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.

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

5 March 2018

Good evening

Geowulf - Sunday
Australians in Europe - more of that later - Stark Kendrick and Toma Banjanin are old school friends from the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. Now they make music as Geowulf and their album Great Big Blue came out last month.

The Calls - Lost Art Of Romance
Leeds band kicking off their 2018 with this new single which came out a week and a bit ago.

IDestroy - Lemons
Bristol alt-punks with a track from their EP Pure Joy Of Life which is out this month.

I, Ludicrous - Ladytron
A tribute to Roxy Music who had a 45th anniversary recently.

Vandal Moon - Baby Sounds
Californian duo with the lead single from the new album Wild Insane which is due out soon.

Gang Of Four - Lucky
Leeds post-punk survivors - well, only one original member remains - this is off the EP Complicit which is out on April 13.

Gloria - Heavy feat. Arianna Monteverdi
New on Tjinder Singh's Ample Play label, these are from Lyon and is taken from the LP Oidophon Echorama which is out on Friday.

Dirty Laces - In Time
Mancunian 5-piece with a track from their debut EP The Modern Age which is out now.

The Creature Comfort - Alone By Your Side
A second single from another Manchester band. This is out a week on Friday.

Elegant Slims - Not Human
A debut record from New York City's finest new electro-pop outfit.

Nostalgist - Smoldering Amber
Adding to Seattle's pantheon come post-punkers Nostalgist. This is from the mini-LP Disaffection which is out on Good Friday.

Bonnacons Of Doom - Solus
Astonishing alternative stuff from Liverpool collective Bonnacons Of Doom. This is off their self-titled debut album which is out in May.

BBXO - Hard Road To Travel
Berlin producer Krisz Kreuzer and British-Ugandan poet Musa Okwonga - now based in Berlin - make up BBXO and this is their terrific debut single.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - Europeans In Australia
The enigmatic Sir Robert has a new LP coming soon. Snapchat is it and here's an early taster.

Night Giants - Don't Let It Happen
Brilliant debut single from new electronic dance act. More of this please. Lots more.

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More of this kind of thing in a week

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.

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Merry christmas, y'all

28 November 2017

Alright?

Amyl & The Sniffers - I'm Not A Loser
Old school mullets on show on this Melbourne band. This is off the EP Big Attraction which came out way back in February.

The Living Eyes - Horseplay
Also from Melbourne, this is off their third LP Modern Living.

Orange Bomb - Coventry
Surrey indie-poppers with a track from the LP Pop Heavy which came out in the spring.

Star Rover - Socialitis
From Edinburgh, this is off their self-titled album which came out last month.

Bleak Zero - Reap Your Rewards
From Stoke, this is off D U S T which came out a couple of weeks ago.

Pale Rider - I Run On Rain
A debut single from the Liverpool quartet.

Dressed Like Wolves - Tiny Ides
This is Teessider Rick Dobbing and friends and taken from the album The Big Try.

Paul Mosley & The Red Meat Orchestra - Wintersun
"An exercise in smart-arse time signatures" says Mosley. This is from the EP Wintertide.

Birdskulls - Over It
The title track of their summer EP.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - When The Boat Comes In
One of a number of recent releases from the enigmatic Peel which will go to make up the forthcoming LP The Jammy Bugger Files.

Fold - Choose Love
Among our very favourite bands, this is the new single.

10-80p - Blunt Sticky Bake Off
Another enigma, this is off the album Crass Hippy, released in October.

Kelly Lee Owens - Spaces
A new track which will appear on the de luxe edition of her acclaimed self-titled LP.

Skotch & Skeef - Let It Be Alright
Dutch house. And if that's your thing, the Atomnation label, on which this is released, is where you need to be.

Mark Seven - The Promised Land (Chapter II - Enter This House)
From the 12" The Promised Land which features chapters 2, 4 and 7. Mark Cheney is the man responsible - British, but now based in Stockholm.

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More of the same in a week.

17 October 2017

Hello.

Django Django - Tic Tac Toe
Way back whenever, the Djangoes were the first band we played on the radio. Now they're about to unleash their third LP. Marble Skies comes out in early 2018.

Johnny Kills - End Game
A third single from the Brighton/London grunge/surf rockers.

Treeboy & Arc - Merge
A Leeds quartet with a track from the forthcoming EP Not Yet.

Autobahn - Future
Still in Leeds, another track from the LP The Moral Crossing which is out in two weeks.

Duck - Stereo
Keeping it Yorkshire, Duck are from Sheffield and this is off the album FaceAche.

The Soap Opera - Eggs To Hatch And Cats To Kill
On Ample Play records, this is part of a double-A single with No Name, No Pack Drill on the flip.

Filthy Friends - Windmill
From Portland, Oregon, this is off Invitation which came out in August.

Terminal Gods - Interplay
London post-punkers with a track from the album Meridian which also came out in August.

