23 April 2018

More new songs for you.

The Left Outsides - All That Remains
A husband and wife duo from London, this is the title track to the new LP out on May 21.

Heart Beach - Perfect
From Hobart but now based in Montreal, this is off Haircut which came out last November.

Soft Science - Sooner
From Sacramento in California, this is off their forthcoming double-A single which is out in May.

MNNQNS - If Only They Could
I presume it's pronounced 'mannequins' but given the Only Connect missing vowels treatment. They're a four-piece from Rouen and this is off the EP Advertisement, out now.

Half Man Half Biscuit - Alehouse Futsal
NEW HMHB KLAXON!!! The new album No-one Cares About Your Artistic Hub So Get Your Fucking Hedge Cut. Out on 18 May, age has not withered them. Indeed, they appear to be as sharply acerbic as ever.

La Luz - California Finally
A four-piece from Seattle, this is off Floating Features which is out on May 11.

Andrew Hung - Say What You Want
The other half of Fuck Buttons to Benjamin John Power who has been recording as Blanck Mass. This is very different to Power's solo work which is more in keeping with the Fuck Buttons ethos. The album is Realisationship which came out last autumn.

Teleman - Submarine Life
New track from the acclaimed and innovative band who continue to push abstract digital pop boundaries.

Poptone - Go!
From LA, formed by ex-Bauhaus members Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins, this is off their self-titled LP which is out in June.

Black Sedan - Love On Love
Heavily sampling the Charlie Chaplin flick The Great Dictator, this is the new single which will appear on the LP Adventure Lit Their Star which is out in June.

Slug - No Heavy Petting
A new one from Ian Black, ex of Fieldmusic. HiggledyPiggledy is the new LP, out a week ago.

Faithful Johannes - Ghosts In My Attic
Half of barely rap duo Outside Your House with his first non-christmas solo work. A two-track collection, Breakfast Included, is out now.

BBXO - Firestorm
Brilliant second track from Berlin-based Londoner Musa Okwonga and producer Krisz Kreuzer.

Jigsaw Sequence - Beyond The Veil
Scotsman Richard Tracey is Jigsaw Sequence and this is his new single.

Rodney Cromwell - Comrades
Lead track from the brilliant new EP Rodney's English Disco. Indietronica, he call it.

Public Service Broadcasting - People Will Always Need Coal (Vessels Remix)
Saturday was record shop day and PSB's contribution was a series of remixes from their Every Valley album. Vessels are a firm house favourite and theirs is undoubtedly the pick of the bunch.

Youtube:



Soundcloud:



Bandcamp:




Same time next week? Super

19 December 2017 - the Christmas special

Unforeseen circumstances kept me off these last two weeks. And as it's the last Tuesday before the festivities, it's time for this year's bunch of alternative Christmas records.

Kim Wilde vs Lawnmower Deth - F U Kristmas
Lawnmower Deth were around in the late-eighties/early-nineties and their most significant contribution to rock's rich tapestry was a thrash cover of Kim Wilde's Kids In America. Having reformed, here they team up with Ms Wilde for their festive offering.

Porridge Radio - O Christmas
The last of Art Is Hard's Postcard Club, the Brightonians got the nod to provide a festive close. Next year, the label have a different promotion to push their artists out there.

Modern Day Dukes - Merry Merry Merry Merry Merry Merry Christmas
The Yorkshire rockers with their 2014 song which they describe as "A f---ing stupid christmas record'.

Zach Schmidt - I'm Drunk Again This Christmas
Nashville singer with a slice of country Christmas. This is on a compilation LP from Bloodshot Records, The 13 Days Of Christmas.

Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer - The Saddest Christmas Advert
Mr B is the alter ego of Jim Burke, once of rap crew Collapsed Lung. Since 2007, he's been the chap hop superstar and in 2015, the inevitable christmas album appeared, the imaginatively titled The Mr B Christmas Album, from where this is taken.

Niagara Balls - Don't Be A Dick At Christmas
No really, don't. That's the advice of the Belfast band on their 2014 festive offering.

The Manhattan Love Suicides - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
The Leeds band with a their cover of the 1979 novelty record by Elmo & Patsy from last year.

The Primitives - You Trashed My Christmas
Who would do such a thing? This from five years ago on the compilation A Christmas Gift For You From Elefant Records.

The Immediate - The Stars Shine Brightly At Christmas
A new one from the Mold band whose LP Manbuoy made a large impression this year.

Piskie Sits - Christmas Eve (Die Hard, Home Alone, Elf)
Last year's offering from the Wakefield band on home-town label Philophobia.

Pure Phase Ensemble 6 - Blue Christmas
A 12-piece collective from the UK and Poland.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - Is God More Important Than The Queen?
The enigmatic producer with a track from the EP Plates Of Meat.

Feral Five - I Want U
"A feminist song about cutting out the crap from Christmas"  they say, omitting to add that it's bloody good.

BEAK> - (Merry Christmas) Face The Future
Geoff Barrow's side-project with their new single, proceeds from which are all going to mental health charities.

Nelson Can - On Christmas Night
The Danish three-piece with a very Scandinavian look at Christmas. It stays dark for long periods, but the solstice which falls just before Christmas signals the lengthening daylight hours.

Nat Lyon - Secular Winter Song (2017)
Yet another version of the song Lyon makes every year. Still not bored of hearing it's Grandaddy-esque sound.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dulka Prague Away Kit
And, as is traditional, we close with the Biscuit classic. That officially opens Christmas as far as I'm concerned. Have a good one and we'll do all this again in 2018.

