It’s a sort of twilight in this room. People are sitting on folding chairs or the floor, leaning against a wall or holding their knees in the middle of the room, sitting alone or in small groups. Some of the children are restless, two of them are lying on their fronts, heads held in their … More The Sky in a Room, Ragnar Kjartansson
Three songs have haunted me in 2016 and will do so for a long time. Each one is among the most extraordinary that I’ve ever heard. In order, they are:
In no particular order, 10 of my favourites from 2015 plus a cheeky two that I missed in 2014. The Color Waves ‘Chirology’ Adult Mom ‘Survival’ The Joy Formidable ‘Y Garreg Ateb’ San Fermin ‘Jackrabbit’ Lanterns on the Lake ‘Faultlines’ Paper Aeroplanes ‘Sail’ Courtney Barnett ‘Nobody Really Cares if You Don’t Go to the Party’ … More Top 10 Songs 2015
After last week seeing Patti Smith in Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs from the ‘Horses’ session it was quite an experience to see her perform that album at the amazing Roundhouse in Camden in London this weekend. It was pretty much goosebumps all the way from the moment she began reading the sleeve notes from a 12″ copy of … More Patti Smith at the Roundhouse, London
This is just gorgeous. Twangy guitar and a haunting melody - just my cup of tea and perfect for an autumnal Sunday night. It’s by the Color Waves, which is the new band of Glasgow-based Alison Eales who’s also a member of the excellent Butcher Boy amongst all the other things that she does. She’s also … More The Color Waves, ‘Chirology’
The Welsh rock photographer, Chalkie Davies had about as close a front row seat as you could wish for of some of the most extraordinary episodes in music history as this exhibition shows. My personal favourite is this of Ian Dury which made me laugh out loud. I also liked this unexpected pairing: Nick Lowe and … More Chalkie Davies exhibition, Cardiff
The 20 songs I’ve been listening to and loving most this year. 20. Doe ‘Unrested’ 19. EMA ‘So Blonde’ 18. I Break Horses ‘Medicine Brush’ 17. Little Arrow ‘Spider’ 16. Little Big League ‘Boyish’ 15. The History of Apple Pie ‘Keep Wondering’ I can’t find a video or sound cloud file for this one. It’s worth … More Songs of 2014
Here’s a confession: I have Americanaphobia. I fear that if I allow into my life too much of it then, before I know it, one day I’ll find myself enjoying, say, Lady Antebellum. And that would be a terrible fate. The trouble is, I keep coming across artists who can clearly be labelled ‘Americana’ whom I … More Song for Saturday: ‘Old Black Hen’ by Songs:Ohia
Another one from Edinburgh’s National Gallery of Modern Art but this time a very recent image. It’s of electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram, who co-founded the BBC Radiophonic Orchestra. The artist is Glasgow-based Victoria Morton. I think the mish-mash of bright colours probably match the strange new sounds she was producing in that studio.
There are only two members of Honeyblood but they make such a big sound with just a guitar and drums that you think they must be a larger band. If you like your guitars fuzzy and skuzzy, vocals drenched in reverb and gorgeous melodies, you’ll love their debut album. It’s difficult to pick one … More Song for Saturday: ‘Choker’ by Honeyblood
