It's been quite a while since I updated this music blog. It's been in the back of my mind for some time but events, some good and others not so good, have made it difficult for me to summon the enthusiasm to keep the blog going. I'm going to try again in an attempt to resurrect the enthusiasm I once had. Thanks for bearing with me.
10 November 2015
16 September 2015
09 September 2015
chelsea wolfe - 'maw'
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I love just about everything about this track. Superb shoe-gazing with 80s Goth mixed for good measure.
08 September 2015
04 September 2015
28 August 2015
26 August 2015
18 August 2015
14 August 2015
10 August 2015
ultimate painting - 'out in the cold'
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I'd never heard of this band until the weekend but their new album 'Green Lanes' has certainly piqued my interest. Very fresh and some great guitar work.
09 August 2015
langhorne slim - 'whisperin''
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If you're a fan of Conor Oberst then I think you'll love Langhorne Slim's new album a lot. I love the freshness of the sound and the infectious choruses. Great stuff.
frank turner - 'angel islington'
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I've been listening to his new album this morning and feel the need to share this the first track from it. I managed to track down a session he did for an Aussie radio station and if anything it's better than the album version. Anyway, here it is.
06 August 2015
albert hammond jr - 'power hungry'
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Better known as the keyboardist with The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr has recently released a solo album and its been very well received. I'm not surprised either with top tunes like this one.
05 August 2015
health - 'l.a. looks'
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I've been listening to their new album this evening and for me this is the stand-out track from it. It's a kind of power pop that reminds me in part of Rainbow Arabia (whatever happened to them?)
oh sister - 'for the dales'
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Taken from her Watch the Water E.P. it's a bold, ambitious tune that shows that folk music isn't all ethereal whimsy, it can pack a punch too.
gloams - 'lint e.p.'
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I was kindly sent this link from the Manchester band and it comes with free download too. If instrumental electronica with wonderfully understated drum-and-bass programming is your thing then you need to listen to this.
03 August 2015
02 August 2015
beak> - 'the meader'
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He may come across as a curmudgeonly sod at times on social media but Geoff Barrow talks a lot of sense, especially about performing rights, royalties and suchlike. He's also got a knack for offbeat but catchy tunes. This is him with his band Beak> taken from their new EP.
30 July 2015
29 July 2015
beach house - 'space song'
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I'm not quite sure what to make of their new album, it's a little soporific but in a good way. This track is quite lovely though.
28 July 2015
chemical brothers - 'wide open (feat. beck)'
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You just know that anything that has Beck and the Chemical Brothers collaborating will be utterly joyful. This is from the Chemical Brothers new album and probably the stand-out track for me.
26 July 2015
24 July 2015
23 July 2015
corrina repp - 'the beast lives in the same place'
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I'm very taken with her new album and especially this tune. I can't quite put my finger on it but reminds me of a few 80s tracks. Goodbye Horses maybe?
22 July 2015
foals - 'a knife in the ocean'
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This is already the third track they've released from their upcoming album. What a band they are. Magnificent.
21 July 2015
lana del ray - 'honeymoon'
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I know she gets a lot of stick for the whole re-invention as a Nevada trailer park girl but I can't help but like her style. Here she is with her latest 'Honeymoon' and it's suitably melancholy and poignant. Great stuff.
mark lanegan and beth orton – 'your kisses burn'
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Heavenly Recordings turns 25 this year and to mark the occasion a number of very well-respected artists are collaborating to honour the record label. Here we have Lanegan and Orton covering the Nico/Marc Almond tune and doing it justice indeed.
dbfc - 'staying at home'
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Very nice, very laid-back. Like smoking a Gauloise cigarette outside some cafe on the Left Bank. Shades of Happy Mondays, shades of Cut Copy, loads of coolness thrown in. This is the brand new track from Parisian DBFC and certainly one for the summer.
