Undertone. A blog about music.
-
easy life live at O2 City Hall – indie pop stars get carried away
Hundreds of university students descended on Newcastle’s City Hall for an evening of singalong soft pop and RnB so unnecessarily injected with superficial rock and roll antics it made you wonder if Murray Matravers and co have chosen the wrong genre.
-
Carly Rae Jepsen live at O2 Academy review – pure, perfect pop
She may be synonymous with the hit that first shot her to fame, but the party-ready fans that packed into Leeds’ O2 Academy knew Carly Rae Jepsen had more to offer, namely a flawless set of pristine pop with sparkling, singalong hooks at every turn.
-
Florence + the Machine live at first direct Arena – cult queen reassembles her army
Florence Welch’s outstanding 2022 album Dance Fever dominated proceedings for a thrilling, theatrical Saturday night performance in Leeds. Knowingly the subject of cultish devotion, Welch’s return was a theatrical celebration of collective pandemic persistence.
-
Songs for solitude: alone on a mountain with Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher
Completely alone for the night on a remote mountain summit in the Lake District, there was only one album I needed to listen to: Phoebe Bridgers’ 2020 release, Punisher.
-
Vulfpeck: Schvitz review – scattergun sixth lacks inspiration
A return after a prolonged hiatus could have spelt creative reinvention for Ann Arbor funk group Vulfpeck. Instead they continue to underwhelm on a sixth album let down by vapid hooks and lazy rehashes.
-
Undertone’s best songs of 2022 – part two
Just in time for the end of 2022, it’s time to complete our countdown of Undertone’s top songs of the year.
-
Undertone’s best songs of 2022 – part one
It’s time to dive into Undertone’s favourite songs of 2022.
-
Parthenope live at the Wardrobe review – the newest star of UK jazz
Returning to Leeds for a one-off homecoming, the Guildhall jazzer’s set was rough around the edges but oozed with potential. Aided by a stellar trio of groove-makers, Parthenope’s dexterity on saxophone in particular is already dazzling.
-
Phoebe Green live at the Cluny review – strong material fails to come alive
Touring the UK on the back of daringly original debut album Lucky Me, Phoebe Green’s attention-grabbing pop creations deserved a keener reception in Newcastle. Seemingly put out by the poor attendance and lacking in conviction, Green’s performance struggled as a result.
-
Bellowhead live at O2 City Hall review – somehow still dancing
Bellowhead’s golden years as spearheads of an English folk revival may be well past them, but the strength of their blockbuster renderings of centuries-old tunes remained for an evening coloured by the recent passing of a founding member, Paul Sartin.
-
LNSO live in Riga review – a spectacular symphonic feast
Presented with a once in a lifetime chance to witness one of Europe’s most renowned orchestras in all their pomp, Undertone had no choice but to grasp the opportunity with both hands. Still a relative newbie to the classical world, there is surely no better way to hear Mahler’s stupendous First for the first time.
-
Sigrid live at O2 City Hall review – uninhibited pop joy
Bursting onto stage with trademark energy and buckets of charisma, when Sigrid found her stride in Newcastle she had the place well and truly bouncing. It was the more tender numbers that needed the most refinement.
Want to support independent music journalism?
Undertone 