Hey, remember when I did Blogging the Beatles way back in the day? Where I went through the entire official discography and geeked out on one of my all-time favorite bands? (If not, find the tag for it at the bottom of my blog and give it a read!)
So lately I’ve been going through my mp3 library doing a bit of clean-up and reorganizing, and I landed on my Depeche Mode collection, and it dawned on me: I really loved this band back inthe day. Like, they got me through a lot of emotional crap during my teen years, inspired a lot of my creativity, and if they’re ever on the radio I will most definitely be singing along. They’re also the band I’ve seen live the most.
And it dawned on me: maybe I should do another Blogging the… for this band! Going through those early albums and singles, I suddenly remembered all these deep cuts and multiple remixes and realized that I really have not given them the love I once did, not in a long time. While this version won’t be as musically nerdy as the Beatles one was, it will most likely be a lot more emotional and personal.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
This was definitely an interesting year for music! We had several ‘comeback’ albums from musicians who hadn’t had a studio release in over a decade — not just the Cure, but The The, The Softies and The Wolfgang Press — and we also had several excellent anniversary reissues popping up as well.
While my listening habits pretty much remained the same, I was super excited by the news that my favorite station, KEXP, would start broadcasting here in the Bay Area! We’ve desperately needed a good alternative rock station for years (I’m sorry, Live 105, but you are not cutting it even despite recently rising from the ashes), and they’ve always had a super strong fanbase here. So far they’ve been quite successful!
Musically I found myself leaning towards electronic and shoegaze once again, but that’s not to say I was firmly entrenched; the local label Slumberland has been consistently putting out some brilliant jangle pop and lo-fi gems and I’ve become a loyal fan. Still, a lot of non-KEXP listening was focused primarily on moods and vibes this year, mainly for a need of soundtrack music while working on Theadia, my first space opera.
So! Without further ado, here’s my official end-of-year playlist/mixtape for your listening enjoyment!
This one’s a long playlist/mixtape collection of 129 songs so I’ll spare you the list here. So instead, on with my favorite releases of the year! This time I’m merely listing them in alphabetical order as I tended to enjoy all of these equally, with the bolded title being my top favorite of the year. As I’ve mentioned quite often, these were albums that got a lot of play here in Spare Oom, whether on days off or during writing sessions.
ALBUMS Bastille, “&” (Ampersand) Bibio, Phantom Brickworks (LP II) Coldplay, Moon Music Elbow, AUDIO VERTIGO Four Tet, Three GIFT, Illuminator Hooverphonic, Fake Is the New Dope Kelly Lee Owens, Dreamstate La Luz, News of the Universe Linkin Park, From Zero Ride, Interplay The Cure, Songs of a Lost World The Fauns, How Lost The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Unwishing Well The Softies, The Bed I Made The The, Ensoulment Torres, What an enormous room Underworld, Strawberry Hotel Various Artists, Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense Various Artists, Red Hot Org Presents TRAИƧA
SINGLES Bad Bad Hats, “My Heart Your Heart” Corridor, “Jump Cut” deary, “Selene” DIIV, “Brown Paper Bag” Elbow, “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years” English Teacher, “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab” GIFT, “Later” Girl and Girl, “Hello” Kamasi Washington, “Prologue” Kelly Lee Owens, “Love You Got” La Luz, “Strange World” Orcas, “Under the Milky Way” Orville Peck & Beck, “Death Valley High” Ride, “I Came to See the Wreck” RÜFÜS DU SOL, “Music Is Better” The Cure, “And Nothing Is Forever” The Fauns, “Doot Doot” The National, “Heaven” Torres, “Collect”
REISSUES American Football, American Football 25th Anniversary Edition Cocteau Twins & Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies Cranes, Collected Works Vol 1 Garbage, Bleed Like Me Deluxe Edition George Harrison, Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary His Name Is Alive, How Ghosts Affect Relationships 1990-1993 Hugo Largo, Huge, Large and Electric: Hugo Largo 1984-1991 Ivy, Long Distance 25th Anniversary Edition John Lennon, Mind Games: The Ultimate Collection and Mind Games: Meditation Mixes Kristin Hersh, Hips and Makers 30th Anniversary Edition New Order, Brotherhood (Definitive) REM, We Are Hope Despite the Times Seal, Seal (1994) Deluxe Edition The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Still Barking (1967-1972) The Dream Academy, Religion, Revolution and Railways: The Complete Recordings The Police, Synchronicity Super Deluxe Edition
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So what do we have coming in 2025? Good question. So far I know we have new albums coming from Franz Ferdinand, Ringo Starr, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, Doves (!!), Manic Street Preachers and Mogwai. Stay tuned!
Hope everyone has a great 2025! See you in the next year!
Granted, the last couple of months of the year usually go by in a blur, especially since I work in retail. Between the day job and writing and everything else, I tend to lose track of time and forget minor details and things like that. But thankfully the year did end on a positive note, with a wonderful handful of new records!
