Top 10 EPs of 2022

What another great year for new music 2022 has been. Here are our favourite 10 EP’s of the year:

10. The Lunar Towers - Hurry Up and Wait (Full review here)

There’s a ramshackle beauty to Sewell’s vocals which evokes Pastels’ Creation Records era. The abrasive yet beautiful delivery gives them a joyous us versus the world sonic!

9. The Skinner Brothers - Lonedom (Full review here)

Frontman Zac Skinner’s vocals should be iconic by now. On this latest offing, he has the gruffness of beans on Toast, the insolence of Jamie T but, crucially it’s his soul-boy persona that shines brightest.

8. Andrew Cushin - You Don’t Belong (Full review here)

Although it leaves you hollow and despairing, the heart will remain full for this is a young man reminding us all that a working-class hero is still something to be!

7. The Chase - Not The F**king Game Show (Full review here)

Raucous garage punk sitting between The Stranglers and The Velvet Hands. James’ great keys light up this explosive affair alongside the scintillating guitars.

6. JW Paris - Stuck In A Video

Powerful and unhinged punk rock!

5. The Reds, Pinks, & Purples - Everything Holy (BBC Radio Session)

Their windswept beauty and melancholy is perfectly encapsulated in this incredible BBC session.

4. The Clockworks - The Clockworks (Full review here)

It’s felt like an age since social commentary and great characterisation were a part of our lives. There has been great polemic in recent times but, ‘Money’ goes further. It unites the town crier with the poet and is destined to reel in fans from all strands of the alternative world!

3. Andy Bell - Untitled Film Stills

The Ride guitarist has had a phenomenal run in 2022 with Ride, his solo album but, this EP is the pièce de résistance. An atmospheric masterclass.

2. Pastel - Isaiah (Full review here)

Their time with John Squire at Knebworth was clearly well spent. On ‘S.O.H.O.’ the ‘Second Coming’ and ‘Do It Yourself’ strut comes out to play. Great and immediate hooks combine with Yate’s Chris Helme vocals to bug everything out.

1. Priestgate - Eyes Closed For The Winter (Full review here)

If The DMA’s made a Cure record, this would be it. Dream pop-psyche flirting with the lighter gothic moments of Robert Smith’s eyeliner magic. Frontman Rob Schofield switches from a popper Farris Badwan in the verses to the broken gruff soul of James Geard (Sissy & The Blisters) or Alexander "Chilli" Jesson (Palma Violets) in the pain-ridden end.

Top 30 Albums of 2022

2022 was awash with Melody, anarchy, comebacks, throwbacks but ost important of all, pushed the envelope forwards yet again. Here’s to all the talent, labels, and tipsters who made it possible.

Here are our top 30 albums of the year:

30. The Heavy North - Electric Soul Machine (Full review here)

The Heavy North have achieved a great deal on this debut. The guitar solos are the big take home but, the creative flourishes with the drums and vocals begin to shine upon repeat listens. It leaves you with a sense of hope that, next time out, they could do something really powerful.

29. Kae Tempest – The Line Is A Curve

Tempest is a national treasure. Astute poetic observations from start to finish.

28. Lightning Seeds – See You In The Stars

Older and wiser but, still as vibrant as the ‘Jollification’ and ‘Sense’ days.

27. Jamie Webster - Moments

Mixing pop and politics with joyously righteous effects.

26. Enjoyable Listens - The Enjoyable Listens

The heir to Richard Hawley and Nick Drake.

25. Narcissus - A Sense of Place

Reimagining early 90s rave and hip hop for the modern day.

24. Embrace - How To Be A Person Like Other People

The euphoric anthems keep on coming!

23. Warmduscher - At The Hotspot

Bella Union’s best signing in a generation. Shaun Ryder-esque lyrics meet a drugged-up Talking Heads.

22. Andy Bell - Flicker

Bell’s creative streak is relentless at present. Flicker adds to his ever-expanding fine body of work.

21. The Mysterines - Reeling

Heavier and more badass than the debut. Their march to the top continues!

20. Skylights - What You Are (Full review here)

What was a fortuitous reformation has undoubtedly led to one of the albums of the year! This isn’t a breakout debut, it’s the sound of a band 3 albums deep commanding the respect of academy-sized audiences.

19. Suede - Autofiction

The outsiders return to their rightful place in the shadows howling at the world.

18. Maze – Chaos Interrupted

Wayward rock ‘n’ roll searching for its freedom.

17. David Long & Shane O’Neill - Age of Finding Stars (Full review here)

What started as an unplanned album has turned into a masterpiece of grief-stricken songwriting. Devastating lyrics and lost soundscapes unite on one of 2022’s albums of the year.

16. The Boo Radleys - Keep On With Falling (Full review here)

Without Martin Carr in the fold, the new lineup could have easily folded under the pressure of delivering a new Radleys album. Carr has been an exceptional solo artist after all. Nevertheless, Sice and co have paid tribute to all that they once were and pushed the band forwards with remarkable results.

15. The Shed Project - The Curious Mind of the Common Man (Full review here)

The guitars will inevitably lure people in. The licks of ‘Livin’ are so infectious it’s medically advisable to wear gloves when listening.

14. Chorusgirl - Collapso Calypso (Full review here)

In what must have been a testing time personally and creatively, Chorusgirl have come out the other side with a piece of art to be cherished!

13. The Skinner Brothers - Soul Boy II

Laconic but confrontational soon to be iconic.

12. Thousand Yard Stare - Earthanasia (Full review here)

Their previous album in many ways was a second debut album. It said everything they ever wanted to say to the world. They thought it would cap off a great few years playing live and release the odd EP. What it did is best expressed in their single ‘Measures’:

“It doesn’t matter how you arrive here / Just be sure that you are here at the end / It doesn’t matter how you arrive here / Take pleasure in the message it sends”.