Youtube:



Soundcloud:



Bandcamp:









Merry christmas, y'all

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.

Youtube:



Soundcloud:



Bandcamp:

Spotify:



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

22 December 2015 - the christmas special

Last show before the festivities, so it's christmas special time.

Jimmy Butler - Trim Your Tree
Because nothing says christmas quite like some thinly-veiled smut. From 1959 off the album Christmas In My Heart.

Oscar - It's Christmas Again
From one of 2015's breakout stars off Amazon's compilation Indie For The Holidays.

Carter USM - Christmas Shopper's Paradise
A not-particularly festive reworking of Shopper's Paradise for the christmas market from a few years back. Chuck some bells on, that'll do it.

Glam Chops - Countdown To Christmas
A bit of a supergroup with Art Brut's Eddie Argos at the front. This is from 2008 and is tremendous fun.

Helen Love and Friends - The Townhall Band
Raising money for the Trussell Trust, this features all sorts of other artists chipping in their two penn'orth. Jaunty enough innit.

I, Ludicrous - George Jenkins
The festive offering from the album Dull Is The New Interesting. Superb.

The Fall - (We Wish You) A Protein Christmas
From the EP of the same name dating from 2003. It's not christmas until you've heard Mark E Smith.

Cornershop - Every Year So Different feat. Trwbador
This is from 2012, and a total delight.

Clinic - Christmas
Avant-gardians from Liverpool. You can find it on the album Funf, a collection of B-sides from 2007.

Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - There Ain't No Santa Claus On The Evening Stage
From 1972's The Spotlight Kid. Not a well-received album with band tension at an all-time high. Needless to say. Beefheart blamed everyone but himself.

Goldie Lookin' Chain - John Lewis Christmas
Brilliant. Take that, John Lewis and everyone involved with that ad.

Joy Zipper - Christmas Song
Married couple from Long Island, this is from 2003.

The Smoking Trees - The Psychedelic Lights Of Christmas
Also on Tjinder Singh's Ample Play Records - he of Cornershop - comes this from the LA psych-merchants. This is off last year's EP Festive Christmas.

Laurence Made Me Cry - You Can't Have Christmas, It's Mine
Lamenting the lot of the birthday-at-christmas kids is Jo Whitby, aka Laurence Made Me Cry. This dates from 2012 with proceeds going to the NSPCC.

Council Tax Band - O Tannenbaum
Short and to the point. This is the festive offering from the Bedford noise-niks, available as a pay-what-you-like download.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Now you've heard this, your christmas can begin. The traditional show-closer.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



Merry christmas!

2 June 2015

I've had a week off, so this is one of those times when I dig back through stuff I haven't got round to playing over the last few months.

Man Made - TV Broke My Brain
And they're not alone judging by the number of complaints about a tightrope-walking dog. Anyway, they're from Manchester and include Nile Marr. Son of.

Thomas Wilby Gang - Lordy O
Swampy, gospel-infused blues rock from Wakey. And why not?

Martyr Privates - Sores
This is one I've been after for ages. They're from Brisbane and their self-titled LP came out last September and I've finally got my hands on it. Worth the wait.

Cover Version Corner
Consuelo Velazquez - Besame Mucho
Morrissey - Kiss Me A Lot
Not strictly speaking a cover, but it's my rules and I don't care. Besame Mucho means Kiss Me A Lot and you can pick out bossa-nova cues in Morrissey's track which is on last year's World Peace In None Of Your Business. The original is from 1940. Still sounds great.

The Fall - Venice With The Girls
Another track from the new LP Sub-Lingual Tablet. An ever-changing line-up, but always the same.

Firestations - French Caves
I've had this on my list for ages. Never Closer came out the back end of last year and it's very good.

Frog - King Kong
From New York and off their second album, Kind Of Blah, which came out last week. Quirky, original.

Naturkunde Museum Ostkreuz - Zaragoza Variations
Here's something different. Off an EP that came out in March called Tropycalyptic Excursions.

Gerstaffelen - Invisible Ghosts
And in a similar vein, this from an EP called Night Flowing North And South.

One Degree of Separation
Half Man Half Biscuit - A Shropshire Lad
Wild Billy Chyldish and The Spartan Dreggs - A Shropshire Lad
Two totally unrelated tracks that share a title. From the Spartan Dreggs' 2012 album Coastel Command and from 1997's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Road.

Erosynilegt - Astar Bref
Couple of new ones to finish with. First, this from a Keflavik band that I'm certain I haven't pronounced properly. The name translates as Love Letters anyway. Off an EP of the same name.

Dementio13 - Barley Dance
And to finish, something from the relatively new album Vkhutemas vol 2 which is well worth your time seeking out.

Here's that on YouTube:



and a bit of it on Soundcloud:



Normality next week.

28 April 2015

Me again...

Kassassin Street - Centre Straight Atom
Another one from these and off an EP of the same name, immediately familiar yet completely fresh. Really good stuff.

METZ - Spit You Out
Imagination in album titles isn't this lots strong point. Following on from METZ comes METZ II. It's out on May 6 and if this is anything to go by, should be splendid stuff.

Cheatahs - Murasaki
Something that's getting a lot of airplay, but no reason not to play it here. From an EP of the same name, inspired by Japanese novelist Murasaki Shikibu.

Cover Version Corner
McCarthy/Manic Street Preachers - Charles Windsor
Bit of a republican anthem as we await another royal leech. Off the flip-side of Life Becoming A Landslide, the Manics 1994 single, and before that and off their debut album I Am A Wallet, McCarthy, who burned all too briefly in the late '80s.

