New Bandcamp music!

 I have started publishing new original (self-composed) music on bandcamp!

https://underwurldmusic.bandcamp.com/

Now making original music on YouTube. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTMQExlfxnLOnLpV9Ayk7OA

Music Chart - October 2015

1. 1989 by Ryan Adams 
2. Dust and Disquiet by Caspian 
3. Sermon On The Rocks by Josh Ritter
4. Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie
5. My Love Is Cool by Wolf Alice 
6. Short Movie by Laura Marling
7. Mr. Wolf Is Dead by Color Therapy
8. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine
9. Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters 
10. b'lieve i'm goin down by Kurt Vile
11. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting
12. I Wasn't Born To Lose You by Swervedriver
13. The Scene Between by The Go! Team 
14. Electronica 1: The Time Machine by Jean Michel Jarre (et al)
15. Chronicle by Lights & Motion 
16. Every Open Eye by CHVRCHES
17. Kicking Every Day by All Dogs 
18. Courting The Squall by Guy Garvey
19. The Colours Of Life by CFCF 
20. Hollow Meadows by Richard Hawley
21. Beneath The Skin by Of Monsters And Men
22. Policy by Will Butler
23. Psychic Reader by Bad Bad Hats 
24. The Light In You by Mercury Rev
25. Working Girl by Little Boots
26. Modern Nature by The Charlatans 
27. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
28. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World by The Decemberists 
29. Grey Tickles, Black Pressure by John Grant
30. Pageant Material by Kacey Musgraves 
31. Into The Air by Cold Beat
32. A Forest Of Arms by Great Lake Swimmers
33. Everything Ever Written by Idlewild 
34. Rattle That Lock by David Gilmour
35. Bonxie by Stornoway 
36. Kept by Stolen Jars
37. Culture Of Volume by East India Youth
38. In Dream by Editors
39. Hypoxia by Kathryn Williams 
40. Yume by Helios
41. Mount The Air by Unthanks
42. 8:58 by 8:58 
43. Radiance & Submission by CFCF
44. California Nights by Best Coast 
45. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle & Sebastian 
46. Drones by Muse 
47. Nothing But Thieves by Nothing But Thieves
48. Separation Season by The Travis Waltons
49. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin
50. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
51. Before We Forgot How To Dream by SOAK
52. Depression Cherry by Beach House
53. Traveller by Chris Stapleton 
54. Silence In The Snow by Trivium
55. Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth by Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth 
56. Picture You by The Amazing 
57. Pale Honey by Pale Honey
58. Everything Else Matters by Pinkshinyultrablast
59. Everyone Was A Bird by Grasscut 
60. Man Plans God Laughs by Public Enemy
61. Scatter by Crushed Beaks 
62. Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress by Godspeed You! Black Emperor 
63. Born In The Echoes by The Chemical Brothers
64. Heavy Love by Duke Garwood 
65. The Desired Effect by Brandon Flowers 
66. The Gold Standard by Marrow
67. A Flourish And A Spoil by The Districts
68. Then Came The Morning by The Lone Below
69. Menace Beach by Ratworld
70. Sauna by Mount Eerie
71. The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson
72. 10 Futures by Aqualung
73. We Slept At Last by Marika Hackman
74. MG by MG

Music Chart - September 2015

A very busy month of new music at Underwurld Towers (oxymoron? Catacombs?)... Delving into one of our favourite genres: instrumental post-rock, discovered bands such as Color Therapy, Helios, and Lights & Motion make it into the chart, plus a wealth of new garage bands (Cold Beat, All Dogs, Pale Honey and Bad Bad Hats) and more established names - so a real mixed bag of a September and a new brilliant number one from Ryan Adams! (with more than just a little help from Taylor Swift).

1. 1989 by Ryan Adams
2. Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie
3. My Love Is Cool by Wolf Alice 
4. Mr. Wolf Is Dead by Color Therapy
5. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine
6. Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters 
7. b'lieve i'm goin down by Kurt Vile
8. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting
9. I Wasn't Born To Lose You by Swervedriver
10. Short Movie by Laura Marling
11. The Scene Between by The Go! Team 
12. Chronicle by Lights & Motion 
13. Every Open Eye by CHVRCHES
14. Kicking Every Day by All Dogs
15. The Colours Of Life by CFCF 
16. Hollow Meadows by Richard Hawley
17. Beneath The Skin by Of Monsters And Men
18. Policy by Will Butler
19. Psychic Reader by Bad Bad Hats
20. Working Girl by Little Boots
21. Modern Nature by The Charlatans 
22. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
23. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World by The Decemberists 
24. Pageant Material by Kacey Musgraves 
25. Into The Air by Cold Beat
26. A Forest Of Arms by Great Lake Swimmers
27. Everything Ever Written by Idlewild 
28. Rattle That Lock by David Gilmour
29. Bonxie by Stornoway 
30. Kept by Stolen Jars
31. Culture Of Volume by East India Youth
32. Hypoxia by Kathryn Williams 
33. Yume by Helios
34. Mount The Air by Unthanks
35. 8:58 by 8:58 
36. Radiance & Submission by CFCF
37. California Nights by Best Coast 
38. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle & Sebastian 
39. Drones by Muse 
40. Separation Season by The Travis Waltons
41. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin
42. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
43. Before We Forgot How To Dream by SOAK
44. Depression Cherry by Beach House
45. Traveller by Chris Stapleton
46. Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth by Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth 
47. Picture You by The Amazing 
48. Pale Honey by Pale Honey
49. Everything Else Matters by Pinkshinyultrablast
50. Everyone Was A Bird by Grasscut 
51. Man Plans God Laughs by Public Enemy
52. Scatter by Crushed Beaks 
53. Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress by Godspeed You! Black Emperor 
54. Born In The Echoes by The Chemical Brothers
55. Heavy Love by Duke Garwood 
56. The Desired Effect by Brandon Flowers 
57. The Gold Standard by Marrow
58. A Flourish And A Spoil by The Districts
59. Then Came The Morning by The Lone Below
60. Menace Beach by Ratworld
61. Sauna by Mount Eerie
62. The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson
63. 10 Futures by Aqualung
64. We Slept At Last by Marika Hackman
65. MG by MG

