BBC Proms
This year’s season is just over, but the BBC Proms are a staple of London summer not to be missed. Arts editor Claire Chan gives you the lowdown on promming and what to expect for next year.
What do we talk about when we talk about music?
Music Editor Henry Eshbaugh signs off the year with an impassioned plea to participate.
The times, they are a-changin’: a precarious balance of alienation and progression
This article started life as a thinkpiece. It then became a listicle, before reverting back to thinkpiece. Whatever form it now takes, it’s my final article of the year so you’d better bloody enjoy it.
Resistance to this album is futile
The Manic Street Preachers return with more indie rock politics.
Man on Blonde: a masterpiece revisited
Music Writer Ben Man takes a look back at Frank Ocean’s thoughtful, experimental, beautiful Blonde, nearly two years on from its release.
Kids See Ghosts is a return to form for Kanye West
Only a week after the release of Ye, Kanye is back, this time teaming up with Kid Cudi as Kids See Ghosts. While the previous album felt rushed, this newest output is a refined and thoughtful masterpiece.
God save the Childqueen
LA psychedelic-soul artist Kadhja Bonet returns with Childqueen, the follow-up to her breakthrough LP The Visitor, displaying her instrumental skills and syrupy vocals.
Thomas Cole – Will we lose our Eden?
In the first UK exhibition dedicated to the great American landscape artist, Arts Writer Helen Money-Kyrle is awestruck at the grandness Cole’s paintings and poignancy of environmental message.
PLEASE DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT ART…
…show it to me – with over a thousand paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, and more at the Royal Academy’s 250th Summer Exhibition.
Lessons in Love and Violence: a big name production fails to deliver
George Benjamin’s conduction of his new opera on King Edward II hits the correct notes musically and presents a stellar cast, but the plot leaves a sense of disappointment at what could have been a brilliant spectacle.
Felix recommends: top picks for a summer of culture
As the days grow longer, the cultural offerings in the capital tend to dry up, with people electing to head outdoors rather than sit in the theatre. Rejoice, culture lovers – Felix is on hand with some of the top recommendations for a summer of art and culture.
Art on the Underground: contemporary tube maps, iconic designs, and giant egg invaders…
Heather Phillipson’s egg-based installation at Gloucester Road station is only the latest in a series of artistic interventions from Art on the Underground, which draws inspiration from the tube network’s history of iconic designs, from architecture to typography.