the sutherland brothers - 'arms of mary'

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I'm in the mood for some old 70s guitar ballads and here's one of my favourites. I haven't heard this in years.

shovels and rope - 'stono river blues'

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I do like this track a lot, Bluesy Americana with a slightly sinister edge.

foals - 'late night (solomun remix)'

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A lovely deep house remix of a great Foals track, from their 2013 album 'Holy Fire'.

got a girl - 'there's a revolution'

Tweet Another pop reincarnation for Dan the Automator and this time sees him in Pipettes/St Etienne territory with a very catchy number.

alt-j - 'every other freckle'

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A damned fine way to start the week.

i am ampersand - '20 seas 4 oceans'

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I Am Ampersand is one-third of Brighton based Fujiya & Miyagi, a band that I have raved about on here before. He's the Ampersand in the middle to be exact and has a solo album, Grave Goods, up on Bandcamp that deserves a lot of attention. It's a lot more folky and acoustic than his Fujiya & Miyagi-type music and with tinges of psychedelia too although there's definitely some hallmark F&J traits that shine through still. Funnily enough, just before hearing this I was listening to Phil Selway of Radiohead's latest solo album and there are comparisons aplenty there too: quieter, more intimate but with a wonderfully assured delivery and some great tongue-in-cheek moments. I do like the flow of the album and this track especially. I think Marc Bolan would be proud of the hook in this tune.

You can listen to the rest of the rest of the album here. 

omd - 'electricity'

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35 years old! If you're going to have a debut single then this is the quality of tune you have to aim for. Superb stuff.

the sugarcubes - 'birthday'

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This tune, the album 'Life's Too Good' changed forever the way I listened to music. I still get goose-bumps listening to it now.

embrace - 'all you good good people'

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Have yourself a great weekend, all you good, good people. Sunny Worthing this afternoon for me.

saint etienne - 'spring'

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What a tune.

the brian jonestown massacre - 'memorymix'

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When you give yourself one of the greatest names in music, then you need to back it up with some seriously good music. Fortunately BJM consistently perform at a very high standard, their latest album is an absolute humdinger, this being one of their moodier moments.

zero 7 - 'in the waiting line'

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A classic to see me off for the night. I'm knackered.

bearhug - 'aimee'

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This is my 2001st blog entry. I'm very proud of that achievement, I'm the sort of person most likely not to see something through so to get this far is a hell of an achievement for me. Thankyou to everyone who has encouraged me to stick with this too.

This is a damned good tune to mark the occasion. Bearhug are an Aussie guitar band who play a mean guitar, lots of lovely Jesus and Mary Chain references in their chords and a very cool lyrical delivery. 

woman's hour - 'in stillness we remain'

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Another British band making big waves musically, Woman's Hour just go from strength to strength with their guitar-driven dream pop. This from their 2014 album 'Conversations'.

low roar - 'dreamer'

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This music comes from Iceland via California and as so often with Icelandic music is a beautifully melancholy number. As uplifiting as it is whimsical.

quilt - 'tie up the tide'

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Not feeling particularly with it this morning. This track did help though.

alvvays - 'adult diversion'

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It's as if those jangly late-80s, early 90s indie bands never went away. Superb stuff from this Toronto band. Their new album is a treat. Fresh sounding and unashamedly pop-driven.

john cooper clarke - 'kung fu international'

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I can't go back to Salford, the cops have got me marked. Enter the dragon, exit Johnny Clarke. Brilliant!

darkside - 'the only shrine i've seen'

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Wow! I've not listened to this since it was released last year and had clean forgotten how good it was. Beautiful.

spookyland - 'rock and roll weakling'

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Definitely on the rockier side of a Sunday morning, here's Aussie 'Spookyland' with a corker of a tune and a great video to accompany it. Big shades of Brit Pop and in a good way too, think Cast and you'll see where I'm going with this. It's a real get up and go tune, which is just as well because I have things to do!

moon city boys - 'rockets'

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Here's a new one from one of Stockholm's hottest bands of the moment. These boys certainly love their Velvet Underground if this track's anything to go by. Sleazy garage pop at its very best.

