Reviews | Songlines

Reviews

Review of Soul of My City

Soul of My City

Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra

Tea Pad Recordings

Rating: ★★★★

From the gleeful rockabilly throb of ‘Let's Go Back in Time, Man’ via infectious celebrations of cross-dressing (‘Life is a...

Reviewed in issue April/2019

Review of Estudando o Samba

Estudando o Samba

Tom Zé

Mr Bongo

Rating: ★★★★★

You will find a lot written of Tom Zé, calling him everything from a ‘cultural cannibal’ to a ‘revolutionary anarchist,’...

Reviewed in issue April/2019

Review of King Size Reggae

King Size Reggae

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Cherry Red Records

Rating: ★★★★

Having launched the careers of Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker and Bob Marley & the Wailers, producer Leslie Kong had an...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of Trio Mocotó

Trio Mocotó

Trio Mocotó

Mr Bongo

Rating: ★★★

How pleasing that Mr Bongo is reissuing this 1977 self-titled album by Brazilian samba-rock pioneers Trio Mocotó, as despite their...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of The HillBenders

The HillBenders

The HillBenders

Compass Records

Rating: ★★★★

A few years ago, I was privy to the world premiere of The HillBenders' ‘bluegrass opry’ take on The Who's...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of Double Dekker

Double Dekker

Desmond Dekker

Doctor Bird Records

Rating: ★★★★

Desmond Dekker (1941-2006) brought Jamaican music to an international audience in a way that no other artist had previously achieved:...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of Futuro Do Pretérito

Futuro Do Pretérito

Garotas Suecas

VampiSoul Vinyl & DiGITAL only

Rating: ★★★

On first listening, it's hard to get a handle on the São Paulo quartet's third album; their take on retro...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of Behold

Behold

Black Symbol

Sugar Shack Records

Rating: ★★

The Birmingham district of Handsworth gave birth to one of the UK's strongest roots reggae scenes of the 70s and...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of Grenades

Grenades

Kaia Kater

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Rating: ★★

Kaia Kater's 2016 debut album Nine Pin won the young Canadian banjo player and singer-songwriter plenty of attention – including...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Review of Some People I Know

Some People I Know

The Brother Brothers

Compass Records

Rating: ★★★

It should perhaps come as no surprise that Brooklyn-based identical twins Adam and David Moss, who both have their own...

Reviewed in issue March/2019

Subscribe from only £7.50

Start your journey and discover the very best music from around the world.

Subscribe

View the Current
Issue

Take a peek inside the latest issue of Songlines magazine.

Find out more