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deary, Aurelia EP, released 1 November. One of my favorite newer shoegaze finds with that wonderful guitar wash sound I love so much. I played this one a lot during my writing projects!
Ivy, Long Distance [25th Anniversary Edition], released 1 November. This is probably my favorite Ivy record and one that got a lot of play during the Belfry years. I highly recommend giving this one a listen!
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World, released 1 November. Their first studio album since 2008’s 4:13 Dream, this is well worth the wait, and both critics and fans alike have put this on their list of top albums of the year. The more I listen to this, the more I feel it’s one of their best albums to date.
Linkin Park, From Zero, released 15 November. It’s great to see this band not only returning but essentially picking up where they left off. Emily Armstrong is a great choice to heal the loss of Chester Bennington…while she’s got the same scream-vocal style he had, she gives it her own style and spin.
George Harrison, Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary Edition, released 15 November. This is my second favorite George solo record (after All Things Must Pass of course), and it’s got some of his best work on it. While the album itself leans heavily on the spirituality, it’s not overly cloying. It’s well worth checking out.
New Order, Brotherhood (Definitive), released 22 November. This reissue was also worth the wait as well, as their ‘Definitive’ series provides fresh remasters and intriguing bonus tracks and rarities. This was probably my favorite album of theirs after Substance and got a lot of Walkman play back in the day, so it’s great to hear these songs fresh once more.
U2, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Re-Assemble Edition), released 22 November. Another reissue, this one a twentieth anniversary remaster of their 2004 album plus several more tracks recorded during its sessions but mostly unreleased. It’s a fascinating listen as many of the extras feel much looser and more experimental than what showed up on the original.
Kim Deal, Nobody Loves You More, released 22 November. It’s surprising to know that this is actually Deal’s first solo album, after working so many years with Pixies and The Breeders. It kind of reminds me of The Breeders’ Pod actually, with several of its songs played loosely as if it was more of a demo record than a complete project. Yet that’s the kind of work she’s always done best.
Bibio, Phantom Brickworks (LP II), released 22 November. I first found out about this musician through the first Phantom Brickworks back in 2017, and this sequel is just as fascinating. His work leans towards slow and ambient — the perfect score for my writing sessions, of course — and this one in particular reminds me of one of my favorite ambient records, Global Communication’s 76:14.
Various Artists, Red Hot Org Presents TRANSA, released 22 November. Red Hot has always put out fascinating compilations, and this one is a heartfelt celebration of the trans community. It features forty-six tracks of all kinds of styles, including Moses Sumney’s groovy cover of Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, a surprisingly calm cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” featuring none other than Wendy & Lisa themselves, a ghostly cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s “Feel So Different” by Sharon Van Etten and Ezra Furman… and the biggest surprise, an absolutely lovely track by Sade herself written for her trans son. It’s a fascinating listen and highly recommended.
Mixtape/Playlist, Re:Defined 2405, created 1 December. This particular mix showcases several songs that stopped me in my tracks in the latter half of this year — songs that literally made me stop writing or surfing the internet to focus on what I was hearing. That’s been sadly very rare these days, but I’m glad there’s still a lot out there that will do that for me.
Garbage, copy/paste, vol 1 (Abridged), released 6 December. A shortened version of a Record Store Day special release, this showcases the band’s penchant for the occasional cover song, many of which usually end up on single b-sides. I was familiar with half of these, but their take on The Psychedelic Furs’ “Love My Way” was a great find.
Saint Etienne, The Night, released 13 December. Glad to see this band returning after a couple of years (songwriter/keyboardist Bob Stanley has been doing a lot of music biography writing as of late, and I highly recommend them). It’s a bit quieter than their usual output, but it’s a great listen.
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….and that’s it for the year! I did leave out quite a few records, mainly due to space, but I’m glad to say that a lot of it stayed with me over the months while I focused on my writing!
As the year winds to a close, I’ve realized that I’m getting a bit closer to the levels of music immersion I’d been missing for a while. After several years of what I tend to describe as ‘surface listening’ — liking a lot of new stuff but not really letting it resonate all that deeply, thus not establishing that wonderful feeling of letting the music speak to you — I’ve started to relearn how to listen and feel that resonance again. Repeated listens to certain albums. Slowing down on the constant influx of new music every Friday. Allowing myself to connect with the sounds that truly excite me. And most of all, making the time to return to earlier music so it doesn’t flit off into the ether to be forgotten.
It’s all really kind of complicated, my relationship with music. Perhaps I should think about this a bit more and do a blog series about it.
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Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ‘No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead’, released 4 October. This influential post-rock band continues to excite its fans with its unique sounds: sometimes adventurous, sometimes droning, sometimes quiet, sometimes ear-splitting.
