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Monday Tunes: Scorchio

/ Tony / 6 Comments

Boy it’s a hot one – 32 degrees and more to come. While I try desperately to limit the typical ‘hot enough for you?’ comments and moaning about it being too hot that usually pervades conversation in this country (I fucking love it, any weather that means my thermostat isn’t kicking in and letting the electric company bend me over and shaft me like I’m in prison is a boon), I figured it time to ask, once again, to borrow your ears and mutter about that which has been filling mine of late.

PJ Harvey – The Glorious Land

I went back and forth with PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake album but recently something about it clicked, perhaps it was hearing this song afresh, perhaps it was feeling a similarly scathing view of the country, perhaps it was just one of those things where your ears are just ‘open’ to something at the right time. Either way, I’ve been enjoying ‘The Glorious Land’ a fair bit recently.

Regina Spektor – Better

Lola Young – Messy

Picking up the recent repress of Regina Spektor’s Begin to Hope felt like an ‘orange flame’ time machine back to hearing it for the first time in 2006 and seeing her shortly thereafter in a venue since torn-down for London’s Crossrail project.

Lola Young’s ‘Messy’ is one of those that kept popping up lately in the background – probably because she played that big festival that everyone talks about this time of year. It’s another one of those where I’m forever saying ‘ohh, what’s that song?’ because I’m enjoying it. Although I’m reliably informed I’m a year out of date with this, probably even more so with those I’ve been hearing by Chappell Roan, but at least I’m still managing not to shut myself off to new music.

Omertà – Kremer & Bergeret

Stereolab – Lo Boob Oscillator

Not the South Italian mafia’s code of silence… but an underground French band that manage to combine a two-bass-driven funk groove with post-rock like keyboards for a psychedelic vibe that ticks all my boxes and, for reasons I can’t explain, feels like a natural fit next to the recently-reunited Stereolab tune from 1993. Despite being on a compilation of tunes rather than an album proper, it’s probably their best-known song.

Bruce Springsteen – Maybe I Don’t Know You

It was inevitable that, since Friday, most of my listening has been Springsteen-flavoured. The release of Tracks II: The Lost Albums is as big a drop of new music from Bruce as there’s ever been. Most of my attention, though, was reserved for The Streets of Philadelphia Sessions – the lost album from the early ’90s that had long been rumoured. It feels like a missing link has been found for me, like a favourite album that I’d been waiting to hear. It’s a brooding, bruised but gorgeous vibe with just the right sound mixing. The balance between the synths and loops and the occasional piercing guitar is just spot-on. That he’s been sitting on this for more than 30 years is shocking. Was it the tepid response to Human Touch / Lucky Town? Was it still not being sure of his own ‘solo’ voice? Was it that he thought another relationships album would be one too many right then? Who knows, I’m just glad we finally have it.

Monday tunes: recovery mode

/ Tony / 1 Comment

It’s been a weird old couple of weeks. A long drive down to Cornwall – which I think is only ever a short drive from somewhere else in Cornwall – and back for work followed very quickly by the switch to BST knocked me a little for six.

As I sit here recovered and with a week to spare before I put myself through a similarly taxing schedule, albeit for pleasure this time , I thought I’d ease myself back into this (and before tackling the final two instalments of the Springsteen Least and Most series) and ask you to lend me your ears for a few tracks while I share a sampling of those tunes that have aided my return to sanity as much as the copious amounts of caffeine I’ve been mainlining.

Tess Parks – Somedays

Margaret Glaspy – Act Natural

There’s something satisfying about a good needle-drop in a film when the song is one you love and that’s the case with Tess Parks’ ‘Somedays’ which I was pleasantly surprised to hear pop up in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.’ It’s such a beautiful stroll feel of a tune. Margaret Glaspy’s 2023 album Echo the Diamond is definitely worth checking out – the New York based singer-songwriter came to my ears on a Wilco playlist somewhere or other as she’d previously toured with them. Speaking of Wilco..