Music Chart - August 2015

Time for another chart update. New albums from Wolf Alice - so good it goes straight into the top five!, The Chemical Brothers - possibly their most uninspiring, lacklustre and soulless album to date, new country music star Kacey Musgraves - a charming journey through trailer park America, Little Boots - Ms. Hesketh continues to tug on Kylie's coattails with luscious electro-pop, Muse - who engage, baffle and amaze in equal measures, Public Enemy - the veteran rap legends plug away wit their (now) inconsistent art, and two albums from CFCF with gorgeous instrumentation and melodies.

Death Cab For Cutie hold the number one spot in the 'not-quite-top-50'.

1. Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie
2. My Love Is Cool by Wolf Alice
3. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine
4. Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters
5. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting
6. I Wasn't Born To Lose You by Swervedriver
7. Short Movie by Laura Marling
8. The Scene Between by The Go! Team 
9. Radiance & Submission by CFCF
10. Beneath The Skin by Of Monsters And Men
11. Policy by Will Butler
12. Working Girl by Little Boots
13. Modern Nature by The Charlatans 
14. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
15. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World by The Decemberists 
16. Pageant Material by Kacey Musgraves
17. A Forest Of Arms by Great Lake Swimmers
18. Everything Ever Written by Idlewild 
19. Bonxie by Stornoway
20. Culture Of Volume by East India Youth
21. Hypoxia by Kathryn Williams
22. Mount The Air by Unthanks
23. 8:58 by 8:58 
24. The Colours Of Life by CFCF
25. California Nights by Best Coast
26. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle & Sebastian 
27. Drones by Muse
28. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin
29. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
30. Before We Forgot How To Dream by SOAK
31. Traveller by Chris Stapleton
32. Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth by Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth 
33. Picture You by The Amazing
34. Everything Else Matters by Pinkshinyultrablast
35. Everyone Was A Bird by Grasscut 
36. Man Plans God Laughs by Public Enemy
37. Scatter by Crushed Beaks 
38. Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress by Godspeed You! Black Emperor 
39. Born In The Echoes by The Chemical Brothers
40. Heavy Love by Duke Garwood 
41. The Desired Effect by Brandon Flowers
42. A Flourish And A Spoil by The Districts
43. Then Came The Morning by The Lone Below
44. Menace Beach by Ratworld
45. Sauna by Mount Eerie
46. The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson
47. 10 Futures by Aqualung
48. We Slept At Last by Marika Hackman
49. MG by MG

Music Chart - June 2015

A new chart for June and great new albums from Florence + The Machine and Of Monsters And Men. Something different from Mumford & Sons doesn't quite deliver while Great Lake Swimmers, Stornoway and Best Coast return with solid new work. The new solo album from The Killers' front-man Brandon Flowers fails to hit the mark while Hypoxia by Kathryn Williams is a slow burner. Impressive début from SOAK completes the monthly update...

1. Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie 
2. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine
3. Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters
4. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting
5. I Wasn't Born To Lose You by Swervedriver
6. Short Movie by Laura Marling
7. The Scene Between by The Go! Team 
8. Beneath The Skin by Of Monsters And Men
9. Policy by Will Butler
10. Modern Nature by The Charlatans 
11. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
12. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World by The Decemberists 
13. A Forest Of Arms by Great Lake Swimmers
14. Everything Ever Written by Idlewild 
15. Bonxie by Stornoway
16. Culture Of Volume by East India Youth
17. Hypoxia by Kathryn Williams
18. Mount The Air by Unthanks
19. 8:58 by 8:58 
20. California Nights by Best Coast
21. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle & Sebastian
22. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin
23. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
24. Before We Forgot How To Dream by SOAK
25. Picture You by The Amazing
26. Everything Else Matters by Pinkshinyultrablast
27. Everyone Was A Bird by Grasscut
28. Scatter by Crushed Beaks 
29. Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
30. Heavy Love by Duke Garwood 
31. The Desired Effect by Brandon Flowers
32. A Flourish And A Spoil by The Districts
33. Then Came The Morning by The Lone Below
34. Menace Beach by Ratworld
35. Sauna by Mount Eerie
36. The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson
37. 10 Futures by Aqualung
38. We Slept At Last by Marika Hackman
39. MG by MG

Music Chart - April 2015

Great new albums this month from Death Cab For Cutie (the last with Chris Walla), The Go! Team (take away the irritating fillers and there are nine cracking pop tunes) , and Paul Hartnoll's new post-Orbital project 8:58. Also more brain-scrambling musing from the wonderful Courtney Barnett and the heartbreaking Sufjan Stevens. Elsewhere Godspeed You! Black Emperor continue to baffle and beguile while East India Youth delivers his best work yet.

Death Cab For Cutie take the top spot (for now). Kintsugi is not perfect but plays to the band's strengths throughout, a blend of styles and textures - clichés aplenty with the unique DCFC slant.

1. Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie
2. Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters
3. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting
4. I Wasn't Born To Lose You by Swervedriver
5. Short Movie by Laura Marling
6. The Scene Between by The Go! Team
7. Policy by Will Butler
8. Modern Nature by The Charlatans 
9. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
10. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World by The Decemberists 
11. Everything Ever Written by Idlewild 
12. Culture Of Volume by East India Youth
13. Mount The Air by Unthanks
14. 8:58 by 8:58
15. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle & Sebastian
16. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin
17. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
18. Picture You by The Amazing
19. Everything Else Matters by Pinkshinyultrablast
20. Scatter by Crushed Beaks 
21. Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
22. Heavy Love by Duke Garwood
23. A Flourish And A Spoil by The Districts
24. Then Came The Morning by The Lone Below
25. Menace Beach by Ratworld
26. Sauna by Mount Eerie
27. The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson
28. 10 Futures by Aqualung
29. We Slept At Last by Marika Hackman

Music Chart - March 2015

After a brief hiatus, it's time for a new 2015 music chart. A slow-burning first quarter has created a varied and interesting top 10 with veteran Gretchen Peters producing one of the finest album's of her illustrious career. Public Service Broadcasting return with The Race For Space and another wonderful collection of atmospheric and inspiring samples and electronica. A blast from the past with Swervedriver bringing back the magic on the guitar-fuelled I Wasn't Born To Lose You, another delicious slice of character songwriting from the wonderful Laura Marling, and an impressive - if left-field - release, Policy, from Arcade Fire's Will Butler form the current top 5.

1. Blackbirds by Gretchen Peters
2. The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting
3. I Wasn't Born To Lose You by Swervedriver
4. Short Movie by Laura Marling
5. Policy by Will Butler
6. Modern Nature by The Charlatans
7. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World by The Decemberists 
8. Everything Ever Written by Idlewild
9. Mount The Air by Unthanks
10. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance by Belle & Sebastian
11. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2 EP by Aphex Twin
12. Picture You by The Amazing
13. Everything Else Matters by Pinkshinyultrablast
14. Scatter by Crushed Beaks 
15. Heavy Love by Duke Garwood
16. A Flourish And A Spoil by The Districts
17. Then Came The Morning by The Lone Below
18. Menace Beach by Ratworld
19. Sauna by Mount Eerie
20. The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson
21. 10 Futures by Aqualung
22. We Slept At Last by Marika Hackman

Music Chart - 2014 Review

So after a brief hiatus, here is the final chart of 2014... Some new entries of note are:

It's Nearly Tomorrow by Craig Armstrong - more beautiful and elegant instrumentals from a true genius, mixed with tracks featuring some distracting - if equally elegant - guest vocalists.
Fall Together Again by Andy Burrows - continuing to prove there is life after Razorlight, Burrows delivers wonderful songwriting yet again.
I Forget Where We Were by Ben Howard - a darker, more introspective collection of personal songs and intensity then Howard's début.
Super Critical by The Ting Tings - the band that completely refuse to conform take on the likes of Chic and guitar-funk disco with another party album.
In The Seams by Saint Saviour - the best songs Saint Saviour has put her name to; heartfelt, beautiful and vocals to die for.
Storytone by Neil Young - if you remove the 'big band' versions, this is a stripped-down open-hearted album of quite wonderful songs - that said, the filled-out numbers occasionally hit the mark.
The Endless River by Pink Floyd - the band's swansong featuring outtakes and material from the late Richard Wright; a fitting end to a huge legacy.
Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters - the best album from Dave Grohl and the boys for many years - this is a full-on and committed guitar-fest.
Monuments To An Elegy by The Smashing Pumpkins - a brave attempt to do something different which often works thanks to Billy Corgan's sharp lyrics and listless delivery; not the band they once were but now a different animal.

The final top ten features amazing bands and great singer-songwriters. The War On Drugs were never to be beaten.

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines 
3. Syro by Aphex Twin
4. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
5. Morning Phase by Beck 
6. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis
7. Somewhere Under Wonderland by Counting Crows
8. Forgetting The Present by Remember Remember 
9. Built For Storms by Nigel Stonier
10. In The Seams by Saint Saviour
11. While 1 is less than 2 by Deadmau5 
12. The Fire Inside by Luke Sital-Singh
13. Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters
14. It's Nearly Tomorrow by Craig Armstrong
15. Royal Blood by Royal Blood
16. My Favourite Faded Fantasy by Damien Rice 
17. Beauty & Ruin by Bob Mould 
18. Super Critical by The Ting Tings
19. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies 
20. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
21. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
22. Ryan Adams by Ryan Adams
23. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
24. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders
25. Fall Together Again by Andy Burrows
26. Storytone by Neil Young
27. This Is All Yours by Alt-J
28. Alarms In The Heart by Dry The River 
29. I Forget Where We Were by Ben Howard
30. Popular Problems by Leonard Cohen
31. Owl John by Owl John
32. Mandatory Fun by Weird Al Yankovic
33. 48:13 by Kasabian 
34. The Endless River by Pink Floyd
35. Indie Cindy by The Pixies 
36. Ghost Stories by Coldplay
37. Running With Scissors by Janet Devlin 
38. Bones + Longing by Gemma Hayes
39. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
40. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
41. Pe'ahi by The Raveonettes 
42. A New Nature by Esben And The Witch
43. Grinning Streak by Barenaked Ladies 
44. Phantom Radio by Mark Lanegan Band
45. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
46. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
47. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
48. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
49. Lazaretto by Jack White 
50. Get Hurt by The Gaslight Anthem
51. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
52. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club 
53. Nobody Wants To Be Here & Nobody Wants To Leave by The Twilight Sad
54. 1984 by Ryan Adams 
55. Playland by Johnny Marr
56. Heartstrings by Howling Bells
57. We Come From The Same Place by Allo Darlin'
58. El Pintor by Interpol
59. Honeyblood by Honeyblood
60. Futurology by Manic Street Preachers
61. IX by Corrosion Of Conformity 
62. Pale Communion by Opeth
63. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
64. The Day's War by Lonely The Brave
65. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela 
66. Monuments To An Elegy by The Smashing Pumpkins
67. A Letter Home By Neil Young
68. In The Silence by Asgeir
69. Held In Splendor by Quilt
70. Blood by Pulled Apart By Horses
71. Wilderness of Mirrors by Lawrence English
72. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
73. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
74. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
75. Alvvays by Alvvays
76. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
77. Echoes by Emily Smith 
78. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
79. Atlas by Real Estate
80. Croz by David Crosby
81. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
82. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
83. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
84. Wildewoman by Lucius
85. Luminous by The Horrors
86. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
87. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
88. Waking Lines by Patterns
89. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos 
90. Complete Surrender by Slow Club
91. The Future's Void by EMA
92. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
93. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
94. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
95. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
96. Warpaint by Warpaint
97. Are We There by Sharon Van Etten
98. To Be Kind by Swans
99. Eagulls by Eagulls 
100. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
101. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
102. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
103. None The Wiser by The Rifles
104. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

