2023: 23 Highlights (pt. 3)

Just in case you're even remotely interested, here's a few more of my fave albums of 2023.

We Are Scientists - 'Lobes'
Me and We Are Scientists go waaay back. I won't pretend I've been with them since the start, but when they broke through in the UK with their debut album in 2005 I took them in and have followed them ever since. They've been up and down in my affections ever since, but have now put out two successive records that I have loved for the first time in a while. 'Lobes' is a lot more synth-heavy than its immediate predecessor, but it's been done exceptionally well - those tunes really do sparkle.

The Keening - 'Little Bird'
The Keening is the new solo project of Rebecca Verson, former frontwoman of doom metal merchants SubRosa. She's very much keeping with the doomy feel, but it feels more expansive and broad than her previous band's work. Her label describes 'Little Bird' thus: "A web of lush orchestration, American Gothic sensibilities and wintry murder ballads set against a backdrop of dark, shimmering folk [...] flowing with flute, strings, harp, French horn, piano, organ and hammered dulcimer." It is as good as that sounds.

Teleman - 'Good Time/Hard Time'
I like this one as MrsRobster loves Teleman and if she's happy, I'm happy. The album's theme of facing challenges and overcoming them, as well as the way various aspects of nature intertwine in order to survive, grow and evolve, may have been inspired by the loss of founder member Jonny Sanders who left the band in 2020. It's their first record as a trio, but they appear to be doing OK, as Trees Grow High (MrsRobster's fave track) illustrates.

Amber Arcades - 'Barefoot On Diamond Road'
PJ Harvey - 'I Inside The Old Year Dying'
I've lumped these two together as I already mentioned them back in my summer trio of posts. Well, in the case of Polly Jean, I posted the first single and my thinly-veiled excitement for her first new proper record in seven years. It took a while to grow on me, but naturally it's brilliant with some wonderfully original flourishes and imbued with some old Dorset dialect in the lyrics. Annelotte de Graaf took five years to deliver her latest record as Amber Arcades, but it was worth the wait. Another grower with, as you would expect, some really good songs on it.

Final post next week.

2023: 23 Highlights (pt. 2)

Another selection of my year's highlights...

Gaz Coombes - 'Turn The Car Around'
Another strong set of songs from Gaz. While his former Supergrass bandmate Danny Goffey still makes records that hark back to their 90s glory days, Gaz is forging a more lasting legacy for himself. 'Turn The Car Around', his fourth solo album, might be his most interesting effort yet. This is my favourite track.

Gemma Ray - 'Gemma Ray & The Death Bell Gang'
Mind, if Gaz Coombes is pushing the envelope, then Gemma Ray seems to have pushed it, addressed it and sent it to the moon! Her ninth - NINTH! - album is a major departure from her trademark twangy-guitar sound. Not a bad thing - in spite of the love I have for her, I did find her last two records to be far less interesting than her previous work. So this time she's gone full experimental psych mode. Once you get over the shock, the songs start to reveal themselves and you find bits of the Gemma Ray in them you always loved from the start. It's the record that has grown on me more than any other this year.

Boygenius - 'The Record'
There can't really be many people in the world who have not been made aware of Boygenius this year. I'm always wary of so-called "supergroups" - they're more often than not less than the sum of their parts. But to be fair, anything Phoebe Bridgers is involved in seems to come up smelling of roses. Getting back with Julian Baker and Lucy Dacus after a brief stint together a few years ago has yielded a really good record which covers similar ground to those made seperately by each member, yet the chemistry of them working together does add something extra special to the mix. Like their vocal harmonies *swoon*...

Myrkur - 'Spine'
Amalie Bruun - aka Myrkur - is difficult to categorise. She blends dark Scandanavian folk music with black metal to make something that often sounds like neither. 'Spine' adds a smattering of electronics to the proceedings and it resulted in possibly her best record yet. At times spine-tingling, at others terrifying, but never less than gripping.

Another batch to follow next week...

