29 July 2014

Still on the goofballs. I'll level with you - having this to prepare is at least giving me something to focus on during the week. Anyway, no time for self-pity. Let's crack on.


Joanna Gruesome - Jerome (Liar)
Show favourites from Cardiff return with a split single alongside Trust Fund. Not sure how they're going to spin that into a 12" at 100 seconds long, but hey ho. It's out in September.

Toy - As We Turn
Not my favourite off Join The Dots, but still better than most things around at the moment. This is the new single.

Menace Beach - Lowtalkin'
From Leeds, this is the reverse of the double-A side with Tennis Court that we played a few weeks ago. Out on September 1, top stuff as ever.

Cover Version Corner
Dionne Warwick/Julia Holter - Don't Make Me Over
Two great voices. Julia Holter's version came out yesterday on a double-A with a cover of Hello Stranger, the old Barbara Lewis record. Warwick's version is from 1962, her debut single in fact. You can find that on the album Presenting Dionne Warwick.

Kid Wave - All I Want
When I was putting the show together, I don't remember liking that as much as I did just then. Terrific. That's their debut single and comes out on August 8.

Keel Her - Single Room
Big fan of hers, here's more evidence as to her brilliance. Always inventive, always worth listening to.

Tacocat - Bridge To Hawaii
How good's that? Not sure logistics is their thing though, as wherever you started building the bridge, it'd take a lot of doing. That's the first release from their new album NVM.

Autobahn - Pale Skin
I've been after playing these for a wee while now. They're from Leeds and this is off their EP called 2. It's right up my street, that's for sure.

The Drums - Magic Mountain
A new album is coming from these. Encyclopedia is the title and it hits the shelves on September 23. This is the first single and if it's indicative of the rest of the LP, it'll be a winner.

Horsebeach - Dull
Odd title, great tune. It came out in February but totally passed me by at the time. Happy to have rectified that.

One Degree of Separation
Fredrika Stahl - Midday Moon
DJ Shadow - High Noon
Another great voice on Stockholm's Fredrika Stahl. A beautiful record, that. That's off an LP called Off To Dance which came out last year. Second, off Pre-Emptive Strike from 1998, unmistakeably DJ Shadow. 12pm is your connection, obviously.

Gidge - I Fell In Love
Gidge are also Swedish. Jonatan Nilsson and Ludvig Stolterman, more sepcifically. That's the first release from their forthcoming and as yet untitled debut LP.

Dayglo Maradona - Rock Section
Julian Cope, right. He wrote this novel called One Three One. It's brilliant and the (anti) hero is called Rock Section. He (Rock Section) had hits in the '80s and '90s and Cope has made some of them; fill the back story, like. This is Section's 1989 smash as baggy morphed into rave and all that. Either way, it stands up on it's own. Available now as a pay-what-you-like download from Bandcamp.


Here's that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:


More next week.

22 July 2014

I'm really not with it. My prescription is playing havoc with my head, so this is rather phoned in this week. Indeed, I can only really provide you a list of tracks and minimal commentary. Bear with me - my head will straighten out in time.

St Etienne - DJ
Great star. I reckon I'd not get bored listening to Sara Cracknell reading the phone book.

Kill It Kid - I'll Be The First

Cruising - You Made Me Do That
Noisy, like we like it.

Cover Version Corner
Hasil Adkins/Druggy Pizza - Chicken Walk
I was looking for something else by Druggy Pizza, found this and figured why not?

Art Brut - Emily Kane
Because why not

High Hazels - Misbehave
New, excellent, record of the week

Some Minor Noise - Deadhead
*bad word warning*

The Crookes - Yes, Yes, We're Magicians
From a while ago, but what the hey?

Post War Glamour Girls - Gustave
*another bad word warning*

The Field - No No (John Tejada remix)


One Degree of Separation
Big In Japan - Nothing Special
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes (Peel session)
Holly Johnson, innit

Kordian Trudny - Zdrada
He's from Katowice. The album is called Katowice. It's dead good. Sounds like Gary Numan.

Deleted Soul - Kumbacha
So much going on in here. Delightful.

Tourist - Together
Perfect closer.

Here's that on YouTube:


And Soundcloud:



I'll try to be more focused next week, but I'll still be on these meds so chances of that are slim. Ah well.

15 July 2014

Still propped up on pain-killers, let's do this.