Bruising - Think About Death
To Leeds now and off Family Portrait Pt 2 which is out on May 11. I like these a lot.

Slug - Running To Get Past Your Heart
Another track from the wonderful Ripe. It's just so different and inventive. The album really is superb.

Babe - The Warbling
Off an EP called The Hereaftergo'ers which is out now-ish. Definitely wants to make me find out more.

Marsicans - Gone In A Second
Back to Leeds for another one that sounds familiar and yet also doesn't. It took me a few listens to really get into it, but now I think it's great.

The Bitter Springs - My Life As A Dog In A Pig Sty
Something from a few years ago now, 2010 in fact. Not a band I'd heard much of, but that's the beauty of twitter for you.

Rumble - Nvr Surrrender
Lacking in vowels, but making up for that in Gallic tones and a Nancy Sinatra sort of feel, these are from LA. EP1 - distinct lack of imagination again - came out in January.

One Degree of Separation
Half Man Half Biscuit - The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)
Fun Boy Three - Tunnel Of Love
Tunnels! And an excuse to play HMHB again, the best band in history. That's from the 2002 album Cammell Laird Social Club. After that, off their second and final album Waiting from 1982.

Suzy Condrad - Blood On The Bathroom Floor
Suzy Condrad plays with loops and it's quite a process to witness. I saw her at Hebden Trades Club supporting the Sleaford Mods - a band that could not be more opposite. This is on the LP She Of Little Faith which came out in 2013 and is well worth your time investigating.

De La Soul ft Nas - God It
Yes! A new LP, their first since 2004, is due and the crowdfunding project is still ongoing. As a taster/pour encourager les autres, they put this out. Get in. Cannot wait.

Squarepusher - Stor Eiglass
The new album, his 16th studio LP, Damogen Furies came out last week. As ever, it can be quite hard to penetrate, but this is an easier access point.

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:



And we'll do it all again next week eh?

23 December 2014 - Christmas special

Our 100th show! Wooo... And also our third christmas spectacular. A bumper crop this year.

Wild Billy Childish and The Musicians Of The British Empire - Poundland Christmas
2008 was when capitalism fell and was propped up on the backs of the people at the bottom of that particular pyramid scheme. That's when this was recorded and it's as relevant now as then. Thatcher's Children is the album and there's new stuff from Childish coming soon, both with his band CTMF and in collaboration with the Wave Pictures. Both are keenly anticipated round these parts.

The Fall - Jingle Bell Rock
The traditional Fall festive cover version. This is off a Peel session from 1994. Unmistakeable.

Broken Down Lorry - All I Want For Christmas Is A Bit Of Peace And Quiet
Twitter is, contrary to popular opinion, a wonderful thing. I put a plea out for new and unsigned to send me their christmas records and one that came back was this. Recorded around 2010 for no particular reason. Key change!

Eels - Christmas Is Going To The Dogs
Originally recorded in 2000, you can find this on Useless Trinkets... a collection of B-sides, rarities and previously unreleased stuff which came out in 2008.

Slow Club - Christmas TV
To Sheffield and this lovely number dates from 2009 and the Christmas Thanks For Nothing EP. Just a lovely record.

Teenage Fanclub - Christmas Eve
You can't beat Teenage Fanclub. Indeed, I've been a fan since I was a teenager. This is on a compilation done by XFM for the Big Issue which came out in 2000 called It's A Cool Cool Christmas.

Alton Ellis and The Lipsticks - Merry Merry Christmas
The legendary Trojan Christmas Album has many gems on it and this is no exception. The album is just wonderful and gets such an airing round ours that christmas without ska just isn't a real christmas.

Bootsy Collins - Diss Christmiss
And now to funk it all up. From the 2006 album Christmas Is 4 Real. I play those last two to reflect how christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world where it isn't grey, miserable and damp. Just a totally different mindset.

Lullaby For The Working Class - The Utilitarian Christmas Jingle
This really paints a Dickensian - maybe even Hogarthian - image of christmas past. I don't know too much about it other than they're from Lincoln, Nebraska and it came out in 1998.

Los Campesinos! - The Trains Don't Run It's Christmas Day
The Crookes - You're Just Like Christmas
Two new releases for this christmas and two of my favourites - I'm holding my favourite back until later in the show. The Crookes are from Sheffield and that's very jolly while Cardiff's Los Campesinos! do something different. It's quite like I see the season. It can be boring, you do the same things year after year, it can be fraught and tetchy, but you know what? I wouldn't change it for anything.

The Kinks - Father Christmas
A traditional story of a department store Santa getting mugged. From 1977 and made an appearance on the 1978 reissue of the album Misfits.

Tomorrow's World - I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You
We've played these a few times before, it's Jean-Benoit Dunckel, erstwhile of Air, and Lou Hayter from New Young Pony Club. This is from 2009 and the Cherry Red Records compilation Christmas Cocktails.

Broken Record - My Beer-Drunk Soul Is Sadder Than All The Dead Christmas Trees In The World
Hell of a title. Hell of a tune as well to be fair. This is brand spanking new from the Edinburgh outfit.

Matt Bouvier - Santa Give Me Something To Live For
To Sweden now, Malmo in fact, and another brand new record. This starts horribly, but that doesn't last for long before it gets going. Out now on a Small Bear Records compilation.

Clinic - Christmas
The B-side to the 2002 single Come Into Our Room, that's a jolly pleasant tune.

