Entertainment
Louis Siciliano is Back With New EP
Louis Siciliano isn’t holding back with the song “Ancient Cosmic Truth,” the staple song of his new EP of the same title, but if you think his moxie is going to be isolated to this one track, you’re in for quite the surprise when listening to this incredible new record. So many of the crossover jazz/experimental works I’ve reviewed in 2023 have fallen back on retro themes as a means of bridging aesthetical gaps and appealing to a more chamber-minded generation, but that isn’t the case in Ancient Cosmic Truth.
Siciliano isn’t looking to take the route of his rivals in this work; he’s cutting away the throwback influences and getting to the core elements that make his approach such a profound point of interest no matter what kind of song he’s playing. There are many virtuosic instrumental components here, but there isn’t a sense of arrogance that would normally accompany a player with the kind of talent this man has – it’s just a performer beside his band doing the work of the divines, and potentially raising the profile of a frontman in Siciliano who needs to be getting a lot more attention than he ever has before.
“Translucent Dodecahedron” is probably my favorite track here as a man who loves the sax, and as adverse as I tend to be about wily rhythm tracks as eclectic as it is, this one that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the first time I listened to it over the past weekend.
Siciliano isn’t just attacking the melody with his compositional strength; he’s putting soul into it with the chemistry he has with Brecker, Muselli, and Roman. “The Secret of Mansa” showcases a lot of the same punch that we hear in the other songs, but with a slightly avant-garde bottom-end, as if to give us a hint of what the artsy vibe can produce when it’s channeled towards a climax. My man has got so much presence in this record, and I’m very curious to hear how it plays out in person for myself.
There aren’t many who can rock the big rhythm he does in “The Secret of Mansa,” and I’m seriously jealous of those who got to see this firsthand in the studio.
Whether it be the ramshackle grooving of “Bambara’s Symmetries” or the elegance of the title track, you can be certain that Louis Siciliano has got something moving to present to you this autumn through his new EP Ancient Cosmic Truth.
He’s got a lot of buzz surrounding his career at the moment largely thanks to positive critical reception from the international jazz underground, but I don’t see where he couldn’t break out of the indie circuit for the mainstream so long as he continues to break off incredible content like Ancient Cosmic Truth. It’s a timeless kind of record and one that makes sure to leave a mark on anyone who listens to it, but especially those who consider themselves as much of an enthusiast of excellent, left-field jazz music.
Sebastian Cole
Entertainment
The Jonas Brothers Just Played Halftime At The NFL’s First-Ever Game In Australia
The NFL played its first-ever regular season game on Australian soil Friday, and the league handed the halftime slot to a band that knows a thing or two about stadium-sized nostalgia: the Jonas Brothers. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on the field, the trio ran through a medley built for a crowd that grew up on them — “Burnin’ Up,” “Sucker,” “Year 3000,” and their new one, “Listen When Sad.”
They also did something no one was expecting: a cover of John Farnham’s “You’re the Voice,” the 1986 Australian anthem that’s basically a second national song at this point. It’s the kind of move that plays a lot better live in Melbourne than it would’ve on paper. “Playing at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of such passionate Australian fans is an incredible honor,” the group said in a statement ahead of the show. “We can’t wait to be part of this historic moment and celebrate with everyone in the stadium and watching around the world.”
The game itself wasn’t close — the 49ers took it 27-7 — but the real story was everything happening around the field. Cody Simpson opened the day singing “Advance Australia Fair,” and the whole event doubled as a launchpad for the Jonas Brothers’ next act: “The Burning Up Tour All Over Again,” kicking off Sept. 25 and running through Dec. 22, a nod to the original Burnin’ Up Tour from nearly two decades back.
That throwback framing isn’t just marketing. “Listen When Sad,” which the band debuted live at Madison Square Garden before Melbourne, pulls from a very specific corner of their teenage years. “We’ve tapped back into a sound that was kind of the sound of the early 2000s,” Nick told the MSG crowd. “Bands like Switchfoot, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional.” They’ve even re-teamed with the producer behind “A Little Bit Longer” and “Lines, Vines and Trying Times” to get it right. No album’s been announced yet, but between the halftime show and the tour, it’s clear they’re not easing into this one quietly.
Entertainment
Harry Styles Is Extending His Tour Into 2027 — And Finally Playing U.S. Stadiums Solo
Harry Styles just told fans that “Together, Together” isn’t done yet. He’s tacking on 25 more stadium dates through 2027 — and this time he’s finally doing something he’s never done before as a solo artist: headlining stadiums in the U.S. and Canada.
The new leg kicks off in Phoenix on April 2 and rolls through Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Atlanta and Chicago before jumping to Europe for stops in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Dublin, wrapping with three nights at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 28. Tickets run $60 to $300, but Styles is also rolling out something new: “Unpredictable Fun Tickets,” a batch of $20 seats (£20 or €20, depending on the market) meant to keep the tour accessible, alongside a returning partnership with EARNT that lets fans earn tickets by volunteering in their communities.
Styles broke the news the old-fashioned way, in a newsletter to fans, confirming these are the tour’s “final cities.” “After that, I don’t know what comes next for me,” he wrote, “but I know that I’m excited to find out.” Every stop gets its own opening act, and the lineup is genuinely wild — Kylie Minogue in LA, Tears For Fears in London, LCD Soundsystem in Rome, Lainey Wilson in Toronto, and Caroline Polachek in Paris, among others.
This caps a run that’s already made history: Styles picked up a Guinness World Record in June for the longest residency by a musician at Wembley Stadium, beating out Coldplay’s old mark. The tour is behind his fourth album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.,” which debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. If this really is the last lap, he’s making sure it’s the biggest one yet.
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