King Creosote - For One Night Only
What a great way to start. I always like a singer who sings in their own accent which Kenny Anderson definitely does. Off his new album From Scotland With Love which is out next Monday.

Martha - 1997, Passing In The Hallway
These are from Durham, which you can also tell from the voice. The album is Courting Strong which came out in May. It's a delight.

Royal Blood - Figure It Out
Terrific. From Brighton, this is off their self-titled debut album which is out in August.

Cover Version Corner
Bob Marley and The Wailers/Stiff Little Fingers - Johnny Was
We try to get two versions that are very different. Great track from Marley's 1976 LP Rastaman Vibration then re-tooled by SLF for their 1979 debut Inflammable Material to reflect the situation in Northern Ireland at the time. It's also at the forefront of when punk started taking in reggae influences more and more.

By The Sea - I See A Crystal Sky
That reminds me of a few things none of which are particularly obvious. Like it lots. The album is Endless Day, Crystal Sun and is out on August 18.

Spinner Fall - By Numbers
Not 100% sure on this one. I think I like it, but it could quite easily disappear like Foals or somesuch. For now, it gets a tentative thumb up. They're from Oxford and that's on an Audioscope compilation of Oxford bands which is raising money for Shelter.

Land Observations - On Leaving The Kingdom For The Well-Tempered Continent
This is interesting. The album is The Grand Tour and comes out on July 28, described by James Brooks who is Land Observations as 'an imaginary travelogue through Western, Central and Southern Europe'. Every track takes up a part of that journey. Top stuff.

Wild Smiles - Never Wanted This
Throwing forward to October now... That's when the Wild Smiles album Always Tomorrow comes out from which this is taken. I think they've just about enough to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

White Lung - In Your Home
In a similar vein, but from Vancouver rather than Hampshire, this is off an album called Deep Fantasy. I think it came out yesterday. Either way, it's available now.

Half Japanese - In It's Pull
What a treat. They're back, after 13 years away. The new album is Overjoyed and comes out on September 2 and this is the first release from that. Great to have them back.

One Degree of Separation
Julian Cope - Robert Mitchum
Phantogram - Bill Murray
Of course the link is Hollywood stars as song titles. First from Skellington, recorded in 2 days in 1989 in sessions after completing My Nation Underground which was so not Julian Cope it was untrue. Second was from the album Voices which we've played a couple of tracks from. It came out in February and is really good.

Whirr - Mumble
Shoegaze and grunge never died. They just jumped in alongside each other in tracks like this. They're from San Francisco, the album is Sway and it's out on September 29. Love it.

Pye Corner Audio - Black Mist
The mysterious Head Technician is back with a new EP, also called Black Mist. It's out on August 18. I could listen to that over and over. Maybe a hint of the Doctor Who theme in there?

Scanner - Backwood
And we close with Robin Rimbaud. Off the album Electronic Garden which came out in March. Typically sublime.

Here's most of that on YouTube:



And another load of it on Soundcloud:

8 July 2014

Loaded up on prescription meds, I've rather phoned this one in. Bear with me.

Molly Bloom - All Pressure
Punk-folk, they call it. Which seems fair. They're from Ramsbottom and this is the title track from their new LP which is out now.

Christian Fitness - Soft Power Itches
Another one available to stream from Andy Falkous's new project as he seeks to crowdfund the resources to be able to complete an album. Fingers crossed. He's always worth listening to.

H Grimace - Cavepainter
Another one on house favourite label Art is Hard. Top stuff as ever.

Cover Version Corner
Neil Young/The Horn The Hunt - Heart Of Gold
A super version from Leeds outfit The Horn The Hunt, which is what we want from this section. That was on the B side of their single Starless which came out in March. Before that, from the 1971 album Harvest, of course it was Neil Young.

Tythe - The Light feat. Rachel Dadd
Julian Peck is Tythe and that's super. From his debut album And Also With You which is out now.

Dena - Games
Don't think we've had a Bulgarian artist on before, so consider that box checked. Denitza Todorova is Dena and her debut album, Flash, came out in March.

Superfood - Right On Satellite
I'm reliably informed that these are being spoken very highly of in the music press. Good for them. It's an enjoyable ditty and is released on the 28th of this month.

The History Of Apple Pie - Shake
Intriguing name, lovely track. This will be on their new album, as yet without a name, which will be out later in the year.

