Last Week’s Music Today 16/07/2021 ep 5

Another assortment of indie, folk, pop, rock, something jazz flavoured, something 21st century classical, I actually play a track by Damon Albarn (instead of just talking about it) and I have a rant about the Rolling Stones.

Sounds best when played through Spotify Premium—you get the full track!

Here’s the link to episode 5:

Track List for episode 5:

1) Maybe Your Heart’s Not in it No More—The Wallflowers

2) Horse Racing—Half Waif

3) Real Life—Attacca Quartet

4) Hard Life—Pip Millet

5) Rain Fall Down—The Rolling Stones

6) You’re Not Special, Babe—Orla Gartland

7) Lemon!—Foxgluvv

8) Champion of My Time—Soda Blonde

9) Polaris—Damon Albarn

10) Reach Out—Sufjan Stevens, Angelo De Augustine

11) The Afternoon of Human Life—Slowly Rolling Camera, Chris Potter

12) Rae Street—Courtney Barnett

13) Old Peel—Aldous Harding

14) Butterfalls—Royal Canoe

15) I Love the Inevitability of Death—Ciaran Lavery, Soft Sports

16) Guided by Angels—Amyl and the Sniffers

17) Sticky—Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes

18  Over the Ocean—Madison McFerrin

The Atomic Kitten Football Song

Let me begin by saying I’m not really much of a football fan. There are other sports I follow, and when the NBA finals are on I’ve time for little else. My point is, I’m not as much in the loop about the Euros as other people might be. But unless you don’t live in Europe, or live in a cave in Europe, you are at least vaguely aware that England are playing in their first final since 1966. There seems to be an understandable sir of excitement about it. Inevitably, these situations lead to someone or ones coming up with a song to mark the occasion. And more often than not thee songs are roughly based on an already famous song. In this case it’s Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again, with the fans having only changed little more than “Southgate You’re the One” in tribute to manager Gareth Southgate. large crowds have been singing this in stadiums as England have progressed through the Euros. And why not. Sure, Liverpool has been Singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” for decades.

But Gerry and the Pacemakers never recorded it. Granted, they split up the year England were last in a final. Atomic Kitten are still together. And this morning I’m puttering around the kitchen when Atomic Kitten come on the radio with “Whole Again”, or at least I thought that was what I was hearing. “There’s something a bit off about that chorus”, I thought, without being able to quite make out the lyrics from where I was. Then it hit me” OMG, it’s that footbal song!” Yes, the song adapted from Atomic Kitten has now been adopted, and released, by Atomic Kitten.

I’ve heard rousing football songs, funny ones, patriotic football songs, but this may be the first one that could be described as seductive, at least when they’re doing it. You don’t notice so much when thousands of lads are belting it out. It definitely seems to be the song of the moment. See what you think yourself.

And don’t forget to listen to the latest episode of my Last Week’s Music Today podcast on Spotify Premium.

Why aren’t more people listening to Laura Mvula? Listen to “Got Me” on the current episode of Last Week’s Music Today.

Last Week’s Music Today 09/07/2021 ep 4

Time for another instalment of Last Week’s Music Today, a round up of new-ish releases for older-ish people performed by all sorts. This week it’s another round up of rock, indie, soul, R&B, acoustic a few oddities and something that sounds suspiciously like jazz.

Important: It is recommended that you use Spotify Premium to play the podcast. It is the only way you can hear the entire track of each song. Otherwise you get 30 second snippets. This is due to royalty issues.

Here’s the link to episode 4.

Here’s the Track List:

1) Totally—Inhaler

2) So Simpatico—Villagers

3) Stronger—Janelle Monáe

4) Got Me—Laura Mvula

5) Shoe—Matt Maltese

6) Neil Young on High—The Ophelias, Julien Baker

7) We Love Each Other So Much—Sparks, Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard

8) Self—Robert Grace, Emma Steinbakken

9) Daydreaming—Spinn

10) Go—Ten Tonnes

11) Ego—Porij

12) BST—Snazzback, China Bowls

13) July—Sam Ryder

14) The Ghost of Cincinnati—Big Red Machine

15) Bloom—Matilda Mann

16) Chase it Down—Bobby Gillespie, Jenny Beth, Primal Scream

17) Her—Poppy

18) Like a Virgin—YUNGBLUD

Last Week’s Music Today 02/07/2021

I’ve started doing another season of listening to new music releases and, coinciding with that, I’ve started a podcast of Last Week’s Music Today, a radio-style show which contains the tracks I would normally put in the playlist for a given week, along with any observations and other commentary I might have.