This sentiment flows from every corner of the album and has allowed them to be more expressive than ever. Long may it continue.

11. The Shop Window - A 4 Letter Word (Full review here)

The Kent outfit have lit up a bleak year with this gentle yet defiant indie-pop record. Everywhere you turn there are nods to the 80s and 90s but, with astute sonic updates. Lyrically, they accept nostalgia less as a noose and more as a bridge to their untamed teenage selves and thus, provide endless tales for their souls to relive in the modern age.

10. My Raining Stars – 89 Memories (Full review here)

These more instantaneous moments breathe vitality into Haliniak’s body of work that will surely win the hearts and minds of many new fans sooner rather than later.

9. Armstrong - Grafitti (Full review here)

Classic songwriting rarely collides with guts, heart, and pop music but, Armstrong has it all.

8. Weyes Blood - And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Joni Mitchell meets Karen Carpenter in this beautiful debut.

7. Columbia - Embrace The Chaos (Full review here)

Somehow, they have reimagined the Stones, Stereophonics, Oasis, and Kasabian into something new on this debut. A life-affirming set of songs that will smash whatever stands in its way. For once, we alternative types beg the gatekeepers to put up barriers. It’ll only be that much sweeter when Columbia destroys them!

6. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia

The most accessible record to date is met with the sound of fraying souls and demons.

5. Moses – I Still Believe, Do you? (Full review here)

‘I Still Believe! Do You?’ is blessed with The Kinks’ storytelling, Blur’s chaos, and Blossoms’ pop sensibilities.

4. The Orchids – Dreaming Kind

A stunning return from the former Sarah Records heroes. Angelic masterpiece!

3. Confidence Man - TILT

All the girls say “Ooh”. All the boys say “ahh”.

2. Charlie Clark – Late Night Drinking (Full review here)

A tumultuous cleanse of the soul that rewards creator and listener alike. Clark has built upon The National’s ability to embed melody into troublesome discourse by adding psychedelic pop to certain tracks. It’s a stunning debut from the Astrid bandmate, a piece of art in its purest form.

1. Deja Vega – Personal Hell (Full review here)

There’s no filler on ‘Personal Hell’, every track leaves an indelible mark on the soul.  ‘Precious One’ throbs with 70s debauchery and Wooden Shjips riffs to create yet more new pastures of the kaleidoscopic expedition! On and on the superlatives could go. ‘Personal Hell’ is a huge leap forwards from the debut, and whilst the live shows remain in small(ish) venues, for now, their rightful place is the upper echelons of mainstages. Over to you festival bookers of 2023.

2002: The Great Reset

In 2000, the music landscape was bleak. Nu-metal dominated the airwaves. Skate-punk fashion was rife. The UK had lost its edge and was in the shadow of a wave of toxic masculinity and god-awful sound and fashion of nu-metal and skate punk.

‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants' endured rather than thrived. ‘Gas Panic’ and ‘Fucking In The Bushes’ were fleeting moments of brilliance amid a sea of dross. If they had embraced Noel’s cold turkey writing via ‘Cigarettes in Hell’ and ‘One Way Road’ would have at least given the UK’s cocaine hangover an interesting perspective.

It wasn’t just Noel all at sea. In 2001, the revolutionary class of 1994 and bombast of 95 & 96 was all fading in some form or another. The Manics, Supergrass, and Ocean Colour Scene all produced underwhelming albums. Shed Seven, who did find their punk spirit on their ‘Truth Be Told’ were being marginalised and forced out of a scene they once lit up from the periphery.

Something needed to change to make Neil Young right.  

In 2001 The Strokes blew up with their garage rock classic ‘Is This It?’ and rightly took all the plaudits. Meanwhile, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Soundtracks Of Our Lives kept the flame alive for rocks heritage with great albums. Alas, it never felt enough for British hearts and minds. The reference points and fashion were ever so slightly out of reach. For most, they were too cool for our feral shores. It meant rocks pendulum remained in the US.

However, in March via West Birmingham, one man was going well beyond the concept of resetting rock ‘n’ roll. Mike Skinner was rewiring hip-hop and dance music. Inspired by MJ Cole’s fine ‘Sincere’ album in 2000, Skinner took the worthiness of Ken Loach to the benign garage scene to conjure art for the ages.

‘Turn The Page’ and ‘Original Pirate material’ stripped everything back to MJ Cole’s meaningful vision of the scene. Skinner’s unique vocal delivery consigned a plague of West Coast wannabees to the bin. It went beyond garage music though, he conceptualised weed smoker philosophy with Ray Davies’ sense of characterisation and storytelling (‘Too Much Brandy’ / ‘Same Old Thing’). ‘Stay Positive’ was a desolate uncertain tale of a friend trying to keep fellow souls from drug and violent descent. It was the trailer to the great British grime phenomena coming via Dizzee in 2003 and Kano in 2005. It culminated in ‘Weak Become Heroes’, his ode to raves and ecstasy. Reigniting the second summer of love and rave culture in a Blake-esque poem in 2002, when Blairism was motoring toward PFI contracts and corporatism was a great cultural moment. It signified a generation uneasy with the power being wielded and, if pushed too far, would force escape through drugs and music once more.   

