It Starts With a Birthstone...

 

  'the Beasties are always at their best when they're being stupid...'

  It's Monday. No, It's Wednesday! Quite incredible what a long shelf life Shoegaze has proved to have. For a scene that was largely...

                     The most elegant of film actresses. Rather lovely song too and you get someone hooping to it.

  Playing tonight in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Wish I could be there.

  Chicago's Horsegirl seem like a band to follow. Frighteningly young, coming essentially from a Shoegaze, Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur ...

 

    Vanishing Twi'n's  The Age of Immunology  was one of my favourite albums of 2019. Squaring the circle between Stereolab, Broadca...

  A real landmark album.

  'surely the most fun you can have with machines...'

  Darren Jones is a consistent and very welcome contributer to this blog, and I'm always grateful for his  tips relating to things which...

 

  Cate Le Bon is back. Always happy to be able to write those words.With a couple of new singles and an album. Pompeii due to arrive next F...

  and something else in a similar vein.

 A really rather lovely bit of old school C-86 pop: It's great to come across an album unexpectantly from someone you heard a song from ...

  A very, very English album.

  'a handsome and uniquely talented singer-songwriter...'

  It's just about too late for any high late new entries in my own personal countowns for 2021. The votes, (well my votes, the only ones...

 

 

 

 

    Although not a huge fan of instrumental music, this year's Mercury Music Award has brought a record of this type that is very, very ...

 

  Galway singer-songwriter with a sweet, reflective new single about the end of a relationship.

 

 

    Travel of the oddest but most tangible kind does strangely seem available to us in 2021. Virtual travel seemingly across both time and s...

 

  'a maternal feminist love song...'

 

 

  Philadelphia's Psychedlicists Spirit of the Beehive don't make it particularly easy for the listener. They are either an incredibl...

  Buddy. One of the greatest 'What if...' stories in all Rock and Roll.

  'only pop women seem to do the unbridled ecstasy thing.'

  Late, high entry into my Top Hundred Albums of the Year. This will be posted on here again in that rundown in a few days. It's probabl...

  They Might Be Giants, doing what They Might Be Giants do in 2021. Rather nicely here. One of Princess' Margaret's consort, Anthony...

  One of the more interesting young, independent guitar bands to emerge from these islands in recent years, Brighton's Penelope Isles es...

 

 

 

    For a band this far into their careers, The Killers should definitely be in the 'has-been' categeory by this stage of the game. ...

 

  'How to cover and improve The Jacksons' Can you feel it?'

  Cathal Coughlan is a rather remarkable talent. For almost forty years the Cork raised talent has carved out a particular space forhim in t...

 

  Didn't really care for the St. Vincent album this year, which many others raved about. But I did like this.

    'Don't compare your face to the other faces. It's not worth it...' I liked this record a lot. The debut album from Dubli...

  A slightly unexpected classic. The Beach Boys find their political conscience.

  'one of the most irresistible songs in this book.'