The current episode is the third in the series. I wanted to do a few practice runs before I started letting too many people in on it. I’m still working out a few kinks, but it’s getting there.

Important: It is recommended that you use Spotify Premium to play the podcast. It is the only way you can hear the entire track of each song. Otherwise you get 30 second snippets. This is due to royalty issues.

On this episode, Rod Harris and Saunders Sermons revisit the Isley Brothers, the Highwaywomen hijack a highway Unicorn, Mark Ronson takes the Foo Fighters off their usual flight path, and Eric Clapton remixes himself.

Here’s the link to the episode ep 3:

Here’s the track List:

1) Making A Fire—Foo Fighters, Mark Ronson reversion

2) 2 Wrecked to Care—CMAT

3) Nothing Else Matters—Miley Cyrus, WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith

4) Highway Unicorn—The Highwaywomen, Brittney Spencer, Madeline Edwards

5) Its Way With Me—Wye Oak

6) Bottle Rocket—Briston Maroney, Manchester Orchestra

7) There’s a Place—Lionel Richie

8) Step In—Cedric Burnside

9) Bad Boy—Eric Clapton

10) Drunk Voicemail—Pom Pom Squad

11) Back in Love City—The Vaccines

12) Sweet Misery—Tré Bert

13) How Beautiful Life Can Be—The Lathums

14) Lucky—Jason Mraz, Emily King

15) Change Shapes—Rebounder (feat.Jesse)

16) Make Me Say it Again Girl—Rod Harris Jr., Saunders Sermons

17) Rain—Grandson, Jessie Reyez

18) Baghdad—Flo Perlin

Last Week’s Music Today 28/02/2020

I’m old, I’m not deaf—John Locke, Lost

This week raised the bar a bit, and I had to be a bit more ruthless to keep the playlist down to a dozen and a half tracks. Some weeks I’m just spoiled for choice. Also, I managed the first of actually tying a couple lines about each track. Hopefully no one is offended. Hey, if I didn’t like your song it wouldn’t be on the list. No really, there isn’t even the usual token “you really have to hear this to believe it” track.

“Limitless”, the new rocker from Bon Jovi is from their album “2020” out on May 15^th,. That wasn’t a typo, 2020 is the title, which doesn’t sound terribly creative, but we’re told it has something to do with it being an election year, and those people are a little too creative, fantastical even, if you catch my drift. Anyway, Bon Jovi are as dependable as ever on this track. I confess I probably don’t get as excited about a new Bon Jovi release because, in my mind, they’re always overshadowed by that other famous New Jersey rock band from a street named E, who are also due to have an album out this year (finally).

Now that “Bad Decisions” is out I feel safe to say that ”At the Door”, the first release I heard from The Stokes’ upcoming album, “The New Abnormal” (April 10^th) sounded pretty dire to my ears with that dirge organ going constantly. I’m all for experimentation, but I’d still like it to sound appealing. This track not only sounds A-OK, but it actually sounds like the band that blew us away with “Is This It” back at the beginning of the Century. Hopefully the new album will be in a similar vein.

The “twisted love song” (their description) “Headlock” comes from Manchester band Lottery Winners’ upcoming debut album, although apparently they’ve been busy releasing singles for the last few years. Good energy and a fun track to listen to.

I’m really loving this Thundercat retro soul groove with a soupçon of tongue-in-cheek, and “DragonBall Durag” is no exception. And yes, that is a reference to Dragonball Z. I still say he’s channelling the ghost of Frank Zappa on some of his lyrics. Anyway, there will be an entire album of this stuff, “It Is What It Is” out April 3^rd.

“Susie Save Your Love” is by Canadian Indie pop artist Allie X, in collaboration with Mitski from her newly released album “Cape God”, her second. ”No, I hadn’t heard of either one of them either, but Allie has been making music for about fourteen years now, so it’s just that we’re old. This one is a bit dream pop with a kick and answers the musical question once posed by the WRKP station Manager to Johnny Fever: “Do I hear dogs barking?” You do, you do.

“Bad People” is a lovely sounding downer of a song from Lauren Acquilina. It’s basically a post break-up song about how she’s going to go out and be horrible to people just like her ex was horrible to her, because she’s learned that bad people win. But it’s just venting a broken heart, and listening to this track I reckon she’s about as capable of being bad as Edward Scissorhands was in that move. 

