The Monthly Playlist selection of choice music, plus our Choice Albums list from the last month.
A couple of months back we decided to change things a little with a reminder (if you like) of not only our favourite tracks from the last month, but also a list of choice albums too. This list includes both those releases we managed to feature and review on the site and those we just didn’t get the time or room for. All entries are displayed alphabetically.
Our Monthly Playlist continues as normal, with tracks this month chosen by me, Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver and Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea.
A Journey Of Giraffes ‘Emperor Deco’
(Somewherecold Records) Review
MC Paul Barman ‘Tectonic Texts’
Elea Calvet ‘Seasons’
Inturist ‘Tourism’
(Incompetence Records) Review
Eiko Ishibashi ‘Antigone’
(Drag City)
Timo Lassy Trio ‘Live In Helsinki’
(We Jazz)
Nickolas Mohanna ‘Speakers Rotations’
(AKP Recordings) Review
Che Noir & Superior ‘Seeds In Babylon’
Alberto Novelle & Rob Mazurek ‘Sun Eaters’
(Hive Mind Records) Review
Andrew Rumsey ‘Collodion’
(Gare du Nord) Review
Schizo Fun Addict ‘An Introduction To…’
(Fruits der Mer) Review
Snapped Ankles ‘Hard Times Furious Dancing’
Sonnyjim & Kong Artisan ‘Effortless, Almost Dead’
(Noel & Poland Records)
Russ Spence ‘Phase Myself’
(Metal Postcard Records) Review
Macie Stewart ‘When The Distance Is Blue’
(International Anthem) Review
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, Sam Wilkes ‘Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes’
(International Anthem) Review
The Young Mothers ‘Better If You Let It’
(Sonic Transmissions) Review
Previous Monthly Choice Releases:
And now, the tunes of the month playlist selection:
Snapped Ankles ‘Pay The Rent’
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets ‘Weird World Awoke’
MC Paul Barman, Donwill ‘Killinagame’
Jansport J, Airplane James, Sham1016 ‘T-Top’
Alessandro Alessandroni ‘Militari in allarme’
Black Mynah ‘Colleen’
Che Noir, Superior ‘Sovereignty’
Droogie Otis, Boldy James ‘Everything Designer’
Timo Lassy Trio ‘Rumble Outro – Live’
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, Sam Wilkes ‘Marvis’
Takuro Okada ‘Howlin’ Dog’
Inturist ‘Special Offer’
Elea Calvet ‘Bad Joke’
Sweeney ‘Love Is A Waste Of Time’
Eiko Ishibashi ‘Antigone’
Meggie Lennon ‘Connexion Astrale’
Apollo Brown ‘Honestly Don’t’
The Moose Funk Squad ‘Cheetah Piss’
Black Josh, Lee Scott ‘Aw, Here It Goes’
Queen Herawin, Pretty Bulli, Illa Ghee ‘Denial’
The Young Mothers ‘Better If You Let It’
Lord Finesse ‘Habits of Desperation’
Sonnyjim, Kong The Artisan, Lord Sko ‘Idiot Savant’
clipping. ‘Polariods’
Macie Stewart, Lia Kohl ‘I Forgot How To Remember My Dreams’
Nickolas Mohanna ‘Past Light Cone’
Previous Industries ‘Adriana Furs’
Sporaterra ‘Unglued’
PremRock, Sebb Bash ‘Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…?’