Wilco – Handshake Drugs

The Beta Band – She’s the One

I’ve been on a real Wilco rediscovery kick lately, reabsorbing favourite albums – like the recently reissued A Ghost Is Born from which ‘Handshake Drugs’ hails – and spending time with those that I’ve missed. It’s been, and continues to be, a real pleasure especially as my son seems to be keen on them too helped by the fact that they wear their Fab Four influence on their sleeve.

The Beta Band are, hopefully, poised to enjoy a resurgence as they’ve rallied together again after their initial gentle collapse in 2004. Back with tour dates booked and a reissue campaign ready to go included their The Three E.P’s – yes, as referenced in ‘High Fidelity’.

Buffalo Tom – one of Boston’s many fine musical acts – are also in the process of reissuing many of their ’90s albums and, judging by their social media posts, it looks like Sleepy Eyed is about to be next as it hits its 30th anniversary this year.

Buffalo Tom – Sunday Night

Bruce Cockburn – Lovers in a Dangerous Time

It’s funny where you discover music isn’t it? ‘Lovers in a Dangerous Time’ came up as track one some ‘heardl’ challenge or another. I hadn’t heard it before, so I failed that one. But I did love the tune and have since been enjoying his 1984 album Stealing Fire of which a bulk of the material is inspired by his travels in Central America.

Something a little more up to date…

Lissie – Into The Great Wide Open

I don’t spend a lot of time watching television – well, streaming that it, that is. There are couple of other shows that aren’t called ‘Reacher’ that I’ve enjoyed recently and ‘Bad Monkey’ was pretty solid. Its soundtrack of Tom Petty covers (as it’s based in Florida) was an added bonus. ‘Into The Great Wide Open’ has never been one of my favourites yet Lissie – who also appeared in my other recent binge, ‘Loudermilk’ – does a great job of turning it into a regular spin.

Matt Berninger – Bonnet of Pins

The National’s front-man has a new solo album on the horizon and I’ve been pretty taken with ‘Bonney of Pins’, really enjoy the way this one builds into a frenzy (well, by the self-proclaimed ‘Sad Dads’ standard, at least) of sorts.

Thanks for sticking around, hope you found something to enjoy.

Tuesday afternoon, I’m just beginning to see… Tuesday tunes

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Another temporary interruption in Springsteen posting bought to you by the urge to share other things that have been worming into my ears lately.

Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More

Kim Deal’s debut solo album – which is a pretty weird thing to be typing given the length of her career – continues to be a source of delight. There’s a wonderful sense of freeness to the songs that’s beautifully infections.

Smashing Pumpkins – Pentagrams

Also a weird thing to be typing in 2024… the new Smashing Pumpkins album has proven a regular spinner since the physical version arrived a few weeks back. While it’s not going to sit up there with them in terms of quality, it’s nice to hear the band creating guitar-heavy tunes in the style of their stellar ’90s output.

Wilco – Impossible Germany

Sky Blue Sky really is a wonderful album, isn’t it? I love how this song develops and takes flight.

Momma – Ohio All The Time

There’s something deliciously late ’90s / early ’00s soundtrack vibe about this that I adore. I caught this a while back and it’s gotten me hooked on the band since.

George Harrison – Isn’t It A Pity

Of all the things John Lennon regretted saying, “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” is probably not on the list. But I’d hope he regretted having consistently vetoed Harrison’s ‘Isn’t It A Pity’ after George put it forward in 1966. It’s that time of the year when I slowly rewatch ‘Get Back’ and each time it’s more a surprise that George didn’t leave sooner given how crappily Heroin John reacted to the songs he was bringing to the fold. Anyway, there’s not much better than this.

New things from old friends

/ Tony / 2 Comments

In the interest of fairness, after my recent clump of new music from new bands, it’s probably about time to highlight such offerings from acts more familiar to the collective ear.

Pearl Jam – Dark Matter

I couldn’t be considered a Pearl Jam fan if I a) hadn’t listened to this a good few times since it appeared last week and b) didn’t pop it up the top of this list. Oddly, while it seems to be going down well enough (one headline review: ‘Song of the Week: “Dark Matter” – Put Some Fucking Respect on Pearl Jam’s Name’) I’m not quite beside myself about this. It’s pretty good and promises some heft but I’m wary about Andrew Watt’s involvement. Sonically everything he touches sounds like over-produced shlock. While the notion of Pearl Jam working at speed and not over-labouring can be good, their best records are those that lean into the depths in terms of arrangement and sound and I don’t think Watt is the man for the job. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll be spinning it as soon as possible and hope to be proven wrong.