Big Deal - Always Boys
Because it's always boys with guitars. Far too much of that around. Off the EP Sakura which is out next week.

Manflu - James Chance Coronary
Noisy, like we like it. From the Joys Of Life LP which is out next week.

One Degree of Separation
New Order - True Faith
Electronic - Disappointed
Probably done this link before, but what the hey. From Electronic's second album, Songs From The Cool World in 1992, the supergroup which included New Order's Bernard Sumner. Before that, from Substance which came out in 1987.

Watermät - Bullit
Don't know a huge amount about the artist, but that's got summer floor-filler written all over it. From the album Bullit which came out in March.

Fran Seven - Time For
Dutchman Mikel Hoogland records as Fran Seven. This is off his EP Ripples In Time which came out last week.

Soft As Snow - Black Birds
From Norway, but based in London, their debut EP Glass Body comes out on the 21st of this month. Delightful stuff.

That'll do you. Hopefully I'll be a bit more compos mentis next week.

Here's that on Soundcloud:


and YouTube:

1 July 2014

July already? WTF, as I believe the kids would have it.

Guantanamo Baywatch - Love This Time
Best band name in the world is a tough title to claim, but this has to come close. Good old garage rock from Portland. The EP is Surf And Turf, split with another band called Natural Child, which came out last December.

Anna Of The North - Sway
An unusual combo of a Norwegian singer, Anna Lotterud, and a New Zealand producer, Brady Daniell-Smith, which is about as far away as it's possible to be without leaving the earth's gravitational pull. The outcome is pretty darn decent though. This is their debut single.

The Hi-Life Companion - Dark Heart
To Bristol now and some very zeitgesity (yes, I know, I hate myself) rock music. Our Years In The Wilderness is the album which came out a couple of weeks ago.

Cover Version Corner
Julian Cope/Fear Of The Forest - Charlotte Anne
I've had this one on the list for a while, but kind of got to do it this week with the release of Julian Cope's first novel - 131: A Gnostic, Time-Shifting, Hooligan Road Novel - which I acquired last week, am currently eight or ten chapters into and bloody loving it. Fear Of The Forest call themselves 'punk baroque', given their proclivity for using traditional instruments along with more modern gear. There's definitely a hurdy-gurdy on there. Great song anyway, from Cope's 1988 album This Nation Underground, probably his most poppy and least well-received.

Waiters - Perpetual Notion
From Manchester, their debut EP  is What For Art Thou?, which is a great title, and comes out next month. It's an all-round pretty good showcase of their talents.

Christian Fitness - Teeth
Search for 'christian fitness' in a popular search engine and you'd be amazed what you'd find. This, however, is the latest side project of Future Of The Left front man Andy Falkous. There's to be an album forthcoming hopefully, if his crowd-funding effort comes off. The last FotL album was crowd-funded, so fingers crossed there's enough out there for him to complete this.

Beverly - Honey Do
Love that. Delightful tune. They're from New York city, the album is Creatures and comes out today, so you're bang up to date with it.

The Otherness - Now On And So On
To Argentina now, specifically Comodoro Rivadivia in Patagonia. Splendid garage-style rock.

The Yearning - If I Can't Have You
From Oxfordshire, their debut album was launched yesterday. It's called Dreamboats And Lemonade.

Lia Ices - Thousand Eyes
So many really lovely tracks tonight of which this is one. From Westport, Connecticut, the album Ices comes out in September.

One Degree of Separation
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog
Robert Plant - Little Millie
I shan't insult your intelligence by asking you to find the link. It's mainly an excuse to play Robert Plant's new single from the album Lullaby And... The Ceaseless Roar which is out in September. Great tune, that. Before that, from 1971 and the album Led Zeppelin IV.

The Mor Paranoids - Things That Make You Go Paranoid
That's just ace. The quirky sort of thing I really like. Circular is the album - presumably in physicality as well as name - and came out in April.

Gary Numan - Love Hurt Bleed
From his last album, Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind) which came out last year, I play that for two reasons. One, it's a top record and two, he plays Holmfirth on Thursday which I'm rather looking forward to.

Max Cooper - Woven Ancestry (Olaf Stuut remix)
Finally, this from Belfast producer Max Cooper. The original was on an album called Human which came out in April. Then an album of remixes, Inhuman, surfaced on which one of them was by Amsterdam producer Olaf Stuut. The result is quite marvellous.

Here's all that on a combination of YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



More next week.