Flying Tulpa ‘Signless’
Andrew Rumsey ‘The Memorial Service Orders of Friends’
Nick Frater ‘One Minute’
Honor Saint William ‘THE IDIOT’
Puce Moment ‘Bugaku’
Alberto Novello & Rob Mazurek ‘Ricochet Edge Verse’
El Leon Pardo ‘Viaje Sideral’
Mick Harvey & Amanda Acevedo ‘Juliette’
Hi, my name is Dominic Valvona and I’m the Founder of the music/culture blog monolithcocktail.com For the last ten years both me and the MC team have featured and supported music, musicians and labels we love across genres from around the world: ones that we think you’ll want to know about. No content on the site is paid for or sponsored, and we only feature artists we have genuine respect for /love or interest in. If you enjoy our reviews (and we often write long, thoughtful ones), found a new artist you admire or if we have featured you or artists you represent and would like to say thanks or show support, than you can now buy us a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/monolithcocktail
Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea’s Reviews Roundup – Instant Reactions
ALL ENTRIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Dr Strangely Strange ‘Anti -Inflammatory’
Album (Think Like A Key) 12th March 2025
Anti-Inflammatory is the first new album from Dr Strangely Strange in decades, and it’s a bit of a beauty it must be said.
Ten songs of their own wonderful mixture of folk, Baroque pop and psych, and is at times extremely touching songs that deal with looking back on life and mortality but with a melancholy smile on its face. “Like Water Like Wind” is a simple and touching ballad worthy of Dylan, and the three instrumentals on the album are woven with a strange and magical inner calmness/serenity that one doesn’t have the pleasure to come across that often.
Dr Strangely Strange are now aged in their eighties and goes to show that both class and talent are two things that don’t wither with time.
Nick Frater ‘Oh Contraire!’
Album 28th February 2025
What we have here is a bit of a pop masterpiece. “Oh Contraire!” mixes baroque pop with sunshine pop and a healthy dose of late 70s power pop and early 80s New Wave, wrapped in a wonderful 70s radio friendly sheen. One could easily imagine any of these wonderful nuggets of pop emerging from your transistor radio on a hot summer’s day in 1976, or any year since.
Nick Frater is a quite wonderful songwriter and a melodian extreme. The twin guitar solo frenzy and fills and frills on “I Know you Know I Know” is worthy of Thin Lizzy at their finest, on a song that sounds like Bad Company covering the Knack (or vice versa) but is a gem of radio pop/rock glory. “Seraphim Called” brings to mind the wonderful Gilbert O Sullivan, Andrew Gold and Dean Friedman; “One Minute” is a fine old-style FM/AM pop rocker, and “All Roads Lead To Home” is a beautiful McCartney-like piano ballad. The whole album is an exercise in demonstrating the beauty and song crafting skill of Nick Frater, and an album that celebrates the magic of the pop song.
Honor Saint Williams ‘London Metal’
EP (Bour Records)
As everyone who reads this monthly outpouring of my ramblings about the new music that I get sent to pontificate poorly about knows, I have a soft spot for DIY lo-fi folk ramblings. And by rights I should really like this. In fact, I more than like it, I love it. I know I’m beginning to sound like Louie Walsh after spotting a banana in the lead singers of a boy bands pocket and kidding himself that he is just pleased to see him, but this is rather lovely. It has all the ingredients of what makes lo-fi alt folk so great and that is songwriting talent: “pissing on the fire in your eyes” is a fine line, and can be found on my favourite track on this fine EP. All four tracks are excellent lovely DIY lo-fi and makes this an EP that I wish was an LP, and one I had in my collection.
Takuro Okada ‘The Near End, The Dark Night, The Country Line’
Album (Temporal Drift) 7th March 2025
This is the first album by Takuro Okada outside his own country of Japan, and one wonders why when an album such as “The Near End, The Dark Night, The Country Line” is so beautiful and comes like a breath of fresh air when spending an hour or so sifting through the oh so similar and unexciting power pop, indie rock that is currently clocking up my email inbox.
Takuro had an amazing skill of crafting gentle beguiling jazzy songs/instrumental pieces with just that touch of invention. The subtle fuzz/distorted guitar on the wonderful shimmering “Shadow” is simply mesmerising. There is a beauty and experimental flair at work that one does not come across every day; jazz, field music and ambient works combine to make this collection such a deep and rewarding listen.