Glasgow rock band The Fratellis put on the upbeat, big brass band accents to get you moving on “Six Days in June”, which is taken from their upcoming album “Half Drunk Under a Full Moon”, due out May 8^th.

Sometimes you just have to go a bit bonkers with an instant come-all-ye. Sports Team is an appropriate name for the band that put out “Here’s the Thing”, because it’s a raucous number with a recurring title that sounds like it’s best chanted by 50,000 people. I’ll bet these guys are great craic live. The debut album, “Deep Down Happy”, will be out April 3^rd. One hopes they are not a one-trick pony.

“Strangers” is the latest of releases from Indie group Mt Joy’s upcoming second album “Rearrange Us”, due out June 5^th. I might be crazy, but they remind me a bit of the upbeat, pop side of the Waterboys on this one. Instantly singable chorus.

“The Way” is a track by rappers Trippie Redd and Russ with no actual rap in it—they take the novel approach of singing throughout on this mellow groove. Taken from the Deluxe version “A Love Letter to You 4” which is an update of a previously released album with a few new tracks.

Irish Band Hudson Taylor are actually two brothers with the last name Hudson-Taylor, so probably from D even number with a double barrel like that. “Where did it All Go Wrong” is a polished bit of upbeat pop with a hint of Americana and easily likeable hooks that should server them well. This track was released last Friday and the album it’s from, “Loving Everywhere I go”, bucking the trend of releasing tracks a dog year before the album comes out. Fair play.

It’s possible that what I like best about “Ghost Adventure Spirit Orb” by 17 year old Chloe Moriondo is the title. This indie pop song is quirky in vocal tone and lyric content, more psychedelic than some of the self-professed psychedelic bands I’ve heard lately. So it is good, but that title is awesome.

I can’t find much about London-based Emily Burns new single “Hello” beyond it being about the kind of person who you’ve just about gotten over when they pop back up in your life to trigger all those feelings you told yourself you no longer had. It just might make its way into mainstream pop.

I should have guessed that Orla Gartland is Irish considering all the Catholic guilt dripping from “Oh GOD”. It’s a bit of a break down that sifts time and turns up the temperament as it goes along. Taken from the newly released EP “Freckle Season”

“Confidant” by Blakey is an earnest and intimate, low key song between friends from one who’s been there who knows to be there for the other. Yeah, we’ve heard similar before, but this one starts to work on you after you’ve heard it a few times.

I wonder if Samuel Jack has a brother named Daniels. Nevermind. “Gonna Be Alright” gets off to a slow-ish start with the droning Hammond organ chords, and even when the piano first kicks in on the chorus you might wonder why we’re here. Then the horn section kicks in and this track takes off. I’ll bet Sam has a copy of “Human” in his music collection. He’s got a number of single and EP releases out in the last few years, but the debut full-length album is due out…soon.

Hey, Biffy Clyro are back with “Instant History” a big, BF sounding, polished rock track guaranteed to remind people who they are. They say this is not necessarily reflective of the rest of the album, which will be released…later and be named…something. That’s all we got from them.

And finally we have American rockers All Time Low, with “Sleeping In” an appropriately neat and upbeat rocker with the lyrics flying about as fast as one can sing them. Taken from their upcoming album “Wake Up, Sunshine”, due out April 3^rd.

Last Week’s Music Today 21/02/2020

Here we are again folks with a new list of recently released tracks that I’ve pruned probably more severely than usual. Must be feeling old and cranky this week. Also, last Friday was Valentine’s day, and even the new music feeds went all Hallmark on me.

King Princess gets the list off to a strong start with “Ohio”, which has nothing to do with CSN&Y, but does have to do with some cold and hot indie rough stuff that just might be the best track I’ve heard all week.

On “Sweet Tooth”, Cavetown reminds me quite a lot of Wheatus (“Teenage Dirtbag”), which I know is a too-recent reference for some of my readers, but do catch up.

I keep reading that Australia’s Tame Impala is a psychedelic rock band, and each time I read it I think of Pink Floyd, which is a pretty high standard to live up to. This probably has a lot to do with why I’ve been less than impressed with Tame Impala so far. Having said that, “Breathe Deeper” may be the song I’ve liked best from the ones I’ve heard over the last few years. It still ain’t Pink Floyd, but it’s not bad.

