14 May 2018

A proliferation of exclamation marks this week. Apologies.

Parquet Courts - Almost Had To Start A Fight/In & Out Of Patience
Proper slacker rock off the new one Wide Awake!

Wax Chattels - In My Mouth
'Guitarless guitar rock' from Auckland trio Wax Chattels off their self-titled debut album.

WomenSaid - I Killed My Boy
Glaswegian band featuring alumni of Altered Images. This is off Majick!, out now.

Shriekback - And The Rain
Off their 14th studio album Why Anything? Why This?

RF Shannon - Tooth Ache
One of those bands that sounds like it's a person. These are from Lockhart, Texas, and this is off Trickster Blues.

Emlyn Johnson - Slippin' & Slidin'
One from last autumn that I've only just come across. Johnson is from Fremantle, Western Australia, and this off the mini-album/EP (8 tracks, probably too many for an EP) Contested Mark which came out last September.

Sara Renberg - Roger Miller Baby
Renberg is from Pittsburgh and this is off Night Sands which came out in February.

Nat Lyon - The New Economy
A new one from friend of the show Lyon off his new LP Slant Front Desk. Top stuff.

Featured album: Benjamin Mason - Oi! Rapscallion
Final War Of The Inevitable Barbie
A Residue Of The Great Computer Crash
The word 'rapscallion' is grossly underused. Pembroke singer-songwriter Mason has crafted a varied LP with instrumentals sitting alongside folkish post punk, found sounds and dub. Eclectic to say the least, and all good.

Michael Jablonka - Flump
I don't think this is about either the TV show or the marshmallows, but I like it anyway.

Klammer - Modern God
New track from the Leeds post-punkers ahead of their third LP which is due in June.

Fat Cops - Hands Up! Get Down!
Got nothing on these. Bloody marvellous track.

Eva Schlegel - FOH (Fuck Outta Here)
From St Petersburg, and another one from last autumn that I've only become aware of lately. This is off Demontage Of Heck - great title and a superb album.

Orbital - Tiny Foldable Cities
New Orbital! Huzzah! And a new album, Monsters Exist, to follow. What a time it is to be alive.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - Am I Looking Forward To The World Cup? (Put A Bag On Your Head)
There'll be no official World Cup song for England, so I move that this stands in. Absolutely terrific. An unusual take on the genre by the enigmatic producer, as you would expect.

Youtube:



Soundcloud:



Bandcamp:





That was fun. Let's do it again some time.

17 May 2016

Held over from last week because I had a raging sore throat that was definitely not radio friendly.

Bent Shapes - What We Do Is Public
Perky stuff from these Bostonians. Wolves Of Want is the album.

Meilyr Jones - Strange/Emotional
Bowie-esque. This guy is going places. The album, his debut as a solo artist, is 2013 and very highly rated.

Red Cabin - Follow Me Home
The solo project of Jonathan Foster of Long Island who has songs that don't fit the idiom of his other band, Snowday.

Featured album: Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles
Beat That My Heart Skipped
Letter From God To Man
The 2007 debut from these two left a big impression. There's lyrical intelligence and banging beats and it's great. One of those that I keep going back to.

Parquet Courts - Dust
Always nice to get new stuff from these - a band that could only possibly come from New York. Human Performance is the new LP.

Martha - Goldman's Detective Agency
More sunshiney pop from Durham town Pity Me. The LP Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart is out in July.

Lower Slaughter - Hands
Raucous stuff from Brighton, the title track off their EP which came out in February.

Mugstar - Time Machine
Gorgeous krautrocky stuff from Liverpool. This is off the album Magnetic Seasons which came out in March.

The Coathangers - Down Down
More than a little element of psych about this. They're from Atlanta and the LP Nosebleed Weekend came out on February 29.

Black Mountain - Florian Saucer Attack
The Jagjaguwar label is normally a reliable badge of quality and this is from them. IV is the Vancouver band's first LP since 2010.

Featured album
Thou Shalt Always Kill
This had been doing the rounds a lot before it's release. I remember it on YouTube from way back before seeing it on a pub jukebox in York just before the LP came out. It's a modern classic.

The Dandelion Set - Judy Switched Off The TV
Bizarre and sublime, this is from their debut LP A Thousand Strands 1975-2015 and featuring the vocals of Alan Moore, writer of V For Vendetta and Watchmen.

Malcolm Middleton - Steps
Another new one from the LP Summer of '13. Which is great. More than a hint of Gary Numan about this one.

NZCA Lines - Two Hearts
These have been played plenty, but I got a new appreciation for their art after seeing them support Teleman. The LP Infinite Summer came out in January. It's good.

Krywald and Farrer - Spoon-Billed Sandpiper
A club banger to finish from this London duo. The EP Top Pocket Persies came out in March.

