WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Tasty new strain of rock-hard Bean
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
Sunflower Bean
The Wardrobe, Leeds/Touring
“LET’S make some loud music!” hollers Julia Cumming, the first of many such exhortations from Sunflower Bean’s bassist and lead vocalist, whose volume-control button seems to have malfunctioned.
This might be a problem if the New York trio, joined by keyboard player Danny Ayala, failed to deliver on the statement of intent. Yet from opening track Burn It — all Joan Jett attitude and big rock riffs — it’s clear that they’ve outgrown their formative roots in shoe-gaze and indie psychedelia.
More from this author
SUSAN DARLINGTON highly recommends a novel setting for a play that is a rip-roaring yarn about kindness and helping people to belong
SUSAN DARLINGTON is charmed by an arena show that crosses Great Gatsby glamour with Jane Eyre madness
SUSAN DARLINGTON is bowled over by an outstanding play about the past, present and future of race and identity in the US
SUSAN DARLINGTON enjoys, with minor reservations, the Northern Ballet’s revival of its 1992 classic