The Khruangbin and Leon Bridges EP collaboration keeps making its way onto my lists track by track, and I’ve been passing because it was interesting but I just wasn’t resonating with it deeply enough. That changed a bit on the slow burner “Conversion”. As it goes on, it starts to remind me of one of those old Rod Stewart slow numbers back when he was a rebel and before he became a crooner of popular hits. Not as loud and rough, but as drawled.

Speaking of Valentines’ day, I did let Gregory Porter get away with “If Love is Overrated”, partially because it’s got a near Nat King Cole vibe to it, which brought back a pleasant childhood memory of a warm spring Sunday afternoon hearing the stereo through the open windows. Gregory might not sound like Nat, but his musical arranger could pass.

OK, let’s get it out of the way. Here’s Billie Eilish with the new Bond Song, which is called “Diamonds are”…no wait, “No Time to Die”. It sounds like a Bond Song, and definitely not like a Billie Eilish Song. But my eight year old daughter is a huge Billie Eilish fan, so there you go.

“On “Just Not with You”, Patawawa, while not being a name I’d want to say in public, lays down a groove reminiscent of Kid Creole then overlays it with Sister Sledge vocals about moving on from a dead-end relationship. Good for dancing under the mirrored disco ball.

“death bed” is one of those “at least now you’ve heard it” kind of songs. I’m not sure which one is Powfu and which one is beabadoobee (sure I could look it up, but some things should remain a mystery), but basically this is a rap about someone laying on their death bed lamenting his impending death and the wasted opportunities of his life while the other one offers to make coffee for someone (surely not the guy in bed?) to help them stay awake. But what’s most remarkable is that, in spite of all this, it all sounds a bit…uh…goofy. I haven’t yet decided if it’s supposed to sound like that.

And the rest you will have to enjoy without my help

Last Week’s Music Today 14/02/2020

Happy Valentine’s Day. This week’s list does feature some love songs, but you could say that about pretty much every song list. See, love is all around you and you don’t even know it. So let’s see what’s in this grab bag of musical delights.

This week’s list seems to be a bit more rockin’ than average, and the hardest song of all is the one Halsey did for “Birds of Prey” called “Experiment on Me”, which even surpasses the edginess on her recent album. For those of you with a weak constitution, this might take your head right off your body, so I saved it for the penultimate track.

Probably the easiest and most fun entry point to this list has to be Green Day’s “Meet Me on the Roof”, which breezes along like a slightly faster and heavier version of Thin Lizzy’s “Dancing in the Moonlight”, while still managing to sound like Green day. I’m starting to look forward to the rest of the album now, and may have to go back and reassess their other recent release“Oh, Yeah”.

“Ladies for Babies (Goats for Love)” is surely a protest song by Nadine Shah about the state of sexual politics in the Mid-East, and probably the most radical thing you’re going to hear this week, musically.

Another week, another One Direction alumnut. This time it’s Niall Horan. Sure, they were boy band, but as solo artists at least some of them have shown there is a solid act II, and are faring better than most at growing up. No Judgement.

I hear you. “Seriously Dave? The Pussycat Dolls? WTF?” Yeah, I know. This is on the list purely from a sociological point of view. Here we have a group of women who dress and behave on stage in a way as to get men drooling over them like obedient dogs, singing their complaint that their lover is drooling over them like an obedient dog. She doesn’t want him to kiss her ass. She wants to wind him up, start a fight. She wants him to “React”. But he’s just too darn nice. If I was him, I’d be asking myself, “Do I really need this kind of drama in my life?” If you have been affected by this issue there is a support page on Facebook, surely.

James Taylor finds an easy-going country swing song to play that’s even older than he is, in “As Easy as Rolling off a Log”. Then Tinsley Ellis is back with his album “Ice Cream in Hell” for a second week, playing “Sit Tight Mama”, just because I feel like it, OK? And I like the way that man plays blues-rock guitar.

Ah, Pixies, I almost forgot about you. I stuck you on towards the end, and mostly because “Mal De Mer” is “merely” part of a collection of outtakes from last year’s superb “Beneath the Eyrie”, an album some critics seemed to dislike for not being Doolittle. And “Abbey Road” isn’t “Beatles for Sale” while we’re at it. Anyway, those same people might enjoy this, being that it is a bit more raw and unpolished. While we’re here, i’d like to strongly recommend last years limited series, “It’s a Pixies Podcast” as great fly on the wall perspective on what it’s like to be in a three week recording session with the Pixies. The popularity of thr podcast is surely one of the reasons behind the outake releases.

