The Week - UK (2021-02-13)

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THEWEEK 13th February 2021

ARTS

The Week’s own podcast,The Week Unwrapped,covers the biggest unreported stories of the week (available on Apple and Google)

ListeningtoYouDon’tKnowMe,

ChloeCombi’s“robust,grown-

up”podcastaboutGenerationZ–

teenagersandyoungadultsaged

uptoaround 2 4–“mademefeel

about1,000yearsold,andrather

relievedaboutit”,saidJames

MarriottinTheTimes.Grim

butgripping,itgivesanalarming

insightintolifeintheinternetage.

Thefirstepisode,CancelCulture,

followsanAmericanteenwho

becamesoalienatedbyher

school’s“suffocating”anti-Trump

consensusthatsheturnedtoright-

wingwebforumstoletoffsteam.

Afewyearslater,afellowonline

ranterleakedhermessages,and

shewasexpelledfromuniversity,

herprospectsruined.Bytheendof

episodetwo,saidMarriott,“I’dresolvedthatifIhavekidsI’m

neverlettingthemhavesmartphones.Justnice,safeabacusesand

spinningtopsandthings.”

Therearealot ofpodcastsaboutyoung adults, saidCharlotte

RuncieinProspect.SoGabbyLogan’sTheMid-Point,which

celebratesthejoysofmidlifewhile exploringits challenges,is

a“refreshing”listen.Logan’sguests areofasimilarmid-life

vintage,and shedrawsoutinterestingdisclosures:PiersMorgan

admittingtocampingup hiscombativeGood MorningBritain

persona; DavinaMcCalldiscussingher(unfounded) fears that

shewasdevelopingearly-onsetAlzheimer’s.Louis Theroux, inhis

Groundedpodcast,alsobrings

outthebestinhisguests,said

MirandaSawyerinTheObserver.

Hebeganitinthefirstlockdown,

andthesecondseriesisjustas

“enthralling”.Newlistenersshould

seekouttheepisodeswithBoy

George,LennyHenryandMichaela

Coel–allaregreat.Butamore

recentone,featuringthesingerFKA

twigstalkingaboutherexperience

ofdomesticabuse,isareally

“importantlisten”.

Wemaystillbegrounded,buta

returntonormallifeisedgingcloser

thankstothescientifictriumphof

Covidvaccines,saidEmmaDibdin

inTheNewYorkTimes.Ina

spiritofgratitude,herearesome

podcaststhat“celebratethewondersofscience”.Ologieswith

AlieWardshinesaspotlightonlittle-known“ologies”,witha

hostwhose“intellectualcuriosityisasinfectiousasherguests’

enthusiasm”. Recent episodeshavefocusedondesairology

(the scienceof mortuary makeup), agnotology(thescienceof

ignorance)andpelicanology (“self-explanatory,butstillfullof

surprises”). Or,ifyou like yourscience stories“withasideof

SherlockHolmes-esqueintrigue”,tryTheCuriousCasesof

Rutherford&Fry.Int hischarmingBBCseries,sciencesleuths

DrAdamRutherfordand DrHannahFrytacklescientific

mysteriesgreatandsmall.“Nomatterthesubjectmatter, the

hosts’chemistryandwryrapportmakes every episodeadelight.”

Podcasts... on the young, and the not so young

FKA twigs: the singer talks about domestic abuse on Grounded

The Staves:

Good Woman

Atlantic

£12

Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor

–The Staves–are atrio of singer-

songwriter sisters who have long attracted

influential admirers from Tom Jones to

Bon Iver, said Neil McCormick in The

Daily Telegraph. Their principal gift is for

“perfectly dovetailed harmonies, voices

that blend so effortlessly in terms of tone

and phrasing that you can’t separate them”.

On this terrific third album, themes of loss,

struggle, identity, insecurity and self-

vindication dominate–but don’t

overwhelm. On the title track, for example,

a“gently assertive anthem for our times”,

the “union of voices make it less a

grumbling protest” thana“blissful

proclamation of soft power”.

When they first emerged, ten years ago, I

found The Staves’ modern take on acoustic

folk rock “pleasant”, rather than inspired,

said Will Hodgkinson in The Times. Since

then, they’ve dealt with “heavy moments”

including grief, childbirth and heartbreak,

and there isa“greater depth” to their “still

pretty and spacious” music. This new

album isa“welcomereturn”.

Black Country, New Road are “one of those

bands who appear in your life suddenly and

then never leave you, in sound or in spirit”,

said Emily Bootle in the New Statesman.

This seven-piece experimental rock band

are already darlings of the live music scene,

witha“thrillingly chaotic” sound that

draws on everything from moody alt-rock

(LCD Soundsystem, Slint, The Fall, Nick

Cave) to klezmer. And while the “constant

lyrical irony” occasionally wears thin, their

debut album marks them out as “one of the

most confident, exciting and original British

bands to have emerged in years”.

The group, originally from

Cambridgeshire, are “every bit as jaw-

dropping live” as the hype suggests, said

Luke Cartledge on NME. This “thrilling”

debut album includes their most “tender”

song yet,Track X,onwhich keys, violins

and sax “flutter beautifully” around the

guitar line, before opening out onto a

“totally unexpected plateau of angelic

backing vocals and goosebumpy staccato”.

The whole thing’sa“triumph”,and

promises future greatness.

Following the death of Purcell in 1695,

John Eccles was England’s most notable

composer of theatrical music–but his

career was all but entirely eclipsed by

the arrival of Handel 14 years later, said

Geoff Brown in The Times. This excellent

recording of his operaSemelesuggests

that he has been unjustly neglected. Set to

the same Congreve libretto that inspired

Handel’s ownSemele36 years later, this

1707 work “bowls along with particularly

English vigour”, and is performed with

“forthright flourish” by the Academy of

Ancient Music under the director and

harpsichordist Julian Perkins.

The opera is more reminiscent of work by

Purcell than Handel, said Erica Jeal in The

Guardian. Arias are short, and the story –

of the mortal seduced by Jupiter–moves

forward rapidly and with dramatic intent.

Musically, it may not beastone-cold classic,

but it’sa“colourful gem” that offers a

fascinating insight into its era. This “clean,

light-on-its-feet version isatruly gratifying

listen”, which should put its composer

“firmly on the map”.

Black Country,

New Road: For

the First Time

Ninja Tune

£12

Albums of the week: three new releases

The Academy of

Ancient Music

(Perkins): John

Eccles –

Semele

AAM

£30