Journalism

(Beginning with most recent publication.)

7 May 2021 (published in print 1 May) – My review of Hanif Abdurraqib’s A Little Devil In America for the Irish Times.

11 April 2021 (published in print 10 April) – My review of Craig Taylor’s New Yorkers for the Irish Times.

6 March 2021 – My review of John Colapinto’s This Is The Voice for the Irish Independent.

3 October 2020 – My interview with music journalist Paul Morley about his classical music book A Sound Mind for the Irish Times.

29 February 2020 – My piece on Kraftwerk’s legacy in Düsseldorf for the Irish Times.

27 February 2020 (published in print 29 February) – My review of Uwe Schütte’s Kraftwerk: Future Music From Germany for the Guardian.

12 February 2020 (published in print on 8 February) – My review of Sam Wasson’s The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood for the Irish Times. [subscription required]

25 November 2019 – My review of Amelia Gentleman’s The Windrush Betrayal and Colin Grant’s Homecoming for the Irish Times. [subscription required]

17 November 2019 – My piece for Guardian Travel about Glasgow’s musical history.

17 November 2019 – My top ten places in the UK where musical history was made, for Guardian Travel.

1 November 2019 – My review of Edward Platt’s The Great Flood for the Guardian.

2 March 2019 – My review of Evan Ratliff’s The Mastermind for the Irish Times.

2 February 2019 – My piece on British pop, Brexit and The Good, The Bad and The Queen’s Merrie Land album for the Irish Times.

15 November 2017 – My piece for Guardian Cities on what’s happening to Britain’s Civic Centres in an era of extreme austerity.

19 October 2017 – My review of Gisli Palsson’s The Man Who Stole Himself for the London Review of Books.

11 July 2017 – My piece on the decline of Manchester’s estate pubs for Guardian Cities.

10 March 2017 (published in print on 11 March) – My review of Brenna Hassett’s Built on Bones for the Guardian.

7 February 2017 – My piece on the disappearing remnants of Newcastle’s modernist city, for Guardian Cities.

22 December 2016 – My review of Mark Greif’s essay collection Against Everything for the Guardian.

21 December 2016 – My profile of Andy Martin, Sunderland photographer, for Guardian Cities.

5 November 2016 – My review of Rachel Lichtenstein’s Estuary for the Irish Times.

2 September 2016 – ‘Travels with William‘, my review of A.J. Lees’s Mentored by a Madman, for the Dublin Review of Books.

16 June 2016 – My piece on how Bloomsday is celebrated globally, for the Lit Hub.

2 June 2016 – My diary for the London Review of Books, on a golf course that went on fire.

20 April 2016 (published in print on 23rd April) – My review of Lee Siegel’s biography Groucho Marx for the Guardian.

9 February 2016 – My review of Robert Caro’s classic biography The Power Broker for the Irish Times.

7 February 2016 – My review of Douglas Murphy’s Last Futures for the Sunday Business Post. (Paywalled)

21 January 2016 – I interviewed rock writer Nik Cohn in the Irish Times about his reissued classic Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: Pop From The Beginning.

12 January 2016 – I contributed my thoughts on David Bowie to the Irish Times as part of this collection of tributes to the late, great rock star.

16 December 2015 – I wrote this piece about ad man and collector of New York sounds Tony Schwartz for JSTOR Daily. (Includes Spotify playlist of his work.)

9 May 2015 – My review of Matthew Beaumont’s Nightwalking: A Nocturnal History of London for the Irish Times.

14 April 2015 – Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ is a seriously weird song. I wrote about it for the Irish Times.