Christ. - Making A Snow Angel
Straight out of the Boards Of Canada envelope, Christ. is Scotsman Christopher Horne and that's off the 2007 album Blue Shift Emissions.

Mike Harding - Christmas 1914
From 1977, but in this centenary year even more poignant. Just what did happen that christmas may never be truly known, but the accepted tale certainly has an air of the myth about it. Anyway, top record.

DJ Yoda - 5-Minute Christmas Mini-Mix
The star of Huddersfield's Festival of Light earlier this month, here's him doing his thing with christmas clips and samples back in 2010.

John MOuse - When A Child Is Born
This is the christmas record of this very christmas time. Bloody brilliant. His album The Death Of John MOuse was one of the highlights of the year and this caps off 2014 nicely. Absolutely love it. The right balance of bitter and light.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Got to finish with this one, as is now traditional. From 1986 and the EP Trumpton Riots, an all-time classic.

Here's that on YouTube:



and a tiny bit of it on Soundcloud:


So there we are. 100 shows. Raise of the bat, acknowledge the crowd on all four sides before digging back in. The 90s were nervous, but we got there. Now, nothing silly for a few overs and get focus back.
Merry christmas to you all. Back for one more time in 2014 next week.

28 October 2014

You know the drill by now.

Half Man Half Biscuit - Westward Ho! Massive Letdown
Unalloyed joy with the release of a new HMHB record. Urge For Offal is the title, it's as good as they've ever been and this is track one from it.

I, Ludicrous - Cheer Up
New track from these, part of the 21 Songs For John selection on the Unwashed Territories bandcamp page commemorating ten years since the death of John Peel.  Available for a short time still.

Postcode - Losing The Battle
Don't think we've had a band from the Isle of Man before. Consider that rectified. From the album Zebratronic which came out in February.

Cover Version Corner
Tubeway Army/Gary Numan - Are 'Friends' Electric?
Bit of a cheat this, but shows you how his sound has developed since 1979. I went to see him play at Holmfirth earlier in the year and his band are really tight.

The Ex - Maybe I Was The Pilot
From a few years ago now, 2011, some shoegazing from Amsterdam. Super stuff. Off the album Catch My Shoe.

Miss Mobile Home - Phototaxis
To New York now and the title track from an EP that came out in August. Available from their bandcamp and soundcloud pages.

Elemental Gaze - God Knows Why This Should Be Kept For All Time
The third band we've had from Bandung in Indonesia. That's superb. Don't ask me to explain the title though.

Cambodia Space Project - Whiskey Cambodia
And now to Cambodia. Well, involving musicians from all over, but the point stands. I was actually looking for another track of theirs, but this won me over. From an album of the same name that came out in June.

Mega Emotion - Uncomfortable
And now to Norwich. We've had these on before, but I've little else to report than that.

One Degree of Separation
Eight Rounds Rapid - Talent
The Salient Braves - X-Factor Shooting Spree
First, from highlight of 2013 Lossleader and then from a band from Barnsley I've come across in the last few days. The theme should be obvious - excoriation of TV talent shows.

Interpol - My Desire (Factory Floor remix)
Factory Floor produced one of the albums of the year, Interpol's El Pintor isn't half bad either. Mix them together and you get this complete banger.

Orbital - Wonky
Terrible news in the week that Orbital are no more. Having got back together in 2012 following an eight-year hiatus, they've now split for good. Damn shame as it means no more of this.

Cuban Boys - The Nation Needs You (2014)
Another one from the 21 Songs for John compilation, an updated version of their 1999 record which must have been a lot of fun to put together. I think it's safe to say that without John Peel, I wouldn't be doing this kind of thing. A fitting tribute, I think.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:


and I'll see you next week.

11 March 2014

Evening all.

Sonic Youth - Sugar Kane
One of my favourite records of all time. I've got a 10" on blue vinyl from my coloured vinyl phase - which we have all had, I feel convinced - and it would definitely be in my top 50 tracks of forever. From the 1993 album 'Dirty'. The first of a few tracks from 1993 today, I notice. Not planned. Pure coincidence.

Fat White Family - Touch The Leather
Accompanied by one of the more out-there videos I've ever seen, what a glorious slice of retro-sleaze.

Jim Jones Revue - Seven Times Around The Sun
Keeping the retro vibe going. This is from a couple of years back, off the album 'The Savage Heart'.

Cover Version Corner
Stereolab/Editors - French Disko
The Editors track was a bonus track from their 2006 album 'The Back Room'. Before that, off the 1993 EP 'Jenny Ondiline' was Stereolab. Insert comment about making it your own here.

King Of The Mountains - Zoetrope
That, I suggest to you, is quite fabulous. The album is also called 'Zoetrope' and it came out last month. Excellent stuff. More please.

Tom Williams and The Boat - Hurricane
Finally, the town of Tunbridge Wells is on the musical map of the nation. Well, I can't think of any other band from there. The album is 'Easy Fantastic'.

High Hazels - Summer Rain
New from this very Sheffield band off the EP 'In The Half-Light'. Lovely summery vibe to go with the two hours of sun we had yesterday.

Pixies - Greens And Blues
Latest single from EP2. EP3 is out in August.

One Degree of Separation
Crispy Ambulance - Not What I Expected
Half Man Half Biscuit - Running Order Squabble Fest
HMHB there, going on after Crispy Ambulance. That's off 'This Leaden Pall' from, you guessed it, 1993. Before that, Crispy Ambulance, a b-side off the Unsightly And Serene single.