J Mascis – What Do We Do Now

Whether it’s Dinosaur Jr or J Mascis solo, J’s album’s are amongst those I’ll hit pre-order on without hearing a thing and I’m never disappointed. Of his recent solo offerings What Do We Do Now – also highlighted by Christian – feels the closest to ‘band’ than others, with more gorgeous guitar solos than we deserve and a lovely rich sound, it’s already had many a play through and will no doubt have more before the year is out.

Sunny Day Real Estate – Novum Vetus

It’s hard to know what’s more addictive right now, this fucking brilliant video or this fucking brilliant new song from Sunny Day Real Estate. I say ‘new’ – it’s a song that they’d been kicking around since 1998 but was only recently bought back into play and expanded into this seven minute epic as they set down a live rack-by-track re-recording of their debut Diary.

Billy Joel – Turn The Lights Back On

Shall I give what’ll probably be the 265th blog take on the first Billy Joel song in nearly two decades? Nah. It’s surprising, it’s pretty damn good and whether there’ll be more is anyone’s guess (I reckon not).

The Mysterines – Stray

A new Mysterines album is due this year – their 2022 album Reeling was a real promising start – and I get the feeling we’re up for darker and heavier.

We should have kept it every Thursday, Thursday Thursday in the afternoon…. for a couple of spins

/ Tony / 2 Comments

Never fear, readers of the blog world! I am here to put your mind at rest on multiple fronts: yes, I’m still about; yes, I’m going to answer that burning question ‘what the fuck has he been listening to?’; yes, you’ve made it to the ‘good’ list and Santa shall be dropping gifts beneath your tree; no, the Right will not win forth; YES, you have just seen the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, Viagra-taking, love-making, legendary E STREET BAND!

Well.. at least some of those, ok?

Life, being monumentally busy with work, health, DIY projects… all of these things have conspired to keep my fingers away from pushing ‘new post’ but music has continued to throb through my ears at various decibels throughout.

On a side note, I spent last year’s festive period absorbing ‘Get Back’ at leisure whereas this year looks set to be spent soaking in the joy of Lee Child’s famous one-man-army being perfectly captured by Amazon with the second season of ‘Reacher’ providing a pleasing counterpoint to the usual fluff on at that time of year:

So aside from a lot of Bruce (as I work on another longer-form Boss Post), what do I want to share today? Here are a few nuggets you can take or leave….

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul – Inside of Me

It’s not Bruce but it’s definitely connected…. I’ve just got underway with Stevie Van Zandt’s book ‘Unrequited Passions’ and while I’m a way off I’m looking forward to getting his take on his departure from the E Street Band. Everything I’ve read indicates it was down to Van Zandt looking for more of a creative partnership whereas Springsteen wasn’t looking for that level of input. Given that Miami/Little Steve was already in the progress of making Men Without Women at the time the ‘now or never’ feeling to step out and try it alone proved too strong. I’ve yet to delve too deep into Van Zandt’s solo work but I’ve been giving that first album a lot of time this week. There’s some great lines in this one: “There was a moment in time, we could almost taste the adventure every day. Now I know that we’re a little bit older
but that don’t mean there’s nothing new left to say”

New Dad – Nightmares

In my efforts to stop myself turning into a guy in his mid 40s and paraphrasing Homer ‘they stopped making good music in 1996′ I keep trying to find new music that gets my feet boppin’. New Dad are exactly one of those newer acts that just tick a whole lot of boxes for me. They’ve been dropping great individual tunes over the last year or so with their debut album primed to drop early doors next year and no doubt going straight into my slightly-less-stuffed record shelves*.