Music Chart - September 2014

Another amazing month of new music. Not one...but two Ryan Adams albums!, each showcasing the man's unique talents. 1984 is down and dirty punk meets garage rock and the eponymous album is borderline ironic - he has spent years detaching himself from 'almost namesake' Bryan Adams yet the latter release brings together soft-rock influences and clichéd scansion. The contrast makes the former more interesting but musically inferior. Then comes a much welcomed new album from Counting Crows, returning from something of a slump: a nice, yet limp covers collection after a 'more of the same' mid-tempo drawl live album. But Somewhere Under Wonderland is magnificent - upbeat, energised and committed in equal measures, with Adam Duritz sounding better than ever.

To compliment this trio, Leonard Cohen - now a feisty 80 years old - brings us one of his best albums, well, since the last one. Wonderful song writing and a stilted, yet charming, delivery makes Popular Problems an engaging and compelling listen. Then, another stalwart of the music industry: Aphex Twin returns with a list of incomprehensible and unpronounceable songs on the brilliant Syro - a masterclass of electronic genius. And lastly the sublime, weird and often wonderful Alt-J return with an album that is arguably better than their award winning début.

A late entry to the 2014 chart is Coldplay's Ghost Stories... while clearly a shadow of their former selves, Chris Martin and the boys deliver a beautiful heartfelt and inoffensive collection of love songs - the band's best for a very long time. And in total contrast, Pulled Apart By Horses continue to thrash things up while Lonely The Brave have a long way to go before they can claim Biffy Clyro's crown.

Nothing challenges the mighty War On Drugs who hold the top spot.

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines 
3. Syro by Aphex Twin
4. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
5. Morning Phase by Beck 
6. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis
7. Somewhere Under Wonderland by Counting Crows
8. Forgetting The Present by Remember Remember 
9. Built For Storms by Nigel Stonier
10. While 1 is less than 2 by Deadmau5 
11. The Fire Inside by Luke Sital-Singh
12. Royal Blood by Royal Blood
13. Beauty & Ruin by Bob Mould
14. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies 
15. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
16. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
17. Ryan Adams by Ryan Adams
18. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
19. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders
20. This Is All Yours by Alt-J
21. Alarms In The Heart by Dry The River 
22. Popular Problems by Leonard Cohen
23. Owl John by Owl John
24. Mandatory Fun by Weird Al Yankovic
25. 48:13 by Kasabian
26. Indie Cindy by The Pixies 
27. Ghost Stories by Coldplay
28. Running With Scissors by Janet Devlin 
29. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
30. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
31. Pe'ahi by The Raveonettes
32. Grinning Streak by Barenaked Ladies
33. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
34. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
35. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
36. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
37. Lazaretto by Jack White 
38. Get Hurt by The Gaslight Anthem
39. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
40. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club 
41. 1984 by Ryan Adams
42. Heartstrings by Howling Bells
43. Honeyblood by Honeyblood
44. Futurology by Manic Street Preachers
45. IX by Corrosion Of Conformity 
46. Pale Communion by Opeth
47. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
48. The Day's War by Lonely The Brave
49. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela
50. A Letter Home By Neil Young
51. In The Silence by Asgeir
52. Held In Splendor by Quilt
53. Blood by Pulled Apart By Horses
54. Wilderness of Mirrors by Lawrence English
55. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
56. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
57. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
58. Alvvays by Alvvays
59. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
60. Echoes by Emily Smith 
61. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
62. Atlas by Real Estate
63. Croz by David Crosby
64. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
65. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
66. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
67. Wildewoman by Lucius
68. Luminous by The Horrors
69. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
70. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
71. Waking Lines by Patterns
72. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos 
73. Complete Surrender by Slow Club
74. The Future's Void by EMA
75. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
76. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
77. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
78. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
79. Warpaint by Warpaint
80. Are We There by Sharon Van Etten
81. To Be Kind by Swans
82. Eagulls by Eagulls 
83. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
84. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
85. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
86. None The Wiser by The Rifles
87. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

Music Chart - August 2014

One of the best months of the year for new albums and a 2014 return for some great bands. One of the biggest releases of the year is Alarms In The Heart by Dry The River - a solid, yet sadly inferior second-best to the brilliant Shallow Bed. I'll give it time but it lacks not only the songs but much of the wide-eyed wonder of its predecessor. The Gaslight Anthem get heavy with the New Jersey charm with Get Hurt...for me not quite as slick as Handwritten but plenty of commitment and passion, as always. One of the new shining lights this year finally follows up a bunch of EPs, and the intriguing Film Songs, with the excellent The Fire Inside - a marvellous début featuring one of the best songs of the year: Bottled Up Tight. And another new act promising so much - and delivering: Royal Blood release their eponymous début; kicking off with the astonishing Out Of The Black and blistering Figure It Out. Echoes of White and Homme everywhere but the startling combination of vocals, drums and bass guitar performed by a duo is truly exhilarating. Last but no least, Thea Gilmore's right-hand man Nigel Stonier, a brilliantly talented songwriter and performer who doesn't release enough albums of his own, has made Built For Storms - filled with stark observations, smart lyrics and beautiful poignant reflections.

