JAMES WALSH is moved by a provocative and original take on the relationship between ecology and architecture, and a plea to work with, not against, the materials and minerals of our world
Album Reviews with Ian Sinclair
IAN SINCLAIR reviews Craig Finn's I Need A New War, Son Volt's Union, and David Ian Roberts's Travelling Bright
An immersive, participatory display by a queer Australian Aboriginal performer, and a rebellious unravelling of traditional Scottish dance
EWAN CAMERON witnesses a political farce that lacks a clear message
EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
Craig Finn
I Need A New War
(Partisan Records)
★★★★
PRESENTED as the final part of a trilogy alongside Faith In The Future (2015) and We All Want The Same Things (2017), the fourth solo record from The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn is another brilliant showcase of his inspired songwriting skills.
His most downbeat set yet, the songs are de facto short stories, full of vividly drawn characters “trying to stay afloat in modern times, attempting to find a connection, achieving tiny triumphs and frustrating let downs,” Finn notes.
People move to, and get lost in, the big city, bars are frequented, things get “druggy.” packages are collected — mundane tales suffused with an enticing emotional depth by the Midwestern master lyricist.
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