You might recognize “Save Tonight” as being previously done by Eagle Eye Cherry many years ago, but where that version raced along at 45 rpm, Tom Speight ice-chills this version down to about 16. Still, listening to it, it’s easy to imagine this is closer to the songwriter’s intention than the original version, which may have been cranked up for commercial purposes in much the same way that John Lennon’s “Revolution” was cranked up when he was told that the version from the White Album wasn’t going to fly on the radio. I’m just speculating on this.

And that’s all I have time to comment on today. Tune in again next week when you might get to hear Billie Eilish sing the new James Bond song. Or not, LOL. It certainly sounds like a Bond theme anyway. I remember when she was just a young unknown working out of a bedroom recording studio with her brother, like it was only last year.

Last Week’s Music Today 07/02/2020

I’m going to level with you. I’ve had a winter bug hanging on for the better part of two weeks. That fed my inspiration to create a list that made me feel good from start to finish, like comfort food, which meant leaving off a few things that I would otherwise feel should be on a list of new releases. So, sorry Gorillaz, but “Momentary Bliss” isn’t here. I usually quite like your stuff, but in this case I already had a headache, thanks. It’s not you, it’s me.

On the other hand, I found I wasn’t in the head space to do much writing about the songs on the list. But finding new music to listen is the main point of this blog. My semi snarky musings arechickenjust a bonus.

How did a chicken get in here? Seriously, autotext. Never blog from your phone.

There’s a bit of everything on here from straight-up electric blues from Tinsley Ellis to a few flavors of soul, including a joyous, samba, Afrobeat hybrid from Jordan Mackampa, one of the most beautiful solo acoustic numbers I’ve heard in yonks from Rumer and Lost Hollow. Plus a good mix of left-of center but easy-on-the-ear indie. Is it me, or is there something quite Ray Davies in Declan McKenna’s “Beautiful Faces”?

I even let erstwhile One-Directioner Louis Tomlison in. If that tiny intro to his “Habit” doesn’t sound like it was sampled from The Stone’s “Wild Horses”, then I don’t know what does sound like it was lifted from “Wild Horses”. Now I’m going to have to go listen to a remastered copy of “Stickey Fingers”.

Who does Lucia sound like on “City of Angels”? Maybe Annie Lennox?

Last Week’s Music Today 31/01/2020

Time once again for another playlist of songs that slid onto my desk over the last week that didn’t slide back off again into the circular file. A good number of these feel a bit retro. Maybe that’s why I like them.

There’s some hootin’ and hollerin’ going on in Jake Bugg’s latest track “Kiss Like the Sun”, an upbeat country blues rocker that is bound to raise the barn roof. This actually came out in November, but this week’s music feeds gave me a newly released acoustic version, which is also fine, but I opted for the original. It’s from his upcoming fifth album

Now for some local lads. “We Have to move on”, which is Dublin band Inhaler’s new track, rocks with energy, hit’s the ear well, and sounds commercial and polished, but not too much so. FYI, singer Eli Hewson’s dad Paul is better known as Bono, but his dad’s shadow isn’t lingering over the band—they are capable of making their own stand, although it’s not a million miles away from the sound the old man’s band made in the early days when we thought they were an indie band, long ago in an era far, far way. They’ve been getting out and about internationally too, and I imagine this track will keep them moving forward.

And now to Scotland for rock band Twin Atlantic. Although “Novocaine” is apparently the single, my feed pushed the opening track, “Oh! Euphoria!” from their fifth album “Power”, which is said to be inspired by colours, moods and memories. Power is as good a word as any to describe this sound, with maybe a soupcon of Depeche a la mode. They go for a big 80’s synth sound here with an insistently heavy mid-tempo beat.

Kelsea Ballerini gives us a pretty, acoustic country pop song about her love and hate relationship with “la” (as in Los Angeles—she’s got a thing for using all lowercase), from her third album due out in March.

Poppy Ajudha and Mahalia team up for the sultry, seductive groove of “Low Ride” I love their harmonies on this, and the rhythmic feel is just enough off kilter to almost be approaching jazz while still being an R&B song. More of this please.

The David Bowie EP “Is It Any Wonder” continues to be released one one-track-per-week basis. And even though I had “The Man Who Sold the World on this list a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play one of my all-time favourite album tracks “Stay”, originally from the “Station to Station” album. He might not be able to hit those falsetto notes here, but the vocal arrangement more than makes up for it. It’s loose and jazzy on the chorus and driven by that Iconic, over-driven grunge-funk guitar riff everywhere else. Best track so far.