20 July 2015
waxahatchee - 'bonfire'
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If you haven't heard of Waxahatchee then you're missing out. I've blogged before about this fantastic singer and her 2015 album 'Ivy Tripp' just gets better with every listen.
18 July 2015
public enemy - 'man plans god laughs'
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They're back. The album is a lot more subdued than I thought it would be. Although there's fire still in Chuck D's belly, he acknowledges he's in the September of his life now and he's passing on wisdom less as a preacher and more as an angry uncle. The tunes hold up well and as you'd expect the mixing, scratching and rapping is top notch.
the old ceremony - 'the sprinter'
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Great tune here. In fact, it's bloody brilliant. It reminds me in part of the Levellers, in part the Waterboys and with a great little riff borrowed from The Ace of Spades.
16 July 2015
15 July 2015
claude vonstroke - 'make a cake' NSFW
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A big warning on this video, it's a tad naughty so be careful. Great tune though. A fantastic floor-filler.
milk carton kids - 'deadly bells'
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I'm not a big fan of their new album but this track is quite lovely and stands out for me. There's simplicity without being too twee.
13 July 2015
leapling - 'n.e.r.v.e'
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And the tunes just keep on coming. This track at times has a bass-line that reminds me of Depeche Mode's 'Useless'. It's almost as if there's an urgency to the song.
11 July 2015
10 July 2015
wavves x cloud nothings - 'nothing hurts'
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I've been neglecting my blog of late and so I'm putting that right straight away with this monstrously good tune. Brand new too.
08 July 2015
07 July 2015
palace - 'settle down'
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What a beautiful track to mooch around the house to on a gloomy day. Taken from their new EP 'Chase The Light'.
01 July 2015
30 June 2015
drab majesty - 'the foyer'
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The tune isn't quite in keeping with the summer weather but nonetheless I'm going to blog it because it's pretty good.
dikembe - 'surfed in the loft'
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I love a bit of nihilist angst-ridden pop music once in a while. This is one of those whiles. A great new track from Florida band Dikembe.
28 June 2015
27 June 2015
la roux - 'bulletprooff'
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I don't care what anyone says. La Roux pisses over Kanye West when it comes to who is the better performer.
26 June 2015
25 June 2015
sandra kolstad - 'zero gravity state of mind'
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Yet another great tune from my iPod, this time Norwegian singer/songwriter Sandra Kolstad with this, the title track from her 2015 album.
24 June 2015
chemical brothers - 'three little birdies down beats'
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The album 'Exit Planet Dust' is 20 years old today. It's an incredible album that has stood the test of time quite well.
them are us too - 'false moon'
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If you're a Cocteau Twins fan then you need to get this band in your life. Their album was out a few months back but sadly has slipped under the radar. We can't have that.
emika - 'rache'
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Why isn't this singer world famous yet? With tunes such as this, it must surely be only a matter of time.
23 June 2015
low - 'no comprende'
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There's a new album from Low called 'Ones and Sixes' and if this track from it is anything to go by then it could be a contender for album of the year. What a superb tune.
22 June 2015
the chemical brothers feat. st vincent - 'under neon lights'
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An unlikely but very welcome pairing for this brand new release from their upcoming new album.
neil young + promise of the real - 'the monsanto years'
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Another album available to stream is Neil Young's latest in collaboration with Willie Nelson's sons Lukas and Michah. Sometimes Monday mornings can be fun!
21 June 2015
nev cottee - 'follow the sun'
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Once described as sounding like Lee Hazlewood fronting Spiritualized, his new album is an absolute belter. You know, that description of him is spot on. Check this out.