Never to be left out of any scene, Liverpool was preparing to release psychedelic folk punk onto the airwaves. On April 17th, The Coral signed to Deltasonic and played Dingwalls and thus, turned their lives upside down. Noel Gallagher talked of that day to Jools Holland in lockdown: 

“this band were playing at dingwalls…these lads walked on stage and they were kids. They were so young that they’d signed their record deal that day but their parents had to sign it for them and they played this song, it sounded like Frank Sinatra meets The Who meets Burt Bacharach…” 

James Skelly’s unfettered vocals alongside Bill Ryder Jones and Lee Southall’s guitars were beautifully jarring. They had the ability to take Beefheart to the studio with Bacharach and Costello. Like Skinner, their talent was obvious, ‘Dreaming of You’ was an instant pop classic, but it was their beatnik fuck everyone attitude that shone brightest. British bands were supposed to make verse, chorus verse solo outro songs. ‘Waiting For Heartaches’ toyed with tempo and big key changes like an Arthur Lee wet dream. ‘I Remember When’ sees Skelly’s raw Roger Daltrey vocals front up a psychedelic sea shanty, whilst ‘Simon Diamond’ took Syd Barret’s psyche-folk out for a walk with Karen Carpenter. Perhaps more than most that year, they embodied what youth can do for the soul. Unaffected by failure, they reinvented what Mod could be their untamed debut.     

Across the Pennines in Leeds, The Music, the most overlooked during 2002’s great reset, were led by break dancing front man Rob Harvey who later joined The Streets and Kasabian. Their self-titled debut, like The Coral, looked not to merge their disparate influences but, to smash them into oblivion a la Jackson Pollock and see what stuck. The space rock of The Verve, Robert Plant’s bewitching vocals, and Nile Rodgers licks flirted with electronica and the early hiss of Oasis on this wild adventure. They fixed the failures of the Roses ‘Second Coming’ and they injected The Verve’s ‘Storm In Heaven’ weightlessness with a punky outlier spirit courtesy of Adam Nutter’s guitars.  

While the nods to the past were apparent, Robert Harvey’s vocals served up a purity so distilled it engaged a new generation of rock classicists. Coupled with his on-stage dancing, it gave fans a freeing impetus to clutch the band to their hearts and decree “this is ours”.  

It was though, in the moments they made you dance they truly lifted the UK scene out of the doldrums. ‘Disco’ builds like early Ride before erupting into a psychotic bout of funk and soul. Moreover, ‘Float’ did what the Mondays and the Roses did so well in the 80s and tapped into the dance trend of the time; nu school breaks. Nailing the relentlessness and twitchiness of an Adam Freeland or Krafty Kuts set into 5mins of rock music was remarkable.   

Then, on 14th October 2002, the axis of rock ‘n’ roll truly splintered into something new. The Strokes’ influence on The Libertines had been colossal. The band re-routed its power supply from John Hassall’s 60s flowery numbers to Pete and Carl’s Kinks via The Clash brutality tales of England. On hearing ‘This Is It’, Pete and Carl in collusion with Banny Poostchi, launched ‘Plan A’; an all-or-nothing mission to get them signed to Rough Trade in six months. After a showcase for James Endeacott, they were tipped to Geoff Travis and the rest was history.  

The internet hadn’t really been a force for good in the music industry to this point. The Libertines, like many of the architects of Silicon Valley were dreamers though. Guerrilla gigs, invading Zoe Ball’s XFM show, house parties, and free tattoos in Soho were orchestrated from their blog and fan forums. Whilst other bands were all about the music, The Libertines went further. They created the community we yearned for. Much like the early 70s before punk, rock music had become bloated and out of reach for the common man. They took it back to the streets, literally on some occasions. They inspired people to pick up guitars and poetry books. They changed fashion, alas, they changed drugs.  

Not that the music didn’t matter. The skill levels were down but the hope stakes were through the roof! The guttural sound from the guitars was so desperate, they were the catalyst for change culturally that millions were waiting for.

2002 saw the initiation of the war on terror. It was the inauguration of Blair’s descent. It left so many feeling dirty, sorrowful, and uneasy with their country’s place in the world. What The Libertines did was, remind the world what England could be. Dangerous but poetic. Unhinged but beautiful.  Keats and Yates were on their side!  

The landscapes and characters were familiar but the dreams were new.  ‘Time For Heores’ spawned the greatest couplet since ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’: 

“There's fewer more distressing sights than that
Of an Englishman in a baseball cap” 

‘The Boy Looked At Johnny’ is arguably the best proponent of their back-and-forth vocals which were to become famous, infamous, and their harmonious over the course of 20 years. They sounded like a drunken night, staggering through the streets antagonising anyone who wasn’t with them (and Johnny Borrell). Pete’s ability to elevate a song with a fragile melody in the chorus was finding its feet here, something that he would go on to perfect but, all too infrequently.

“we set out to be as exciting as the Pythons”.  (Rik Mayall talking to Wogan in 1984)

This eclectic bunch was the same. Like a great John Hughes movie, the youth just wanted to be heard! For music lovers, it was the raw reset filled with adrenaline and ecstasy the alternative scene needed. It spawned another 8 years of bands. Wave upon wave they came. The kids who flooded playgrounds with kickers and Mr. Spliffy jackets and had grown up and wanted their time and boy, they took it! It was, sadly, to be the last hurrah of the music industry paying bands properly. The well-worn social contract of., take your shot at glory and escape the doldrums was dissipating as the world raced to the bottom.  

However, for one year, hope was everywhere. Psychedelic punks, social commentators, romantic poets, and riff makers alike came together to tear down the tired fabric of the rock industry as we knew it.  

Under The Bridge: The Orchids

Last week, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.

Images courtesy of Skep Wax Records.

This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. Today we focus on hazy pop pioneers The Orchids and their new track Don’t ‘Mean to Stare’.

Under The Bridge may be reuniting former label mates from the 80s and 90s but, it is very much about the future. None more so than for Scotland’s The Orchids as their ‘Don’t Mean to Stare’ is due to feature on their as yet untitled album released later this year.