bunny sigler - 'theme from five fingers of death'

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From one band that captured that Philly sound to someone who was instrumental (quite literally!) in developing the sound - Bunny Sigler. This is a forgotten classic, 1973 never sounded funkier.

the three degrees 'when will i see you again (tom moulton remix)'

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My favourite ever disco tune is perfect for a Sunday morning. Sheila Ferguson's voice...oh boy! Heavenly.

avi buffalo - 'won't be around no more'

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Top, top music.

daniel steinberg - 'pay for me'

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It's gonna be a lovely weekend.

voigt & voigt - 'tischlein deck dich'

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What a tune! Great techno from the ever-reliable Kompakt Records label.

the 2 bears - 'work (st. etienne remix)'

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If this is the music that you listen to as you commute to work then you're going to have a good day indeed. 

kahimi karie - 'david hamilton (st etienne remix)'

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This blast from the past is a bit of a collector's item.

pele - 'texture'

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A slightly more frenetic minimal techno tune than I usually like but the urgency in this is so good and when the tune really gets going it really gets going!

gruff rhys - 'the swamp'

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Can this man do no wrong? I think not.

björk - 'declare independence'

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If Scotland declares independence then I can apply to become a Scottish citizen thanks to a Scottish grandfather. Thanks, but no thanks. This Björk track from 2007 needs to be played today though.

terror bird - 'eyes without a face'

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Now this is what I'm talking about. My favourite Billy Idol track covered by Vancouver's Terror Bird who had one of my albums of the year a few years back. Her sparse 80s-inspired lo-fi electro-pop pushes every one of my buttons. Beautiful stuff.

poliça - 'chain my name (kauf remix)'

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The lead track from their 2013 album given a great new makeover from Kauf.

leonard cohen - 'nevermind'

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He's back....I've had a listen of the new album and it's top notch. Once again, biting lyrics, female harmonies and the gravel voice. The inimitable Cohen voice. I particularly like the use of the Arabesque backing singer. Apparently it's Madonna's old backing singer Donna De Lory; she sounds great.

johnny cash - 'get rhythm'

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..when you get the blues, get rhythm!

death vessel - 'ejecta'

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Now here's some folk-y music for you. Ostensibly a band but this is the stage-name for Joel Thobideau who hails from Rhode Island. I did some background reading on him and it came as no surprise to see that he's toured with Jónsi, the sounds are certainly similar. 

erland and the carnival - 'daughter'

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Their first album was a must-have but up until 2014 I hadn't heard or seen much of them so it was lovely to see a new album out and a good 'un it is too. It seems more of a classic pop album rather than their previous folk-y output but don't let that detract you. It's all good, buddy.

mark lanegan - 'sad lover'

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How about this for a tune to wake you into your Monday morning? Great stuff from the ever-reliable Lanegan, this taken from his latest EP 'No Bells On Sunday'.

diana ross - 'do you know where you're going to?'

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A beautiful song for a beautiful lay-dee.

painted palms - 'angels'

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Big nods to the Beach Boys from this SF duo although on first hearing I thought there were also big traces of John Lennon in there also. Those two references alone should direct you to where they pitch themselves musically. The album is criminally short, coming in at under 40 minutes but it's more a question of quality over quantity and there's quality in abundance here. 

ryan adams - 'shadows'

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I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Ryan Adams. Some tunes really speak to me and I just love the musicianship, other songs just seem to be so much MOR blandness. This tune is a case in point. There's parts of it that wouldn't be out of place in a power rock album from the 80s but then he manages to drag it from bland conformity into something quite special. I need to give it a few more listens, I think.