Andrew Rumsey ‘Collodion’
Album (Gard du Nord) 28th February 2025
“Collodion” is a rather beautiful album indeed. Nine short well written acoustic pastoral folk tinged songs. Yes pastoral folk by a paster, or Bishop in this case, for Andrew Rumsey is indeed the Bishop of Ramsbury: whatever next?! Anyway, it is a fine album of love, life, hope and regret.
The whole album lasts less than 20 minutes, and if you want to spend an hour or so relaxing just listen to it three times in a row. It’s not an album you can get bored of, as a well written song is a thing one can never grow tired of, and Collodion is full of them.
Schizo Fun Addict ‘An Introduction To…’
Album (Fruits der Mer Records)
There are bands that light up your life; bands that enforce the knowledge that music is the greatest of arts; bands that bewitch and beguile you with a God given majesty; bands that can turn your stomach into twisted knots of excitement and just as easily untwist them with a calming ease. Schizo Fun Addict are one of these bands. I should write groups, for I’m old enough to remember when people used to ask who is your favourite group, and you would reply, The Beatles or The Beach Boys or The Smiths or The Kinks. I mention this as Schizo Fun Addict are worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as all of those classic groups.
Just listen to the guitar chiming timbre of “Fate Chaser”, you are whisked away to the golden hills and valleys of the Canyon in LA in the days before Charles Manson cast his shadow of evil. Or the pop sussed magic of the Schizo’s version of “In The Long Run”, a song that proves nothing is impossible, for as perfect as the original version is by The Carrie Nations from the Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls film, Schizo Fun Addict somehow manage trump it and make the perfect pop song even more perfect. And to prove that this is no fluke they do the same with The Mamas And Papas classic “Dedicated To The One I Love”, a song they smother in a pure heavenly warmth.
This thirty-seven-track compilation, An Introduction To Schizo Fun Addict, is an album that is a must have for any serious music lover: whether you are already a fan of the band and lucky enough to have their mostly released on ltd vinyl back catalogue or never have been lucky enough to hear or own any of their releases. If you are the latter: well welcome to the sound of your new favourite band; in an ideal world a band that be played on a daily basis on the biggest radio stations around the globe and would make the world seem that bit more special a more magical place to be.
Russ Spence ‘Phase Myself’
Album (Metal Postcard Records) 27th January 2025
I really like this album; it reminds me of what Squeeze would sound like if Chris Difford sang all the songs and had been shot from a cannon to a planet where Bowie’s Scary Monsters album is performed on a daily basis by law to people who eat their cabbage with a plastic fork and wear ill-fitting satin flares with just enough tightness around the crotch. For the power of Russ Spence’s mind and thoughts is a strange and wonderous thing.
Russ is of course lead vocalist with the marvellous Salem Trials, and this album occasionally drifts into the Trials territory as Andy Goz from the band features on guitar on some tracks: “Yeah God” especially. This is the kind of album one can imagine developing into a bit of a cult album over the years; it has the aura of a cult album one that will not be played on radio or written about but will be stumbled over and raved about by those who hear it in the oncoming years – a little like Russ’ namesake Skip Spence and his mighty OAR album -; and will inspire more future artist’s to try and capture their own brand of madness and smother it with super market brand brown sauce.
Hi, my name is Dominic Valvona and I’m the Founder of the music/culture blog monolithcocktail.com For the last ten years both me and the MC team have featured and supported music, musicians and labels we love across genres from around the world: ones that we think you’ll want to know about. No content on the site is paid for or sponsored, and we only feature artists we have genuine respect for /love or interest in. If you enjoy our reviews (and we often write long, thoughtful ones), found a new artist you admire or if we have featured you or artists you represent and would like to say thanks or show support, than you can now buy us a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/monolithcocktail
The End of the Month Revue: Playlist & Choice Album Releases
January 30, 2025
THE MONTHLY PLAYLIST SELECTION PLUS A NEW FEATURE IN WHICH WE CHOOSE OUR CHOICE ALBUMS FROM THE LAST MONTH.
