Category Archives: favorite albums

Catching up on music with…

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…a number of things lately! As always, my primary listening time has been during my writing sessions, and considering my current project is a space opera with an ensemble cast, I need a lot of mood music to keep me going. To wit…

Bob Moses’ latest album BLINK is excellent, but pretty much anything they do is something that fits perfectly with my work on writing science fiction. Moody, groovy and full of atmosphere.

The self-titled album by Packaging came to my attention via KEXP (as most things do these days), but I’m intrigued that this was a band that actually decided to describe itself as motorik — that almost-forgotten German electronic style of single-chord groove that feels like high speed driving (see bands like NEU! for the genre’s history, you won’t be let down). “Running Through the Airport” is not only perfect mood music, it’s surprisingly catchy.

I’ll admit that I thought Unbelievable Truth was a Bernard Sumner side project, as I thought it was him singing the track “You’ve Got It”, but it didn’t sound like New Order or Electronic. Come to find out, it’s actually the brother of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, which makes a lot more sense as the music definitely has that King of Limbs tension.

Crushed is an interesting band in that they’re like Curve but not as heavy; they’re Phantogram but not as noisy; they’re shoegazey but not as…reverb-y. The album no scope has grown on me over the last month and I find myself returning to it quite often.

Then there’s Nation of Language, which I’ve been a fan of for quite a few years now. They’ve fully embraced that indietronica sound that is more about sitting back and listening instead of dancing. Another album I find myself returning to.

…and an album that just dropped in physical format that I’m looking forward to listening to: Touch by Tortoise. It’s their first new album in nine years, and I had no idea it existed until I was looking at the new release list last Friday! [Yes, that still happens to me, and I love it every time.] They’re one of those interesting experimental rock bands from the late 90s and early 00s, with their style heavily inspired by jazz.

Catching up on music with… Automatic

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This band has been around for a bit now and gotten some play on KEXP (some years ago they did a great cover of Delta 5’s “Mind Your Own Business”), but it’s their new release Is It Now? that’s been getting a lot of play here in the office.

They’ve definitely got that early-eighties post-punk vibe going on with their stark production and twitchy beats, kind of coming across like a mix between Joy Division at their perkiest and Tones On Tail at their goofiest. [I recently learned that there’s an actual connection with the latter — drummer Lola Dompé is actually the daughter of Kevin Haskins, who was in ToT, Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. Their style is very similar in places.]

While I do enjoy the title track, it’s “Mercury” that’s been getting stuck in my head lately, which also gets a lot of play on KEXP.

Definitely worth checking out if you’re into that classic post-punk sound.

It’s the next best thing to be

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Well, this just popped up on the internets today, and it’s exactly what I was hoping would happen with this song when “Now and Then” dropped in 2023. I’d always preferred “Free As a Bird” over “Real Love” as it’s a more dynamic and fascinating song and the more (ahem) Beatlesque of the two. I get that in 1995-96, you could only do so much with a lo-fi cassette source tape, so I accepted that the vocals would be a bit funky. I figured that with the MAL software making John’s voice in “Now and Then” crisp and clear, they’d finally do the same for the other two.

From what I’ve been seeing, the box set (which drops this November, just like all the other previous super deluxe editions) remasters the original three volumes, with an additional fourth volume containing mostly tracks that had shown up in said box sets, with about a dozen previously unreleased tracks. This would include the “2025 mixes” of the two 1995-96 songs. In addition to that, Disney+ comes through again by rereleasing the Anthology miniseries, expanding to nine episodes. I’m also going to assume that this would include the three videos for the new songs, as well as the several vignettes, outtakes and extras that came with the original Anthology dvd set. Perhaps there might be more unreleased footage? Who knows?

Mind you, I’m not going to be one of those musos complaining that it’s missing long-sought after tracks (looking at you, “Carnival of Light”) or that the additional new tracks aren’t properly inserted into the original three to preserve chronology, or that it might not be in 5.1 surround, or that *gasp!* it’s available digitally. Me? I’m just going to preorder it and enjoy it, because that’s what proper Beatle fans do!

Catching up on music with… Doves

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The new Doves record Constellations for the Lonely has been on heavy rotation here at the New Digs, especially during writing sessions. They’ve always been a favorite of mine, and this new record was well worth the wait. Opening the album with dark and gloomy (and heavily reverbed) piano chords on “Renegade” definitely evokes that feeling of an oncoming rainstorm. Perfect mood music to inspire me.

Recently I’ve started listening to the recent Deluxe Edition version, which features the album in instrumental form. Not that I dislike Jimi Goodwin’s voice — his tone reminds me of Guy Garvey from Elbow, strong without having to exert power behind it — but it’s great to hear just how brilliant and slightly psychedelic this trio’s sound can be.