Here's your YouTube playlist:



and it's Soundcloud cousin:



More next week.

3 June 2014

Another trip round rock's back-roads. Tuck in.


Beta Band - Round The Bend
A glorious cacophony. Almost skiffle-like. That's off their self-titled debut album from 1999.

Frikstailers - Crop Circles
If I have a criticism of this, it's that it's not long enough. Hopefully there are some extended remixes I've yet to hear, but that is fabulous. Pronounced 'freak stylers', apparently, they're Rafa Caivano and Lisandro Sona from Buenos Aires.

Parquet Courts - Black And White
You know by now what you're getting from Parquet Courts. They've got that lo-fi slacker rock thing down pat and here's another slice from the new album Sunbathing Animal, out today.

Cover Version Corner
Killing Joke/Eagulls - Requiem
Not a particularly different version from Eagulls, but certainly faster and more energetic, as is their wont. They're from Leeds and that was the B-side to the single Nerve Endings which we've had on the show previously. Before that, Killing Joke from their self-titled 1980 album.

The Baggios - Sem Condição
This is just great. Off an EP called Sina which came out last autumn. They're from Sao Cristovao in Brazil.

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Until The Sun Explodes
Again, you know what you're getting with these and the new album, Days Of Abandon, is no different. Not that there's anything wrong with that. A delight.

The Death Of Pop - Whenever
This is terrific. Another new band to me, a4-piece from Bournemouth on the Art Is Hard label. This is off an EP called Fifths and I look forward to hearing more from them.

One Degree of Separation
Iggy Pop - I'm Bored
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - I'm Bored
What could possibly link these two records? Of course it's just the title. The reasons for the boredom are very different though. Iggy seems upset with the trappings of fame, whereas the Bonzos are bored in a very mundane British way. Two good records though, which is the main point. The Bonzos from their 1967 debut album Gorilla, Iggy from 1979's New Values.

Retroject - Herculean Julian
From Doncaster, these are pretty damn good. Another track from their Murky Windows EP for you for no other reason than because.

Maximo Park - Random Regrets
This was their release for Record Store Day in April which I'm only just getting round to playing. Worth the wait.

Clean Bandit ft Sharna Bass - Extraordinary
When I was collating tracks for the show, I chucked this in thinking it's alright, maybe it'll grow on me. Now I realise it hasn't at all. I gave it a chance, but no, not for me.

Fresh Snow - Saturation Complete
Make yourself a cuppa and sit back, this will take a while. 12 minutes, in fact, but totally worth it. This is over a year old, but I've only now had the foresight to plan in such a long record. Utterly fantastic.

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:


No show next week - I'm on holiday. Back in a fortnight.

1 October 2013

Settling into Tuesdays now...

Future Of The Left - The Male Gaze
Probably the most important album of the year is the new one from Future Of The Left. It comes out in a couple of weeks and it's called 'How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident'. Get it.

Razmataz Lorry Excitement - Skin
New from Kev Dosdale, Newcastle producer who operates as Razmataz Lorry Excitement and here has Natasha Hawes on vocals. This is out on the 21st of this month. One that I wanted to play last week but ran out of time for.


Parquet Courts - You've Got Me Wondering Now
New from these, who we've had before and hail from Brooklyn. This is off the EP 'Tally The Things You Broke' which came out last....  no, not last month. It's October now isn't it. It came out in August.

Cover Version Corner
Velvet Underground/Toy - What Goes On
Not played any Toy for a while and this is as good a reason as any to rectify that. That was recorded in February. Before that, off the album 'The Velvet Underground' in 1969. Toy have really brought that up to date while also fitting it into their own idiom.

Bill Callahan - Expanding Dub
An interesting chap - from Maryland but spent part of his formative years in Knaresborough. His latest album is 'Dream River' and this is a dub version of the track Javelin Unlanding which features on that. Quite fabulous.

Four Tet - Parallel Jalebi
From the new album 'Beautiful Rewind'. That's Kieran Hebden's seventh studio album in his Four Tet guise.

Moodoïd - De Folie Pure
We played these Parisian funsters last week and it went down so well, we're doing it again. From the EP 'Moodoïd', that's got a lot going on in it. In a good way.

One Degree of Separation
La Femme - Sur La Planche
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip feat. Flux Pavilion - Gold Teeth
OK, this one is tenuous. Keeping the French vibe going, first we had La Femme from April's 'Psycho Tropical Berlin' album which is excellent. Second, from the forthcoming new long player from Messrs le Sac and Pip 'Repent, Replenish, Repeat' comes their second advance release. They've always got something to say that's worth listening to and some heavy beats into the bargain. Thanks to Sunday Best records for sending me a radio edit that I could actually play on the radio.
The link? Well the La Femme record does include a line 'sur la planche, dans le sac' - on the plate, in the bag. It's good enough for me.