Something a little different for 2025: a monthly review of all the best music plus a selection of the Monolith Cocktail team’s choice albums. Chosen this month by Dominic Valvona and Matt Oliver from January’s post.
The 32 tunes for January 2025:
Noémi Büchi ‘Gesticulate Elastically’
Cumsleg Borenail ‘Topological Hausdorff Emotional Open Sets’
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets ‘March on for Pax Ramona’
Hifiklub & Brianna Tong ‘Angelfood’
Divorce ‘Pill’
Trinka ‘Navega’
Gnonnas Pedro and His Dadjes Band ‘Tu Es Tout Seul’
Rezo ‘Molotov – The Sebastian Reynolds Remix’
The Winter Journey ‘Words First’
Saba Alizadeh ‘Plain of the Free’
Miles Cooke & Defcee ‘zugzwang’
Eric the Red & Leaf Dog ‘Duck and Dive’
Harry Shotta ‘It Wasn’t Easy’
Kid Acne, Spectacular Diagnostics & King Kashmere ‘AHEAD OF THE CURVE’
Damon Locks ‘Holding the Dawn in Place (Beyond Part 2)’
Talib Kweli & J. Rawls ‘Native Sons’
Emily Mikesell & Kate Campbell Strauss ‘Recipes’
Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi & Boom.Diwan ‘Utviklingssang – Live’
Nyron Higor ‘Me Vestir De Voce’
Ike Goldman ‘Bowling Green’
Elea Calvet ‘Filthy Lucre’
Expose ‘Glue’
Neon Kittens ‘Enough of You’
Occult Character ‘Tech Hype’
Dyr Faser ‘Physical Saver’
Russ Spence ‘Phase Myself’
The Penrose Web ‘Hexapod Scene’
Park Jiha ‘Water Moon’
Robert Farrugia ‘Ballottra’
Memory Scale ‘Afternoon’s Echoes’
Joona Toivanen Trio ‘Horizons’
Timo Lassy Trio ‘Moves – Live’
Choice Albums, thus far in 2025
So, for an age I’ve been uneasy with the site’s end of year lists: our choice albums of the entire year posts, which usually take up two or three posts worth, such is the abundance of releases we cover in a year. I’ve decided to pretty much scrape them going forward. Instead, each month I will pick out several albums we’ve raved about, plus those we didn’t get time to review but think you should take as granted approved by the Monolith Cocktail team. Some of these will not be included in the above playlist. Each album is listed alphabetically as I hate those numerical voting validation lists that our rivals put out.
Cindy ‘Saw It All Demos’ (Paisley Shirt Records)
Reviewed by Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea here
Cumsleg Borenail ‘A Divorced 46 Year old DJ From Scunthorpe’
Picked by Dominic Valvona
Dyr Faser ‘Falling Stereos’
Picked by Dominic Valvona
Expose ‘ETC’ (Qunidi)
Reviewed by BBS here
Farrugia, Robert ‘Natura Maltija’ (Phantom Limb/Kewn Records)
Reviewed by DV here
Kweli, Talib & J Rawls ‘The Confidence Of Knowing’
Picked by Matt Oliver & DV
Locks, Damon ‘List Of Demands’ (International Anthem)
Reviewed by DV here
Mikesell, Emily & Kate Campbell Strauss ‘Give Way’ (Ears & Eyes Records)
Reviewed by DV here
Occult Character ‘Next Year’s Model’ (Metal Postcard Records)
Picked by DV
Philips Arts Foundation, Lucy ‘I’m Not A Fucking Metronome’
Reviewed by BBS here
Toivanen Trio, Joona ‘Gravity’ (We Jazz)
Reviewed by DV here
Winter Journey, The ‘Graceful Consolations’ (Turning Circle)
Reviewed by DV here
ZD Grafters ‘Three Little Birds’
Reviewed by DV here – technically released digitally the end of last year, but vinyl arriving sometime in February
For those that can or wish to, the Monolith Cocktail has a Ko-fi account: the micro-donation site. I hate to ask, but if you do appreciate what the Monolith Cocktail does then you can shout us a coffee or two through this platform.