20 June 2015
this is the kit - 'silver john'
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Their album 'Bashed Out' is one of my favourite albums of 2015 so far and trust me when I say that I've listened to a lot of new albums since January. It's so clever, so well-written, so beautifully performed I can't stop returning to this album as a default on my iPod.
terakaft - 'karambani'
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I don't know how these Malians do it but here is yet another fantastic rock band from the African country. Superb!
life in film - 'anna, please don't go'
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They've been around for ages now and have released EPs and singles but they've finally gotten round to making a full-blown album with legendary producer Stephen Street and the deluxe edition that I have heard consolidates a fair few EPs and singles into one package. This track for instance is on the album but is around 6 years old now. Still a great track, mind.
outfit - 'on the water, on the way'
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So many great albums out at the moment. Here's a superb track from another brand new album this time it's Liverpool band Outfit.
cayucas - 'moon eyed walrus'
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I'm currently listening to their new album 'Dancing at the Blue Lagoon' and it's a lovely summer record, hame that the Brighton weather doesn't match up but nonetheless, this is a lot of fun. This particular track reminds me of Vampire Weekend slightly although it's definitely got West Coast influences too.
19 June 2015
mercury rev - 'the queen of swans'
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It's taken a hell of a long time coming but there's a new Mercury Rev album on the horizon and this is the first track from it. It's not anything new from them, uplifting lyrics, a tune that builds and builds and the inevitable key-change and the high-pitched singing. If you're a Mercury Rev fan then you'll love this.
18 June 2015
damaged bug - 'jet in jungle'
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Damaged Bug are a side project of Thee Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer and a lot of fun they are too. He's swapped scuzzy, psychedelic guitars for scuzzy, psychedelic synths for a very inspired album.
17 June 2015
sorority noise - 'using'
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It's not often I like an emo band but these chaps, a quartet from Connecticut, have something about them that just shines. Their new album 'Joy, Departed' is quite deservedly winning lots of critical praise too and although it's a short album with 10 tracks coming in at just over half an hour it's jam-packed with some fantastic tunes. This is my current favourite.
björk - 'history of touches (krampfhaft remix)'
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The first batch of remixes from her Vulnicura album. As ever, they are never easy things to get your head around but they are certainly well-crafted, clever and thought-provoking.
miaoux miaoux - 'luxury discovery'
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Glasgow's finest synth-pop maestro is back with a brand new album and online comparisons with the likes of Scritti Politti are extremely observant. I love this track, very fresh sounding and summer-y.
16 June 2015
alice wolf - 'turn to dust'
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Their debut album has been eagerly awaited in this household for quite some time and I'm overjoyed that the wait is finally over. I think it could be one of the albums of the year.
the smiths - 'the boy with the thorn in his side'
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'The Queen Is Dead' was released this day in 1986 and what an album it was, undoubtedly one of the classic 80s albums.
15 June 2015
14 June 2015
flo morrissey - 'show me'
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This is a name to look out for in the future, she's a 20 year old from London with a crystal clear singing voice and a very confident style. Her tunes remind me in part of Lana Del Ray, Sea of Bees, Marika Hackman and I've been greatly enjoying listening this morning to her new album 'Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful'. I read a Guardian review and they made a slight criticism that there wasn't enough variation in this album but I think that's unfair as I can hear them and it's not just subtle nuances but major chord structures, tempo there's plenty there to get your teeth into. It's a very accomplished debut album.
13 June 2015
eivør pálsdóttir - 'stories'
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In honour of tonight's big win by the Faroe Islands over Greece here is one of the Faroe Islands best known singers.
du blonde - 'isn't it wild'
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One of the quieter tracks from Du Blonde - Beth Jeans Houghton's new persona. The quality just shines.
pink floyd - 'pigs on the wing'
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One of my favourite Floyd tracks, this particular version has the full guitar solo on it. Lovely.
claude vonstroke - 'dood (kill frenzy remix)'
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Keeping with the electronica, here's a man at the top with a game de son monstrously good tune.
ryuichi sakamoto - 'relâché (instrumental mix master)'
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Legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and performer with a slice of early electronic music. Unbelievable That this track dates back to 1981.
the deslondes - 'low down soul'
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They're New Orleans country and blues, sharing not only musical styles but geography with the likes of Hurray For The Riff Raff and they are as brilliant too. I'm a sucker for genuine country music such as this. Great stuff!
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