Songs of the Year # 48 Parquet Courts

Parquet Courts got no end of attention this year with the release of Wide Awake! and their subsequent promotion of it. As with Courtney's record I liked individual songs better than the album itself. But while Courtney will feature in my LP rundown Parquet Courts will not, there were a few tracks on Wide Awake! that I just disliked too much. Still, there were also many fine things on it, not least this.

The promo for the song, attached here, illustrates what grates slightly about this band. Their non-stop, full on cockiness. While they share this characteristic with their obvious forbears, Pavement and Sonic Youth, The Courts are so unceasingly in your face about exactly how good they think they are that it irritates more than a little. OK, but I think they're good too, and this won't be the last time they'll feature on this particular countdown.

Albums of the Year # 48 Nap Eyes - I'm Bad Now

From March

'Halifax, Novia Scotia's Nap Eyes return with their third album I'm Bad Now, and it's a triumph. Both of their previous records were excellent too but here there's a sense of things falling into place and a proper definitive statement being made here. The band draw unmistakably  on the lineage of great alternative Rock and Roll. The record overflows with reminders of The Velvet Underground, Modern Lovers, Television, Pavement  and Parquet Courts but I'm Bad Now does their legacy proud and is overflowing with wonderful moments of slacker epiphany.

 Most of all Nap Eyes remind me in the best possibly way of the Velvets of Reed, Morrison, Yule and Tucker and the fluid brilliance of '69 Live. Lead singer Nigel Chapman plays a leading role in terms of providing a drole voice and identity to proceedings but it would be unfair not to credit the band as a unit for what is on show. A series of eleven tracks that knit together seamlessly and will thrill devotees of the proud tradition listed above. The songs are classically crafted and constantly surprise with their flowing warmth and invention. All in all a record that seems sure to offer up further rewards on each successive play. A wonderful achievement!'

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 26 Jenny Ondioline

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 66 Roy Orbison

Song of the Day # 1,754 Egyptian Blue

Jittery Post Punk from promising Brighton based quartet.

Songs Heard on the Radio # 278 Danny Kaye

Luke Haines being himself on Boogaloo Radio and setting off with this quite wonderful song.

Courtney Barnett in Paris

Song(s) of the Day # 1,753 Young Romance

Unashamedly young. Unashamedly romantic. A couple of songs from British duo's second album, the aptly named Young Romance

Songs About People # 734 Michael Stipe

Michael Stipe deserves a song. Now he has one. A bit of German, a bit of English.

Things Found on My Local's Jukebox # 335 The Kinks

The wonderful Face to Face finds its way to Rosie's jukebox.

Songs of the Year # 49 Pete Astor

Featured on here a couple of weeks back. Former Weather Prophet and Loft with a paean to the ultimate slacker. Nice streaks of Johnny Thunders guitar embellishing proceedings here.

Albums of the Year # 49 Amaya Laucirica - Rituals

'The astonishingly named Australian artist Amaya Laucirica has a new album called Rituals, just out, her fifth in all, but her first international release. It's pretty much fascinated me since I listened to it first a couple of days ago. Mostly because of the things it reminded me of and the way it fits so snugly within the traditions it establishes for itself. It's a great record!

Laucirica was brought up in the Australian outback, and somehow, listening to Rituals and following the clues it lays down, that fact makes perfect sense. First track Little Clouds opens up in a manner highly reminiscent of The Triffids Wide Open Road, all wide eyed transcendental awe at this phenomenal space. Elsewhere, the record sounds like the one that Grant McLennan might have come up with on the original break up of The Go Betweens at the end of the Eighties, had he decided to produce and write for band member Amanda Brown, (the woman he loved at that point in time), rather than go off to record his own solo stuff.  

High praise indeed and Rituals is well worthy of it. It evokes the space and sound of Born Sandy Devotional and 16 Lovers Lane without ever encroaching on their territory. There are definitely some eighties production values and sounds on the record, (a huge part of its appeal), and all the while Laucirica's voice floats effortlessly across the spaces established by them. While not an exceptional voice in itself, it's effectively used to add to a considerable mood which becomes more compelling with every play of the album.

Rituals comes up with one or two barnstorming moments on an album of solid songs which although it might occasionally feel as if you've been served up a bit too much Angel's Delight for dessert,  generally stands it ground. In addition to All of our Time which Grant himself would have been proud of, I'd single out Endangered Man, which sounds like Serge Gainsbourg, Mick Harvey and Jane Birkin meeting up in a dream. One of the very best songs I've heard this year.

A couple of tracks on comes Could This Be which sounds like the song that David Lynch forgot to include on the original Twin Peaks soundtrack. Minutes later the album comes to an end and you really begin to think, 'should I just play the whole thing over again?' Rituals has considerable merits which I hope I've sold successfully to you and you'll have a listen to discover its pleasurable depths for yourself. All in all a fine album which deserves to find a considerable appreciative audience.'