2023: 23 Highlights (pt. 1)

Crikey! Is it that time of year again? That was quick. I shall refrain from the waffle, other than to say it's been a decent year for new music, even if I haven't been to much in the way of gigs this year. It's getting to be very expensive with a few things I really wanted to go to costing more than I'm willing to pay. That said, three gigs are booked for next year already but at least two others exceeded my budget. Concerts, it seems, are now joining the long list of elitist pasttimes that mere mortals like us have been priced out of. I might have to start going to poetry gigs as they are much cheaper (we recently went to one in Cardiff and have another booked in Bath in March).

Anyway, onto the positives - my 23 fave records of 2023 (see what I did there?). As per usual I shall offer up a weekly dose of tunes that have cheered me over the past 12 months, starting with what is possibly my top 4...

Queens Of The Stone Age - 'In Times New Roman'
In which Josh Homme and his crew reveal themselves to be big fans of David Bowie circa 1977-1980. 'In Times New Roman' is in many ways a typical QotSA album - the big riffs, the strong melodies, some off-kilter moments - but it also sounds like they went to Berlin with Tony Visconti and Robert Fripp, listened to 'Low', "Heroes", 'Lodger' and 'Scary Monsters' on rotation for a month and then set about making a David Bowie album. Josh even sounds like the great man at times. It is, quite frankly, brilliant and has been played at least once a week since its release around here.

Margo Price - 'Strays' & 'Strays II'
Two records, not one, but both are equally deserving of a mention, and in all honesty, I think of them as one. Here, Margo moves further away from her country roots and more into fully-fledged Americana, and with a host of collaborators - who include Sharon Van Etten, Mike Campbell and Lucius - 'Strays' 1 & 2 take us on a psychedelic journey of the mid-west with tales of despair, defiance and hope. It's wonderful stuff.

Coach Party - 'Killjoy'
Here's a band who have been floating around for a few years, releasing a string of increasingly well-received EPs and gigging relentlessly. 'Killjoy' is a blast from start to finish, veering from Riot-grrl-infused punk (Parasite) and infectious punk-pop (What's The Point In Life?) to pure melodic indie-pop a la Alvvays and the Primitives (July, Be That Girl). It hurtles through 10 songs in less than 28 minutes but never leaves me feeling short-changed. This is a band to keep your eyes on.

Das Koolies - 'DK.01'
On the two previous occasions I've posted about Das Koolies, you lot have completely ignored it. Out of pure spite, I'm posting about them for a third time. With the Super Furry Animals no longer being "a thing", and Gruff Rhys happy to make quirky, melancholic, country-tinged pop songs your nan might like, the "other four" want to take us back to the fields of North Wales with a massive sound system, a fistful of ecstasy pills and brain-vibrating beats. Of course, there'a quite a few indications that they were four-fifths of one of the best and most influential Welsh bands of all time, and many of 'DK.01''s songs have been works-in-progress for a long time (some date back to the early 90s, in fact), but it does sound fresh and original. And not many acts can get away with making their debut album a double!

More next week.

R.E.M. Top 40

A quick post to make you aware of this rundown the members of R.E.M. did for NME. Each member chose their 10 favourite R.E.M. tracks and it makes for interesting reading. Note the (almost) complete absence of IRS-era tracks from Stipe's list? And Bill Berry's inclusion of both Rotary 10 and Voice Of Harold. Can't really tell if he took this seriously or not...

It doesn't look like any song is chosen twice, which makes the glaring omissions even more... glaring. I mean, no Fall On Me? No Radio Free Europe? No At My Most Beautiful? Mind, if you had to choose just 10 R.E.M. songs (a la JC's Imaginary Albums), there's bound to be some controversy...

Here's mine (in no particular order):

World Leader Pretend
Country Feedback
Let Me In
Finest Worksong
Begin The Begin
Fall On Me
Living Well Is The Best Revenge
Life And How To Live It
Turn You Inside Out
At My Most Beautiful

To be fair, ask me next week and half of that list would be different... 

Two vids, including a jawdropping rendition of Country Feedback with Neil Young!

 

Some songs (part 3)

The last one of these before I slither back into my dark little pit for a while. It's been pleasant enough rearing my head for a few days but the daylight gives me headaches...

