What's a great way to wish Kim & Kelley Deal a happy birthday? By listening to our interview on tonight's show where we talked about The Breeders incredible classic, Last Splash!
Geoff Stanfield (Farmer/Black Lab) also drops in & we'll revisit a talk with #damienjurado
Every year I make a compilation of some of my favourite tracks from the last 12 months, one song per artist. This year’s compilation is called ‘There Is Nothing Left To Hide’ and you can listen to it on mixcloud or download mp3s (click the links).
Here’s the run down - no particular order of significance, although there’s quite a lot of California in there, the majority of the tracks are female-led and four out of five are from albums released this year.
But it’s all good. Why not listen while you read?
ALDOUS HARDING - Zoo Eyes
Aldous Harding continued to amaze this year with an extrordinary album ‘Designer’, which scored 88% on Metacritic. Words like ‘idiosyncratic’, ‘awkward’, ‘intimate’ and ‘alien’ might come to mind, but the Independent got it right, saying “Harding sounds delightfully free.” A true original.
M. BUTTERFLY - Diamond Mist
Diamond Mist from M Butterfly’s Sophomore album, recorded live on tape in hometown Brighton. A fine performance of a gorgeous song.
THE IDA - Banana Boxes
Blomst are the best Norwegian band at the moment, so it was great that their first UK gig was in a local cafe/bar in Brighton and they blew the audience away as I knew they would. Lead-singer Ida also records songs in English under the name ‘The Ida’ and this is from her first EP in that guise.
HANYA - Trust Fund Baby
Hanya (or Post Heather as they used to be known) have been playing occasional gigs for a few years now, but Heather finished her studies this year so they’ve been able to record and play more. This is from the first of their two recent EPs ‘I used to love you but now I don’t’.
JENNY LEWIS - Hollywood Lawn
New albums from Jenny Lewis doesn’t come around often but when they do it’s like your favourite big sister coming home, and 4th solo album ‘On The Line’ was no exception.
HEATHER WOODS BRODERICK - I Try
A talented multi-instrumentalist, a player in others’ bands, like Sharon Van Etten’s, and sister to Peter, Broderick finally got to release her own record, and it was a beauty.
KEVIN MORBY - OMG Rock n Roll
The Woods’ Morby has released a series of fine solo albums over the last few years but his latest ‘Oh My God’ is a step above most things he’s done before and almost everything released this year. A stunning record.
STELLA DONNELLY - Beware of the Dogs
Australian Stella Donnelly released her solo album and it provided amongst other things a soundtrack for the Me-Too gen. This is the title-track.
BILL CALLAHAN - 747
One musical highlight this year was seeing Bill play live in London. This track is from his 17th album Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, his first for five years, a time in which he has grown a family and become more domesticated, happenings reflected in a beautiful new collection of songs.
NATIVE HARROW - How You Do Things
Third album ‘Happier Now’ is a stunner, and seeing Devin and Stephen play a cooler-than-cool self-promoted set in a tiny local Brighton venue, the Village, was another musical highlight this year.
SARA MELSON - Feel It Coming
Came across the unsigned Sara Melson on Soundcloud and this song blew me away. It somehow manages to combine intimacy with power-balladry, without at any time cracking into corn. You’ll love it. An EP is coming soon,
NANCY PRIDDY - You’ve Come This Way Before
Nancy Priddy was an actress who appeared in the Waltons and Bewitched, dated Stephen Stills and is Christina Applegate’s mum. In 1968 she released an album that is a minor psychedelic classic and this is the title track.
ANA EGGE - Teacake and Janey
After last year’s excellent White Tiger, Egge came straight back this year with a new album ‘Is It The Kiss’ that is even better. This track is from that.
NICOLETTE MACLEOD - Father Father
I put on a gig featuring Nicolette Corcoran Macleod as a support act ten years ago but incredibly she only got around to releasing an album this year. It is a little bit special.
RED RIVER DIALECT - Snowdon
From Cornwall via Brighton and London, on their latest album this wonderful folk-rock band managed to create an anthem for Wales.
DAMIEN JURADO - Lincoln
His 14th album ‘The Shape Of A Storm’ was a stripped-down affair, revealing the beauty of Jurado’s songwriting in its simplest starkest form.