Mount Kimbie - Delta
A first album in four years, Love What Survives is out now.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - Hurricane
Apt. Off the EP Plates Of Meat.

Psycho Comedy - The Hangman
Liverpool, with it's successful psych festival, is pretty much the home of UK psychedelia. That's where these are from. More than a hint of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band there.

Astrobal - Australasie feat. Laetitia Sadier
Emmanuel Mario is Astrobal and this is the title track to his 2016 LP which features a number of collaboration such as this with the Stereolab singer.

Hirola - Hollow
Bristol-based producers with a track from their self-titled mini-album.

Boobs Of Doom - Aretkistapha
Great name. Scottish 'morbid misanthropes, soundtracking the end of the world' with their tenth LP eXXpre$$ion.

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Should be back next week, all being well.

21 March 2017

'Ow do.

The Physics House Band - The Astral Wave
The mini-LP Mercury Fountain is their first release since 2014. Welcome back.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - Deep Water
Last time we heard these was putting music behind Mark E Smith reading the classified football results. This is off their debut LP Sir Robert Orange Peel volume 1.

Rosie Doonan - Feel Love
I make no bones about it - I adore Rosie Doonan.

Stnnng - The Last Nostalgia
Don't know much about these, but the LP is Veterans Of Pleasure and it's out on April 1.

All Them Witches - Bulls
Flat out stoner rock - desert rock they call it - from Nashville, TN. Sleeping Through The War is the album.

Post War Glamour Girls - Organ Donor
The hotly anticipated third album from the Leeds outfit is Swan Songs out on April 17.

Pulco - Moose
New one from Welsh DIYer and friend of the show Ash Cooke from the new EP Silex.

The Jeepers - Light Up
From Kolkata and off the album Within Conversations which came out on the 11th of March.

Machynlleth Sound System - Strata Florida
Now that is a band name I can get behind. Welsh, would you believe. Their second EP is called MSM2 and is out now.

Tigercub - Control
Brighton based trio whose new single is out now.

Great Ytene - Locus
This London based psych rock band released their self-titled debut in 2014. The year after, they lost an album's worth of tracks down a technological black hole and it's taken this long to come back with a new set. Locus is the LP and it's out now.

The Evil Usses - Gambino
Beefheart-esque stuff from Bristol off the new LP Amateur Pro Wrestling. Out on March 31.

Not Waving - 24
London club sound from the LP Animals out on Powell's Diagonal label.

Dementio13 - Doug McClure
House favourite Paul Foster returns with the LP Goo, out now.

Ghost Culture - Coma
And finally, some more housey housey off the new EP Nucleus.

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See you next week

5 April 2016

Backlog more or less cleared, so the featured album makes a return alongside the usual gubbins.

Sir Robert Orange Peel - The Spiral
What's not to like? It's Mark E Smith reading the classified football results set to and electronic beat. No box left unticked there.

Rauschenberg - Bad Sister
Off their self-titled LP which came out in January.

The Entrepreneurs - Routine Lines
Danish noise-makers whose EP Tony Rominger came out a week or two ago. Really good stuff.

Featured Album: Teleman - Breakfast
In Your Fur
Lady Low
I went to see these on Saturday as they tour ahead of the release of their second LP, Brilliant Sanity. But we feature their 2014 debut Breakfast here. It's just delicious. Not a bad track on it.

Flies On You - Property Vacant
One of my favourites, the Leeds DIY-ers put out Etcetera last year. However, some of the offcuts that didn't make it onto the LP were collated into an EP which came out on Christmas Day. Gloriously, it's titled Fan Base Repellent.

False Nines - Can't Afford To Wonder
Mancunian tune-smiths, this was released last November, but has only just reached my radar. A band formed thanks to the power of social media.

Nine Tons - Bullpup
These noisy chaps are from Tyneside. No Frills came out in January.

Psychic Soviets - Full Greek Salad
Glasgow now, from November's Eight And A Half On Each Foot.

Kingsley Chapman and The Murder - The Children Scream
Great band from Middlesbrough and this is their new single.

TVAM - Gas And Air
Joe Oxley from Wigan follows up the brilliant Porsche Majeure with the equally fantastic Gas And Air.

Featured Album: Teleman - Breakfast
I'm Not In Control
Our third track from Breakfast is the hidden track at the end of the album. Probably their best. Sounds amazing live.

Karl Bartos - Life
Former Kraftwerker re-releases the 'lost' album Communication. Originally released in 2003, it still sounds box fresh.

El Speaker - Zapapaya feat. Jhnsy and Highdiwaan
Bit of a curio from Paris. A song about a duck and a monkey, apparently.

Erasmus - Ti Recordi Di Me
The Dewaele brothers - aka Soulwax - come back with another alter ego to record the soundtrack to the film Belgica. The album was launched in February.

Oligarkh - Hallelujah
And finally, some Russian electronica off the LP Anatoly. It's dead good.

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More next week.