Borrowed Time: Lennon’s Last Decade, Parthenope, Where Dragons Live and Thunderbolts* reviewed by MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE
Potential but little pop power from Pale Waves
CHRIS SEARLE wallows in an evening of high class improvised jazz, and recommends upcoming highlights in May
MARY CONWAY applauds the revival of a tense, and extremely funny, study of men, money and playing cards
MEHDI ACHOUCHE explores the constant fascination of cinema with Marxist alienation from Fritz Lang and Chaplin to Bong Joon Ho
FIONA O’CONNOR steps warily through a novel that skewers many of the exposed flanks of the over-privileged
MARY CONWAY applauds the study of a dysfunctional family set in an Ireland that could be anywhere
MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Pale Waves
Shepherds Bush Empire, London/Touring
WITH debut album My Mind Makes Noises just dropped and an expectant crowd clamouring at the front, darkness descends and dry ice kicks in as Manchester's Pale Waves emerge on stage. They're greeted by a sea of phones and a chorus of cheers, with the biggest for lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie.
Signed to Dirty Hit, backed by The 1975's Matty Healy, shortlisted for the BBC's Sound of 2018 — they were fifth — and winners of the 2018 NME Under the Radar award as one to watch, Pale Waves are playing their biggest headline show.
And they know how to get the crowd on side, immediately launching into Television Romance, a stand-out track combining their standard indie-goth guitar fare with would-be anthemic choruses.
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