de-minimis

12 May 2016

little barrie - 'i.5.c.a. [the blues kitchen sessions]'

Fuck yeah! The latest Little Barrie single takes no prisoners. Here they are performing live for the Blues Kitchen, Brixton.

kent - 'vi är inte längre där'

Swedish band Kent seem to have been around forever but they just get better and better. Here's the latest single and what a belter.

jealous of the birds - 'goji berry sunset'

Jealous of the Birds is the alias of Naomi Hamilton from Armagh in Northern Ireland. She's a singer-songwriter with a very charming and catchy collection of tunes. This particular track reminds me a lot of the Moldy Peaches-era folk that was around 10 or 15 years ago. It's taken from her new album and definitely one to watch.

luh - 'beneath the concrete'

I think you'll like this. Brand new from American indie-rockers LUH it's anthemic, grungy, reminds me of Rainbow Arabia or Big Pink's 'Dominoes'. Just the tune to get you going in the morning.

11 May 2016

victoria+jean - 'holly'

The single has been around for two years now but finally they've got an album out and this track features prominently. The Swedish/Belgian duo make great noisy pop and long may they do so.

sophia - 'it's easy to be lonely'

The song has been around for a few years but it's featured finally on the Sophia collective's new album out last month and I'm happy to post this because it's a belter.

shonen knife - 'jump into the new world'

Taken from their new album here's the first track from 'Adventure'. It's a shame I can't post about another song on there - the excellent 'Imi (Emoji) and with a massive nod to Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades' riff. Anyway, here are Japan's finest, Shonen Knife.

nicholas allbrook - 'a fool there was'

Pond frontman, Nicholas Allbrook, has found time from an ever busy schedule to release a solo album at the end of the month and here's the first release from it. It's a messy, folky rock tune where is tongue rarely leaves his cheek given the lyrics on show.

the limiñanas - 'malamore'

It's great to hear full-blown psychedelic pop every once in a while and the title song from their new album is an absolute treat. I can't recommend this highly enough.

10 May 2016

françoise hardy - 'si c'est ça'

Let's finish tonight with a French pop classic from 1966. Wonderful!

anohni - 'marrow'

I think her latest album 'Hopelessness' is by far her most accessible in years and I'm so pleased that the subject matter for the tunes has moved away from the personal to the world at large. That's not to say that I don't think that the personal matters are/were important but that it started to pigeon-hole everything about Anohni. There's plenty of great tracks on this latest album and I'm particularly taken with the last song. It's incredibly uplifting and poppy and I'm a sucker for both of those adjectives when it comes to music.

james blake - 'i need a forest fire (ft. bon iver)'

I've had a preview copy of the new James Blake album and I've been giving it some listening but I must confess it can be a bit much all in one go. It's relentlessly a break-up album and the idiosyncratic singing style can get a bit much on an album with 17 tracks. I'm not trying to downplay how good it is, it's excellent, it's just that for me I can only take so much in one go. Here's the brand new video for 'I Need A Forest Fire' taken from the upcoming album.

marissa nadler - 'all the colours of the dark'

Taken from her new album 'Strangers' this is, so far, the stand-out track for me. I've only given the album a few listens so this may change but whichever track I prefer it's great to see her back.

09 May 2016

cool ghouls - 'here today'

Recorded for Stereogum as part of a Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' tribute ahead of the Levitation Festival, this is quite an excellent cover. You can read more here.

guided by voices - 'my zodiac companion'

It's a very short opening track from their new album but by jiminy it's damn good.

nick cave - 'suzanne'

My all-time favourite musician covering my all-time favourite songwriter. Is there a better line in music than 'Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water'?

04 May 2016

dj dusty - 'the rain fell up'

This track suits the weather perfectly. A very summery track from last year. The perfect chill out.

curtis mayfield - 'mighty mighty (spade and whitey)'

The incomparable Curtis Mayfield was a big part of my morning commute and this track especially set me up for the rest of the day.

24 April 2016

hanne kolstø - 'this town (ost and kjex remix)'

This is a lovely smooth remix of a favourite Norwegian singer of mine.

22 April 2016

globelamp - 'controversial/confrontational'

I am going to try to catch her when she plays Brighton next month. Her sound is quite simple but at the same time that's not quite true because there's an awful lot going on underneath the surface, difficult to describe but so effective. It's a sort of psychedelic Toyah/Lykke Li hybrid, intriguing and quite beautiful.