Slowdive – Kisses

We’re already into that time of the year when everyone is publishing those ‘Best XXX of 2023’** lists and there’s been a lot of great albums. Slowdive’s Everything Is Alive is just one of those but it’s had a seemingly constant presence in the rotation list since its release.

H.E.R & Foo Fighters – The Glass

I had no clue as to who H.E.R was until I caught her collab with the Foos on SNL and then saw her mentioned when Music Enthusiast put Rolling Stones’s ‘fucking fiasco’ of a 250 Top Guitarists List on blast. As we’re talking great albums of the year I’m as surprised as anyone that Foo Fighters would make that list for me in 2023 as anyone else but But Here We Are is worthy of that place and this is a great take on one of its cuts.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Bitch, I Love You

Some time ago I got lost down one of those Spotify rabbit holes while delving into blues-rock and ‘artists like’ stuff and found Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and stuck around to explore and enjoy. This is the kind of love song that should get more play – though I don’t think I’d try singing this to my wife at any point+.

F.J McMahon – The Spirit of the Golden Juice

A couple of months ago we popped over to Amiens and grabbed a copy of Mojo en route. I’ll often pick up one music mag or another a month these days but the ‘Buried Treasure’ cd on this one caught my fancy and F.J McMahon’s ‘The Spirit of the Golden Juice’ really stood out.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying his album of the sam name since. It’s one of those glorious ‘mystery’ albums (much like Solid Oak’s Top Drawer) in that since being pressed in a small run in 1969 it and F.J disappeared without making an impact. I read recently that, frustrated at diminishing returns in a crowded scene, F.J headed to Hawaii on a friend’s advice but gave up after realising he’d ended up a covers act / juke box for tourists and walked away from music. He joined the Navy and got training and a career as a field computer engineer. His record, meanwhile, was becoming something of much-loved cult classic and, once it was rereleased properly back in 2017, found a much more appreciative audience than it had fifty years earlier.

*upgraded storage not ditching any wax

**XXX as insert here rather than “step bro, what are you doing?”

+Not more than once that is

Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby! Midweek spins

/ Tony / 2 Comments

The will is there, the time isn’t always there for getting back into this after a summer lay-off… but lobbing up a quick ‘I’ve been listening to this sort of thing’ list isn’t a bad way to get into it, I guess.

It’s been a surprisingly music-heavy time lately helped by needing (thanks to throwing my back into a ridiculous shape) to work from home a bit more meant the turntable got more action than usual. Though that does mean less of my listening went to ‘new’ music rather than newer stuff from the familiar like the new albums from Slowdive (a clear march on album of the year) or Explosions in the Sky (absolutely brilliant).

Slightly off topic but I’ve also been enjoying the Wes Anderson helmed takes on some Roald Dahl short stories that have been added to Netflix lately. As a fan of both film maker and writer it’s been great to sit down as a family (my wife and I are about halfway through ‘Asteroid City’ and waiting for it to really take off…) but more surprised to see the credits for each of them cite Maidstone Studios (about a mile or so from our place) as a location for filming. While a lot’s been filmed there over the years (it used to be the location for Jools Holland’s Hootenany) it’s a surreal idea to think Wes Anderson was working away that close to home.

Getting back to the listening…. I don’t think I even made it all the way through the new song from U2, ‘Atomic City’. What a lot of shite. I wouldn’t say that they’ve done much of note for some time but someone clearly bypassed all elements of quality control there in the rush to cash-in even more from their no doubt minimum wage gig at the Sphere. No doubt Rolling Stone will praise it as record of the year… Anyway here’s a quick heads up on what I have been listening to….

Bleach Lab – All Night

Bleach Lab’s newly released debut Lost in a Rush of Emptiness is a wonderful thing, another gorgeous slab in what seems to be a resurgence of etherial, shoegaze fuelled dreampop.

Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas

Speaking of etherial shoegaze lushness… I’m fast playing catch-up with Cocteau Twins and their Heaven of Las Vegas album has been getting a lot of spinnage lately.

Motörhead – Emergency

It can’t always be ‘Ace of Spades.’