Elsewhere, Frightened Rabbit take time out for Owl John, The Raveonettes bring back the bleak, Slow Club attempt to engage, Howling Bells pull the Heartstrings and Honeyblood get feisty.

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines
3. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
4. Morning Phase by Beck 
5. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis
6. Forgetting The Present by Remember Remember 
7. Built For Storms by Nigel Stonier
8. While 1 is less than 2 by Deadmau5 
9. The Fire Inside by Luke Sital-Singh
10. Royal Blood by Royal Blood
11. Beauty & Ruin by Bob Mould
12. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies 
13. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
14. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
15. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
16. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders
17. Alarms In The Heart by Dry The River
18. Owl John by Owl John
19. Mandatory Fun by Weird Al Yankovic
20. 48:13 by Kasabian
21. Indie Cindy by The Pixies 
22. Running With Scissors by Janet Devlin 
23. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
24. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
25. Pe'ahi by The Raveonettes
26. Grinning Streak by Barenaked Ladies
27. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
28. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
29. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
30. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
31. Lazaretto by Jack White 
32. Get Hurt by The Gaslight Anthem
33. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
34. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club 
35. Heartstrings by Howling Bells
36. Honeyblood by Honeyblood
37. Futurology by Manic Street Preachers
38. IX by Corrosion Of Conformity
39. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
40. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela
41. A Letter Home By Neil Young
42. In The Silence by Asgeir
43. Held In Splendor by Quilt
44. Wilderness of Mirrors by Lawrence English
45. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
46. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
47. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
48. Alvvays by Alvvays
49. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
50. Echoes by Emily Smith 
51. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
52. Atlas by Real Estate
53. Croz by David Crosby
54. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
55. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
56. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
57. Wildewoman by Lucius
58. Luminous by The Horrors
59. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
60. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
61. Waking Lines by Patterns
62. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos 
63. Complete Surrender by Slow Club
64. The Future's Void by EMA
65. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
66. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
67. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
68. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
69. Warpaint by Warpaint
70. Are We There by Sharon Van Etten
71. To Be Kind by Swans
72. Eagulls by Eagulls 
73. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
74. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
75. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
76. None The Wiser by The Rifles
77. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

The Vinyl Frontier - Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell

Two more gems recently entrusted to my care...

In 1969 Bob Dylan defied convention and instead of making a political statement - at the time there was much to protest about - he made Nashville Skyline, a sublime and quirky country-rock album.  Featuring Johnny Cash and a host of other great musicians there is much more to this than Lay Lady Lay, and Dylan's best album after Blood On The Tracks. This was the ultimate protest singer making the ultimate anti-protest album.

History really does repeat itself. I have the same feeling listening to Song To A Seagull, Joni Mitchell's wonderful début album, as I do with Laura Marling's Alas I Cannot Swim... The same idealistic lyrical craft mixed with swirling acoustic guitars in a simple, unruffled and raw production. Not many singers get away with a concept album as their first effort but Mitchell made her mark on the music world from the very first note. Her voice is both powerful and un-threatening, every song tells a story, while the strings add the atmospherics.

-- CS

The Vinyl Frontier - The Beatles

I am not a huge Beatles fan. I have my own favourite songs and I only own Revolver and the two anthologies (on CD)…until now. Recently, I inherited (with great privilege) some ‘old’ records including all twelve original Beatles LPs (thirteen if you include Magical Mystery Tour) plus a few other compilations and rarities collections.

Here they are: 

The Beatles’ albums cover a mere eight years, from the debut Please Please Me in 1963 to Let It Be in 1970. Often making two albums a year during this time, it is an incredible catalogue of music and culture. The development of the band’s music can be divided into four trilogies: Please Please Me, With The Beatles and A Hard Day’s Night is poster-boy jangly pop; Beatles For Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul is a band exploring and expanding; Revolver, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album is creativity, risks and reward; and Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road and Let It Be is the sound of self-indulgence, fractures and reflection – Abbey Road feels like the start of Harrison’s solo career with some of his best songs and Let It Be, mostly recorded before Abbey Road, doesn’t feel like a ‘break-up’ album although The Long And Winding Road always seems to be an obvious swansong.

For me, the height of The Beatles’ creativity and power was 1966. The reason I bought Revolver is that I still think it’s a masterpiece – although it does seem to divide fans somewhat – and listening to my new vinyl copy, even more so. The album has just about everything from the dark sad Eleanor Rigby to the playful nursery-rhyme Yellow Submarine, punchy Got To Get You Into My Life and the eclectic closer Tomorrow Never Knows. Vocals are shared and Harrison wrote three good songs. In comparison, the follow-up Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is overrated (but still very good). Having listened to the most of the earlier albums in full, A Hard Day’s Night is a highlight, with its fuzzy production and Lennon and McCartney writing together wonderfully.

I do recognise why and how The Beatles are so popular and why the songs and albums are iconic works of art, not only as part of British music but around the world. The song-writing partnership of Lennon and McCartney is still legendary and combined with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, one of the best-known and loved pop bands lives on.

-- CS

Music Chart - July 2014

A sparse month for good new music... but great new albums from Deadmau5, Remember Remember, Weird Al Yankovic and Jenny Lewis, plus a decent effort from Manic Street Preachers and Barenaked Ladies.

And again, nothing new to challenge the best album of the year from The War On Drugs...