DAVID McWILLIAMS - Livin’s Just A State Of Mind
David McWilliams (1945-2002) was one of David Bowie’s favourite songwriters, and touted as Northern Ireland’s answer to Dylan, a not unreasonable comparison given the quality of McWilliams’ songs. He is best known for ‘the Days of Pearly Spencer’ (1967) but this is the title track from a 1974 album.
LANA DEL REY - Doin’ Time
I didn’t think I liked Lana Del Rey but she just gets better and better and this year’s ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’ (6th album in 9 years) is undeniably a superb achievement, so much so that the Guardian deservedly made it its album of the year.
PORRIDGE RADIO - Lilac
Anyone who heard Brighton-London band Porridge Radio play one of their five or six gigs at the Great Escape festival this year came away singing the (at that time) unreleased new song ‘Lilac’. Now they are signed to Secretly Canadian and ‘Lilac’ has at last got a release. It’s stunning:
“I don’t want us to be bitter I want us to get better I want us to be kinder to ourselves and to each other…”
[Bonus Track]
THE FAMILY GRAVE - The Children (demo)
The Family Grave (f.k.a. Hiawatha Telephone Company) released an album ‘Everybody is Flawed’ at the start of the year. They only wrote one new song this year, The Children, which was released on Soundcloud. We like it. A lot.
That’s it folks!
Listen to the whole compilation on mixcloud or download the mp3s
Great music but he hit maybe 4 notes on key. Stephanie loved it I'm sure. I'm not a fan. Thanks Underdog Records! #vinyl #vinylcollectionpost #bestofwinston #underdogrecords #wsnc #wsnc100percentlocal #discogs #damienjurado (at Le Château De Beeman) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0bzrRYJQAo/?igshid=icn1jvi49ef3
🔶🔷 TICKET TUESDAY 🔷🔶 Spend $20 on anything in the shop and get a pair of tickets to any of these upcoming shows. • Quantities are limited. First come first served. ° Thanks @sartainandsaunders for the tickets. • #3Teeth #TalibKweli #StefChura #DamienJurado #BlackFlag #Why #PlagueVendor #KishiBashi #CheckOurStory #SpecialGiveaway #buylocalslc (at Diabolical Records) https://www.instagram.com/p/BztEt9FBSFY/?igshid=eljbgdn0sch3
Notable New Releases for New Music Friday, 4/12/19: The Chemical Brothers-No Geography Norah Jones-Begin Again Shovels & Rope-By Blood Damien Jurado-In the Shape of a Storm Budos Band-V Jeff Tweedy-Warmer (Vinyl Only) Glen Hansard-This Wild Willing John Paul White-The Hurting Kind The Minus 5-Stroke Manor FONTAINES DC-Dogrel #newmusicfriday #thechemicalbrothers #nogeography #norahjones #beginagain #shovelsandrope #byblood #damienjurado #intheshapeofastorm #budosband #v #jefftweedy #warmer #wilco #glenhansard #thiswildwilling #johnpaulwhite #thehurtingkind #theminus5 #strokemanor #fontainesdc #dogrel https://www.instagram.com/p/BwKfHLrAS_E/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rwpim297zgot
10月のベストナインアルバム。 やはり先月もSpotifyが大活躍です:-) K2レコードでのレンタルやタワレコとかにないものをあっさりと再生できるのはほんま強い! Passed And Presents/Life In Bed Caught In The Trees/Damien Jurado Ohmagoddabl/Audun kleive Spry From BitterAnise Folds/Fifth Of Seven Regresa/Buscabulla Sling/Clairo Women In Music Pt.3/Haim Lush/Snail Mail The Martian Chronicles/Solaris #lifeinbed #damienjurado #audunkleive #fifthofseven #buscabulla #clairo #haim #snailmail #solaris #先月の9枚 #spotify #k2records #towerrecords (Kyoto, Japan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CV-29XjBiQR/?utm_medium=tumblr
Damien Jurado and Nick Thune on stage @hardnoiseblog during their #sadmusicsadcomedy tour’s stop in Toronto. Shot for an upcoming peice in @hardnoiseblog . . . . . #nickthune #damienjurado #sadmusicsadcomedy #lonboathall #richardswift #torontocomedy #musicalcomedy #blue #50mm #thehardnoise #youngemodernlaughs (at The Great Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ypreSnj7b/?igshid=c1t637iyw3kw