To kick off this final little foray into 2023's greatest hits so far, I'm only heading up the road for a band I recently mentioned in a piece I wrote for the great SWC over at No Badger Required. The Bug Club never fail to put a smile on the faces of MrsRobster and I. Their quirky Velvet Underground-esque stylings have soundtracked many a car journey this year. Their latest single does not appear on their recent album and it's a bit longer than you'd normally expect from them, but it's teriffic nonetheless.

Talking of the Velvet Underground... listen to this track off the new Amber Arcades record and tell me it doesn't rip-off Lou Reed's Street Hassle. Go on, I dare you! I have to be honest though, I love this track. It's the highlight of Annelotte's new album which is actually a bit of a grower overall.

 

And finally, a bit of an odd one. The Last Dinner Party have appeared from seemingly nowhere. They've played some gigs in and around the London area but before releasing a single song they were added to a bill supporting the Rolling Stones and signed by a major label. They are at pains to deny they have insider connections, but you can tell from their accents they don't exactly hail from an inner city council estate, so there are plenty of suspicions surrounding their seemingly instant rise. All I'll say on the matter is that this, their debut single, is a dead good song. Not one to play in front of yer granny, and it will no doubt be aired on an episode of the excruciatingly awful toff-fest that is Made In Chelsea, but even so, it's a dead good song. And *ahem* nothing matters apart from that...

I'll get me coat... TTFN.

Some songs (part 2)

A few more fave tunes from 2023 so far. Starting off with Heartworms, a one-woman project inspired by the racism and sexism faced by protagonist Jojo Orme and her sheer defiance at overcoming it all. She recently released her debut EP on the revered Speedy Wunderground label and she sounds awfully posh on it, but don't let that put you off. She's worked hard to get where she is so she has my total respect. Worth reading this NME article to get a sense of where she's coming from (and you won't get me recommending much written in the NME from the past 15-20 years...) This track and its accompanying video are just sensational.

The Tubs are a sort-of indie supergroup based in London, but if they don't make you think of early 80s US college bands a la R.E.M., The dBs and the Feelies, then I don't know what will. Obviously I emailed our old (sadly ex-blogging) friend Brian about The Tubs and they were already on his radar way across the pond...

And finally for today - I hope you're already aware of this, but if not... PJ Harvey is BACK! Yes, I know she's never been away really, but she's just announced her first proper studio album since 2016. It's due later in the year, but for now she's given us our first taster.

A third and final post may follow shortly...

Some songs (part 1)

I just felt the urge to share a few tracks that I've been enjoying this year. There will probably be two or three posts to fulfil this agenda. I'll let you get back to your lives then. So in no particular order:

Das Koolies are basically Super Furry Animals minus Gruff Rhys. And they are, as you would expect, UTTERLY BRILLIANT. Their debut album is coming later in the year, and an EP was released a couple months ago. Here's the title track of said EP:

I know next to nothing about Sleaze, but when Steve Lamacq played Daffodils on his 6 Music show recently I was smitten. Think a little bit Pulp, a little bit Divine Comedy and a little bit Lawrence (Felt, Denim, Go-Kart Mozart, etc.)... Despite the jaunty tune, it's a rather sad, almost tragic song about someone desperately trying to save his ultimately doomed marriage.

Finishing today on a raucous high. Lambrini Girls is a crap band name, but when their guitars crunch like this, who cares? Another band I know little about, but that will be rectified.

22 in '22 (part 4)

In a year when the UK has become an even bigger laughing stock around the world than ever before (thanks Tories, you've done it again!), the one thing that's kept many of us going is music. Quite frankly, what else do we have? Today, I present the last batch of my 22 favourite albums of 2022 and there's a real international flavour about it. USA, Germany, Sweden, Jamaica, England and, of course, Wales are all represented.

The final seven had to be carefully whittled down from about twice that number, but I think I've made the right decisions. They are not listed in any particular order.