Catching up on music…with Steve Queralt

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Who, you say? He’s the extremely underrated bassist for the band Ride, who you may well remember because I often mention via their brilliant 1992 song “Leave Them Far Behind” or their recent reactivation over the last five years. While the two vocalist/guitarists from the band (Andy Bell and Mark Gardener) have both had impressive solo careers, Queralt remained in the background, only resurfacing a few years back with fellow bandmate, drummer Loz Colbert, on an instrumental side project called ID. He’s just dropped his first solo album, Swallow, in mid-June.

I admit I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with this record, but I was definitely not expecting what sounds frighteningly like a Lush album! Part of it of course is that Lush’s Emma Anderson — someone who’s also recently resurfaced with a solo project — joins on vocals for a handful of songs. The record definitely has that reverb-heavy feel to it, but interestingly has moments of Radiohead influence as well, such as the strange ambience of “Mission Creep” or the rattling noise of “Messengers”.

I’ve been returning to this one a lot lately, quickly earning a spot as a writing soundtrack!

Catching up on music…with Preoccupations

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I can’t decide if this band is trying to be Comsat Angels, early Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons UK, or all of them and more. Not that I’m complaining, because this is fast becoming one of my favorite recent acquisitions!

What I mean to say is that this new album is definitely hitting all the right buttons for me: echoey 80s post-punk retro goodness that sounds like something you’d hear on some college radio station just about coming in on your boombox in your bedroom. Melodic basslines, vocals alternating between slithery and shouty, jangly guitar riffs, and adventurous melodies that resonate perfectly for me. I highly recommend this one.

Catching up on music…

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Considering I’ve spent the last month or so focusing on moving house and day job stuff, I’ve fallen behind on my listening habits! So I’m going to spend a few days just going through some of the new releases and get my head around them.

Such as the new Peter Murphy album, Silver Shade, which came out on 9 May. I have to admit I really love it mainly because it feels like a true return to his classic form. His last couple of albums were good but very ponderous, but this one brings him back to the style he did best back in the late 80s and early 90s. It really does sound like a mix of the best parts of Love Hysteria and Deep, but with the added bonus of some heavy NIN influence.

Definitely an album I’ll be listening to during writing sessions.

More to come!

It’s that time of year again…plus recent listens

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Believe it or not I did not listen to Revolver this time out while I did our taxes! Just…didn’t feel in the mood, I guess. But yes, everything is done and away until next year. Who knows what they’re going to look like then?

In the meantime, I’ve been revisiting some music from 2001-2002 — the Belfry Years, specifically the albums that were on heavy rotation during the writing of A Division of Souls, which I’m currently ‘remastering’. [Long story short if you don’t follow my writing blog: It’s been ten years this September since I first self-published the book, so I thought I’d do a tenth anniversary special edition. I’m currently doing a bit of revision and clean-up where needed, fixing up the cover a bit, and perhaps adding some extra bonus things. And yes, I will most likely be doing this for The Persistence of Memories and The Balance of Light as well.]

So what’s popped up that I’m enjoying once more?

I’d forgotten how much I loved Zero 7’s Simple Things! It’s a lovely record that feels a bit like Morcheeba with a hint of Air and “Destiny” is just a wonderful track.

The Chameleons UK shows up on my playlists partly because I love the track “Swamp Thing” so much, but this 2001 album was an amazing return to form after a long hiatus for the group. Highly recommended.

Big Wreck has always been one of my unsung favorites. They’re one of those bands that are absolutely amazing yet have never had a huge following. Loud and extremely melodic, they’re definitely not alt-metal, but they’re not just another 90s alt-rock band either. I highly recommend checking out all their work.

I kinda sorta liked Coldplay’s “Yellow” when it came out, but I wasn’t completely sold on their lighter sound. I even passed up picking up their second album A Rush of Blood to the Head until I heard them do “Politik” live on the Grammys in early 2003. That’s when I realized just how amazing “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face” is, and how this band has a lot more going on than just radio friendly fare.

More to come!

Music Is My Radar

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I’ve been listening to a lot of music from 2000-2001 lately, and this song popped up on my playlist. Blur can be kind of odd at times, but this one’s strange even by their standards. It was a new track to sell up their Best of album that dropped on 30 October 2000, but it pretty much sounds like an extended jam session set in a single key, feedback and all. It might be filler, but it’s also infectious and demands to be cranked up.

Still, one of my favorite songs of theirs, and I absolutely love the oddball video they made for it.

Anything new…?

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As a matter of fact, yes! I’ve been meaning to listen to the new Franz Ferdinand album, The Human Fear! It dropped last Friday, and I’ve been hearing a few of its singles on KEXP lately (including “Night and Day” which I’m really liking). They’ve always been one of those bands who are catchy as hell yet slightly off-kilter — and super fun live, considering we caught them at Outside Lands a few years back — and they sound better than ever.

Anything else…? Well, there’s also Lambrini Girls’ Who Let the Dogs Out. Shouty punk with thick Brighton accents? Sure, why not? This is one of the many styles I listened to back in the 90s and I love that it’s experiencing a renaissance.