29 December 2015

Last show of the year, but none of this looking back and introspection. With christmas, football and weeks off, I've a massive backlog of stuff to get through, so it's business as usual.

Unqualified Nurse - You Pulled Through
Noisiness from Derby. From the album Put It On The Line which came out in November.

The Crookes - The Lucky Ones
A new track, available as a free download, from the forthcoming album of the same name. That's out on January 29.

Nai Harvest - Melanie
Staying with Sheffield, a new single from the LP Hairball which came out last spring.

Featured album
LCD Soundsystem - Disco Infiltrator
LCD Soundsystem - Give It Up
This week, it's the self-titled debut LP from these which came out in 2005 and set a new standard in electro-pop.

Teleman - Fall In Time
A taster of a new album, following on from the huge success of Breakfast.

Actor - Uppercut
From Leeds and with a title like that, you'd expect it to pack a punch.

Jonny Firth - Mountain
We we dismayed by the break-up of Crybabycry, but front man Jonny Firth continues to make music on his own. Rich blues.

The Baggios - O Azar Me Consome
And continuing the blues theme, from their self-titled LP from 2011.

LewRey - What's Up?
More local stuff from their debut EP, also called What's Up?

Retroject - Lesson Learned
A new track from the Doncaster indie-merchants. Hopefully a portent of and longer player.

Featured album
LCD Soundsystem - Movement
Another one from our featured album, a record which hasn't really dated.

Super Besse - Mne Vse Odno
'I Do Not Care' to you. These are great. They're from Minsk and I've played them a fair bit before. The LP is 63610.

Origami Horses - The King Of Happenstance
These hail from Canterbury and the LP In Love And In Dub came out earlier this month on the always interesting Metal Postcards records.

Electric Eye - Bless
To Norway now. This is a delight and is off the album Different Sun which is due out in February.

Kelly Lee Owens - Arthur
And finally, the B-side of Owens's new single, Lucid. It's out on February 16.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



And we're back next week.

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!

8 December 2015

It's all about the final track this week. Consider the first 12 tracks as a preamble.

Imaginary People - Summerstock
An unmistakeably New York sound. Off the LP Dead Letterbox, which is a great title, which came out in summer.

The Chills - America Says Hello
Another one from the first Chills album in 15 years, Silver Bullets.

Featured Album
Art Brut - Formed A Band
Art Brut - Modern Art
Our featured LP this week is Art Brut's debut long-player Bang Bang Rock & Roll. It came out in 2005 and introduced us to a totally unique band. Just brilliant.

Brando's Island - Auto Warfare
To Australia now, a band completely new to me. And blimey do they kick up a racket. An LP is due shortly. And they raise a fair point. Did we even have  debate on shifting warfare to bunkers many thousands of miles away from battle?

Ghost Car - Be A Better Lady
Another track from their split LP with Summerisle, the Ghost Car bits which are now available as a self-titled EP.

The Migrant - Silence
Denmark now, and the new single from these psych-folk rockers. The album is Flood and it's out now.

Vertical Slump - Chanteuse
Comprising members of other bands, Shopping and Omi Palome for two, this is off the EP Ruined Value which came out last month.

Salary - Mini Moke
Back to Australia, Perth in fact, for this one. Out last week. Easy on the Autotune, eh?

Radar Men From The Moon - Deconstruction
Named for a 1952 B-movie, these are from Eindhoven. This is off the EP Subversive I which came out in October.

Featured Album
Art Brut - Good Weekend
Another one from Bang Bang Rock & Roll. A gem.

Blank Realm - River Of Longing
Back Down Under again, this time to Brisbane for another track from the LP Illegals In Heaven, their fifth, which is out now.

David Bowie - Blackstar
And so here it is, the new single from Bowie. An epic ten-minuter from an LP of the same name which is due out in January, his 25th studio album. Spectacular. He's gone full Scott Walker, hasn't he?

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



Not in next week - football - so the next one will be the christmas special in a fortnight.

24 November 2015

Me again.

Idles - CHANT
Bristolians post-piunkers pay homage to The Monks. From the new EP MEAT - everything's in capitals - which is out now.

Practical Lovers - Put It Bluntly
These are from Nottingham and while this was originally released as a single in 2011, it also forms part of the new album Agony which is out on Friday.

Last Great Dreamers - Dope School
Back together well after their '90s heyday, they were retro then and nothing's changed. This is the new single and there's an album due soon.

Featured Album
Arab Strap - Coming Down
Arab Strap - I Work In A Saloon
This week, we feature The Week Never Starts Round Here, the debut release from Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffatt. Dating from 1996, it still sounds good. "Completely undiluted and free of the self-expectation that came later", said Middleton of it. Coming Down is the opener.

Fat White Family - Whitest Boy On The Beach
The first track taken from the forthcoming second album, Songs For Our Mothers, which is out in January. They're playing Hebden Trades next month too. Should be fun.

Iron Triangle - Glass Shadows
Well someone likes Depeche Mode. Me, more precisely. But that might explain why I like this quite so much. Dan Walsh and Mark Dixon are Iron Triangle and they're from Peckham. Their self-titled EP is out now.

FVC - Jacket On Fire
The FVC in question is Florence van Camerlijk who is from Amsterdam but now based in Hackney. The EP Walking came out last Friday.

The Sneaky Nixons - Thick, Thin And Thinner
Great name. The self-styled rock n roll terrorists are from Liverpool and their new record Sex is out now.

Ratatosk - I Awoke
More Welsh DIY now as we head for Aberdare for some folky stuff. The album Detachment came out in late September.

Featured Album
Arab Strap - The First Big Weekend
The first single taken from The Week Never Starts Round Here.