The Smile, Cutouts, released 4 October. Thom Yorke’s side project surprised us with a second all-new album, this one just as odd and imaginative as January’s Wall of Eyes.
Coldplay, Moon Music, released 4 October. This band continues to follow its path of alternating between glossy pop albums and meandering experimental ones, and this one feels like a bit of each. It’s definitely got the quieter tones similar to 2019’s Everyday Life but also the poppier moments of 2021’s Music of the Spheres. This got a lot of repeat play here!
Public Service Broadcasting, The Last Flight, released 4 October. This is actually NOT the first concept album about Amelia Earhart this year (Laurie Anderson surprised us with her first album in fourteen years with August’s Amelia). PSB’s continuing fascination with flight works well here, focusing on its early history.
John Lennon, Mind Games – Meditation Mixes, released 9 October. John’s son Sean curated this two-hour ambient experiment as part of the multi-format remaster/reissue of John’s 1973 album, and it works surprisingly well. It takes the title song we all know and turns it into ten tracks that feel very much like a Global Communication project. It’s extremely relaxing, not to mention a perfect writing session soundtrack!
RÜFÜS DU SOL, Inhale / Exhale, released 11 October. This Australian alternative dance trio sounds very similar to the alt-electro scene that gave us bands like Bob Moses. It’s a record that could easily fit in at a dance club yet also work perfectly on indie radio like KEXP. This is exactly the kind of music I love listening to while working on big projects like Theadia and MU4.
Gut Health, Stiletto, released 11 October. Fast and twitchy, this band definitely wears its 70s post-punk/No-Wave influences on its sleeve, and they’ve put out a super fun and exciting debut album well worth checking out.
Kelly Lee Owens, Dreamstate, released 18 October. Speaking of dance beats, this Welsh singer and former bassist for The History of Apple Pie (one of my favorite finds of 2013!) stays out in the periphery of her genre by doing similar work to Rufus Du Sol and Bob Moses — beat-heavy yet extremely melodic and full of emotion and creativity. One of my favorite albums of the year.
Japandroids, Fate & Alcohol, released 18 October. Their first new studio album in seven years, it is also, alas, their final album as they chose to break up after its release. Still, it’s a hell of a great way to go, going out on a high note and dropping yet another super fun noise fest of a record.
Phantogram, Memory of a Day, released 18 October. This band continues to fascinate with its electronic-alternative hybrid sound. This one sounds similar to their earlier work, yet that’s not a bad thing.
L’Arc~en~Ciel, “You Gotta Run” single, released 19 October. Their first new single in three years, it was recorded as the opening theme for the Beyblade X anime series but works just as well as a standalone single, featuring their signature heavy rock sound.
Bastille, “&” (Ampersand), released 25 October. This was a bit of a strange album, considering they’re more well-known for more radio-friendly tracks like their biggest hit, “Pompeii”. [For instance, the opener “Intros & Narrators” shifts recording speed within the first minute, causing the listener to wonder if their copy is defective.] It’s a quiet and contemplative record and definitely not chart-friendly, and yet I think it’s one of their best yet. Highly recommended.
The Clockworks, “Blah Blah Blah” single, released 25 October. This band continues to be one of my top favorites of the last five years, and they haven’t let me down yet. Like other rock bands like IDLES, they evoke that classic post-punk feeling of discomfort and agitation yet reel you in with incredible songwriting.
311, Full Bloom, released 25 October. I’ve been a fan of this band since my post-college days, and it’s great to see that they’re still going strong and still funky as hell. It’s a super fun album to listen to.
Ben Folds, Sleigher, released 25 October. You never quite know what Folds will be up to next, and yet every surprising release tends to evoke a ‘well, it doesn’t surprise me that he did something this odd’. And this time out he’s released a lovely and fun holiday album of both standards and originals.
Underworld, Strawberry Hotel, released 25 October. I was pleasantly surprised by how great this album is, as I’ve always been a fan of the band and yet never sat through a full record of theirs without needing to take a break from all the heavy beats and mumbly lyrics. There’s something about this album that just struck me as full of heart and emotion and stayed with me for weeks. I highly recommend it.
Pixies, The Night the Zombies Came, released 25 October. I’ll admit this one feels more like a Frank Black solo album than a Pixies album, and I think it’s that they’ve finally started to move away from their old angular punk sound that had given them so much success in the past. I’d say it does remind me a bit of 1990’s Bossanova, which focused more on surfy melodies than the noisefest of their other early works.
Mixtape/Playlist, Songs from the Eden Cycle Vol 10, created 28 October. Wow, I’m already on ten volumes here? Granted, I only restarted the series in 2018 so it’s even more impressive that I got six done in six years during the years I haven’t been working consistently on the next Mendaihu Universe book! Heh.
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We’ll wrap this up on Thursday the 26th with November and December’s tunage in order to fit in my best-of lists on the 31st! See you soon!
Walk In Silence 