WIDOWSPEAK - 'The Jacket' I was unfamiliar with Brooklyn duo Widowspeak before I heard Everything Is Simple this year, and surprised 'The Jacket' is their sixth album. More fool me. I've really been enjoying this record.	xPROPAGANDA - 'The Heart is Strange' Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag teamed up with original Propaganda producer Steve Lipson for the first time in 37 years and made a record that is far better than it had any right to be.
HORACE ANDY - 'Midnight Rocker' Now 71, Horace Andy shows no sign of slowing down, and his voice is as wonderful as ever. Recorded with Adrian Sherwood, 'Midnight Rocker' has been lauded as one of his best records this century.	FRANK TURNER - 'FTHC' After a few ropey overly-woke albums that verged on self-parody, Frank made a welcome return to his hardcore roots (hence the album title). He's certainly at his best when he's like this.
CATE LE BON - 'Pompeii' It took a bit of time to get into Cate's 6th album, mainly because of its pace, but repeated listens have been rewarding. This clip of her at Glastonbury is just brilliant. The chainmail really suits her!	FIRST AID KIT - 'Palomino' I had a feeling that the Söderberg sisters were treading water a bit after their last couple of albums, but 'Palomino' restored my faith. A really good set of songs with one or two new sounds creeping in.
EDITORS - 'EBM' Editors' output has been somewhat patchy in recent years, but 'EBM', featuring new member Benjamin Power (aka Blanck Mass), could be their best record in some time. It's certainly been worthy of a few plays here.	And a few notable extras I just couldn't ignore. In alphabetical order... BLOC PARTY - 'Alpha Games' (something of a return to form) BORIS - 'Heavy Rocks III' (the loudest and fastest of their THREE albums this year) FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - 'Dance Fever' (what a phenomenal song this is!) HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT - 'The Voltarol Years' (ever reliable) SORRY - 'Anywhere But Here' (a very decent second effort) THE WOMBATS - 'Fix Yourself, Not The World' (for MrsRobster, who's a fan.)

I'm not one to throw a load more negativity into an already very negative world, but for the record, I just want to state how massively disappointed I was with the following records. I had high expectations for these, especially the first one which, considering how long it's been since their previous record, is particularly poor.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS - 'Cool It Down'
ARCADE FIRE - 'WE'
GWENNO - 'Tresor'
ARCTIC MONKEYS - 'The Car'
ALVVAYS - 'Blue Rev'

And that's it for another year folks. I'm going to let the blog lie dormant again for a bit as I'm not really feeling it right now. We'll see what happens. Ta-ta.

22 in '22 (part 3)

One of the best things about 2022 is that we made it back out on the road again and took in some live shows. Not many - She Drew The Gun, Katy J. Pearson, Cud, David Gedge and Yard Act - but there would have been a couple more if it weren't for illness. We were due to see Little Simz back in the Spring, but I caught the dreaded Covid. Then, last month, on the morning that we were due to shoot off to Cardiff to see the wonderful Stella Donnelly, I got an email to say she had tonsilitis and couldn't perform. A shame, but it is what it is. Hopefully 2023 will bring a few decent shows.

With any luck there will also be some decent albums to rank alongside this year's batch. Here's my third weekly selection.

ALT-J - 'The Dream'
There's something about Alt-J. I really didn't ought to like them, but they always seem to make me not only enjoy their albums, but also make me want to play them lots of times. And so it was again this year, and I reckon 'The Dream' is my favourite since their 2012 debut.

MATTIEL - 'Georgia Gothic'
The opening track of Mattiel Brown's third album suggests a change of vocal style from her. The fantastically-titled Jeff Goldblum dispenses with her usual resonant tone in preference of something quieter and smoother. It's a really good song, but I'm glad the rest of the album has her trademark voice all over it. It's what sets her apart from other singer-songwriters. 'Georgia Gothic' is a little less even than its immediate predecessor 'Satis Factory' (which was one of my top five in 2019), but it's still packed with enough good songs to put it in my top 15 this year. Lighthouse in particular is a highlight which will spin round in your head for days. And in case you're wondering, Mattiel is now officially a duo, featuring Brown alongside writing partner Jonah Swilley, hence why they appear together in the video.