Monthly Playlist: November 2022: Cities Aviv, Mui Zyu, Edrix Puzzle, Juga-Naut, Illogic, Arthur King…
November 30, 2022
CHOICE MUSIC FROM THE LAST MONTH
CURATED BY DOMINIC VALVONA
The very last monthly playlist of 2022 is a bumper edition of eclectic choice music from the last month, with a smattering of tracks from upcoming December releases too.
This month’s picks have been collected from Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver, Brian ‘Shea’ Bordello and Graham Domain. The full track list can be found below the Spotify link.
The monthly will be back in the New Year. Until then absorb this behemoth of a selection, and next month, ponder and peruse the blog’s 140 plus albums of 2022 features.
TRACK LIST IN FULL
Black Market Karma/Tess Parks ‘The Sky Was All Diseased’
Enter Laughing ‘Met Me When I landed’
Salem Trials ‘Man From Atlantis Is Dead’
Humour ‘Jeans’
Cities Aviv ‘Funktion’
Vlimmer ‘Mathematik’
Gabrielle Ornate ‘Phantasm’
Dead Horses ‘Can’t Talk, Can’t Sleep’
Lunar Bird ‘Driven By The Light’
Mui Zyu ‘Rotten Bun’
Thank You Lord For Satan ‘When We Dance’
Pozi ‘Slightly Shaking Cells’
My Friend Peter ‘When I Was’
U.S. Girls ‘Bless This Mess’
Sofie Royer ‘Feeling Bad Forsyth Street’
Surya Botofasina ‘Beloved California Temple’
Edrix Puzzle ‘Shadow of Phobe’
Let Spin ‘Waveform Guru’
Etceteral ‘Gologlavka’
Juga-Naut ‘Camel Walk’
The Pyramids ‘Queens Of The Spirits Part 1’
Illogic ‘Nowhere Fast’
Planet Asia/Snowgoons/Flash ‘Metabolism’
Dabbla/alone ‘Adept’
Karu ‘Spears Of Leaves’
Neon Kittens ‘Nil By Vein’
Renelle 893/King Kashmere ‘My Demons’
Mount Kimbie/Don Maker/Kai Campos Ft. Slowthai ‘Kissing’
Homeboy Sandman/Deca ‘Satellite’
Uusi Aika ‘S-T’
Gillian Stone ‘The Throne’
Raw Poetic/Damu The Fudgemunk ‘A Mile In My Head’
Boldy James/Futurewave ‘Mortemir Milestone’
Arthur King ‘Dig Precious Things’
Tom Skinner ‘Voices (Of The Past)’
Trans Zimmer & The DJs ‘Wind Quintet No. 3 In E Major, Second Movement’
George T ‘Dub On, King’s Cross’
The Dark Jazz Project ‘Great Skies’
Noémi Büchi ‘Measuring All Possibilities’
Russ Spence ‘Spectrum’
Seez Mics/Aupheus ‘Cancel The Guillotine’
Dezron Douglas ‘J Bird’
Fliptrix/Illinformed ‘Eden’
Apollo Brown/Philmore Greene ‘This Is Me’
Illogic ‘She Didn’t Write’
Milc/Televangel Ft. AJ Suede ‘Ronald Reagan’
Vincent/The Owl/Nick Catchdubs ‘Fade 2 Black’
Shirt/Jack Splash ‘Cancel Culture’
Clouds In A Headlock/ASM/Daylight Robbery ‘3D Maze’
The Strange Neighbour/Leolex/Bobby Slice Ft. DJ Sixkay ‘Keep Your Head Straight’
Kormac Ft. Loah & Jafaris ‘Bottom Of The Ocean’
A. O. Gerber ‘Walk In The Dark’
Ben Pagano ‘Hot Capital’
Hög Sjö ‘Love Is A Gamble’
Kinked ‘Introduzione Alla Fabula’
Årabrot ‘Going Up’
Old Fire Ft. Julia Holter ‘Window Without A World’
Meg Baird ‘Star Hill Song’
Susanna/Stina Stjern/Delphine Dora ‘Elevation’
Rita Braga ‘Nothing Came From Nowhere’
Orchid Mantis ‘Endless Life’
The Zew ‘Come On Down’
Ocelot ‘Santa Ana’
LINN ‘Okay, Sister’
Sanfeliu ‘Grassy Patch’
Young Ritual ‘Ages’
Yermot ‘Leaning To Lie’
Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea’s Monthly Reviews Column
Singles
Cormac O Caoimh ‘Didn’t We’
