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Tuesday 20 December 2016

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.

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

Tuesday 13 December 2016

13 December 2016

Last regular show of the year.

Froth - Contact
Kind of mixing krautrock and psych and shoegaze. A heady mix. These are from LA and this is the lead single from the new LP Outside (briefly).

Orange Bomb - School Disco
Four-piece DIY garage band from Surrey. I like the cut of their jib.

Arro Jones - Great Northern Street
Local artist with a story about the working girls down that Huddersfield byway.

Featured album: The Wedding Present - George Best
Shatner
What Did Your Last Servant Die Of?
Well why not? I bloody love the Weddoes. Feels like I always have. George Best was their first album, released in 1987 after a few singles. It chuffing ace and has one of the coolest covers ever.

Toy - Another Dimension
Their first two albums were a big hit here and here comes the third. Clear Shot is out now, but without the driving keyboards of the departed Alejandra Diez, it's a different sound. I want to like it and there are a couple of good ideas here, just that they're lacking a unifying... thing. I dunno. Maybe I need to listen to it more, I think.

Dead Naked Hippies - Lights Out
To Leeds for this one. A three-piece with their debut single.

New Apostles - Avalanche
Back from a lengthy hiatus a couple of years back, here's a new single from the Nottingham outfit who are making up for lost time.

The Nightingales - Booze, Broads And Beauty
Speaking of Midlands veterans... This is off the new EP Become Not Becoming which is up for pre-order now.

Neurotic Fiction - Mediator
On the ever-reliable Art Is Hard label, a follow-up to their debut EP.

Featured album: The Wedding Present - George Best
You Can't Moan, Can You?
The closing track from the album. And signs of what the band would be were already surfacing as they emerged from this with a different drummer.

Allo Darlin' - Hymn On The 45
A farewell now, as Allo Darlin' are calling it a day and this is their final single. There are a handful of shows and then that's it.

Bad Family - My Body Pines
From their imaginatively titled debut EP, EP1

TCF - NLeZ7tnzzjTXBsMtD1OO0xPEZ0MmnSKsGZA/yHfSV1gfKH+//xR9oW+uUJO4i3N0lRghdsuEoRSOKjJMZApfoA==
Catchy title. Berlin-based composer TCF has this out now, on 10" vinyl and in a vacuum-sealed silver bag. Of course.

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Christmas special next week.

Tuesday 6 December 2016

6 December 2016

Evenin'

Oi Polloi - Our Winged Sisters
From the LP Saorsa which came out last month. It's about bees and the decimation of their population.

Bonfire Nights - Ego Death
From Australia, but now out of London, a slice of psychedelia from a new split single - Tripwires are on the other side - which is out on Friday.

Vukovar - The Three Shades
Not sure how you'd classify this, as if that's important. It came out late October.

Featured album: Broadcast - Tender Buttons
I Found The F
Black Cat
This week we go back to 2005 for our featured LP. This was Broadcast's third and while critically acclaimed it didn't do much by way of sales. It was a turn to the minimalist and the lyrically surreal and it's not an easy listen, though extremely rewarding.

The Wave Pictures - Now I Want To Hoover My Brain Clean
The second single taken from Bamboo Diner In The Rain. Do go see them if ever you get chance.

The Cravats - Blurred
A new one from the Redditch punk veterans. It came out as a limited edition single at the back end of October.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Don't Get Lost
From the new LP Third World Pyramid which came out on October 28. Brilliant.

Vaguess - Cop Like Me
To California for this, a punk record about minority deaths at the hands of the police.

Ashley Reaks - Slugs And Snails Forever
Experimental time again as Reaks releases his third album of the year, Growth Spurts.

Featured album: Broadcast - Tender Buttons
Corproreal
It all came to a sadly premature end for Broadcast in 2011 as singer Trish Keenan died of pneumonia after contracting swine flu in Australia though fellow founder member James Cargill still makes music under the same banner.

ESP - Mars Radio
Welsh producer Jamie Howells is ESP and this is off his new album Blue Books which is terrific.

MOTSA - Petrichor feat Sophie Lindinger
To Vienna next and a slice from the new EP Petricolour which is out now.

Nathan Fake - Degreelessness feat Prurient
Fake recently signed to Ninja Tune and this is the first release for them. Just a 12" for now, with an album to follow in due course.

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Si thee