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines
3. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
4. Morning Phase by Beck 
5. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis
6. Forgetting The Present by Remember Remember 
7. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
8. While 1 is less than 2 by Deadmau5
9. Beauty & Ruin by Bob Mould
10. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies
11. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
12. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
13. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders
14. Mandatory Fun by Weird Al Yankovic
15. 48:13 by Kasabian
16. Indie Cindy by The Pixies 
17. Running With Scissors by Janet Devlin 
18. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
19. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
20. Grinning Streak by Barenaked Ladies
21. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
22. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
23. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
24. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
25. Lazaretto by Jack White
26. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
27. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club 
28. Futurology by Manic Street Preachers
29. IX by Corrosion Of Conformity
30. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
31. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela
32. A Letter Home By Neil Young
33. In The Silence by Asgeir
34. Held In Splendor by Quilt 
35. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
36. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
37. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
38. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
39. Echoes by Emily Smith 
40. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
41. Atlas by Real Estate
42. Croz by David Crosby
43. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
44. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
45. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
46. Wildewoman by Lucius
47. Luminous by The Horrors
48. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
49. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
50. Waking Lines by Patterns
51. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos 
52. The Future's Void by EMA
53. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
54. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
55. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
56. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
57. Warpaint by Warpaint
58. Are We There by Sharon Van Etten
59. To Be Kind by Swans
60. Eagulls by Eagulls 
61. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
62. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
63. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
64. None The Wiser by The Rifles
65. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

Suzanne Vega - Live at The Lighthouse, Poole (3rd July 2014)

A warm Summer evening on the south coast of England, and the promise of great music from a true legend, drew us to Poole and the majestic Lighthouse. A venue that has been transformed in recent times from the old Arts Centre to a now modern, bright and vibrant concert hall was to be graced by the presence of Suzanne Vega. And having only seen her live once before (briefly at a dark and wet Glastonbury, from the back of a packed noisy acoustic tent many years ago), I was more than a bit excited to see one of my musical idols in a proper venue for the first time.

 
...But first, the support act. No big name: Chris Simmons from Brighton (who I suspect no one, including me, had heard of) walked on stage with his guitar to a smattering of applause, plugged it in, and just got on with it. With a limited collection of his own songs to choose from he managed to fill his half hour with two Squeeze covers including a superb version of Up The Junction. At one point he asked us, 'as you are so quiet, do you mind if I unplug my guitar?' and he did, playing completely acoustically. It was mesmerising. I have absolute admiration for anyone in this business who can get up on a stage with a voice and just sing. There is nowhere to hide and he didn't have to. Definitely one to watch for the future and hopefully this (short) run of support gigs will bring him an audience...

This year Suzanne Vega has, in the words of my fellow gig-goer JC, 'got her mojo back'. The release of her eighth studio album: Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles, after nearly five years re-working her own back-catalogue for the 'Close-Up' series, is her first new music for seven years and she is clearly re-energised and motivated. This was a no-frills performance with no big screens, light shows or huge orchestra. Backed by the brilliant Gerry Leonard (aka Spooky Ghost) on guitar (he also produced 'Pentacles') and Doug Yowell on drums, the three musicians more than filled the stage with Vega's words and music.

Naturally songs from Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles featured heavily in a set that blended old and new. The intro was the trio of theatrical Fat Man And Dancing Girl, anthemic Marlene On The Wall (with added top hat) and the sultry Caramel before three new songs: the wonderful Fool's Compliant, mysterious Crack In The Wall and enlightening Jacob And The Angel. By this stage, Vega was chatting to the audience in such a charming, funny and engaging way, trying to explain the new songs and their significance. The beautiful Small Blue Thing, gorgeous Gypsy and dramatic poetry of The Queen And The Soldier followed by the endlessly playful Don't Cork What You Can't Contain, spiritual Laying On Of Hands / Stoic 2 and moody Left Of Center formed the delicious centre-piece. To bring the main set to a close, latest crowd-pleaser I Never Wear White lived up to the billing - a definite highlight, lead to the reflective Some Journey, heart-breaking Luka and then to finish a full-on 'DNA'-esque version of Tom's Diner. I'm a huge fan of the original vocal-only take but this worked better on stage.

We didn't have to wait too long for the inevitable encore. Vega explained that they were off to Lisbon for the next leg of the European tour and songs featuring Portuguese Women are the order of the day... so she re-started with a modern update of the elegant Iron Bound / Fancy Poultry before asking us what we wanted. Now was my chance...do or die. I yelled 'Blood Makes Noise' (yes me, really), a song I was surprised didn't make the main set and I was determined to hear it. Turning to Leonard who was already setting up his effects pedals, 'shall we do it?'. And they did, a brilliant 'solo-vocal' version complete with fuzzy guitars and electronics, capturing the spirit of the original. Vega said afterwards that she didn't expect that 'the people of Poole' would be up for that. I'm not from Poole. Then, someone else asked for the melodic In Liverpool, so thankfully I didn't have to - another wonderful highlight, before Rosemary brought the night to a close.

Suzanne Vega did not disappoint. The lack of anything from Songs In Red And Gray and Beauty & Crime was a noticeable omission: Bound, Unbound, Penitent, If I Were A Weapon etc... and World Before Columbus would have been my second shout of the night, but with a wealth of songs to choose from it was not possible to fit in everything. But clearly Vega still has the love for a performance and the feeling is mutual. A magical evening that could have gone on forever, listening to one of the best voices in the business, performing at brilliant as ever.

-- CS

Music Chart - June 2014

A quiet month but some big hitters return with new albums. Jack White backs up a couple of great preview songs with the mixed Lazaretto which is far too adventurous and unnecessarily ambitious for its own good. Granted, White is a wonderful showman and songwriter, with ideas brimming and overflowing but sometimes keeping things simple is the best policy. Kasabian, on the other hand, have a more straightforward album with 48:13; ignoring the grungy disco of lead single 'eez-eh', there are moments of brilliance here as the recent Glastonbury headliners provide their unique blend of scuzzy electro-rock. And to complete this month's important trilogy, Bob Mould is back with Beauty & Ruin, not as polished as the wonderful Silver Age but guaranteed to please fans of the legendary songwriter. Elsewhere, X-Factor loser Janet Devlin proves there is life after reality TV: Running With Scissors is a gorgeous album of wide-eyed musings, lost loves and storytelling (also it includes a rather nice cover of The Cure's Friday I'm In Love). The Pains of Being Pure At Heart continue the delicious jangly guitar-pop on Days Of Abandon and Lana Del Rey flirts with controversy with Ultraviolence. The mighty Corrosion Of Conformity bring the noise to IX and finally the overrated Sharon Van Etten asks the non-question Are We There.