How on earth could I not write about this song, for it is a song about one of my favourite songs, the Jimmy Webb song ‘Didn’t We’. My favourite version is not actually mentioned, which is by the very rarely mentioned easy listening singer from the 60s/70s Sheila Southern, her version being on the sings Jimmy Webb album released on the budget label Marble Arch records in 1970 – well worth keeping an eye out for in your local charity shop. This song is a cracking little unusual pop song. I do love pop songs about pop songs, and this is a finely written one by Cormac O Caoimh and Lindy Morrison. Yes I to was wondering whether it was the same Lindy Morrison from the wonderful Go Betweens. If so, then she is used to being on finely crafted, well written pop songs, which this indeed is.
Schizo Fun Addict ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’
Schizo Fun Addict have just released a teaser video for their new album that will be coming to us in early 2023, and once again, with this a cover of the Led Zepplin classic ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’, have completely reinvigorated and made it sound like one of their own, which I think is the idea of a cover, otherwise I think doing a cover is a pointless exercise and you may as well listen to the original.
But no such worries in that department from Schizo who have taken one of my favourite Zeps tracks and if anything improved it or made it so different it is like two completely different songs. Instead of the Zep theatrics we have a woozy stoned psych trip of shoegaze folk splendor, like the ghost of Sandy Denny haunting the serenity of early Mercury Rev. At this point all betting is off as what will be my favourite album of next year, as Schizo Fun Addict already have that in the bag.
Salem Trials ‘Zipporah’
(Metal Postcard Records)
Yes, another single from the wonderful Salem Trials. ‘Zipporah’ is a fuzzy pop delight with a guitar riff that reminds one of the 80s guitar favourites The Primitives; a riff that could have walked, or in the case slinked and strutted, of their debut LP Lovely. But instead of the twee vocalising of indie 80s sex goddess Tracy Tracy we have the mad wonderful unique vocalising of Russ ranting, snarling, gurgling not so sweet nothings to anyone within earshot: the nutter on the bus singing along to his favourite hits from yesteryear. Russ and Andy should have a statue erected in their honour for their attempt to keep modern indie guitar music interesting and vital, which the Salem Trials undoubtedly are.
bigflower ‘Magic Beans’
bigflower are back with another installment of guitar surge, and indeed how the guitar surges on this beauty of a track; another dense shadow of regret and sadness and inner turmoil. There is nobody sounding like bigflower today but not everybody has bigflower’s talent and pedigree.
Mark Hegan ‘Rearrange Me’
This is a pleasant well-produced radio friendly pop rock ballad. You know, the Snow Patrol, Keane type of track. And I’ll admit something, it’s the kind of thing I normally do not listen to out of choice, but I thought I would give this a mention as Mark Hegan does it better than most of the stuff I’m sent. And anyone with a penchant for radio friendly pop rock songs should give it a listen as I think they might well enjoy it.
Albums/EPs
Thank You Lord For Satan
(Buh Records)
Thank You Lord For Satan are a fine band and this, their debut, album is indeed a fine listen. An album that takes on board psychedelia with a mixture of synth pop and indeed straight ahead pop. The sultry sexy and dark opener ‘A million Songs Ago’ sets the tone with intertwining Velvet like guitars and soft sensual vocals, and at times vocal wise reminds me of a cross between The All Saints and Leonard Cohen: a strange but beautiful combination.
