Undertone. A blog about music.
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AURORA live at O2 Academy review – smiles all round
Norwegian popstar AURORA’s unending love for her audience was uplifting from start to finish on a heart-warming night in Leeds, even if her staging and set list left something to be desired.
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The Beths live at Brudenell Social Club review – bubbly, light and a little safe
10,000 miles away from home, the fact that New Zealand indie rock outfit The Beths sold out Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club is remarkable in itself. What’s more, Elizabeth Stokes’ confessional yet light-hearted compositions were warmly received, even if her set lacked ambition.
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Lizzy McAlpine: five seconds flat review – indie-folk star raises the stakes
She may be yet to firmly establish her own distinctive sound, but Lizzy McAlpine strikes gold on several occasions on this sophomore LP destined to be one of the more compelling and consistent breakup albums of the year.
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Sam Fender live at Motorpoint Arena review – a well-deserved victory lap
Sam Fender will play cleaner sets than the one that opened his grand arena tour of the UK, but that didn’t ruin an evening of raucous singalongs and pinch-me moments.
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Cory Wong live at Manchester Academy review – utterly tireless
On his first post-pandemic UK performance the prolific funk guitarist aptly delivered a vast amount of music with flair, showmanship and boundless enthusiasm. A strong entourage of improvisers helped compensate for weak songwriting on a night when objective critique became difficult.
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Every song from Eurovision 2022, ranked
Eurovision season is upon us, and Undertone is here to guide you through some of the best (and worst) music Europe has to offer.
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cleopatrick live at The Wardrobe review – a powerful return to the pit
A muddled set list failed to make the most of the band’s hardest-hitting tracks, but cleopatrick still summoned plenty of pandemonium for a Leeds crowd quite happy to render social distancing well and truly a thing of the past.
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Samm Henshaw live at Gorilla review – pristine at the cost of personality
With a lack of the real horns and backing singers that his densely-layered pop-soul hits demanded, Samm Henshaw was always fighting a losing battle on an underwhelming opening night in Manchester.
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Sons of Kemet live at Gorilla review – a tour de force of British jazz
In an almost entirely wordless opening night, the boundary-pushing quartet chose impulsive danceability over the political potency they’ve become known for. The result was a thrilling set that seemed to fly by in a matter of minutes.
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Black Country, New Road: Ants From Up There Review – breathtaking
After their debut album catapulted the London septet to fame in 2021, Black Country, New Road return with a masterpiece that is somehow both sure-footed and wildly experimental. Released just after the sudden departure of the band’s frontman, Ants From Up There serves as a tragic, compelling self-portrait of a man on the brink.
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Cory Wong: Wong’s Cafe review – nothing new from a band in disguise
Cory Wong’s latest project is ostensibly Vulfpeck’s sixth album, and it’s perhaps telling that the band have avoided official recognition for their efforts – Wong’s Cafe feels rushed and uninspired from start to finish, and is home to some of the most unremarkable songs in the band’s history.
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Undertone’s artists to watch for 2022
It’s been a great year here on Undertone. Now that 2021’s recaps are all complete, Alex Walden is here to guide us through the artists ready to take 2022 by storm.
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