Spectres - Sooky Eyeball
Reminding me a lot of Hookworms, who I like very much, these are from Bristol and this is another b-side, to The Sky Of All Places.

Mutineers - Love, It's A Killer
This is out on the album 'Friends, Lovers, Rivals' released next Monday. Get on it.

The Last Battle - Breathe Bones
Delightful. We're already trailing things out in May - 'Lay Your Burden Down' is out on the 5th.

Electronic - Get The Message
From 1991 and the album 'Electronic', this is another all-time favourite. It's just great.

The Smiths - Barbarism Begins At Home
One of rock's great intros, we'll close with this. Off 1985's 'Meat Is Murder', I actually flipped a coin between this and The Headmaster Ritual. Another time...

Here's all that in YouTube:



and Soundcloud:

4 February 2014

More of the usual for your listening pleasure.

Heavyball - Black Eye Friday
Out last Friday, this is the new one from these Nottingham lads now based out of London. Terrific stuff. More please.

Container - Glaze
This fair blew my socks off when I first heard it. Stunning stuff from Ren Schofield off the new EP 'Adhesive'.

Toy - It's Been So Long
Been a while since we played these. Off their second album 'Join The Dots', it's another winner.

Cover Version Corner
Chris Isaak/London Grammar - Wicked Game
London Grammar were last year's big thing, but largely by-passed me. She's got a hell of a voice. The original before that from 1990 and the album 'Heart-Shaped World'.

Deadwall - Eyes-White-Shut
We saw these supporting Hookworms at Hebden Trades Club and this track, off the new album 'Bukimi No Tani', really made my ears prick up. The album is great and it's out as of yesterday. The unusual name comes from a book by roboticist Masahiro Mori in which he espouses the theory that we shouldn't make robots to human-like. Presumably that's how Skynet starts.



Balthazar - Leipzig
To Belgium now. These had a lovely album out last year called 'Rats'. This is a new single, out now.

Mogwai - Remurdered
A new album, 'Rave Tapes', is out now and ticks all the Mogwai boxes.

One Degree of Separation
Half Man Half Biscuit - Paradise Lost (You're The Reason Why)
Calvin Party - 8 Days
Label-mates and regular touring compadres is your link. The venerable Probe Plus put out both of these bands and Calvin Party are regular support for HMHB. The Biscuits are playing Holmfirth in April. Bit of luck, so will Calvin Party.

Pete Seeger - Rye Whiskey
The news of Pete Seeger's death came too late for last week's show. I could have picked out anything from his back-catalogue, but this old Scottish drinking song stands out. Off the 1954 album 'Frontier Ballads'.

Eight Rounds Rapid - Talent
That's traduced a popular TV show. It's a fair point. Britain has lots of talent, but most of us don't. New single from these. I think they're ace.

Smog - In The Pines
I should probably have put this after Pete Seeger. It's another old song, done here by Bill Callahan in 2005, most famously recorded by Leadbelly back in the day. It's had various names, various lyrics, various numbers of verses, but this is lovely. Gives the impression of a stream babbling by. Off Smog's 'A River Ain't Too Much Love' album.

Pizzicato Five - Baby Love Child
To Japan, now. These are from Hokkaido and this came out in 1991 on the 'Last Year's Girl' album. It's been used in many films and TV shows; Futurama and the Adam Curtis documentary All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace for two.

TCTS - Lose Control
Tuesday night banger. Sam O'Neill from Manchester is TCTS and that's off an EP called 'These Heights'.

The Fall - Hey! Luciani
And to finish, The Fall. A song about the conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Pope John Paul I after just 33 days in office. That's from 1986 and couldn't possibly be any other band.

Here's a YouTube playlist, missing Deadwall:


And a bit less of it all on Soundcloud:

14 January 2014

Possibly our shortest ever Cover Version Corner and a fraternal One Degree this week, plus new stuff and old stuff coming out anew. Onward, travellers...

Big Wave - GW Bridge
A cracking wee tune which came out last May on the quite wonderful Art Is Hard label. We play that for the fact that the George Washington Bridge has become such a political football lately, with the New Jersey governor's office causing hold-ups for people getting across it.

Hospitality - I Miss Your Bones
From Brooklyn, this is on the album 'Trouble' which is out in a fortnight. Can't quite put my finger on what that reminds me of... Good, though.

Joanna Gruesome - Madison
The new single from these who we like a lot. The album 'Weird Sister' came out last October.

Wild Billy Chyldish and CTMF - Joseph Beuys Flies Again
Poet, author, painter, sculptor, Stuckist, Wild Billy Chyldish and CTMF - Chatham Forts, that is - singing about German artist Joseph Beuys who was in the Luftwaffe during WWII. That's off last summer's album 'All Our Forts Are With You'.

Cover Version Corner
Stone Roses/Ke$ha and The Flaming Lips - Elizabeth My Dear
Told you it was short and sweet. 50 seconds of the Stone Roses, from the 'Stone Roses' album from 1989, and about twice that for the Flaming Lips. Theirs comes off an album of Stone Roses covers called 'The Time Has Come To Shoot You Down... What A Sound' which I think I need to explore more.

Pilote - Shapeshifter Blues
I like that a lot. Pilote is Stuart Cullen from Somerset and that is off the album 'The Slowdown' which came out last May.

Mike Hughes - (That Girl Is) Misery
From Sheffield, this was his debut single which came out last autumn. Shades of Richard Hawley stylings, perhaps? Unless I'm imagining it.

