6 h. ago Kokoroko: Tuff Times Never Last review – ruminative jazz outfit get stuck in a relaxed rut

(Brownswood)The London collective have an easygoing, ruminative sound – briefly lifted here by moments of lively counterpoint – that can feel all too placidSince breaking out with their 2018 track Abusey Junction, London jazz collective Kokoroko have become known for a soothing brand of improvised instrumentals. Blending whispered melodies with muted horns, downtempo hand percussion and shades of highlife guitar, theirs is an easygoing, ruminative sound. Their 2022 debut album, Could We Be More, continued in the same vein, full of warm brass and gently layered vocal harmony.So does their latest effort, Tuff Times Never Last. Across its 11 tracks of , tempos rarely exceed 100bpm, wallowing in tranquil bass lines and languorous grooves. The group establish a confident and comforting tone, playing through the lullaby vocal harmonies of Never Lost, the slowed guitar of Closer to Me and Rhodes piano reverberations on My Father in Heaven. Continue reading...

Politics

23 h. ago Fate of Aukus nuclear submarine deal may be delayed months as UK and Australia wait on Trump review

Snap Trump administration review of the $360bn deal announced a month ago will extend well beyond initial 30-day timeframeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia and the UK potentially face months of more uncertainty over the future of the Aukus agreement, amid expectations a snap Trump administration review of the nuclear submarines deal will extend well beyond its initial 30-day timeframe.The author of Britain’s Aukus review, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, said both countries would contribute to the Pentagon assessment but warned there was “a way to go” yet before advice to US President Donald Trump was settled.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago Gregg Wallace: Timeline of misconduct review amid reports of MasterChef sacking

Banijay, the production company for MasterChef, is conducting an external review into allegations of historical misconduct.

Politics

4 d. ago Sabrina Carpenter at BST London, review — a joyous spectacle of camp sexuality

Sabrina Carpenter at BST London, review — a joyous spectacle of camp sexuality  Financial Times

Politics

7 d. ago Diamonds and Dust, Emerald Theatre review: muddled burlesque

Diamonds and Dust, Emerald Theatre review: muddled burlesque-theatre hyrid  Time Out

Politics

9 d. ago Evita Review: Jamie Lloyd Strikes Again – and This Time, He’s Taken Evita to the Streets

Evita Review: Jamie Lloyd Strikes Again – and This Time, He’s Taken Evita to the Streets  londontheatredirect.com

Events

9 d. ago Review: ‘Evita’ Starring Rachel Zegler at the London Palladium

Review: ‘Evita’ Starring Rachel Zegler at the London Palladium  Time Out

Politics

1 week ago Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers review — fresh stories of horror

Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers review — fresh stories of horror  The Times

Events

1 week ago Glastonbury on Friday review: Lorde, CMAT and two Capaldis steal the show

The first proper day of music at Glastonbury was highly eclectic with a stack of instant classic sets

Events

1 week ago Glastonbury 2025 Friday review: Lorde, CMAT and two Capaldis steal the show

The first proper day of music at Glastonbury was highly eclectic with a stack of instant classic sets

Events

2 w. ago TOM UTLEY: Please don't ask me to rate my Airbnb hostess whose house was full of anti

Aren't you heartily fed up with those constant demands to 'rate and review your experience' every time you buy anything on the internet, book tickets for a theatre or read a book on Kindle?

Society

2 w. ago Witness in a Time of Turmoil by Ian Mayes review – a lively history of the Guardian

A lively history of the paper from 1986 to 1995 covers global upheaval, internal conflict and a bold but brilliant redesignIn my early career as a cultural historian, I made many journeys along the Northern line in London to the now defunct British Newspaper Library at Colindale. It was a melancholy place, with that vanilla-and-almonds smell of decomposing ink and paper, and little crumbs of disintegrated newspaper on the floor by the reading desks. Like the mayfly, a newspaper is meant to die on the day it is born. News now lives longer on the Guardian website, but prominently displayed warnings tell us when an article is more than a month old. “Who wants yesterday’s papers?” the Rolling Stones sang. “Nobody in the world.”So newspaper history is a tricky genre that must capture the ephemeral and show why it matters. Ian Mayes’s excellent book follows two previous, quasi-official volumes of Guardian history by David Ayerst and Geoffrey Taylor. It begins in 1986 when the Guardian was...

Politics

2 w. ago Witness in a Time of Turmoil by Ian Mayes review – behind the scenes at the Guardian

A lively history of the paper from 1986 to 1995 covers global upheaval, internal conflict and a bold but brilliant redesignIn my early career as a cultural historian, I made many journeys along the Northern line in London to the now defunct British Newspaper Library at Colindale. It was a melancholy place, with that vanilla-and-almonds smell of decomposing ink and paper, and little crumbs of disintegrated newspaper on the floor by the reading desks. Like the mayfly, a newspaper is meant to die on the day it is born. News now lives longer on the Guardian website, but prominently displayed warnings tell us when an article is more than a month old. “Who wants yesterday’s papers?” the Rolling Stones sang. “Nobody in the world.”So newspaper history is a tricky genre that must capture the ephemeral and show why it matters. Ian Mayes’s excellent book follows two previous, quasi-official volumes of Guardian history by David Ayerst and Geoffrey Taylor. It begins in 1986 when the Guardian was...

Politics

3 w. ago Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure review: Noel is the greatest tragicomic character of our time and this dark horse has as much charm as Clarkson's Farm

The pitch for Noel Edmonds' Kiwi Adventure must have been: let's do Clarkson's Farm, but with Noel Edmonds. Yes, let's. And it does not disappoint.

Events

4 w. ago Haim: I Quit review – the messiest breakup album of recent times, in every sense

(Polydor)The three LA sisters dwell on the bitter end of a relationship in tracks that range from replayable valley-girl rap to plodding country-popHaim’s 2013 breakthrough single The Wire was a swaggering, high-spirited breakup anthem. The slick, twanging pop-rock was correctly identified at the time by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow as echoing the oeuvre of Shania Twain (though this wasn’t the sick burn he thought it was), over which the LA trio copped to commitment phobia, communication issues and having their heads turned, before skipping into the California sunset with their hearts intact. Well, to commandeer the title of Haim’s debut album: those days are very much gone.I Quit, the sisters’ fourth album, still has plenty of breakup songs, but these are no cheerful odes to dumping dudes in your 20s. Instead, the record fixates on the bitter end of a deeply flawed long-term relationship; at least some of these songs are informed by the love lost between lead vocalist Danielle Haim an...

Politics

last month Spending Review 2025: what time is Rachel Reeves' announcement today – what UK government plans mean for you

Big pledges on housing, healthcare, and transport are expected, but questions remain over where cuts may fall 🚆

Politics