It is not as if Phillip Sutton needs to prove himself. His time with and fronting acts such as Comet Gain, Kicker, The Soft City, Velocette, Pale Lights, and Cinema Red and Blue should already have his name engraved on even the most jangle-pop adverse hearts. However, he does like to reinvent himself every few ..read more

The last time we heard from The Color Waves, Mr. Trump was pretending COVID did not exist while failing to see any contradiction in calling such a non-existent illness the ‘Chinese Flu’, and Boris Johnson and his Tory barsteward cronies were trying to convince the British public that a fifty people drinking, playing music and dancing, whilst nibbling on snacks could in no way be construed as a party. Yes, COVID-19 seems like a long time ago now, but acts like Garry Hoggan and his The Color Waves project, who released a lovely eponymous album of subtle cinematic and symphonic pop, helped to bri ..read more

Over the years Heiko Schneider has been all manner of ‘glorious spurious’ with a back catalogue that flirts with all manner of graceful obtuse that never really allows the listener to settle, but still manages to excel in an aura of total indie chic. Schneider’s omnipotent sense of ‘difference’ still remains on his latest If I Had Known Then album, but it somehow manages to gain the accolade of being his most accomplished work yet courtesy an extra strength lyrical glue that augments his trips in and out of the darkest recesses of the concept of friendship. As such, he delves or more pertinent ..read more

Picture this…The 1970s. Huge yachts. Smooth lothario men with Tom Sellick style hirsute chests, massive sideburns and tight speedoes, standing on deck, surrounded by beautiful Greek Islands and even more beautiful women. Fruitful attempts are being made to hang on to the last remants of all that was free about the 60s and fun is being had by absolutely all, perhaps with the exception of the man in the tiny wooden fishing boat, in the corner of the picture. Obligatory pretty girls in summer dresses, frolicking on golden sands with perfect smiles and ‘too skinny’, heroine chic figures, complete ..read more

From a superficial perspective this debut Don’t Leave single by Clare, Australia’s The Boltons, meets all the criteria needed to be a success in the world of 80s inspired jangle-pop. Tight, incidental C86-style jangled riffs, smooth crooning vocal inflections, and a name that starts with ‘the’ and ends with either a small northern town name or a common British surname (extra kudos for filling both naming criteria like this one). However, to dismiss them as another 80s jangle-pop tribute act would be to dismiss the extra augmentation they add to their sound. Here The Slow Summits semi-croon bei ..read more

I imagine Julian Pitt (aka Armstrong) making music in his home studio as something of a fun hobby for him that sometimes (and thankfully increasingly frequently) results in him having an ‘oh go on then moment’ as he decides to impart upon his increasingly adoring fanbase the results of his musical noodlings. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, and the fevered imaginations of my furrowed mind may not actually mirror the earnest application and attention to detail that his always wonderful music represents. If this is the case, then this Summer is Here EP shows Pitt to be the co ..read more

For those of you that have never been exposed to the jangly sophistication of Japan’s The Laundries, this The Selection of the Laundries compilation album, out of the increasingly essential blue-very label, offers the perfect place to become acquainted with them with ten of their most special tracks over the last 20+ years. Plainly influenced by the neo-acoustic/ guitar pop sounds of acts like Nick Heyward, Aztec Camera, and the scouse-pop of Shack and Pale Fountains, and in turn an obvious influence for fellow Japanese acts such as Luby Sparks and Pillows, this album simply teems with jangled ..read more

The recent renaissance of the ‘cassingle’ has definitely refreshed memories of many a pleasurable hour rummaging through the bargain bins of numerous record shops (there was one on every high street in the early 90s when I was a student) when I should have been listening to some Professor et al. blathering on about Pope, Defoe, Hardy, Fowles, and other English literature luminaries that got them all moist and flustered. This Self-Portrait double-tracked single stirs such memories more than most, consisting of two tracks that are defiantly dissimilar but still very unified purely because of the ..read more

When this popped up in my Bandcamp recommendations, I thought: a) superb, another Estella Rosa/Fadeawayradiate tribute compilation, and b) how on earth did she manage to complete such a project when the great man only passed away around six weeks ago? All was revealed with the brevity of the three track release and the fact that all the acts involved have had Rosa on vocals at some point and have worked with each other in some capacity. However, if ever an old pals reunion was justified it is on this remarkably tender tribute to Terry Hall (The Specials, Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Vegas e ..read more

Those of you who follow this blog will know that I have wibbled on like some sort of gushing fanboy over the talents of this Goole UK-based trio, Sandra’s Wedding, over the course of the previous four albums they have released since 2017. Of course, if you have ever listened to the band, you will know that such exuberance feels so very apposite to the sound, essence, and feeling that their music portrays. Their aesthetic is one of resignation to life’s lot in the UK’s small northern towns muddled together with perhaps even the slightest hint of stoic celebration of it, or at least the gloriou ..read more