Whilst the guitars begin with their iconic laissez-faire vibe from ‘A Kind of Eden’, the past remains firmly where it is. They venture towards the vibrant percussion on Ra Ra Riot and the vocal playfulness of Britt Daniel (Spoon) as the guitars spiral in and out of view.

The XX and hints of Afrobeat unite as the song lazily but joyously climaxes. It may have taken the band a while to make the upcoming album but, on this showing, it looks worth the wait.

The album is available to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page

You can catch most of the bands at their two all-day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:

Under The Bridge: Jetstream Pony

Last week, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.

The single & compilation are available to buy on their Bandcamp page.

This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. Today we focus on indie supergroup Jetstream Pony. Made up of Beth Arzy (Aberdeen/Luxembourg Signal), Shaun Charman (The Wedding Present/The Popguns), Kerry Boettcher (Turbocat), and Hannes Müller (The BV’s).

Their featured track ‘Strood McD F.C’ was recorded at Sunny Studio in East Sussex and is taken from their mini-album ‘Misplaced Words’. The recording studio and title track couldn’t be more apt as Arzy’s utilises cut and paste lyrics on this sunlit track indebted to Medway.

The Byrds-esque jangle quickly crashes into the bass power of Sonic Youth to create a unique sense of lysergic punk. Maybe all bands should be based in Brighton and Croydon as this clash of styles are superb! At times, it’s as though Gedge, Andy Bell, and The Shirelles are playing Sonic Youth covers in the garage for no one but themselves, it’s that carefree.

Arzy’s vocals just keep going from strength to strength in what is, an already staggering career. Her angelic tones are omnipresent but here, a laid-back smoky soul music affair meanders in to open audiences up to yet more divinity.

The album is available to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page

You can catch most of the bands at their two all-day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:

Under The Bridge: Even As We Speak

Last week, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.

Images courtesy of Skep Wax Records.

This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. Today we focus on Aussie indie pioneers Even As We Speak. Their offering, ‘Begins Goodbye’ jumps right back into the much-loved sounds of ‘Feral Pop Frenzy’ with infectious vocals and unexpected twists.

Musically, they tap into the sauntering sonic of ‘Going Down To Liverpool’. They bring The Bangles’ enriching girl group harmonies towards their penchant for wistful guitars resulting in a genius breakdown and blissful conclusion.

However, this is not a simple rehash of classic indie-pop. Where The Bangles youthful exuberance raced through city nightlife, Mary Wyer’s vocals feel more in tune with hazier suburban landscapes on this sage yet still an adventurous piece of advice.

Whilst the evanescent energy of their classic ‘Falling Down The Stairs’ is musically reawakened, lyrically, its essence presents itself as a wiser arm around the shoulder for anyone lost midlife. Wyer’s sun-kissed beauty recognises the problems (“our lives get small and our dreams get compromised”) but, shakes it off with such positivity “nobody knows what tomorrow may bring”. Not all clarion calls sound like The Clash!

The guitars have such purpose throughout, from angelic to rip-roaring road movie climactic scenes, it’s impossible not to be moved by this single!

The album is avail;able to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page

You can catch most of the bands at their two all day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:

Under The Bridge: The Wake

On Friday, Skep Wax Records (run by Amelia Fletcher & Rob Pursey) released their new compilation ‘Under The Bridge’. Essential listening for any Sarah Records fans, it’s made by all the bands which made the label iconic. Some are under new guises but the personal and therefore, the love, remains.

Images courtesy of Skep Wax Records.

This week we will be reviewing our favourite tracks. We begin with Glasgow outfit The Wake and their featured track ‘Stockport’.

Originally signed to Factory Records, they made the switch to Sarah Records for album number three ‘Make It Loud’ in 1990. The track ‘Stockport’ was the opening track for their critically acclaimed comeback album ‘A Light Far Out’ released in 2012.

Although originally released in 2012, their disdain for cultural homogenisation “towns all look the same” feels as apt now as ever. There’s not a curmudgeonly sense of ‘things used to be better’ at play though, there’s very much a forlorn sense of hope. Things could, should but don’t look like they will get better. With this government pretending they’ve been in power for 7minutes rather than 12 years, it’s a discourse that resonates powerfully. As it surely must have done during Cameron’s austerity savaged the UK.

The guitars are a glorious contradiction. So infectious, and tinged with the sun but, a sun that’s setting and will soon be gone. The remnants of a town they know to be lurking, that could be reawakened for good forever out of their grasp. Not since Blue Nile’s ‘Tinseltown in the Rain’ has fading glamour sounded so great!

The album is avail;able to buy on Skep Wax’s Bandcamp page

You can catch most of the bands at their two all day gigs this April. Click the image for tickets:

Sea Power Top 10

The Brighton via Cumbria outfit have been astonishing us with their erudite songwriting since the release of 2003’s raucous ‘The Decline of British Sea Power’ hit the shelves.

To honour the release, we’ve attempted the quite frankly, ridiculous task of picking our favourite 10 songs from the studio albums excluding ‘Everything Was Forever’ as we’re yet to fully digest it all. We’ve also excluded ‘Sea of Brass’ and ‘From the Sea to the Land Beyond’ as their majesty deserves their own features at a later date.

Three months ago, this seemed like a good idea. Today, having fallen out with my own conscience, can I ever really forgive myself for leaving out ‘K Hole’ or ‘Oh Larsson B’, remains to be seen. So, emotionally drained, bewildered as to why I ever thought this was a good idea, here they are. Enjoy:

10. Who’s In Control

In many ways, this former single defines them as a band. Anthemic and defiant, but never regressive! 10 years into their career, and following the huge success of 2008’s ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’, they exploded back into our consciousness with this guttural polemic.

