Though marginally better than its predecessor, BE can in no sense be considered a progression, despite the swirling of sitars and strings that characterises tracks such as the seven-minute “Don't Brother Me”.

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword
Miles Kane, Don't Forget Who You Are (Columbia)

Album review: Miles Kane, Don't Forget Who You Are (Columbia)

Album of the Week: Singalong anthems with a Sixties beat and lots of swagger

Bruce Springsteen to play at Olympic Park for Hard Rock Calling

Bruce Springsteen will return to London this summer as headliner of  Hard Rock Calling - despite having his set at last year's festival cut short after overrunning.

Robert Smith of The Cure performs during day 2 of Leeds Festival at Bramham Park

First Night: Reading and Leeds festivals

Same old Reading list, but still a rite of passage

<p><b>Foo Fighters</b>: Nominated for international group.</p>
<p>Former-Nirvana-drummer-turned-legendary-rock-n-roll-frontman Dave Grohl and co released their seventh studio album <i>Wasting Light</i> in April last year. The 11 Grammy Award-winning band walked away with five out of six awards they were nominated for this year, only losing out to fellow Brit nominee Adele in the album of the year category.</p>

Everybody's talking about...Reading and Leeds Festival

Richfield Avenue, Reading / Bramham Park, Leeds

Festival of the Week: T in the Park, Balado, Kinross-shire

Missing Glastonbury this year? Not to worry: the Scottish festival that usually welcomes an exodus of Glasto survivors takes up the slack as its bill ranges from big tunes to big beats via all points in between.

Foul play: Teddy Sheringham clatters Gordon Ramsay

Trending: The 'oof' word – when charity gets nasty

Forget the antics of Joey Barton, the toughest footballers these days are to be found playing in charity games. It's something that Gordon Ramsay discovered at the weekend, after he was floored by Teddy Sheringham during the Soccer Aid event at Old Trafford.

One Minute With: Tim Lott, novelist

Where are you now and what can you see?

Anna Calvi says of Wild Beasts: 'Their album Smother is great. It's full of subtleties; chords are implied rather than over-emphasised, and the drums are integral to the melodic interest of each song.'

The sounds and songs the stars fell in love with in 2011

Anna Calvi, Ghostpoet and Leslie Feist all made great albums this year. Here, they and others pick the music that rocked their year

Kasabian - Now it's time to conquer Europe

Having shaken off the 'lad-rock' tag, Kasabian are hoping their new album will make them superstars. Elisa Bray meets them

Kasabian, Roundhouse, London

Kasabian are one of those bands who divide opinion. They are either touted as the slick saviours of Brit rock or snootily derided as Oasis-lite. I'll be honest and admit that I used to sit squarely in the latter camp.

Periscope up: Richard Ayoade and Alex Turner unite their talents in hot new Brit flick Submarine

One is a notoriously nervous comedian, the other a pop star renowned for his reticence. Craig McLean mediates a meeting between the men behind this month's hottest Brit flick

BBC pulls plug on Electric Proms

The electric Proms is to be axed because of cuts to the BBC's budget, the Corporation has confirmed.

Kasabian to headline IoW festival

The final headliner for next year's Isle of Wight Festival was announced as Kasabian today.

Diary: Kasabian's loss, Oxfam's gain

Elton John opened his own pop-up shop in Covent Garden to sell his old outfits. Kylie Minogue's costumes were the subject of an exhibition at the V&A. Yet despite being the frontman for the band named "Best Act in the World Today" at this week's Q Awards, Kasabian's Tom Meighan chose to dispose of the contents of his wardrobe at his local branch of Oxfam, in Leicester. The singer recently made two trips to deposit more than 100 items at the charity shop, including an £800 Vivienne Westwood jacket, signed T-shirts and Leicester City football strips. Meighan wore many of the garments at gigs and festivals; they have, allegedly, been washed since. "He was quite interested in how much money we made," store manager Ahsan Sheikh told the Leicester Mercury. "I said I'd let him know." (Let us know, too!) Among the apparel from Meighan's collection available to buy online is a pair of black jeans, which staff have helpfully placed in the "Women's Clothing" section of the store's website. Hmm. I always thought they looked a bit tight.

Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
Berlin - East meets West
Three nights from only £399pp Find out more
Europe’s finest river cruises
Four nights from £669pp, seven nights from £999pp or 13 nights from £2,199pp Find out more
Historic Sicily
Seven nights half-board from only £799pp Find out more
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from only £749pp Find out more
Pompeii, Capri and the Bay of Naples
Seven nights half-board from only £719pp Find out more
Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end