...but as yet, nothing to knock The War On Drugs from the number one...

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines
3. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
4. Morning Phase by Beck 
5. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis 
6. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
7. Beauty & Ruin by Bob Mould
8. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies
9. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
10. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
11. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders
12. 48:13 by Kasabian
13. Indie Cindy by The Pixies 
14. Running With Scissors by Janet Devlin
15. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
16. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
17. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
18. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
19. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
20. Lazaretto by Jack White
21. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
22. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club 
23. IX by Corrosion Of Conformity
24. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
25. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela
26. A Letter Home By Neil Young
27. In The Silence by Asgeir
28. Held In Splendor by Quilt 
29. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
30. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
31. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
32. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
33. Echoes by Emily Smith 
34. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
35. Atlas by Real Estate
36. Croz by David Crosby
37. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
38. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
39. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
40. Wildewoman by Lucius
41. Luminous by The Horrors
42. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
43. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
44. Waking Lines by Patterns
45. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos 
46. The Future's Void by EMA
47. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
48. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
49. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
50. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
51. Warpaint by Warpaint
52. Are We There by Sharon Van Etten
53. To Be Kind by Swans
54. Eagulls by Eagulls 
55. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
56. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
57. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
58. None The Wiser by The Rifles
59. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

Music Chart - May 2014

More of an interesting month for music than a great one... the long awaited solo effort from Damon Albarn, Everyday Robots is as prosaic as it is charming - given his recent collaborative work and adventures into soundtracks, this is the sound of the former Blur front-man growing old gracefully. In contrast, the guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela return with 9 Dead Alive, another tribute album, with each track inspired by someone; a more varied collection than 2009's 11:11. This month also brings back The Pixies, a truly extraordinary and inventive band show their class on Indie Cindy. And the other album of note this month is A Letter Home by Neil Young, taking retrospective to the extreme - a covers album (avoiding the obvious, mostly) recorded, with the help of Jack White, on vintage equipment. This works, up to a point, and the under-production is engaging at first but slowly grates. If nothing else, this shows Young is still full of ideas, and music, and long may it continue.

Elsewhere, new material from Swans (To Be Kind) is challenging, Conor Oberst doesn't quite bring back the majesty of Bright Eyes (Upside Down Mountain), Ray LaMontagne (Supernova) goes 60s smooth and Tori Amos (Unrepentant Geraldines) twists and turns her way through a strange, but ultimately underwhelming, landscape.

(...a late addition, thanks to the recent gig supporting The War On Drugs at The Koko, Quilt's Held In Splendor makes it onto the Underwurld chart...Speaking of The War On Drugs, Lost In The Dream still tops the list...)

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines
3. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
4. Morning Phase by Beck 
5. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis 
6. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
7. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies
8. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
9. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
10. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders 
11. Indie Cindy by The Pixies
12. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
13. Upside Down Mountain by Conor Oberst 
14. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
15. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
16. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
17. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
18. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club
19. Into The Lime by New Mendicants 
20. 9 Dead Alive by Rodrigo y Gabriela
21. A Letter Home By Neil Young
22. In The Silence by Asgeir
23. Held n Splendor by Quilt
24. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
25. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
26. Supernova by Ray LaMontagne
27. The Future's Void by EMA
28. Echoes by Emily Smith 
29. Everyday Robots by Damon Albarn
30. Atlas by Real Estate
31. Croz by David Crosby
32. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
33. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
34. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
35. Wildewoman by Lucius
36. Luminous by The Horrors
37. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
38. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
39. Waking Lines by Patterns
40. Unrepentant Geraldines by Tori Amos
41. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
42. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
43. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
44. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
45. Warpaint by Warpaint
46. To Be Kind by Swans
47. Eagulls by Eagulls 
48. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
49. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
50. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
51. None The Wiser by The Rifles
52. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

The War On Drugs at The Koko (27/05/2014)

We headed for London on a rainy Tuesday night in May to the Koko, just a brief walk from Mornington Crescent tube station, for what promised to be one of the highlights of the year: The War On Drugs (Lost In The Dream tour). The venue, formally a theatre, cinema and BBC studio, hosted The Goons and Monty Python’s Flying Circus back in the day before it became the Camden Palace in the 80s, to be renovated in 2004 into the magnificent music hall it is today. So, after queuing in the drizzle and failing to recognise members of support band Quilt heading for the VIP entrance, we hurried inside…

Finding a suitable vantage point on top left walkway in front of the bar, it wasn’t long before Quilt walked on stage for one of their first European (support) gigs, a (now) four-piece band from Boston who have recently released their second album Held In Splendour. The slight (and very cute) Anna Fox Rochinski and imposing (handsome) Shane Butler, banishing guitars and microphones equally, is a delicious combination and the band made the most of their short support slot. Songs from Held In Splendour featured heavily including the brilliant Arctic Shark and Tie Up The Tides, and live the band added a vibrancy and energy lacking on the record.

[Photo credit: ThreeBeams]

During the break, the usual sound checks took place and we had our first glimpse of the mighty Adam Granduciel with his unkempt hair, sorting out his guitars and peddles. And then the band took to the stage. Granduciel has recently described The War On Drugs as a ‘one man band’ which is a huge disservice to David Hartley, Robbie Bennett and Charlie Hall. Given the intimate song-writing of latest album Lost In The Dream, we all know what he means but this was a massive performance by the quartet. The set was a curious mix of previous masterpiece Slave Ambient and most of Lost In The Dream, with new arrangements of the former framing the newer songs. It (mostly) worked, in that Slave Ambient works beautifully as a single end-to-end album; ebbing and flowing as it glides between familiar sounds and themes, constantly revisiting itself. So, within the more stand-alone Lost In The Dream tracks, songs like Brothers, Some To The City and Baby Missiles added a strange, yet wonderful, glue. 