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 25 The Nth Degree

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 67 Nolan Strang & the Diabolos

Songs About People # 733 Gregory Peck

Song of the Year # 50 Courtney Barnett - City Seems Pretty

And why not, a complementary list of songs. Starting with Courtney who will have several entries here. This is such a neat Velvets chug.....

Albums of the Year # 50 Holy Tunics - Butterdish

And we start with this. From back in June!

It's gratifying to see so many bands exploring the possibilities of  melodic Eighties Indie guitars and plaintive, lovelorn vocals. It's one of the decades' finest musical legacies after all. So whether the starting point is The Feelies, Orange Juice, Smiths, Miracle Legion, R.E.M, Paisley Underground, Flying Nun or C-86 it's great that this moment and the wonderful records it produced is still seen as offering a treasure trove of pleasures and opportunities thirty years on.

The latest kids on this particular block are Brooklyn's Holy Tunics who released their debut album Butter Dish about a month back. It jangles, it chimes, it yearns, it makes you feel that you still have a decent fringe again and have just turned eighteen. It's altogether rather lovely. Coming hot on the heels of the fabulous Lawn debut Blood On The Tracks which I've been singing the praises of  over the last couple of days, it's another sign if one is needed that 2018 has no end of wonderful guitar bands to enjoy if you just scratch beneath the surface. I give you Lawn, Say Sue Me, Olden Yolk Salad Boys and Nap Eyes. And now Holy Tunics. And that's just for starters.

Holy Tunics can stand pretty much shoulder to shoulder with any one of them. They take familiar ingredients but are no mere imitators, there's real lyrical guile and melodic muscle and to every track on Butter Dish. This may well serve as a tasty entree for the much-awaited Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever album which comes into port in a couple of weeks and draws on a similar musical heritage. June it seems is busting out all over!!!

It Starts With a Birthstone - Albums of the Year 2018

So here we are, fifty days from Christmas Day and this particular countdown begins. This is the third time I've done this particular thing on here, and this time my preparation for it has been more intensive than ever before. I've certainly listened to more new albums than before and this countdown of fifty comes from at least a hundred contenders. It's still quite an arbitrary list though with the final rundown still not completely decided on and liable to change with at least a couple of records still to be released which should make the end list.....

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 24 Feel & Triple

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 68 The Drifters

Song of the Day # 1,752 The Flesh Eaters

Veteran American Punk Rockabillies to their thing proudly all these years down the line.

Josh Fauver 1979 - 2018

Things Found on My Local's Jukebox # 334 The New York Dolls

My imports continue to arrive on Rosie's jukebox. Including the magnificent debut album from The New York Dolls. All tracks except for Frankenstein are great I reckon. This is one of Johnny Thunders showpieces. 

Songs Heard on the Radio # 277 FFS

Appropriately jerky and frenetic result of collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks from a while back.

Songs About People # 732 Jim Jarmusch

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin

London 1970.

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 23 Supah Jaianto

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 69 Them

Song of the Day # 1,751 Ocean Party

Released in tragic circumstances, a song from the latest Ocean Party album The Oddfellows Hall, in memory whose band member Zac Denton has passed away aged just 24. This song which he wrote is a complete beauty.

Songs About People # 731 John Profumo

Politician disgraced in 1963, (the year that sex began according to Philip Larkin), gets a song / poem.

Songs Heard on the Radio # 276 Pepe Deluxe

Not a million miles away from either Golden Yolk or this month's guests Stereolab. Certainly sharing some formative influences with both.

Olden Yolk

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 22 The Super-It

Grace Jones

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 70 Little Richard

Song of the Day # 1,750 TOY

New from Brighton psychedelicists. 

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 21 The Incredible He-Woman

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 71 The Police

Song of the Day # 1,749 The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Splendid 'State of the Nation' address from The Good, The Bad & The Queen and their second album due in a few weeks. It should mark a poignant sign in the road as 2018 winds down and 2019 beckons.

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 20 L'Enfer Des Formes

Paul McCartney

1957.

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 72 Ben E. King

Song of the Day # 1,748 The Marked Men

Long established Punk band from Denton, Texas demonstrate that they've lost none of their fire.

Things Found on My Local's Jukebox # 333 The Go Betweens

Spring Hill Fair, another record I'm delighted to find I've managed to import onto the Rosie's jukebox. I played this song, the one the name of this blog is drawn from.

Songs About People # 730 Lord Byron

Early 90's Sarah Records band Aberdeen. though they were actually from North Hollywood, California. Whether this song was actually about the reputedly club-footed poet is anyone's guess. It certainly took his name.

Courtney Barnett in London

Forthcoming in a couple of weeks. With Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Laura Jean in support.

Thirty Days of Stereolab # 19 Household Names

The Heart of Rock and Soul # 73 Claudine Clark

Song of the Day # 1,747 Newton Circus

The second band from Singapore in a few weeks on here. There's clearly a good little Indie scene building there. Newton Circus is a district of that particular city and according to the band, they, 'make music for the careworn, for the lovelorn, for the sentimentalist, for the whispering paramours'. Nice sentiments. The song is good too.

November