Undertone. A blog about music.
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Jacob Collier live at O2 Apollo review – in a league of his own
Charming, effervescent and incomparably brilliant at every instrument he can get his hands on, Jacob Collier’s performance was a treat to witness in the beautiful surroundings of the Apollo, even if his catalogue of genuinely great original songs remains frustratingly slim.
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Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox live at O2 Academy review – good old-fashioned fun
On a night of covers that could have easily flopped, Postmodern Jukebox rightly leaned into the inevitable cheese with ample vintage glamour. In the end it was impossible not to be won over by the sheer joy of the performances, all held together by a top-notch batch of touring musicians.
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Black Country, New Road live at Brudenell Social Club review – a sublime resurrection
When frontman Isaac Wood left Black Country, New Road just days before the release of what may become one of the best albums of the decade, the survival of the band looked far from guaranteed. The now six-piece chamber rock outfit return just months later for an intimate UK tour with a remarkable set of…
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Dua Lipa live at first direct Arena review – a flamboyant new queen of British pop
No expense was spared on the Leeds leg of Dua Lipa’s victorious world tour, after 2020’s Future Nostalgia changed the face of modern pop. With slick transitions and memorable visuals, this was a performance dense with bona fide pop smashes and jaw-droppingly theatrical highlights.
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Not just background music: the art of the soundtrack
How exactly does the art of music-making change when it becomes a small part of a much larger video game or feature film? And what makes the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so remarkable? Alex Walden is on hand to reveal all.
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Jeff Rosenstock live at Belgrave Music Hall review – songs to tear the roof off
Critically acclaimed punk rocker Jeff Rosenstock marked his return to the UK with an explosive, sweat-drenched performance in Leeds, packed with clever changes of pace, raucous singalongs and underlying anti-capitalist rage.
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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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