ALDOUS HARDING - 'Warm Chris'
The weird and wonderful world of Aldous Harding got ever bigger and joyous this year with the release of her fourth album, her second to be recorded in Wales and her first to reach number 1 in her native New Zealand. It's got some wonderful - if often strange - songs on it; Fever might be one of the most accessible, yet it's no less intriguing.

LIFE - 'North East Coastal Town'
Hull. I've never been there, but it's always had one or two decent bands. The Housemartins were apparently the fourth best band from Hull at one point, and they had Fatboy Slim in them, so they couldn't have been half bad. Life certainly appear to be putting in a good case for being in the North East coastal town's top 4. Their newest album continues their tradition of impactful punk with plenty of wry smiles and dry humour, only they're now beginning to sound more accomplished, and all the better for it.

WET LEG - 'Wet Leg'
Hands up who didn't expect to see this pair in the list. Thought so. Has a new band ever had such an immediate impact as Wet Leg? They've been everywhere in 2022. Love 'em or hate 'em (and there's surprisingly plenty of the latter), there's no denying that Rhian and Hester don't take themselves terribly seriously. Maybe that's the problem with the haters - they object to people having fun. So they just sit alone in their cold dark rooms and post shit on social media in an attempt to feel a little better about themselves. That's what this song is about. It sounds silly on the surface but it's actually about the effect of social media, the people who use it and, more pertinently, how Wet Leg themselves react to it. And how do they react to it? They make a really daft video and layer tweet after tweet (mainly negative ones) over each other as a way of saying "We don't care! Fuck you!" And so say all of us!

Next Sunday is Christmas Day and you'll no doubt have far better things to do than read my plop, so the fourth and final part of my rundown will appear a few days later when you've all calmed down a bit.

Merry thingy, everyone.

22 in '22 (part 2)

After last week's somewhat male-dominated selection, it's the turn of the ladies to shine. And yes, despite what some people might say - a transgender person who identifies as female is, as far as I'm concerned, female. So to anyone who wants to argue against one of these inclusions - don't bother; my blog, my rules and you're wrong!

 

EZRA FURMAN - 'All Of Us Flames'
While I've long been aware of Ezra, I've never really been grabbed by her music for some reason. All that changed this year with the release of her 9th (NINTH!) album, in particular the single Forever In Sunset which is right up there with my very fave songs of the year. It's a fascinating document of her fears and challenges - being a transgender, queer, Jewish woman - set to some of her most confident-sounding music to date.

 

KATY J. PEARSON - 'Sound Of The Morning'
Katy's second album continues the pop-folk sound of her debut, but with an extended pallette. She's branching out, though it's not obvious where she's going, so that's going to be a fun journey for those of us who love her. We caught her live in the autumn and she is every bit as good as a live perfromer as her records suggest. MrsRobster is a big fan of Talk Over Town, one of her fave songs of the year.

 

THE BETHS - 'Expert In A Dying Field'
This makes my rundown despite it being my least favourite record the Beths have put out to date. There's even a track I tend to skip on it. That said, the rest of it is strong enough to warrant inclusion as it seems whatever they do, they always manage to inbibe it with a great tune and excellent production (all their records are self-produced). I've already bought tickets for their Spring Tour next year.

 

THE BIG MOON - 'Here Is Everything'
Three albums in and the Big Moon are showing signs that they might just become rather huge in the not-too-distant future. Following their last record, Juliette Jackson had a baby and the result is an album reflecting on pregnancy, childbirth, fears, hope and unconditional love, though it's done in such a smart way that you can still take something completely different from each song.

 

PLAINS - 'I Walked With You A Ways'
You know how much I adore Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee), so I was eager to see what would result from her collaboration with a singer-songwriter I'm not familiar with, Jess Williamson. Fortunately, it's a gem. It's an unabashed, old-school country album, and a very good one. Both take lead vocals and songwriting duties, but they clearly work so well together, it seems such a shame they've already stated Plains is a one-off project. I'd love to hear what else they could come up with. Here's one of Katie's numbers.

Another five next week...