Released before the May 2010 general election, it was a single that just kept picking up steam as Brown’s government began to decline and the community hates, born to rule old Etonians began their race to the bottom. 

As we sit in the cesspool of Johnson’s reign, Yan’s vocal rage seems more apt now than ever before.

9. Open The Door

It’s almost inconceivable this song is fourteen years old as lyrically, it feels so in tune with escaping social media in today’s society and the struggles of masculinity that Grayson Perry has explored so eloquently

No matter the epoch, the struggles of modern life prevail and, for the band, it seems they were in search of an escape or creative reset ahead of their biggest selling album:

“Five young men went for a walk / Sat on a tree stump and had a talk / It takes something to be a man these days / Nobody's scared, but we hide anyway”

Many dubbed as landfill indie would meander their way to a guitar solo and yes, that is what Sea Power achieves here. However, few can impart such tender folk alongside the behemoth stadium-sized solo and remain cult heroes. They did!

8. The Voice of Ivy Lee

Only Sea Power could deliver a song about the father of crisis communications linked with the rise of Nazism sound so effortless. Majestic ethereal pop music to soundtrack their dismay that played a huge part in Brexit and Trump’s victories (Oh, kings of propaganda / Won't you take another / Look at all the things you've done).

7. The Lonely

Guitars gently lapping into shore ignite this mid-paced triumph. The vocal hook of “I drink all day and play by night / upon my casio electric piano” is astonishing to this day. Scott becomes an indie Richard Burton whilst around him, the guitars howl into the night, isolated, wrought with anguish but forever sublime.

6. Please Stand Up

What a glorious moment. All the rawness of the debut album melted away into this polished piece of alt-pop. It deserved much greater than 34 in the charts but, in the long run, it’s served them well to be on the fringe of pop.

5. Don’t Let the Sun Get In The Way

Heavenly backing vocals glisten like a reassuring angel whilst the protagonist drifts into despair. A year on from the tragic loss of David Bowie and Yan delivered this angelic homage to his great vocals.

It is though, the guitars where it’s true greatness lay. From the shimmering rays of hope to the archetypal self-destructive blasts, they encapsulate a sense of drama quite like no other.

4. Remember Me

This track, then, now and forever will always set fire to the world. It’s blistering guitars fire like Placebo were rewriting David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ on an inordinate amount of speed. In 2002, The Coral’s ‘Goodbye’ and The Libertines’ ‘Up The Bracket’ and its b-side ‘The Delaney’ found a new path for the UK rock scene. In 2003, ‘Remember Me’ smashed it to pieces!

3. The Great Skua

All bands have instrumentals. Few have the cinematic glory of the Great Skua. The video really does speak for itself!

2. Carrion

This was their ‘Chemical World’ and ‘For Tomorrow’ moment. Raw and wayward but, riddled with great melody and drama, they shone a torch on the more polished pop prowess of what was to come in ‘It Landed On Oily Stage’ and ‘Please Stand Up’. For those of us who were there, for the obsessives, for people just like them, it’ll always be the track to cherish the most. The firstborn, the goodbye of a great friend who was going to change the world, for you as well as them.

1. Atom

For so much of the album, there is a feeling, we almost nicked the fa cup as the underdog. It’s always been their charm, but, on Atom, they strode out to Abide with Me at Wembley, wrapped the game up 3nil at halftime, and decided to play one-touch footy as their fans chanted “ole”.

The band’s identity, especially live, is put to record perfectly. Dramatic melancholic orchestration one minute, then drunken riot the next. Bliss!

Sean Grant and the Wolfgang

Sean Grant and the Wolfgang hail from Milton Keynes and have previously released on Fierce Panda Records. Having attracted high praise from Lammo and John Kennedy already, it’s surely only a matter of time before they catch their big break.

The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.

The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).

As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at Sean Grant and the Wolfgang’s tracks ‘To Drink is to Die’ and ‘Murder Scene’:

To Drink is to Die

Ride’s shoegaze eloquence has been given the Blake-esque self-reflection lyrics of Richard Hawley on this ethereal gem.

Grant’s vocals draw from the infectious Jonathan Pierce (The Drums) as well as the aforementioned Gardener and Bell. He hovers above the clouds, pirouetting away from anything that attempts to tie him down.

Further setting him free are guitar parts wrapped up in the mysticism of Fleeting Joys and Pia Fraus. Their power is given a real sense of momentum as they shimmer across sun-kissed horizons.

Murder Scene

The Mary Chain and Glasvegas girl group stomp are met with Grant’s sublime ability to operate in vast landscapes. Soaring and tumbling, the guitars build a world of stark fog releasing moments of psychedelic hope sporadically to keep the human spirit alive.

Leave The Capital: The Seven Sentinels

The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.

The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).

As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at The Seven Sentiels. Originally from Milton Keynes, frontwoman, lyricist, beatmaker, and showrunner IllathaDead (aka MC Bombshell) is the creative mind behind The Seven Sentinels. Self-described as a “soloorration”, she conjures almost all you see on stage in this guise, pulling in friends and peers to complete the lineup and deliver her vision.

We take a look at two past singles:

I Am the City

Former John Kennedy X-Posure Hot One sees IllathaDead draws from cut and paste wizardry of The Go! Team and puts it through the avant-garde prism and the odd but effortless rhythms of Digital Underground.

Sugarskull Bride

What feels like cut-and-paste lyrics are actually exquisite dystopian prose. Imagine The Pharcyde were fronted by Desperate Journalist’s Jo Bevan and your soundtrack through this articulate comic book style story is formed.

Click the image for tickets to the London date or here for Milton Keynes

Leave The Capital: JW Paris

The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.