A bit of pop trivia for you - he shares the same birthday with his very near namesake Bryan Adams: 5th November. Coincidence or what?

lia ices - 'higher'

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I've been listening to Connecticut singer, Lia Ices' new album on repeat for a few weeks now and it just gets better and better with each new listen. This is pure dream pop at its best.

style council - 'council meeting'

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It's Mick Talbot's birthday today so why not, eh?

timbre timbre - 'bring me simple men'

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They've been described loosely as 'folk meets blues' and it's not too far away from their sound but there's also something almost cinematic in their last album, as if Nick Cave has got his hands on the band. This track in particular exemplifies what I'm clumsily trying to describe.

damien jurado - 'silver donna'

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There's some parts of this tune that remind me a lot of the Charlatans' 'Only One I Know'. Surprising that a Damien Jurado song should remind me of the Charlatans but he's certainly been crossing a few musical genres of late. More power to his elbow too!

liars - 'dress walker'

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james - 'bitter virtue'

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What a return La Petite Mort is for James. If you haven't heard the album then you're in for a treat. Slightly more expansive, reflective, less frenetic but still true to their pop roots.

sun kil moon - 'ben's my friend'

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What a tune. Marvellous stuff from the ever-brilliant Sun Kil Moon.

cibo matto - 'mfn'

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They've been around for years and years, split and reformed but great to see Japanese/American band Cibo Matto finally get serious about musical stardom with their 2014 album 'Hotel Valentine'.

balstyrko - 'flammer og steaks'

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I loved this Danish hip-hop band's album so much that a few years ago I contacted the lead singer to try to persuade him to tour in the UK. Sadly, he declined.

super besse - 'oтпусти'

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It translates as 'Release' in case you were wondering. Many thanks to the Louder Than War website editor John Robb for highlighting this band from Minsk in Belarus, and for anyone who is a Joy Division fan then this band are an absolute must listen to. You can check out all their albums on their Bandcamp page and also on Soundcloud. I'm blown away with how good they sound, I think you will be too.  

jones - 'deep'

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London singer Jones releases a very zeitgeist-y sounding track. The production alone lifts this above the common herd and her voice shows little glimpses of perfection. One to watch, for sure.

rockers hi-fi - 'going under (k&d sessions)'

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Blast from the past. It's a hell of a tune.

fink - 'warm shadow'

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Not the best of morning's blog-wise. I tried and failed to find a stream for the Wild Bunch's 'Dub Plate Fashion'. Likewise, for Tha Brigade's '2 Much Hype'. Third time lucky with this very fine tune from Fink.

sigur ros - 'untitled vii'

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Beautifully melancholic.

allah-las - 'buffalo nickel'

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I haven't blogged about the Allah-Las in some time but suffice to say, I love their sound; this from their latest album being a perfect example.

mac demarco - 'goodbye weekend'

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An appropriate title if ever I saw one. DeMarco's album 'Salad Days' is one of the standout albums of the year on a lot of critics' lists. I'm just getting into it and so far I like what I hear a lot. 

julie byrne - 'marmalade'

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And carrying on the Sunday vibe, here's folk singer Julie Byrne who sounds a lot like Vashti Bunyan to me. Beautiful song but now I'm hungry! 

james vincent mcmorrow - 'look out'

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Irish singer McMorrow sets the tone for a chilled Sunday morning with this impossible-to-categorise tune. Let's just say it's rather good and leave it to JVM to do the talking.

artificial organs - 'while the city sleeps'

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A fantastic discovery for me, this song comes from 1980 and the band were a little known Melbourne, heavily influenced by the German and British early techno exponents, most notably Kraftwerk who were fans of the Aussie band. This is just superb and sounds a lot less dated than perhaps it should. Love it.

big joe williams - 'baby please don't go'

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A bit of blues history here. This is Big Joe Williams, a Delta blues guitarist who first recorded this classic tune. Williams was also famous for being one of the very first exponents of the 9-string guitar, no mean feat at all to play.

ásgeir - 'going home (acoustic toe rag session)'

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Icelandic music is in the very rudest of health. Top, top tune.

dom 877 - 'do it right (original mix)'

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Very smooth techno. I heard this on the Fabric 74 album and it's a lovely backdrop to the morning chores.

beck - 'morning'

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It certainly is. A pretty miserable one at that. This is from his new album and a lovely chilled out collection it is too.

long john hunter - 'el paso rock'

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Ending the night with a great 1950s rock and roll musician, Long John Hunter. He's still alive, you know and still touring. I'd love to catch him in concert one day, what a great sound.

mobb deep - 'eye for an eye (feat. ghostface killah, raekwon and nas)'

