31 January 2017

Let's pretend for an hour that the world isn't utterly screwed.

Bubblegum Lemonade - The Great Leap Backwards
And it does feel like we're trying to recreate the 1930s all over again. This is the title track from the album released late last year, one of my just-getting-round-to-it pile. And it's a big pile at the moment.

Team Picture - Back To Bay Six
A 5-piece from Leeds out on Leeds label Come Play With Me who can be relied on for the good stuff.

Real Estate - Darling
Off the LP In Mind which comes out on March 17.

Featured album: Tin Machine
Tin Machine
Amazing
I've been meaning to do this one for a while, especially since Bowie's death. It's a period that never got due recognition, but that Bowie said saved his career. That being that instead of doing what other people wanted, it was a return to making what he wanted and sod anyone who thought otherwise. He also credited Reeves Gabrels, guitarist and co-writer, with opening up his more experimental side which went on to define Bowie's late period.

Fews - LaGuardia
A new track from the London-by-way-of-Sweden band. Came out just over a week ago and is bloody splendid.

Deny All Robots - Crash
Speaking of geographical oddities. Lichfield via Detroit. This is the title track from the EP that came out last November. Yes, another off that big pile.

The Nightingales - The Divorce That Never Was
The renaissance of The Nightingales continues with a new track from the EP Become Not Becoming.

The Cowboys - She Wants To Be French
It does seem appealing right now, in fairness. These are from Ohio and is off a self-titled LP that came out last November. And the pile reduces again.

Heldinky - Arms
From Bangor in North Wales. This is off their debut LP Miles To Go Before I Sleep.

Featured album: Tin Machine

Bus Stop

It was worth revisiting this. It's not Bowie's best work, but it's not anywhere near as bad as was made out. What it represents in his career arc, however, is priceless.

Neon Waltz - Dreamers

These are from Caithness. And they're rather good.

Voodoocuts - Jazzaround

Because what we all need now is a jazzed up version of House Of Pain's Jump Around.

Blanck Mass - Please

From the third LP from Fuck Buttons' Benjamin John Power's side project, World Eater. Tip top.

Youtube:

Soundcloud:

And I'll try to reduce that pile next week.

3 November 2015

Hello again.

Field Music - The Noisy Days Are Over
The Sunderland veterans - I think we can say that - off their new LP Commontime due out in February.

The Ethical Debating Society - Sum Of My Parts
Off their debut album New Sense which came out in June. One from the extensive backlog I've got built up.

Tools You Can Trust - Working And Shopping
An oldie, but relevant. Originally released in 1985, it's recently been remastered and is out now on Burkas For Everyone records.

Featured Album
Low - Gentle
Low - What Part Of Me
Their 11th studio album, Ones And Sixes, came out in September and it's typically beautiful. Some of it is quite gentle, some less so. But more of that later.

The Spook School - Speak When You're Spoken To
From Edinburgh - and you can pick out the accent - this is off the LP Try To Be Helpful which came out in October.

Primitive Parts - Rented Houses
Those busy chaps from Sauna Youth/Monotony now combine with parts of Male Bonding to create another band. This is off Miracle Skin which is out now.

Lovely Eggs - Goofin' Around (In Lancashire)
The new single from our favourite Lancaster-based husband/wife duo. Out on November 13 on fried egg vinyl which looks tremendous.

Gwenno - Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki
The stunning Gwenno Saunders' Welsh language album Y Dydd Olaf came out in October 2014, but got a do-over in July which propelled it to the level it deserved. I am not going anywhere near the pronunciations.

Rodents - Calm Down
This is ace. I know little of them, but the fact they're on Art Is Hard is a marker of quality.

Featured Album
Low - Landslide
Almost ten minutes. Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Words can barely describe.

Blanck Mass - Double Cross
Benjamin John Power - half of Fuck Buttons - released Dumb Flesh under the name Blanck Mass in spring. We have had tracks from it before, but no reason to not play another one.

Luca Ballerini - Hanami (Armonia Rosa)
To Italy now, for some techno. Superb. Came out in August, that.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



More next week.

12 May 2015

Still annoyed from last Thursday, but let's put those blues aside for an hour or so.

Those Unfortunates - I Wish That I Could Smile Like Malcolm
Formerly The Unfortunates, but it turned out there was someone else called that. A new single from them which is perky, punky pop. Out on June 13.

The Tormentos - Dragstrip Night
Surf guitar from Buenos Aires. It could be California in the '50s, but it's from 2003 off an album called Go!

Oscar - Beautiful Words
This should be big. Pop, but with enough about it to poke it's head above the mainstream. Oscar is Oscar Scheller from London and this is on an EP of the same name, out June 22.

Cover Version Corner
Oasis/The Baggios - Rock 'n' Roll Star
I promise not to play another Oasis record, but I love the Baggios version of this which is out on an album called Live Forever, celebrating 20 years since Definitely Maybe came out. The Baggios themselves have been going 10 years now and have a DVD out soon, but not being a Portuguese-speaker I think it might be lost on me.

The Fall - Dedication Not Medication
Their 31st studio album is Sub-Lingual Tablet. Out on May 25, ordering it helped take my mind off the election results.

Sweet Benfica - Lasso
This is yet another excellent track from the Welsh lo-fi-ers. Out now as a pay-what-you-like download from their Bandcamp page.

Dignan Porch - Out Of The Picture
New single from these out now on Art Is Hard. Splendid stuff from a reliable label.

Personal Best - This Is What We Look Like
Made up of members of three other bands, Bristol's Personal Best have their debut album Arnos Vale out now and this is from it. While we may have our right to be free from discrimination - for now at least, until they go Full Metal Tory - it still exists.

Andy Bean - You Talk Too Much
Talk too much, do too little. Mea culpa.

Cloud - Sunshine Psych
Perfect for summer, Long Island's Cloud have their album Zen Summer out now.

One Degree of Separation
Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies - Don't Listen To The Government
Manic Street Preachers - The Masses Against The Classes
No massive link apart from my extreme disappointment at the prospects of what a Tory majority might attempt to get away with.

Motion Studies - In Our Days
We're all missing LCD Soundsystem, but perhaps some of us more than others. Tyler McCauley is the main driver behind Motion Studies and there's a clear influence there. Hearts Will Beat is out now.

Blanck Mass - Dead Format
Benjamin John Power, half of Fuck Buttons, is Blanck Mass. Been a while since he released anything under that name, but Dumb Flesh is the new one.

Kolsch - Two Birds
And finally, German producer Rune Reilly Kolsch has this out as a new single. Available from the usual outlets.

Here's that on Youtube:



and Soundcloud:



and we'll do it again next week.