Josefin Öhrn and The Liberation - Sunny Afternoon
A bit krautrocky, but also in the Lykke Li envelope. Swedish, is Ms Öhrn. The album is Horse Dance and it's out now.

Vieux Farka Touré - Masters Of War feat. Julie Easterlin
Malian songsmith Touré collaborates with American singer Easterlin on the LP touristes which came out in September.

Shunkan - The Pink Noise
We've had a track off the album before, but here's the title track from the New Zealanders LP.

Shift Work - SBFM
The EP Scaled To Fit from Shift Work blew our proverbial socks off. Document I, the new one, loks set to do the same given this track. It's out now.

Your YouTube mix:



and Soundcloud:



Week off next week. Back in a fortnight.

17 November 2015

Ahoy hoy.

Meilyr Jones - How To Recognise A Work Of Art
A solo effort from the former Race Horses man from Aberystwyth. Bit of a stab at bursting the pomposity of the art critic. A debut LP is due early next year.

The Anchoress - You And Only You ft Paul Draper
More Welshness as Catherine Anne Davies collaborates with former Mansun singer Draper on her new single. The album Confessions Of A Romance Novelist is due in January.

Featured Album
The Chap - What Are People For?
The Chap - Guitar Messiah
For this week's featured LP, we pick up The Show Must Go by multi-national five-piece The Chap. Comprising a Briton, a Greek, two Germans and a Frenchman, this is their sixth album and the second of which is leaning more into the political spectrum. Bloc Party-esque, they sample themselves and use sequencing to produce that sound.

Bruising - Honey
Leeds now. We've had these on before and here they are with their new single, half of a double-A side with Emo Friends which I feel sure may well make an appearance in due course.

Tuff Love - Duke
Another band we played a while ago who are back with a new release. From Glasgow, their new EP is called Dregs and came out a couple of weeks ago.

Forever Cult - Tunnel Vision
More Leedsness now. This is the new single which came out earlier this month. Raucous.

The Shifting Sands - Coming Back
Starting a run of Antipodean records, here's one from Dunedin in New Zealand. Cosmic Radio Station came out in October. Suitably laid back.

Gem Bones - Sweetness
Two tracks from Melbourne bands now, starting with this which came out in August. Almost sounds like the Jam at the start before going a different way altogether.

Static Animal - Majorca
This came out on a super-limited run of cassettes - just 10 were made. Virtual copies still available though.

Featured Album
The Chap - Hey Youth
Another one from our featured album. Probably my pick from it.

That Fucking Tank - Chumbawambanger
Back to Leeds once again. This duo have a line in inventive song titles and this is no exception. Out on a double-A with Pigeon Club on November 27.

Les Big Byrd - White Week
Swedish krautrock from a few years ago. Brilliant. This could easily be Can.

Fold - Oil-Powered Machine
Another one from Leeds? Go on then. The album, Fold, is a real belter. One of my favourites of the year. This features LAPD officer turned investigative journalist Mike Ruppert.

Fabio - Lindo Sonho Delirante
Old school funk to finish. From 1968 and Brazil. The initials LSD probably aren't a coincidence.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:

10 November 2015

Hello again.

Liines - Never There
I've been gigging. These were supporting Ex Hex at Manchester's Ruby Lounge on Sunday and were ace. More of the main act later, but this the debut single from Liines, out November 21.

Greys - The Voyeur
To Toronto now and this lot had an LP out last year. This is their first stuff since, off an EP called Repulsion.

Ela Orleans - The Sky And The Ghost
From Poland but based in Glasgow - coming over here, enriching our culture - the album Upper Hell came out in May. I've only just heard stuff off it, this being the pick. Blissful.

Featured Album
Ex Hex - Radio On
Ex Hex - War Paint
Like I say, I've been gigging. I snapped up a ticket to see these when I heard they were over here as it was a surprise to me that they were even in the UK. They're from Washington DC and the debut album Rips came out last year. I've already played tracks from it, but I'm going to feature it properly here as they were ace on Sunday.

Editors - Life Is A Fear
Not a band I thought I'd find myself playing, but this, their new single, is a bit good. In Dreams is the new LP, out last month.

Samuel Claiborne - Say Goodbye To America
This is ace. Claiborne is from upstate New York and this is off the album Love, Lust And Genocide. I think you get a clear picture of his politics.

Lonely Robot - The Boy In The Radio
Guitarist John Mitchell has had many guises, this being his latest one. This is the latest single taken from Please Come Home which came out in February. I'm still not 100% sure that I like it. I think I do.

LeRoy - Skai
To Munich now for this, which is pretty special. Off the album Skläsh which came out last month. Terrific.

TVAM - Porsche Majeure
Making a late bid for record of the year is this from Wigan's Joe Oxley. On a double-A side single. Out now. Get it.

Featured Album
Ex Hex - Waste Your Time
Another track from Rips which if you don't have, you should. Good old-fashioned rock n roll.

Ash Walker - Bamboo Circus feat. Segilola
Dub, next. The EP is called Agnostic, it came out in July and is good.

Fold - Detroit Red
Funk time for the rest of the night, starting with this from the new album, Fold. Describing themselves as experimental funk and hip-hop from Leeds, this features the voice of Malcolm X - Detroit Red being his nickname when he was grifting on the streets of Motown as a youth - with some apposite comments about the state of race relations in the US.

Savant - Stationary Dance
Off a compilation called Artifical Dance, this is Kerry Leimer from Seattle.

Lesbian Horse - I Have Some Very Strong Views About Whatever Happened To Rock 'n' Roll
Show favourite Sam Jones once again. Some weeks he'll put a dozen tracks out, some weeks he won't. This arrived last week and is among his best.

Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



and we'll see what we get next week eh?

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.