The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).

As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at JW Paris, a three-piece consisting of brothers Aaron (Vocals/Bass) and Danny (Vocals/Guitar), and ex-Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke.  We focus on former singles ‘Sober’ and ‘Royalty’:

Sober

The isolated guitar intro brings Nirvana’s ‘Rape Me’ and ‘About A Girl’ to the fore whilst the melodic but steely post-punk vocals nod towards Manchester’s Cabbage.

Dark but playful verses are met with dystopian blasts of guitars and infectiously dank synths. Its soul may lurk in the shadows but, a warmth permeates their waywardness at all turns. It’s the lunatic fringe of an indie club that helps you up off the floor and gives you great fashion and film tips at the bar afterward.

Royalty

Royalty was recorded at Buffalo Studios with mixing help from JB Pilon (Kula Shaka and mastered by John Davis (U2/Noel Gallagher/Royal Blood) at Metropolis Studios.

Debauched and swaggering arm in arm like Tribes, this is rock ‘n’ roll from the sewers that are longing to be happy, free but never rich. With this purity coursing through its veins, it’s inevitable that people will fall in love with it. 

Click the image for tickets to the London date or here for Milton Keynes

Leave The Capital: Luna Rosa

The DIY collective of Blaggers Records, blender, Transmission Indie & Vandalism Begins At Home has pulled together the Leave The Capital tour with Luna Rosa, JW Paris, Sean Grant & The Wolfgang, and The Seven Sentinels.

The four acts were part of a huge grassroots competition and were selected by the impeccable panel of Gareth Barber (Bedford Esquires), Suzanne Fletcher (Musicians Against Homelessness) Danny Watson (CDP Radio PR), and Hana Staddon (BBC 6Music).

As the tour embarks on its final dates, we take a look each day at the four acts and some selected tracks. Today, we look at Northamptonshire’s Luna Rosa and their former single ‘MK Ultra’.

Desolate but enthralling, teenage angst is given the makeover it dearly needs. The rawness of Twisted Wheel is met by the bleak solitude of Joy Division on this anthem for the anxious.

One of rocks music’s greatest lyrics of modern times, ‘My paranoia’s paranoid about my paranoia’ is met with equally spellbinding guitar solos. The guttural vocals cling to life at its darkest point which, despite the toxicity at play, offers up a compellingly unique source of hope.

The guitar parts range from the hypnotic neo-psyche of Will Sergeant to the energetic vibrancy of Yannis Philippakis. The raucous energy of The Murder Capital and Shame is taken out to windswept moors with Joy Division and Martin Hannett to capture a defiant rage 2022 so desperately needs.   

Click the image for tickets to the London date or here for Milton Keynes

Top 5 EP's of 2021

5. Sullen Eyes – Sullen Eyes

Beauty personified! Sublime jangly pop worthy of any Hannah Barberas or Concretes fan. Complete with the second-best cover of ‘There She Goes’, Boo Radleys still holds that crown.

4. Pastel – Deeper Than Holy

From the featherlight licks of ‘Blu’ to The Verve-esque power of ‘Deeper Than Holy’, the potential of this band is endless. (Full review)

3. Real Numbers – Brighter Then

Sarah’s Records spirit is reawakened to fine effect.

2. In Earnest – Reasons To Stay Alive

This band and EP deserve your respect if nothing else. They are a triumph of the human spirit. This is the most selfless piece of art you will engage in of 2021. (Full review)

1. The Utopiates – Anywhere But Here

The spiralling swagger of the Mondays is given a new lease of hedonistic life and John Squire blasts to produce the magical results. (Full review)

Top 30 Albums of 2021

30. Maximo Park – Nature Always Wins 

Seven albums ion and, the North East gang can still find innovative ways of making their introvert pop music come alive.

29. The Umbrellas – The Umbrellas

The beauty of Jetstream Pony and the pop majesty of the Bangles. Truly joyous!

28. Jackson Browne - Downhill From Everywhere

The maestro proves he still has hearts to melt and thoughts to provoke in his twilight years.

27. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

All the potential has come to fruition. This is an artist approaching the peak of their powers.

26. Blue Orchids – Speed The Day

Warped Stranglers-esque bangers about the future. What more could you want?

25. The Other Ones – The Other Ones

Intelligent, raw, and emotive, it doesn't just tick all boxes, it shatters them! (Full review)

24. The Catenary Wires – Birling Gap

Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey writing partnership have matured to career-high. A great sense of Englishness comes from their folk meets indie splendour.

23. La Luz – La Luz

The fuzz, the funk, the wizardry. More, please!

22. The Shop Window – The State of Being Human

The excitement, hope, and splendor of Blur’s ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ is reimagined via the Roses, Ride, and Teenage Fanclub.

21. The Stan Laurels – There Is No Light Without Dark

From The Shins to Housemartins to Edwyn Collins, John Lathrop’s 4th album under this guise is riddled with great pop sensibilities.

20. David Long & Shane O’Neill – Moll & Zelis

Long and O'Neill's life-long connection has burrowed through the inhuman aspects of technology to really connect musically. (Full review)

19. Mogwai - As The Love Continues

Right in the slot of what makes them great!

18. Paul Weller – Fat Pop

Another lockdown (mostly) written album. Weller manages to channel his inner Baxter Dury and Erland & The Carnival on yet another fine album.

17. Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened

The best album from the Barking songwriter since 2008’s ’Mr Love & Justice. A heartfelt exploration of modern politics, letting go of the past, and parking cynicism to the back of the mind.  

16. Ian M Bailey – Songs to Dream Along To

The heart and soul of CSN, The Byrds, and REM are reawakened here. With help from Daniel Wylie, he manages to conjure endless rays of sunshine.