Bruce Springsteen – Burnin’ Train

I’m toying with the notion of updating my ranking of Springsteen’s albums given he’s released two studio albums since then. A recent free-trial of Apple TV meant I was able to watch the Letter To You feature which was a lot of fun – the somewhat overly hokey voice-over narrative aside – and much more of an insight into the E Street Band’s recording approach than ‘Blood Brothers’ proved especially when it came to Stevie Van Zandt’s role in terms of arrangements and increased solo playing as on this cut. I really must get hold of SVZ’s book….

The War On Drugs – Change

What to do when you discover a new record shop has opened in your town after years of no alternative to HMV? Well… you go in and browse and if you find I Don’t Live Here Anymore on vinyl for a tenner less than you’ve seen it anywhere else you buy it, take it home and spin that sumptuous album because no matter how many times you hear it it’s still fucking great.

Mitski – Heaven

One of those names I kept hearing / reading but never followed up on until I heard ‘Heaven’ on the radio a couple of weeks back and have been hypnotised ever since.

Mondays = Post Rock

/ Tony / 16 Comments

For the last couple of years Monday has been a locked-in work from home day for me. Aside from resolving a child care issue it also helps the start of the working week feel a little less of a kick in the nads.

It also means that along with access to good coffee, I have the opportunity to indulge in a post-rock soundtrack for my working day without the usual (‘it’s been ten minutes, how is this the same song?’ or ‘has it even started yet?’) commentary or need to stick headphones on.

For the uninitiated, the term itself came from a discussion of Talk Talk and Bark Psychosis – both bands that helped shape the genre from an early point. I’ll borrow from a couple of definitions here to explain it (dancing about architecture springs to mind at this point) as a “form of experimental rock characterised by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs” performed by a group of musicians leaning on the traditional ‘rock’ instruments / lineup: two guitars, a bass, drums, keys etc and, occasionally, vocals but applied to “nontraditional rhythms, melodies, and chord progressions.”

There’s a lot of beard-stroking.

Of the many things I love about it is the sheer scope and variety found within what can so easily be perceived as a narrow genre (with offshoots into math-rock, post-metal) and the universality of it – as occasionally pointed at in my Out of Europe series.

Anyway, without going too deep into a history or explanation of, I thought this a good moment to drop some of what I’ve been enjoying today:

Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud

Mogwai, from Glasgow Scotland, are one of the titans of the genre. They got in early in ’97 and have been consistently belting out great albums (and soundtracks) since. The Hawk Is Howling is one of my favourite Mogwai albums – it’s their sixth – and recently added to my record shelves completing their discography on wax.

Explosions In The Sky – Logic of a Dream

Texans EITS are another pillar of the genre who have currently got their fans in a bit of worry: having ditched all other content on their social channels and announcing ‘The End’ Tour without any explanation as to what ‘The End’ is – curtains for the band or new album? We all hope for the latter – it’s been some time since The Wilderness – but touring and making money from music is becoming increasingly hard if your name isn’t Taylor Swift these days.

Pray for Sound – Julia

A band familiar to at least one reader – ‘Julia’ and Waves hits all the right spots.

Astodan – Sagdid

Astodan hail from Belgium. They’ve added a vocalist to their lineup recently but I’ve yet to check that out as I’m still stuck spinning their 2018 album Ameretat – few bands manage that dynamic of melodic, piano-driven calm to pulverising FUCK YES and back as brilliantly as they do across the album (or even one five minute song).

Monday tunes you sure look fine

/ Tony / 3 Comments

Ah, it’s been a minute.

As it’s that kick in the pills that serves as a reminder that the weekend is over that’s also known as Monday, it feels like a fitting moment to come down from tripping the cosmos collate some of those tunes that I’ve been enjoying of late in the hope that others dig them too.

Top Drawer – Song of a Sinner

I’ve been listening to a lot of Vietnam-era tunes lately (more on which to follow) and I guess the algorithm overlords of Spotify decided I’d enjoy this. They were right. Top drawer (pun intended) garage / psych rock from 1969 of which I know nothing about other than I dig it, man.

