MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Beirut, O2 Academy, Leeds
Consummate delivery of indie-pop postcards from all over the world
Mariachi masters: Beirut
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
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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SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys, with minor reservations, the Northern Ballet’s revival of its 1992 classic
SUSAN DARLINGTON revels in an exhilarating adaptation of the gruesome fairytale that invokes the real-life horror of women lost to male violence
SUSAN DARLINGTON is disappointed by a show that aims to highlight misogyny within the police but fails to arrest the audience's attention
SUSAN DARLINGTON revels in a band that know their own continuing relevance