15. Robert Plant & Allison Krauss - Raise The Roof

The follow-up to 2007’s masterpiece ‘Raising Sand’ doesn’t hit the same highs but, their connections remain as authentic, challenging, and romantic as ever.

14. A Smyth - Last Animals

‘Last Animals’ is awash with the characteristics of great songwriters past and present. Perhaps, at times his vocals don’t find their distinct voice but, to tales this good, does, should, anyone care? (Full review)

13. The Coral – Coral Island

The double album should have been condensed into one truly great one. However, it’s impossible to deny the scouse bands pedigree as they approach their 20th anniversary.

12. For Those I Love – For Those I Love

Despite the specificity of David Balfe’s grief and portrayal of Belfast, his songwriting pertains to a universality opening the album up to all.

11. Desperate Journalist - Maximum Sorrow

An album written in lockdown had the potential to be a lacklustre album from the tour bus; insular and lacking intelligent exploration. Not here, not Desperate Journalist. Every word is packed with vitriol and torment, and despatched with wit, intelligence, and charm. (Full review)

10.. Daniel Wylie - Atoms and Energy

No matter the mood or subject, Wylie can pivot to a happier sonic and thus, allows each song to develop greater depth and value. (Full Review)

9. Fightmilk – Contender

It will bash your soul, break your heart and patch you up mentally, emotionally, and intellectually better than ever! (Full Review)

8. The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Uncommon Weather

Joy and devastating pain collide on this glorious windswept album. The pain of The National is taken for walk Elliot Smith and c86 and the results are sublime.

7. Jarvis Cocker – Chansons d ’Ennui Tip-Top

Billed as the comparison art piece to Wes Anderson’s latest film ‘The French Dispatch’, Cocker has conjured pure majesty on his album of French pop covers.

6. Damon Albarn – The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows

His second album touches nature with the isolation of lockdown. So pure is its connection with his surroundings, even Bon Iver will wonder how it was done.

5. Afflecks Palace – What Do You Mean It’s Not Raining

So many have striven to be like the greats, Afflecks have found space in their slipstream on this debut. How soon they can overtake remains to be seen but, their destiny clearly lies alongside them at least! (Full review)

4. Bobby Gillespie, Jenny Beth, and Primal Scream – Utopian Ashes

This achingly beautiful delve into a fictional failed marriage is laced with southern soul, Emmylou, and a vulnerability so stark that, you’ll be lost from note one.

3. David Crosby – For Free

After various health scares, Crosby is unsurprisingly reflective mood. The results are astonishing as he turns his soul inside out.

2. The Institutes - Coloseums

This album’s spirit is nothing short of heroic. Its quality vastly towers over its peers. (Full review)

1. James – All Colours of You

Locked inside, missing the death of a parent, the soul should have been crushed. It could have been the end for this illustrious band. However, through the grief and the agony, they have produced a benchmark-setting album. Few can say they have ever laid their soul this bear with such poignant poetry.

4 People Done Good

The Scottish legends set out to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2020. So, befittingly for this pandemic, it was during their twenty-sixth year that they eventually managed to perform at Electric Brixton.

In the pantheon of rock music, much is made of moments when raw, angst-ridden bands tear down the status quo and smash the big red button to restart everything. However, Idlewild are rarely (if ever) talked about in this context. In 1998, the rock ‘n’ roll pendulum had swung back to the states as Quasi weaved distorted magic on ‘Featuring Birds’ and Sparklehorse shone with ‘Good Morning Spider’. Back in Blighty, Embrace and Shed Seven took big shots at Oasis’ diminished crown. North of the border though, Idlewild stuck two fingers up to the world with their Fugazi via REM ‘Hope Is Important’. No one spoke to teenagers as they did on that; especially on ‘100 Broken Windows’ in 2000. 

The 1991 Levellers track ‘The Road’, Mark Chadwick sings: “The words that you heard when you were young will always stay / The One’s that always stay make the world go away.” 

Never a truer word spoken than when Idlewild revisited these early days.

Roddy may not be able to hit his vocal rage, but accompanied by their bass hero Bob Fairfoull, the crowd can screech “dissatisfied”; snarl “no”; and bark “shapes” with youthful ferocity!  

The teens of ‘Hope is Important’ were coming of age on ‘100 Broken Windows’ and could see the decay of Rule Britannia in the rear-view window, whilst sneering at the cheap horse-shit sandwich of Nu-Metal. So, it was a truly special moment when Idlewild became a headline act with ‘The Remote Part’ and ‘Warnings/Promises’. A snapshot in time, perfectly encapsulated by the Brixton fans. The crowd-unifying rendition of ‘Love Steals us From Loneliness’ and raucous reaction to the all-out attack of ‘A Modern Way of Letting Go’.  

There is still life left in this unique beast of a band. Rod Jones can still catch fire on ‘Dream Variations’ and find new ways of invigorating their take on REM in ‘Interview Music’. Roddy’s foray into folk music has infiltrated the band and kept their horizons broadening and heartfelt.  

Here’s to another 25 years.

Here's Where the Story Ends

Trudging slowly over wet sand, how I dearly wish I was not here. The seagulls can smell my vulnerability. I shake. I shiver. I think I about food, no, I’ll sit in the storm a while a longer. Sip the coffee. Should have brought water too. Feet sore, hips killing, I limp my way to the water. Splash my face with the Bristol channel. Regret. Retreat.

Change of scene. That is all I need to breathe again. As soon as I thought it was over. It started again. The running gags re-emerge. Tea. Toast. Fosters anyone? Yeah, go on, I’m not taking it home.