Menace Beach - Fortune Teller
That is ace. I like these a lot. Something of a Leeds supergroup, their debut EP 'Lowtalker' is out today. It's good. Get it.

One Degree of Separation
Attempted Moustache - Superman
Half Man Half Biscuit - Ordinary To Enschede
Simon Blackwell and Paul Wright were Attempted Moustache and that's from 1980's 'A Trip To The Dentist' EP. Four years after that, Simon and his brother Nigel - along with Paul Wright - began the greatest band in the world, Half Man Half Biscuit. That one is the B-side to the 1990 single 'Let's Not'.

Silkken Laumann - Obvious Water (Yer A Kitten)
I've been listening to these a lot. They're from Ottawa and the name is a misspelling of a Canadian Olympic rower, Silken Laumann. Anyway, the album 'Not Forever Enough' is available now and you can get it free from their website.

Sultans Of Ping FC - Give Him A Ball (And A Yard Of Grass)
A permanently overlooked bunch of geniuses, this is from their debut album 'Casual Sex In The Multiplex' from 1993. The title is about Nottingham Forest midfielder John Robertson. As Brian Clough said of his less-than-attractive player "I'd sit next to him and be Errol Flynn. But give him a ball and a yard of grass and he was an artist".

Les Pachas du Canapé Vert - Desordre Musical
From Haiti, this is from 1972, but will be on a compilation of Haitian music - 'Haiti Direct' - which comes out on January 27.

Frankie Knuckles - Your Love
A Chicago classic. It's been cut up, sampled and covered many times, but always worth a listen. From 1984 originally, but sounds as good as ever.

Severed Heads - Dead Eyes Opened
And another '80s electronic classic, this time from Sydney. From 1987, this. Fantastic.


YouTube and Soundcloud playlists below. Back with more next week.

17 December 2013 - The christmas special

Christmas show;
Orbital and Low.
Gruff Rhys, Ethiopians, Breeders and Sho-
nen Knife, Frank Sidebottom, Sultans of Ping,
Röyksopp, Sufjan Stevens and Lips most Flaming...

Enough of this tomfoolery. Get on with it. Also, John brought props...

Frank Sidebottom - Christmas Is Really Fantastic
Originally released in 1986, there was a re-release in 2010 after the sad death of the man inside the enormous papier-maché head, Chris Sievey, and an associated campaign to get it into the charts. Frank's philosophy was that all songs should have proper endings, so they all ended like this one.

The Goons - I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas
From June 1956, with Spike Milligan on vocals and Peter Sellers at the piano and with the usual backing from the Ray Ellington Quartet. That's on the B-side of 'Bluebottle Blues', hence the reference to 'I thought that my side was better'. My dad had that on a 7" which now resides on my shelves.

Shonen Knife - All I Want For Christmas
Osaka's finest and their 1999 festive effort. That was written by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, but I guess it doesn't really fit their idiom.

Gruff Rhys - Post-Apocalypse Christmas
From the Super Furry Animals frontman's 2011 EP 'Atheist Christmas'. It's all well worth a listen.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - This Time Of Year
Another band you wouldn't normally associate with the festive spirit, this is from 2007 and the album 'Medium Rare'.

Low - Just Like Christmas
One of my favourites from this time of year. This is off an EP called 'Christmas' which came out in 1999.

Sufjan Stevens - Get Behind Me, Santa!
Mr Stevens has done loads of festive collections. This is from 'Songs For Christmas volume 5' from 2006. He's up to volume 10 now.

Sultans Of Ping - Xmas Bubblegum Machine
It's not all about losing jumpers and giving people a yard of grass, y'know. This is the B-side to the 1993 single 'Michiko'.

Saint Etienne - Unwrap Me
One of my favourite bands, this is off a compilation of their many christmas-themed songs called 'A Glimpse of Stocking' which came out a couple of years ago.

The Ethiopians - Ding Dong (Christmas Bell)
One of the best things ever are Trojan Records' christmas compilations. Nothing says christmas to me like a bit of ska. This is from the one released in 2003, though the song first appeared in 1968.

Jacques Dutronc - Le Fille De Père Noël
Dutronc's first two albums were called 'Jacques Dutronc', rather unhelpfully. This is off the first of those, from 1966. The son of Father Christmas, in case you couldn't work it out.

Dr Dog - Christmas Party
Bit of a Beach Boys theme to it, which is never a bad thing. That's from the new EP 'Oh My Christmas Tree' which is out now.

The Breeders - Christmas Song
Recorded for a Pee Wee Herman TV show, that's basically Cannonball, their big hit, with bells on. And none the worse for it.

The Flaming Lips - Christmas At The Zoo
From back in 1995 off the 'Clouds Taste Metallic' album. Because we've all wondered what happens when the zoo is closed.

The Knife - Christmas Reindeer
Something a bit avant-garde, from these Stockholm avant-guardians. The song Reindeer came out in 2001 in the album 'The Knife', but like The Breeders previously, added some bells to christmas it up.

Röyksopp - Le Cantique Du Noël
Keeping it Scandinavian, this is their version of a French carol which dates back to 1847. Relaxing...

They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard
Remember these? Well they're still around and putting new stuff out. This is from 2001 and the EP 'They Might Be Giants In Holidayland'.

The Gresham Flyers - Perfect Christmas Snow (Perfect Christmas Kiss)
I've been after this for ages. It came out in 2010 and I've not been able to put my hands on it until just now. It's on an EP called 'Merry Christmas From The Gresham Flyers' which is available as a pay-what-you-like download from their bandcamp page. I flippin' well love this record. Bloody ace.