Pink Floyd – The Gold It’s In The… (2016 remix)

On a very similar vibe – and bypassing the fact that Roger Waters has travelled so far up his arsehole he’s come out as a Russian apologist for a moment – I’ve been enjoying some of the Early Years takes from Pink Floyd lately and Obscured By Clouds being one of those albums often overlooked it’s always worth revisiting a tune where Gilmour gets to break loose for a few bars.

Blondshell – Sepsis

This is one of those examples of not judging books etc etc…. I saw the name ‘Blondshell’ in one of those ‘artists to look for in 2023’ lists at the end of last year and scrolled on as it was sandwiched between some of those rappers with ‘Lil’ or ‘Big’ and numbers in their names and I figured it was more of the same. However, I went back to the list and read ‘brutally frank, distorted guitar-driven’ and started listening. Sabrina Teitelbaum – who performs as Blondshell – was en route to becoming a pro pop music writer before dropping out and writing her own stuff on a more alt leaning which means there’s a clear songwriting sensibility stapled to that aforementioned ‘distorted guitar-driven’ vibe that makes for great listening.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – The Trip to Pirates Cove

I’ve been listening to a lot of later-period Tom Petty on the road lately. The inbuilt chill to his voice serves as a perfect counterpoint to the throb of the Ferrari’s V12* that helps take the edge off the cocaine. For reasons unknown it took me a long time to get to Mojo (well, I guess the reason was the disappointment of The Last DJ) but it’s a real resurgence of a record and I love both the overall vibe of this one but especially the lyric “she was a part of my heart, now she’s just a line in my face.”

Gretel Hänlyn – Wiggy

I’m determined not to be one of those guys that once the mid-40s arrive they adopt the ‘no music worth listening to has been made since 199X’ and I’m constantly keeping an ear out for stuff that has a vibe I can plunge into. I can’t tell you anything about Gretel Hänlyn – who I caught on the radio – other than she’s a 20 year old singer / songwriter / guitar player from London. Obviously there’s a big 90’s guitar element to this that’s probably why it caught my ear and I’ve come to terms with the fact that, given the age of a lot of current new bands I’m digging, it’s likely that they’ve been taking inspiration from their parents’ record collections.

Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightning

The cub has some very specific requests when it comes to music to listen to and when he recently requested we pick up a 3-disc ‘Classic Blues’ comp I didn’t have any objections and this tune is always a stone-cold killer.

*that sounds uncannily like a Ford diesel.

It was that Wednesday when the storm was sinkin’ low… some mid-week tunes

/ Tony / 1 Comment

Here we are on week eighteen of January and it feels like a suitable moment to take stock on what – in between sunning myself on tropical shores and spending my money on fast women and slow horses – I’ve been punishing my ears with this last week or so.

Camp Cope – Caroline

I’d seen Camp Cope’s 2022 album Running With The Hurricane crop up on a few ‘best of year’ lists recently and have spent this week hooked on it. It’s absolute cracker.

Alexi Murdoch – Through The Dark

Occasionally I’ll flick on an episode of something while I’m chewing down my lunch (usually in between the second and third meat courses while the servants are refilling the wine). I recently flicked on an episode of ‘House’ in which this song featured and I found myself captivated by it – in a way it recalls those moody acoustic bruisers that Pearl Jam would drop in their middle period.

Laura Cox – So Long

‘Half English – half French, 100% Rock n Roll’ is how Laura Cox describes herself. All I know is I’ve been digging her new album of late – she fits into that blues rock vibe with a nice meaty tone.

Tori Amos – Pretty Good Year

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Tori Amos’ first couple of albums since 1357’s appraisal of Little Earthquakes and they’ve both been rereleased in pretty coloured vinyl packages recently too. My cassette versions of them are holding up ok so I’m not about to drop coin on replacing them but there’s genuine gold in those albums. Related question: does anyone burn cds anymore?

Russian Circles – Ethel

The whole Memorials album is strong but there’s something so transportive about ‘Ethel’ that it’s a regular player on my Post-Rock playlist. I know, even as a lover of the genre, some post-rock tunes can hang around longer than an unwanted politician but this one is in, out, done in just four minutes of brilliance.

