but her voice punches through the chaos

Maribou State review – UK duo turn darkness into light after existential crisis

With Chris Davids recovered from a brain condition, the electronic act’s first tour in years is full of committed, emotionally resonant performances

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →
  • Giulio Cesare in Egitto album review – Sabine Devieilhe’s exquisite Cleopatra could make stones weep
  • War Requiem review – in the cathedral where it premiered, Britten’s masterpiece has lost none of its power
  • Blackhaine: Saints in the Wethouse review – spectacularly intense UK rap that will swallow you up and wring you out
  • BBCSO/Oramo review – yes, Inmo Yang is phenomenal but the BBC Symphony shone even brighter tonight
  • U2: Carnaval de Luz review – rousing, restorative rock from a band ready to take on the world again
  • Beethoven: Symphony No 3 album review – thrilling, but Minasi’s determination to shock often feels self-conscious
  • Orbiting Orbital review – Nitin Sawhney casts a spell inspired by Samantha Harvey’s Booker winner
  • Iphigénie en Tauride review – stylised staging of opera of bloodthirsty priestesses and divine intervention
  • La Bohème review – Opera Australia’s new take on Puccini is a lush frenzy of visual excess
  • Spice Girls: The Singles Collection review – stop fleecing your fans right now, thank you very much
  • Enrico Rava Fearless Five with Joe Lovano: Corners review – daring dialogues from 87-year-old Miles Davis disciple
  • La Roux: Old Flames review – a breezy, hook-packed twist on a breakup album
  • Bassvictim: Peace + War review – like a thrillingly chaotic house party that goes on too long
  • Stravinsky: The Firebird album review – Rattle revels in colour, crackles and bites
  • BBCSO/Stasevska review – Caroline Shaw’s cosmic visions meet Barber’s lyrical brilliance
  • Tosca review – ENO’s new staging abandons Puccini’s realism for baffling and near-constant violence
  • Strauss: An Alpine Symphony album review – monumental work’s mystic vision guides Petrenko
  • LSO/Pappano review – Kendall’s engaging new work has a tea kettle, tremolo and slam-dunks of timpani
  • Sampa the Great: Nu Zamrock review – a full-circle moment for a world-class act
  • Carmen review – Costa-Jackson’s smouldering heroine blazes brightly
  • Radie Peat: No Human Tongue Can Tell review – Lankum singer’s solo debut is the year’s best folk album
  • Kali Malone: Burning Song review – drone composer wields Bach’s organ to breathtaking effect
  • The Mad Lover review – eccentric charm and baroque brilliance as duo move from Eccles to Indiana Jones
  • Colin Currie Group review – Steve Reich’s music is still bedazzling
  • Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings album review – Wilson explores British music’s highway and byways
  • The Big Moon: Forever review – the hell of hearing loss inspires a defiantly hopeful pop-disco marvel
  • LPO/Gardner review – Mark Simpson’s piano concerto leaves its audience panting
  • Macklemore’s Free Palestine tour review – a triumph of a show with performances from Hozier, Kneecap and more
  • Mac DeMarco review – glowing melodies and shirtless antics at Carnegie Hall
  • Aberfan: From Darkness to Light review – Mealor’s requiem offers hope amid the tears

Contact www.freakyparty.net   Terms of Use