Les Jupes - Hold Me Down
Back on a French kick - ish. Canadian, this time, from Winnipeg. This is off an EP called 'Negative Space'.

Arcade Fire - Reflektor
And sticking on a Canadian kick - honestly, it sometimes appears like I haven't just thrown this together - the new one from these, the title track from their new album which comes out on the 28th of the month.

And that'll do us for this week. All that's bundled up for you in a YouTube playlist here bar the Razmataz Lorry Excitement track which you can find above. Back again same time next week.

1 July 2013

Back once again with a bunch of stuff to get you going for another week.

Gesaffelstein - Pursuit
John: Now consider your week kicked off. That's fabulous.
Carolyn: It's very bassy.
John: I know. Great innit. Gesaffelstein is a chap called Mike Levy and he's from Lyon.

Can - I Want More
John: From the 1976 album 'Flow Motion', we play that so you can see the lineage of a number of contemporary bands - Hookworms, Toy and others - from the Teutonic origin. These hail from Cologne and were part of that whole German experimental scene in the late '60s and early '70s.

Temple Songs - Passed Caring
John: I really like that. Short, punchy, lots of reverb. They're from Manchester and this is their debut single.

Cover Version Corner
Woody Guthrie/Ry Cooder - Vigilante Man
John: Woody Guthrie, a bit of a hero. That's from 'The Asch Recordings vol 3' from 1944 and it's become a bit of a blues staple. Ry Cooder's version was on 1972's 'Into The Purple Valley' album, but that recording was from an edition of The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Carolyn: We normally play two totally different versions of a song here. I'm not getting that.
John: Different techniques with the slide guitar and that. Also, I was short of a bit of inspiration this week. Fundamentally, though, two great records.

RoBoT//aLiEn - Jeremy Kyle vs Mad Dog Dion
John: Brand spanking new. RoBoT//aLiEn is a singer/songwriter from Chorlton near Manchester and the album is 'You're The Problem That Will Not Go Away'. 17 tracks, 40 minutes.
Carolyn: I really like that. Bit of a jump from the previous two records though.

Eccentronic Research Council - Another Witch Is Dead
John: These are from Sheffield and sound like nothing else. This is taken from last year's album '1612 Underture' which is all about the Pendle witch trials and features Maxine Peake on vocals.
Carolyn: Twinkle from dinnerladies. Among other things.
John: I was going to play this anyway, but late last week they put out an EP called 'Bun Fight In The Open University Staff Room' which is flipping brilliant. They're also a great follow on Twitter, @The_E_R_C

Parquet Courts - Stoned And Starving
John: Love this. Sounds like Julian Cope in his late '80s pomp, which is never a bad thing as he's always been one of my favourites. Parquet Courts are from Brooklyn and this is off 'Light Up Gold' from last year.

Disclosure - Confess To Me
John: These are the next big thing, we've played them before and consider that another Monday night banger from the smash hit album 'Settle'. They stormed it at Glastonbury over the weekend, so I'm told. I don't really know, I wasn't there. All that dirt, all those people... It's not really for me.
Carolyn: No, I can't see you there. Well I can, but not happy. Just scowling at people.

Pixies - Bagboy
John: New stuff! From the Pixies! No Kim Deal, which is sad, but new stuff from the Pixies! For the first time since 2004. That's just great and I've basically had it on a loop since I first heard it. Get it as a free download now.



One Degree of Separation
TV On The Radio - Dancing Choose
The Adverts - No Time To Be 21
John: It was no time to be 21 in 1978 and I suspect it very much remains the case today. That's The Adverts from the album 'Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts'. Before that, TV On The Radio from 2008 and Dancing Choose from the album 'Dear Science'. Your link is TV - On The Radio and Smith, lead singer of the Adverts.
Carolyn: That's really tenuous.
John: TV. It's TV. What's wrong with that?
Carolyn: Hmmm....

Catfish and The Bottlemen - Homesick
John: From Llandudno, this is their debut single. It's very commercial and I think it'll be a big hit.
Carolyn: Yeah, I mean I like it, but can see it would have wide general appeal.
John: I think it'll go well in America as well. Fair play to them. They've honed a sound in the pubs and clubs and they're going places. Just remember where you heard it first.

Deerhunter - Dream Captain
John: Again, loads of reverb and a really good feel to it. They're from Atlanta and have been around long enough. This is off their sixth studio album, 'Monomania', which came out in early May and I'm only just getting round to.
Carolyn: Still working through that backlog?
John: We're getting there.

Femme - Double Trouble
John: Femme is Laura Bettinson, vocalist with Ultraista, but this is her solo project. She's from Coventry and this comes out on July 22. I'm saying that's got hit written all over it.

And here's all that wrapped up in a YouTube playlist, except for the RoBoT//aLiEn track which is over here.