Orbital - Christmas Chime
This year's must-have christmas single. Another one that's a reworking of an older track, in this case 1990's Chime, with additional bells. Go get it. Download it from iTunes now. Do it and do it often. Get it into the charts. Resistance is futile.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
It is not ever christmas until you've heard this, but now that you have, you are officially allowed to get festive. Best christmas record ever? Possibly.


Here's your YouTube extravaganza, apart from the Gresham Flyers track which is above:


And that's it for 2013. We're off for two weeks, but will be back in the New Year with more of what's good for your ears.
Before we depart though, here's last year's festive playlist for those that may have missed it.
Merry Christmas!

7 January 2013: Appendix A

After Carolyn had the airwaves last Monday to present her picks of what we played during 2012, here's John with his picks.

I want to concentrate on new music that we played. Also, as I'm not constrained by having to actually broadcast this, it doesn't have to fit an hour-long segment of air-time so I'm cheating a bit (a lot).

Django Django - Life's A Beach
If you've been listening to us at all, you'll know how much we like these guys. New and fresh while echoing the '60s is a tricky thing to pull off, but they do. It's a great album.

Everything Everything - Cough Cough
I like that these are avowedly different and "avoid the clichés expected of white men with guitars from Manchester".  It could be an acquired taste - I get that - but it clicks for me.

St Etienne - I've Got Your Music
I have always and probably will always love St Etienne. This, off Words And Music By St Etienne which came out in the summer, is as good as anything else they've ever done.



My favourite Cover Version Corner that we played:
Edith Piaf - Je Ne Regrette Rien
Half Man Half Biscuit with Margi Clarke - No Regrets
The greatest band in the world cover the Little Sparrow, only in English and with Margi Clarke. It's what this format section is supposed to be about.

Hookworms - Teen Dreams
This and the next few could form a new format section - Krautrock Corner. Hookworms are from Leeds and friends are beginning to tire of me plugging their wares on the Twitter.

Toy - Kopter
Make a cuppa before this one. 10 minutes of glorious brilliance from a band that have really made our ears prick up this last year.

David Holmes - I Heard Wonders
Recorded in 2008, but used during the opening ceremony to the London Olympics - and what a gloriously subversive triumph that turned out to be - without which it would have passed me by and fits the theme of the last couple of records. There was lots from the Olympics that could have made it - Orbital, for instance - but this is my pick of them.

Dan Croll - From Nowhere
Not quite in the Krautrock style of the last few, but there are cues there, I feel sure.

Matthew Dear - Earthforms
Dark, eerie, moody, bassy, brilliant.
After all that German-influenced stuff, a change of pace next.

My favourite One Degree of Separation:
Wedding Present - Don't Take Me Home Until I'm Drunk
The Ukrainians - Cherez Richku, Cherez Hai
Again, it's what we're trying to achieve with this format idea - totally different stuff, but with traceable roots. Back in the day, I was actually aware of The Ukrainians first and got into the Wedding Present on the back of that rather than the other way round.

Rhye - The Fall
Just a delight, yes even with the My Lovely Horse-style sax solo bit 3 minutes in.

Family of the Year - St Croix
And while it's dark and cold out there, here's to a summer in the Caribbean.

Foe - The Black Lodge
Heard this on the radio fairly early in the year and couldn't stop listening to it. Great song-writing, great tunes.

Bloc Party - Octopus
Back with a bang. Some of the tracks on the album have a harder edge than we're used to, but this is very accessible and provides a way in, if you like.

Paco Zambrano y su Combo - Meshkalina
Not new music - it's from 1968 - but had a release from a new label, Tiger's Milk, specialising in Latin American rarities. Right up my street, this.

The Zolas - Knot In My Heart
Hooked by the Doctor Who-esque intro.

Beth Jeans Houghton and The Hooves Of Destiny - Lilliput
What a voice. And what a thunderingly good gallop through the song. Magic.

And a cheeky bonus track to finish
Guitar Wolf - Summertime Blues
Lo-fi goodness. Last year, I both saw Scott Pilgrim vs The World for the first time (loved it from the second I saw the 8-bit Universal logo), the soundtrack of which this features on, and Adam Buxton's Bug which featured this as well. There's not enough Japanese punk on the radio.

So many more I'd like to include, but you've got to cap it somewhere or I'd just go on forever. Here's it all wrapped up in a YouTube playlist.

Enough retrospection. I've got bucketloads of new stuff ready to go for next week's show and there's loads to look forward to in 2013, including new albums by Delphic, Dutch Uncles, Rachel Zeffira, Haim and plenty others besides.

17 December 2012 - the Christmas special (postponed)

John isn't well. As such, we had to cancel our Christmas special we had scheduled for the 17th. This is particularly annoying, as John had put loads of work into it, even going and buying props as well as spending an age compiling some festive treats. Instead, valued reader, you get first look at what would have been played had leaving the house for a couple of hours seemed like a good idea.

The Fall - Hark, The Herald Angels
I love The Fall. Their continued existence is a minor miracle in itself. This is off a 1994 Peel session.

Half Man Half Biscuit - It's Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas
The greatest band in the world, themselves no stranger to the chippy and cynical, give the likes of me a lesson that it's not cool to sneer at this time of year. This is from the 2000 album Trouble Over Bridgwater.

Pomplamoose - Always In The Season
An interesting bunch, these are from Corte Madera in California and this is from the 2010 EP Christmas In Space.