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What a tune. Still sounds as fresh as ever.

elephant stone - 'knock you from yr mountain'

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With a name like Elephant Stone it's not difficult to see where their influences lie but maybe with a little psychedelia thrown in too. What is a little surprising is that they're from Canada. Great band though and a great sound.

nick cave and the bad seeds - 'give us kiss'

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It's a brand new tune from the man whose music has been more of an influence on my life than anyone else and although I prefer it to his more recent output, I'm still not firmly back on board the Nick Cave love train. I do hope I can climb back on soon.

the cars - 'my best friend's girl'

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This must be one of my all-time favourite new wave tunes, a great intro, a killer hook and a chorus that's impossible to get from your brain once you hear it. 

sivu - 'better man than he'

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The album's out in October but until then St Ives singer/songwriter has released this session recording. If you're a fan of Wild Beasts, I think you might just like this a lot.

moodymann - 'iguessuneverbeenlonely'

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I wondered where I'd heard this sort of sound before but after googling Moodymann and seeing that he was a Detroit based producer/musician it struck me - Grand Detroit Pubahs. Different but similar; does that make sense?

You really should check out Moodymann's new album too. Winning all the way.

real slow - 'sad kids'

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Now this is right up my street, moody, euphoric, downtempo. It's got the lot.

elliott smith - 'angel in the snow'

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There's some musicians whose passing never stops making you feel sad when you think of them. Elliott Smith does that for me. Such a rare and precious treasure, such a shame that this world wasn't enough to keep him here.

terry lee hale - 'long draw'

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Regarded as one of the pioneers of the Seattle grunge scene and the only solo singer/songwriter to feature on the seminal CD Sub Pop 200, the album that broke the grunge scene into the wider public. He has, I believe, now re-located to France and his albums are a lot more introspective than his earlier work but I guess maturity and confidence plays a large part in that.

bubbafett - 'trouble (original mix)'

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This deep house tune was part of my soundtrack to my commute this morning. Very nice too.

st paul and the broken bones - 'grass is greener'

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He looks like a Tory MP but sounds like a black soul singer. How's about that for incongruous?

sly and robbie - 'spray belly'

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The original drum and bass legends are back with another album, Underwater Dub and it's a corker. There's absolutely no fat on the bone with this collection. Check the drum sequencing here. Superb stuff as always. 

the raveonettes - 'wake me up'

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Taken from their 2014 album Pe'ahi, this is possibly their most autobiographical album to date dealing with love, death, near-death and infidelity. These are all big subjects for sure, but the California surf theme of the album lifts it from any morbid navel-gazing into something quite bright and fresh. 

nina simone - 'feeling good (bassnectar remix)'

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Oh yes!. When the bass kicks in, you know it's going to be an awesome remix.

art brut - 'moving to l.a.'

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The lyrics to this tune have some of the funniest rhyming couplets in musical history (drinking Hennessy with Morrissey..). Superb stuff.

wytches - 'summer again'

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Another great Brighton band, this time The Wytches with a great surf-rock tune.

benjamin booker - 'happy homes'

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A great tune here from News Orleans singer/songwriter Benjamin Booker. Modern blues/soul is in good hands with people like Benjamin looking after things.

little cloud - 'why'

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Big thanks to the405 website for bringing this tune to y attention. It's from Swedish producer. Little Cloud and can best be described as a wonderfully dirge-y, sort of very bass-y ambience. It's quite something.

aphex twin reveals new album artwork and design

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Suffice to say it's quite beautiful. Stunning even. You can read all about it here.

ema - 'when she comes'

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Her 2014 album 'The Future's Void' is one of my favourite albums of the year so far. It doesn't break any new ground but it is consistently good with very little filler. It's kind of pop meets Americana and a few tracks, this in particular is a great driving song.

dj kentaro - 'handmade gift'

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Japanese turntablist maestro, DJ Kentaro is a multi-award winning scratch DJ and one of my favourites. Check this tune out and you'll see why.

pablo moses - 'i love i bring'

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Now this is a truly beautiful tune. Roots reggae never sounded better. This tune is nearly 40 years old too, still as fresh-sounding now as it was back in 1976.