As a child, my family would go to Mill Rythe Holiday camp in Hayling Island every year. Minehead, but smaller. Roaming free, playing football, table tennis, the arcades, pool, fruit machines, swimming, Jacuzzi, tennis, meeting Henry Cooper, Nan getting a table for bingo 1 hour early, and having a picture with Del Boy’s three-wheeled van, it was glorious. I would mope horrendously upon return.

These memories flood back on Sundays at Shiiine. It’s another time and another world and one no one wants to leave. One last hurrah lurks within everyone’s tired glint. We’re all over thirty, we all know we packed Sunday morning but, we’re all going to behave like it’s Friday night again.

Bouncing to TYS, fawning over Miles’ lyrics and wondering what anti-aging serum Jesus Jones are using. We shall not go gently into the night. I don’t want to go home!

Levi digging everyone who is hanging out of a hole. Neds’ fire raises you up and PWEI’ groove launches you back to the party (sorry Burger King, Big Mac fries to go!). Orbital caning it like its 1988 and Stereo MC’s showing out like bosses. I don’t want to go home!

Cast, Dodgy and The Farm. Friends arm in arm, tears roll down cheeks. Reality looms on the horizon but, it doesn’t seem so bad now. Conversation going on all around me. I join some, I leave some and some never found me.  And now you must believe me, we never lose our dreams. Stop the slaughter, let’s go home, let’s go, let’s go.

All together now. See you in 2021

A Letter to Scott Hutchison

Dear Scott,

Thank you. Thank you for your songwriting. Thank you for the lift in the mood at my most isolated.

The news of your passing didn’t hit until today, the anniversary of the Manchester terror attack. As Radio 4 reported the testimony of parents who lost their children and surviving children as young as 12, I was awe-struck by the spirit and sense of togetherness they’d found in adversity.

Radio 4 also interviewed various choirs this morning. They were preparing for a performance tonight in memory of the tragically lost. As they found solitude in a mourning city, your masterpiece ‘Nitrous Gas’ sprang to mind more vividly than ever before.

The warming nature juxtaposed with the emotive darkness as the protagonist tears their world apart is remarkable. The sense of telling the world to “fuck off” is so striking its almost tangible. The little guitar licks nod towards a dawning light that should have been spent asleep dreaming of better things. The imagery is masterful.

However, clearly, this mindset came with a cost. We, and hopefully all music fans from here on in will change their approach to music appreciation. It cannot be enough for reviewers like me to put a tortured soul up on a pedestal anymore. The time has come to refer young men like Scott to CALM, or simply as, “are you ok mate”.

Sorry we indulged in your pain. Sorry for not making your isolation our problem too.

Yours Sincerely

Mike Adams

* The Mural was painted by Michael Corr in Glasglow with his wife and a little girl who walked by wanting to help. http://www.michaelcorrartist.co.uk/

The Bluetones Top 10

After two intimate nights with Mark Morriss (Westcliff) and then the full band (Water Rats), we thought we’d do something different than just review their brilliant Shepherds Bush Empire homecoming.

So, here are our top 10 Bluetones songs for you to enjoy, debate, and troll us with alternatives on Twitter.

10. Slight Return

Music is a great tool for inducing memories both good and bad. As a child of the 90s, it felt like this emerged from nowhere to number two (kept off by Babylon Zoo!!!) in the charts. After Pulp’s ‘Mis-Shapes’, siege mentality was at the forefront of the alternative community and this was one of its chief weapons.

9. Emily’s Pine

A groove-laden ending to the 3rd album ‘Science and Nature’. What begins as a romantic ode ends in dank murderous tones. What’s not to like?

8. Carnt Be Trusted

The perfect mix of Marr’s funk and Squire’s rock n roll blend on this heavy paisley anthem. Lyrically, it’s Morriss at his best, detailing the darker side of relationships. Remarkably, in a song without a chorus, its level of hooks is high.

7. Talking To Clarry

Kicking off the debut album, and harnessing the band with too many Stone Roses comparisons was this cracker. Yes, there are some ‘Breaking into Heaven’ moments in the intro, but, for our money, there was always a nod to Crosby Stills and Nash in this slow burner.

6. Autohpillia

In 2000, Pop Idol was well underway, and freeze-dried pop in a bag was in full force. So, for this eccentric REM number to reach 18 in the charts was a great feat.

5. After Hours

When Mercury Records decided to put the greatest hits out against the band’s wishes, the boys decided to take ownership and record some new material. The iconic Bugsy Malone video directed by Edgar Wright was the best of the bunch.  

The Wings meets ‘Benny and The Jets’ sense of fun oozes from this tale of pub that the Winchester of Shaun of the Dead fame is based on. For anyone who is old enough to remember the dirty secret of a lock-in, well, it will always raise a wry smile.

4. Never Going Nowhere

Bands like Radiohead get tagged as brilliant because they always innovate (rightly so). However, to recreate your band’s sound and retain great pop sensibilities is a far rarer occurrence. Their 4th album witnessed a distinct array of 70s influences not seen before. The intro brims with Talking Heads’ sense of humour whilst, as ever, Morriss tells brilliant tales of dark relationships.

3. Home Fires Burning

After the heavier second album, the knives were out in the music press. It would have been easy for them to fold under the pressure. Cue, their most complete single.

2. Bluetonic

This, more than anything seems to define the band in the mid-90s. It’s immediate with intelligent lyrics and a boozy swagger. Much like the early Supergrass records, it was both of and before its time simultaneously.

1. Marblehead Johnson

Few bands reach the top and then give something back to the fans as The Bluetones did with this non-album single. Furthermore, it’s the freest the band have ever sounded. From the jingle jangle riffs to Morris’ eloquent vocals, everything flows effortlessly.