It Starts With a Birthstone...

  One of the most original and interesting concept albums of the year.  Psalms  a record by Kentucky based musician and archivist Nathan Sal...

 

 

  You can almost hear Marc Bolan cheering them on.

  Baltimore trio Smoke Bellow's latest album Open For Business is another that serves up reminders of the late Seventies and the early N...

 

 

 

  With a countdown of my favourite 100 albums of 2021 starting on here in a few days, I'm still coming across records that seem to merit...

 

  The original Canterbury Sound .

  'Blur begat Brit Pop...'

  Old England. Molly Drake. Mother of Nick and Gabrielle.

  Whenever I think of Elvis Costello, I think about the only time I ever saw him. Some time round about when I was studying for my A Levels,...

 

  Turkish band Altin Gun, based curently in the Netherlands are beginning to make some waves as they release their latest album  Yol,  their...

 

  Elvis was something of a conveyer belt of quality goods by this point.

  'rock is at its funniest when it doesn't know its telling a joke.'

  Out of Melboune, which currently is the Rock and Roll conveter belt. Somnambulistic, the lastest from Plum Green is an eerie treat. Markin...

 

  Good to be back in Newcastle and back in The Newcastle Arms where they have a great new manager named Bryn. Also good to have Treeless Pla...

  American guitarist and songwriter Steve Gunn is a quiet but clear talent. Consistent too. For a number of years he's been putting out ...

 

  A mini-album essentially but worth noting and celebrating.

  'slacker poster-boy...'

  A wonderful song. Plundering Rock and Roll's past. Nirvana, early Jesus & Mary Chain, New York Punk. But plenty of fire of its own...

  Graham Coxon's latest project, he certainly keeps himself busy.You get the feeling that he and Damon are pretty much pleasing themselv...

 

  Definitely hugely inferior to Psychocandy. They showed here that all they really wanted was to be like other bands after all. Still, they ...

 

  A bit of levity for a Saturday morning. Thanks to university friend Liz once again for dredging this back into my memory banks. 

 

  It is now 100 days until Christmas. Ludicrously, I am commencing my countdown of records of the year to celebrate this fact. It's not ...

 

 

 

  Terrific new album, called C ool  just out from Colleen Green. It could easily have made my Top Hundred list for the year which I'm co...

  An excellent playlist by my university friend Liz is taking me to strange places on this particular series. Here is something from an Icel...

 

 

  'what you would get if you crossed Bjork and DJ Shadow and of course Massive Attack and the confusions and insecurities.'

  A highlight from Martina Topley-Bird's latest Forever I Wait.

  Passport photos for their US Tour 1978.

 

 

  Ubiquitous at a certain point of the Eighties and despite being very much of its time, still sounds good to me.

 

 

Will be raiding my university friend Liz's foreign language covers playlist for a while on this particular series. Here, the French Elvi...