To rescue Kahlo from the clutches of the corporate art market, we need to acknowledge the overt and covert political dimensions of the work, demands GAVIN O’TOOLE
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Beirut, O2 Academy, Leeds
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Mariachi masters: Beirut
[Pitpony Photography/ Creative Commons]
If you can see past the relentless commodification you will be rewarded by enormously powerful work, suggests JENNY MITCHELL
CHRIS SEARLE revels in the one-off collaboration between an American polymath and a British Muslim, and detects the presence of their revolutionary forebear
GORDON PARSONS revels in an ebullient production of Shakespeare’s magical comedy
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul
GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis
A BEIRUT gig is the sonic equivalent of being gently hugged for 90 minutes. Soothing and reassuringly human in their tremulous detail, the six-piece have a wide-eyed innocence that makes them impossible to resist.
Their hopeless romanticism takes the wistfulness of Sufjan Stevens and the intimate grandeur of Arcade Fire as a starting point for songwriter Zach Condon’s itchy-footed road trip that imbues their indie-pop with Balkan-influenced accordion, folksy ukulele and mock mariachi brass.
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