Granduciel’s guitar work throughout was especially sublime, as was Charlie Hall’s ferocious drumming. The big highlights were Burning, Under The Pressure (without the unnecessary prolonged outro of the original) and the perfect Eyes Top The Wind. The encore provided the night’s big surprise:  starting with a cover of John Lennon’s Mind Games, which was quite amazing. The depth of songs from two great albums made this one of the best sets of any gig I’ve experienced. A great night at an iconic venue.

-- CS (with JC)

Music Chart - April 2014

New albums this month from loser/hipster Mac Demarco - back with the endearing Salad Days, the sublime ethereal jangly-guitar pop of Atlas from Real Estate, and Brooklyn's ferocious Lucius and their album Wildewoman. This month we can also hear the return of Kaiser Chiefs and Education, Education, Education & War - an album which has its moments, both good and bad. In complete contrast EMA fuses passion and technology into an eclectic mix of rough and smooth on The Future's Void, Paul Thomas Saunders satisfies with Beautiful Desolation and Smoke Fairies follow-up their difficult second album with a much more accomplished set of beautiful vocals and solid songwriting. Last but not least, Eels release yet another album of self-deprecation, heartbreak and mournful songs with The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett.

The War On Drugs hold the top spot...

1. Lost In The Dream by The War On Drugs
2. Augustines by Augustines
3. Rave Tapes by Mogwai
4. Morning Phase by Beck 
5. Gach Sgeul (Every Story) by Julie Fowlis 
6. The Gloaming by The Gloaming
7. Smoke Fairies by Smoke Fairies
8. Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles by Suzanne Vega
9. You Chose These Woes by Model Village
10. Beautiful Desolation by Paul Thomas Saunders
11. The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
12. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
13. Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
14. The Take Off And Landing of Everything by Elbow
15. Word Of Mouth by Seth Lakeman 
16. So Long, See You Tomorrow by Bombay Bicycle Club
17. Into The Lime by New Mendicants
18. In The Silence by Asgeir
19. Salad Days by Mac Demarco
20. Blood Red Shoes by Blood Red Shoes 
21. The Future's Void by EMA
22. Echoes by Emily Smith 
23. Atlas by Real Estate
24. Croz by David Crosby
25. Benji by Sun Kil Moon 
26. St. Vincent by St. Vincent
27. Cursing The Sea by September Girls
28. Wildewoman by Lucius
29. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen
30. Songs About This And That by Karin Krog & John Surman
31. Waking Lines by Patterns
32. Here And Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings
33. Wig Out At Jagbags by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
34. Total Strife Forever by East India Youth
35. Too Much Information by Maximo Park
36. Warpaint by Warpaint
37. Eagulls by Eagulls 
38. Education, Education, Education & War by Kaiser Chiefs
39. The Crystal Method by The Crystal Method
40. Kid Face by Samantha Crain
41. None The Wiser by The Rifles
42. Oh My Sexy Lord by Marijuana Deathsquads

The Vinyl Frontier - The Cure, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Bruce Springsteen, Kirsty MacColl, Bob Dylan

The USR music fair at the Rivermead in Reading (UK) on Friday 18th April (Good Friday) was too good to miss this year... one of six biggest UK one-day events and a huge selection of records on offer.

First up, an album I've been waiting for... the limited edition gatefold of Automatic by The Jesus And Mary Chain. By no means the band's finest work, this is the transition between the feedback-strewn gloomy shoegaze of Darklands (and the mighty Psycho Candy début before) and the brilliant Honey's Dead. Fans loved this album, while the critics hated it (Q Magazine struggled to award 2 stars) and I remember listening my cassette copy over and over until it fell apart. And it still sounds great on vinyl today, especially Blues From A Gun and UV Ray.

I've always been a big fan of The Cure but never a big collector...until recently. I keep seeing copies of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me but never The Head On The Door - an album I've been seeking for ages. Boasting one of the band's most creative collection of songs, and the brilliant singles Close To Me and In Between Days, for me this has always been the prelude to their finest work, Disintegration. On side B, A Night Like This and closer Sinking are both the sound of a band coming of age.

I'm always on the lookout for records by Bruce Springsteen and Nebraska was high on my list. A truly challenging record of sparse, dark songwriting - a stopgap between The River and Born In The USA and an album that may have never existed. Springsteen originally recorded it with the E Street Band and then decided to release the 'demo' version. The result is haunting and desolate with piercing vocals and harmonica - Springsteen's folk album, made better by the occasional crackle and blip on the record. The production and songwriting are both superb.

A rose between two thorns, Kirsty MacColl's Kite is still one of my favourite albums of the eighties and a perfect example of an artist doing their own thing in time when so many musicians weren't. This is an eclectic mix of sounds and styles including the cover Days and turns from Johnny Marr and David Gilmour, and Steve Lillywhite on production. This is filled with witty observations, sharp and poignant lyrics, all brilliantly delivered by an artist who left us well before her time.

And last, but not least...the find of the day. For as long as I can remember I have been trying to find a decent copy of Blood On The Tracks. So when I spotted a 'VG' copy for a modest price, I had to investigate. Easily the best thing Bob Dylan has ever made; an album with so much poetry, poise and power doesn't come along too often. From opener Tangled Up In Blue to the vitriolic Idiot Wind, to Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts and the mighty Shelter From The Storm, this is now one of the best in my collection. And for a record that is nearly as old as I am, it sounds wonderful.