20 December 2016 - Christmas special

Ho ho ho

Fightmilk - It's Only Christmas (Cheer Up You Moody Prick)
Yeah, OK, I fairly resemble that remark. It's not like that though, I'm not trying to impress anyone. I just don't get it. Anyway... Off the EP The Fight Before Christmas which is out now.

Emmy The Great - Christmas Moon
Going back a few years for this one, to 2011 and Emmy's collaboration with Ash's Tim Wheeler, This Is Christmas.

The Black Arts - Christmas Number One
A cross-pollination of Black Box Recorder and Art Brut for their 2007 festive smash.

Low - Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)
The Minnesota trio are probably the masters at this christmas lark. This is this year's effort.

The Golden Dregs - Blue Christmas
A new one from the ever-trusty Art Is Hard label.

Trampled By Turtles - Christmas In Prison
A cover of an old John Prine song by Minnesota's Trampled By Turtles released in time for this year's gorging season.

Norman Morris - Daddy Looked A Lot Like Santa
Going back a couple of years for this, another cover, this time of a 1965 Buck Owens record, which was on Cardiff singer Morris's 2014 festive compilation.

Eek-A-Mouse - Christmas A Come
Ripton Joseph Hylton is still going. This originally came out in 1981, but got a repress on 12" in 2008. And if you're familiar with the Trojan box set, nothing says christmas like some ska/reggae.

Grandaddy - Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland
Brilliant. Off the 2000 XFM christmas compilation.

Outside Your House - Hallway Whispers
The 2014 offering from the Durham avant-gardians which is pretty bloody special.

Eugene The Dream - The 12 Beats Of Christmas
Houston turntablist takes your favourite christmas songs and does that thing that he does with them.

Los Campesinos! - When Christmas Comes
Another band with festive form, this is off 2014's A Los Campesinos! Christmas EP.

Shrag - Stop The Revelry
Splendid take on the Jona Lewie record - which in itself is in no way a christmas tune, rather an anti-war homily - which came out in 2009 on volume 5 of Cherryade Records' A Very Cherry Christmas.

Kingsley Chapman And The Murder - Stars Fall Down
A new one for this year from the Middlesbrough crooner and band, with all proceeds going to Mind. Not in the playlists below. Go and buy it.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
And as is traditional, we close with the greatest christmas song ever, from the 1985 debut LP Back In The DHSS.

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Happy festivus everybody. And seriously, go buy that Kingsley Chapman record. Do it now.

14 April 2015

I had a distinct lack of voice last week, hence no show. And hence I'm doing it now.

Dave Hughes - Freedom Of Something
From the album Rise, Again which came out at the back end of last month. Something a little different.

Sweet Benfica - When The Prime Minister Talks To The Lords
A reworking of an old Bright Eyes track called When The President Talk To God. Get it off their bandcamp page.

Snapped Ankles - I Want My Minutes Back
The second single from this London outfit. Good, innit.

Cover Version Corner
Cornershop - Born Disco; Died Heavy Metal
Two versions of this, first from their debut album Hold On It Hurts from 1994. 20 years later, an instrumental, easy listening version of the same record.

Chastity Belt - Drone
A new one from these off the album Time To Go Home.

The Lucid Dream - Mona Lisa
Carlisle answer to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, that is umpteen kinds of splendid. The new self-titled album came out on March 30.

Therapy? - Tides
Another one off the new long-player Disquiet, which really is as good as the reviews say and is very much a back-to-basics return to form.

Du Blonde - Mind Is On My Mind
Featuring the vocals of Samuel T Herring of Future Islands, another one from the forthcoming album Welcome Back To Milk which I am very much looking forward to. That voice...

Love, Hippies and Gangsters - This Is What We Want
From the EP Sun Over Babaluma which came out in January. Psych heaven.

One Degree of Separation
Roxy Music - Do The Strand
Shacklock Meth Party - Pall Mall
Any excuse to play something by New Zealand psych-merchants Shacklock Meth Party. This is off Domino Room which came out in June 2013. And I could only think of one other track with a Monopoly square in the title, hence Roxy Music.

Goran Kajfes and Subtropic Arkestra - Dokuz Seki/ Esmerim
By now, you know I like to play stuff that's a bit different. Hence this. Off The Reason Why vol 2.

Emmy The Great - Swimming Pool (Tom Vek remix)
I played the original of this a while back, but here is a stunning remix from Tom Vek which takes it to different places.

8:58 - The Clock
Paul Hartnoll, ex of Orbital, brings his new project to being. Featuring the vocals of Cilian Murphy. Brilliant. Came out on March 30.

Here's that on YouTube:


and Soundcloud:


Back next week, all being well.

30 December 2014

Everyone else is doing end-of-year lists and it'd be appropriate to do a best of 2014 thing this week. But I did that already and in the last two weeks since a normal show, there's been loads of good stuff put out, so normal service it is.

The Skints - The Cost Of Living Is Killing Me
From last March and from London, off an EP called Short Change. Pretty much the battleground for the general election.

Ex Hex - Don't Wanna Lose
Rips was their debut LP which came out in October. They're an all-girl three-piece from Washington DC.

Blossoms - Blow
New stuff out of Manchester. This is their debut single which you can get from iTunes.

Cover Version Corner
Ride/The Divine Comedy - Vapour Trail
Not hugely different versions, though it's a different sound for Neil Hannon than normal. his version pops up on the B-side of the 1999 single The Pop Star's Fear Of The Pollen Count. Before that, a shoegaze classic from the 1991 album Nowhere and excitement as to them reforming.

The Daintees - October Song
New stuff from Newcastle where Martin George Stephenson is back with his badn The Daintees. Haunted Highways is the new album and it came out on the 21st.

Emmy The Great - Swimming Pool
Ooh, that voice. Emma Lee Moss is Emmy The Great and her new EP is S.

Milo's Planes - Lost Talent
Bristol now, and a taster for a forthcoming album. I got nothing apart from that.

The Lucid Dream - Unchained
From Carlisle, this is the second single from their forthcoming second album.

Pemuda Setampat - Sebuah Pemuda
All I know about this is that it's Indonesian dub. And you know that can't be bad.

Sleater-Kinney - Bury Our Friends
Their first album in 10 years comes out next month. No Cities To Love is the title. Splendid stuff and welcome back.

One Degree of Separation
Martha And The Muffins - Echo Beach
Anguish Sandwich - Guangzhou Romance Musical Instruments Co
That was Martha and The Muffins' only UK top 40 single, reaching number 10 in 1980. After that, 46 was as high as they got. After that, a track from the album An Actual Thing which came out in November and is available on bandcamp. They're from Northampton. And I won't insult you by pointing out the link.

Aidan Moffatt - The World Around Us
Ex of Arab Strap and with a collection of previously unreleased material to share. Called Vagrants_09_14 - Vagrants given these tracks were previously homeless and the rest to do with it's release - it's bloody good.

Muslimgauze - 100 Great Turks
Bryn Jones was Muslimgauze. At the time of his death in 1999, he'd released over 60 albums and since then, that number is well on the way to having doubled as he left behind vast volumes of work which is now curated by his nephew. This is off a new EP called Deceiver vol 3 & 4. The original Deceiver came out in 1996, but it's still so fresh. This is just a fantastic track.

Lone - Life Time Loop
Nottingham's Matt Cutler is Lone and this very Boards Of Canada track is a follow-up to the 2014 album Reality Testing. Lovely.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



Back next week.