Belle and Sebastian - Are You Coming Over For Christmas?
The Glasgow aesthetes with their 2007 festive single

Tim Minchin - White Wine In The Sun
The Australian poet/comedian/everything else with his admittedly sentimental paean to the Christmases of the ex-pat. Released as a single in 2009.

Sufjan Stevens - That Was The Worst Christmas Ever
Yeah, OK, not the cheeriest of lyrics or anything, but it's a lovely tune and fits the theme. This was on 2006's Songs For Christmas.

Jethro Tull - A Christmas Song
Getting our folk on with a slating of the inherent hypocrisy this time of year brings out. As relevant now as it was in 1976 when this was released on the EP Ring Out, Solstice Bells.

The Sonics - Don't Believe In Christmas
105 seconds of old school garage. From the 1965 compilation Merry Christmas which came out on the Etiquette label.

Thurl Ravenscroft - The Grinch Song
The theme from the 1966 animated film How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Ravenscroft was originally uncredited for his performance. The film (spoiler alert) shows the indefatigability of the spirit of man which The Grinch finally comes to see. So it's a heart-warming Christmas tale, right?

The Pretenders - 2000 Miles
Just about the only one of the usual suspects I can abide. This acoustic version is particularly delightful.

Wedding Present and Simone White - Holly Jolly Hollywood
Ah, Mr Gedge. Gone all Hollywood on us, eh? From the 2008 EP of the same name.

Ramones - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)
A 1987 offering from the New Yorkers, and no, let's not fight this year eh?

Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman
The question you have to ask is why wouldn't some Scottish art-poppers cover Frosty The Snowman? This is from the EP Snow released in 1993.

Eels - Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas
And unless the Mayans were right, it probably will be. From "B-sides and Rarities" which came out in 2005.

I Break Horses - Winter Beats
Possibly not even a Christmas record in the grander scheme, but it has the word 'winter' in the title and I like it, so I'm having it. I Break Horses are Maria Linden and Fredrik Balck from Stockholm and this is off the album Hearts which came out last August.

The Leisure Society - Last Of The Melting Snow
From Brighton, this is off the 2009 album The Sleeper.

Shonen Knife - Sweet Christmas
Osaka's finest all-girl pop-punk outfit, they've done loads of Christmas songs. This one's about making a cake and was released as a single in 2011.

Half Man Half Biscuit - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
I couldn't do Christmas without this, could I? From 1986's EP Trumpton Riots and subsequently on the re-issue of their debut album Back In The DHSS.


So disappointed we couldn't do this last night, but... well, y'know. And it was going to be our last show for a while too. We're not back on air until January 7 now as we, in line with all the major European leagues except England, take our winter break.
Merry Christmas to all our readers and listeners.

Here your YouTube playlist with a couple of extras on the end. Merry Christmas!

19 November 2012

Maximo Park - The National Health
John: From the album of the same name that came out earlier this year

Gang Of Four - To Hell With Poverty
John: From Leeds, that was them railing against a previous age of austerity and worth another listen now.
Carolyn: Am I detecting a theme?
John: A little bit. A lot of things got me angry in the week.

Camper Van Beethoven - Take The Skinheads Bowling
John: But here's a solution to all the problems - just go bowling
Carolyn: With your knees?
John: Yes, last time I went, I was laid up for a week.

Cover Version Corner
Edith Piaf - Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Half Man Half Biscuit featuring Margi Clarke - No Regrets
John: Unmistakably Edith Piaf first, then the greatest band in the world singing it in English. Can't believe it's taken me so long to play them.
Carolyn: Yes, I know you like them.
John: They are the greatest band in the world. That's a non-album track from 1991.


Paws - Sore Tummy
John: This has been doing the rounds for a bit and I've finally got my hands on it. It's their first single from the album Cokefloat which is out about now.

Belly - Feed The Tree
John: From back in 1993, off their debut album Star. They kind of got lost in that glut of 1990s, female-fronted indie bands like Elastica, Sleeper and Echobelly, but worth digging out.
Carolyn: Is she singing 'take your hat off' or 'take your head off'?

DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World
John: From his debut album Endtroducing, which I discovered isn't easy to say out loud.

Toy - Make It Mine
John: We've played these a few times before, including the ten-minute epic Kopter. This is a little more laid back, but also off their debut album which is also called Toy.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)
John: A US/NZ project based in Portland, Oregon. This is off their forthcoming second album, II, which is out in February.
Carolyn: So we're bang up to date then?
John: And our next track is from 1987...
Carolyn: Ah.

One Degree Of Separation
Echo And The Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
The KLF - 3am Eternal
John: The KLF with a rave classic from the early '90s, one of Bill Drummond's many and varied projects. Your link here is that Echo and the Bunnymen released their early stuff on Drummond's label, Zoo, which he ran with Dave Balfe. That was Lips Like Sugar from their fifth album, called Echo And The Bunnymen. They did four thinking up original names and then got to five and phoned it in. Pfft.

Friends - Va Fan Gör Du
John: Bright, poppy, short. They're from Brooklyn and I like that 1970s hand-clap vibe.
Carolyn: Yeah, it has a sort of playground feel.
John: The title, I believe, is Swedish for 'what the hell do you want?'

Tegan and Sara - I'm Not Your Hero
John: Identical twin sisters from Calgary, that's off the album Heart Throb which is out in January. I like that a lot - it reminds me of something, but I can't think what.
Carolyn: It does sound familiar.
John: I'll just have to listen to it more, which wouldn't be a chore as I really like it.

Cheatahs - The Swan
John: From their debut EP, Sans, which was out last month.

Here's your YouTube playlist.