The Pet Shop Boys just keep working that 80’s beat hit factory they’ve built. “I don’t Wanna” is a song you can dance to about being too introverted to go out dancing, but he gets there in the end. Reliable as ever.

Eliza Shaddad’s airy vocals along with an arpeggiated electric guitar riff drive the indie rock ballad “Same as You”, taken from her three track “single” Sept ~ Dec.

Badly Drawn Boy is back again too, but not from the dead, although it may seem that way. The singe “Is this a Dream?” is the first release of new material in seven years. It’s an upbeat, bouncing pop track about the chaos of modern life. There will be a tour, but will there be an album? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I never equated Tom Grennan with The Police before, but there’s a certain inflection on some of the notes he hits at the end of the chorus in “This is the Place” that is reminiscent of Sting. The drumming and the occasional staccato guitar chords only add to the effect. Couldn’t point to a specific song, but you’ll hear what I mean.

On this next Island flavoured pop track, I want you to forget about trying to hear Sheneseea’s lyrics on “Potential Man” and just feel the words go by. Maybe it’s me, but it’s pretty cool the way the rhythmic vocal melody goes by like some form of pop scat singing. I’ve got no idea what it has to do with X-Men though. What? Oh, ex man. It was an honest mistake.

I wouldn’t want to be Mae Muller’s ex (I presume). This guy will spend the next few months, at least, hearing repeatedly that he doesn’t need a girlfriend, he needs a “Therapist”. Ouch. This bit of pop crooning is bound to get into regular rotation on the radio, so I reckon there are going to be a few people thinking it could be about them, or more likely more than a few people thinking, “been there”.

Paramore’s Hayley Williams track “Simmer” is simply hypnotic, and the feel belies that this is a song about abuse, rage, and control.  It could work as a dance track if the rhythm was slightly dumbed down. Don’t worry, someone will probably remix it that way.

The youngest person on the list this week has to be 17 year old ren, who, in “New Way” gives us a bluesy pop ballad about a relationship that’s so good she can’t stand it, really. She needs a new way to hate him because she misses the drama. There’s no pleasing some people.

I’m not sure “Fatboy Slim” is anything like in the style of something Fatboy Slim would do, but there’s a great high-energy feel good factor to this track by the Snuts. This is more indie rock than rave, despite the title. The Snuts is a great name by the way—I love a band name that sounds cool and has an is obscure enough to be meaningless to most people. I’ll give you a hint, it’s got nothing to do with the Urban Dictionary.

Pearl Jam return with a song that might be half trying to approximate techno, or at least there’s a smattering of rhythmic synth.  It’s still Pearl Jam, but you might be able to dance to it. “Stand back when the spirit comes” Eddie Vedder “Dance of the Clairvoyants”, a song that seems to be encouraging us to live in the present and not get too caught up in a better, brighter future. “Expecting perfection leaves a lot to ignore.”

Scottish rockers VUKOVI mesh melodic ideas with hard driving guitars on “Aura”

Reportedly, North London’s Sorry are a chameleon-like band. “More” is an indie grunge track with a pop foundation supporting an appealing rough structure. There will be an alum in March, where we can find out more about how varied they really are I imagine.

Mama always said Todd Rundgren is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get. It could be one of his perfect pop masterpieces like “Hello It’s Me” or Real Man. It could be some quasi-political diatribe. It could be a prog rock song about chakras. It could even be his hits reinterpreted in Bossa Nova style (“With a Twist”, 1997). His new single “Bang Bang” is neither the best nor worst of Todd, remarkable considering it was written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford of Squeeze fame, who allegedly all but disowned the song long before Todd took it up. You’d never guess it was theirs from the techno treatment it gets here. It was released on vinyl for record store day last year, but it’s out for streaming now.

Ciaran Lavery wants a cigarette, would rather be in love, but needs to please himself. These seem to be the main thoughts rotating in his head in “Can I begin Again” his depressed and frustrated gritty-indie post self-therapy song. It was the sound of that slow, tragic guitar riff sucked me in. This is from the Northern Ireland native’s impending fourth album.

“Finish Line” is a fairly straight forward big pop song in the direction of Lewis Capaldi by a band called Rowan, There doesn’t seem to be a lot about them on the net, but they seem to be a decent trio of young lads. This might get them noticed.