Slowdive – Slomo

Speaking of transportive…. I’v played Slowdive’s Slowdive more times than I can count since it joined my collection at the tail end of 2021 and it was only a week or so ago that, when slipping the lp back into the sleeve, I realised it had a download code in there. Since then it’s been on the regular in the car too – there’s something immediately soothing about ‘Slomo’ in particular that makes it as an ideal to cue up for the drive home as it does chilling out at home after a hard day’s drinking and hitting the pipe.

The telex machine is kept so clean and it types to a waiting world… Monday spins

/ Tony / 7 Comments

Time slips away… this blog has been a little abandoned again of late though this time it was down to actually taking as much of summer off and away as possible and taking a little drive down to, and around, the South of France to soak up some sun and explore.

However, as term starts and the rain is slowly filling up the pond in my front garden that had been pretty much emptied by the summer’s draught, it feels like a good moment to take stock and shake off some dust with a quick punt out of those songs that I’ve been enjoying of late.

Bruce Springsteen – Hey Blue Eyes

As I pull together some pieces for another Bruce series I find myself listening to this more and more. American Beauty was an EP put out for RSD back in 2014 and this track – an off-cut from previous sessions with Brendan O’Brien is one of those nagging, seemingly-simple songs which highlights just how effective Bruce can be with something that he decides isn’t an ‘A’ tune and ends up being released, essentially, as a b-side (think ‘Shut Out The Light’ and goodness knows how many others).

Foo Fighters – Band on the Run

On the subject of RSD releases… The Foo Fighters put out Medium Rare – a thirteen song strong collection of covers – for Record Store Day back in 2011 and I’d been after a copy for a while. The Foos were always a delight when cutting loose on a cover, combining their increasingly tight chops with their tongue-in-cheek approach makes for a cracking listen. So I was pretty chuffed to find a mint copy in a record shop in Avignon which promptly left with me. Along with the likes of ‘Darling Nikki’ and ‘Baker Street’, this is a pretty strong example and seems fitting to slip on here after this weekend’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.

Adé – Tout Savoir

Driving around for two weeks listening to the same radio station means you’re gonna hear a few songs played a lot especially if they’re big. Along with Sting’s ‘Rushing Water’ and a few others, Adé’s ‘Tout Savoir’ has been firmly lodged in my ears but it’s one that I continue to enjoy, it’s pretty upbeat with a decent melody and offers more than your usual pop radio fodder.

Larkin Poe – Hard Time Killing Floor Blues

Every now and then the boy will request ‘Planet Rock’ on the car radio. Sometimes I’m not in the mood as there’s only so much leather waistcoat music I can take but his recent request caught something called something called ‘The Blues Power’ show and made for a pretty decent drive and this one ended up lodged in my head. I don’t know much about Larkin Poe other than it being fronted by two sisters but I’m enjoying this one plenty of late.

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram – Long Distance Woman

Keeping that blues crunch vibe going, I caught this guy’s name being mentioned in high esteem in various print / online music chats and was pretty impressed when I checked out his stuff – this dude can play and he’s only in his early twenties (though he could probably benefit from a salad or two). This is form his second album 662 which I’ve been joyously powering through lately. He does a great take on ‘Hey Joe’ too that’s all over YouTube. 

Ryan Adams – Rollercoaster

While the music press and industry are still keeping Ryan Adams on the naughty step, he’s remained busy with some sell-out shows and a tour on the way as well as continually releasing albums and a prolific rate with three albums, two of which are doubles, in 2022 alone, that continue to mix his stark acoustic works with that golden late-80s vibe which he’d started to perfect with Prisoner. ‘Rollercoaster’ is taken from the middle of this year’s three albums, Romeo and Juliet. 

Pixies – Vault of Heaven

Hey! The Pixies have got a new album coming out soon that’ll mean they’ve released as many albums since reforming as their original run. While you can’t expect another Bossanova or Doolittle, they’re sounding increasingly comfortable and stretching out with increasingly strong and consistent albums. If this song, about the time Frank Black joined Mark Knopfler’s band I think, and previous ‘There’s a Moon Out’ is anything to go by, Doggerel is gonna be another belter.