Music

Three new albums

CD reviews: Gurrumul, Weeknd and Troye Sivan

12:00am New recordings of gospel, R&B; and pop.

Antilogy by Selby & Friends at the National Gallery of Australia

Janet Wilson 11:45pm Review: Kathryn Selby has assembled a group of guest musicians for a concert of Australian and European chamber music.

Mixed foursome hit high notes at Wesley Uniting Church and Wesley Music Centre

Janet Wilson 11:45pm An organist, bassoonist, chamber music ensemble and soprano take the spotlight in Canberra.

Joan Baez on protesting, optimism and other people's obsession with Bob Dylan

STEPHANIE BUNBURY 11:45pm Four decades after she marched arm in arm with Martin Luther King, singer Joan Baez is still protesting and still performing. "I'm still happiest when it's actively both things at the same time," she says.

'A bit crazy'

Robbie Williams is not normal. And that's just the way he likes it

BERNARD ZUEL 7:00pm Robbie Williams is not your regular character, and he's fine with that.

Back with a bang

Justin Bieber breaks Spotify record as he makes comeback with Australian visit

EBONY BOWDEN 6:36pm Justin Bieber's musical comeback has started in spectacular fashion, with his latest single What Do You Mean? setting new records on music streaming service Spotify.

London Haydn Quartet brings new vision of composer's works to Melbourne Festival

STEPHANIE BUNBURY A lifelong love for Haydn continues to fuel the musicianship of Catherine Manson and her London Haydn Quartet.

Rockers return

Black Sabbath reveal Australian dates for The End tour in 2016

Martin Boulton Black Sabbath will return to Australia in April after shows in North American on their farewell tour.

New albums reviewed

Shortlist album reviews: Gin Wigmore, Death and Vanilla, Eddie Fisher, Fratellis and Family Fold

We take new releases from Gin Wigmore, Death and Vanilla, Eddie Fisher, Fratellis and Family Fold for a spin.

Fully committed rock

A full-body experience from Royal Headache, Strypes and Rubens

BERNARD ZUEL The rock’n’roll fantasy lives on in a new generation of true believers.

Comments

Music: reviews of new albums by Destroyer, Jungle Giants, Royal Headache and more

The Shortlist reviews new music by Destroyer, Jungle Giants, Royal Headache, the Paper Kites and Suzannah Espie.

Isolation spurred Silicon's Kody Nielson into new territory with new album Personal Computer

Anthony Carew The title of the debut album for Silicon at first seems banal, but Personal Computer is a phrase that taps into the album's themes.

Psych-rock: Methyl Ethel's debut album Oh Inhuman Spectacle has experimental qualities

Anthony Carew Methyl Ethel's most recent gig, a 60th birthday bash for the father of frontman Jake Webb, wasn't a standard show for the Perth psych-rock trio.

The Shortlist: The top five gigs in Melbourne from September 4-September 6

The Shortlist's top 5 gigs: Regurgitator, the Pink Fits, Krista Polvere, Deaf Wish and Peter Bibby and His Biggest Boys

Little May's Annie Hamilton invites mystery into the mix for debut album For the Company

CRAIG MATHIESON For folk-pop band Little May, who are about to release their debut album, answering emails is the everyday reality of furthering their career.

Top gigs in Sydney: Xavier Rudd, A Place to Bury Strangers, Smith Street Band, Iron Chic, Joshua Radin

Bronwyn Thompson From festival favourite Xavier Rudd, to the raucous A Place to Bury Strangers and folkie favourite Joshua Radin, we have your week in live music covered.

Sticky Carpet: Heart of St Kilda Concert returns

Mary Mihelakos Sticky Carpet: Bigsound in Brisbane, Jess Ribeiro's killer second album, the Heart of St Kilda Concert returns with more music and comedy, Jamgrass Festival and more.

On the Road with Esme Macdonald from Outland Brothers

We went on the road with Esme from indie folk band The Outland Brothers.

The Getaway Plan: Dark horses on the home straight

Greg Chamberlain The group sees themselves as "dark horses" ready to come from nowhere to succeed.

Holy Holy find their own sound

Greg Chamberlain After a long history together, Tim Carroll and Oscar Dawson have nailed their songs and their own identity.

Swift dismissal

Taylor Swift's Wildest Dreams video director hits back at critics

Her wildest dreams have turned into a bit of a nightmare.

Why violinist Itzhak Perlman is still playing at 70

Elysa Gardner The veteran violinist still maintains a busy program of performing, recording and teaching.

Express yourself: The day Triple J played the same N.W.A. song 82 times in a row

Paul Chamberlin and Jon Casimir First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on May 8, 1990

'Grind on me'

Pretty Ricky 'live sex show' causes outrage at New Zealand concert

Sam Sherwood and Ashleigh Stewart A band's "live sex show" on stage has caused outrage among concertgoers, who are demanding an apology and a refund.

Pitch imperfect

Rebel Wilson's 'F--- tha stripper police' VMAs gag draws ire of black activists

EBONY BOWDEN Rebel Wilson has been slammed by black activists for joking about police injustice while presenting the award for best hip-hop video at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Husband arrested after top pianist Natalia Strelchenko found beaten to death

Victoria Ward Husband, mother and her teenage son had performed together in musical trio.

'Groundbreaking artist'

Miley Cyrus debuts a different side of herself with new album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz

Joe Coscarelli Miley Cyrus is in control and free to be exactly who she wants to be with the release of her new album.

Award winners

MTV Music Awards 2015: full list of winners

USA Today A list of nominees and winners at MTV's 2015 Video Music Awards.

Miley v Kanye

MTV Music Awards 2015: Kanye West steals the VMAs limelight from Miley Cyrus

KARL QUINN Whoops, he did it again: Kanye West took the stage with Taylor Swift in a much-hyped replay of their infamous 2009 meeting, but no one could have predicted what happened next.

Lou Barlow embraces change with his new album Brace the Wave

Jo Roberts The search for stability led Dinosaur Jr bassist Lou Barlow back home, and to a new solo album.

Columns

The Crate

Chris Johnston digs into his music collection for a record a week.

Sticky Carpet

Your weekly wrap of music news.

Photos

Patience Hodgson from Australian band The Grates on stage in the Ampitheatre.

Splendour In The Grass

Splendour In The Grass is upon us yet again, with revellers from across Australia and abroad descending on Byron Bay to join the festivities over the weekend. The iconic arts and music festival kicked off on Friday at North Byron Parklands in northern New South Wales and is expected to host more than 30,000 people over the three-day event.

Rolling Stones Exhibitionism

A selection of images from the upcoming Rolling Stones 'Exhibitionism' event at Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London.

There's a bear in there

British artist Stanley Donwood, aka Dan Rickwood, has built a large-scale installation called The Panic Office, a retrospective of his work with a soundscape by Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke. It includes much of Donwood's artwork for the band that has never been shown in public before. The Panic Office runs until June 6 at Carriageworks, Eveleigh.