This debut is indeed like fresh of breath air blowing through the corridors of the halls of psych rock. Showing that with a bit of intelligence and originality and song writing talent greatness can still be achieved in the ever-growing paint by numbers genre that psych rock has become.
THE Zew ‘IFI1IFO’
(Numavi Records)
1FI1FO is a beautiful lo-fi album of near experimental folk songs, with vocals and guitar going through occasional effects to a quite beautiful degree, slightly distorting and giving the album a lovely warm and woozy effect.
The songs and vocals are rather moving, reminding one of camping in the woods with your memories for company. A quite a simple and nostalgic affair, the whole albums flows together and moves with a subtle lo-fi grace that one does not come across often enough, and come the end of the year this could well be one of my favorites. Very special indeedy.
Neon Kittens ‘S-T’
(Metal Postcard)
Experimental no wave pop is not noise pollution, in fact it is darn sexy. Darn sexy is a much underused word in reviewing circles as it sounds like something a passed his prime urban cowboy may say to his best drinking buddy in a down-at-heel bar, and this 4-track slice of experimental epery (yes a made up word). Yes I am flying by the seat of my pants a bit like this quite wonderful EP is. At last, the sound of music not stuck inside the rules; not being made to tick the right boxes; not being made like it was recorded by a middle-class twat wanting to be featured on a episode of Catfish to be played whist some wistful teenager stares at their phone in hope that Nigel really does look like the picture sent and not Nigel Farage. This is the real sound of the musical underground the sound of people making music they want to make, music they like, not making music they think other people may like. This is the sound of real life.
Russ Spence ‘Attempted Soundscapes EP’
(Metal Postcard Records)
This is the debut EP by Russ Spence the vocalist from The Salem Trials, whom I seem to write about on a monthly basis due to their prolific output. Attempted Soundscapes is an EP of experimental tracks that have more in common with Throbbing Gristle and the later works by Scott Walker, so not an EP you will be hearing on BBC 6Music anytime soon; although I could imagine the Freakzone having some fun with it.
The opening track ‘Take The Long Way Home’ is an atmospheric little beauty all spooky Halloween synths, muffled Prodigy drumbeats and the vocalizing of a ghostly Mark E Smith whispering sweet nothings to an empty pint glass. The second track, ‘Simple Sins’, features fellow Salem Trials member Andy on guitar, and supplies the sonic cathedral of feedback that runs throughout this moody atmospheric piece. It’s probably my fave of the four tracks on this excellent debut.
Cream Gorilla ‘S-T’
(NoMen)
Cream Gorilla were an experimental art-noise band from Tokyo who were together from 1997 to 2002 and got back together in 2022 for one final recording. Their complete output is now available on this CD, 35 tracks in all. As you would expect from an experimental art-noise band the tracks are indeed experimental and indeed very noisy but also mostly short: 35 tracks in 40 minutes. So gives you no chance to grow tired or bored of their strange chaotic noise outpourings. Well-done NoMen Records for gathering this delight of indeed artistic noise terror.
Bigfatbig ‘Rockin’ And Rollin’ and Whatnot’
The joyful sound of indie guitar pop; the well played, well written sound of two young ladies writing about the problems and real-life experiences young ladies have to deal with in this day and age, which I being a man in his mid 50s only get second hand from my daughter and my old Shangri-La’s albums. But I really enjoyed these four tracks. It is indeed a joyful romp that had me thinking back to the early days of Kenicke. I think Bigfatbig will do very well, and I wish them luck on their journey through the glittery cesspit that is the music industry.
Dot Dash ‘Madman In The Rain’
The new Dot Dash album is upon us. Another half an hour or so of pure catchy pop with guitars that jangle and chime and strummed vigorously keyboards that alternate between sounding like they have just been holidaying from the Seeds debut album or from a hit from the Motors. Pure pop for not just now people but even for now and then people.
A Champagne filled picnic of sunny delight of an album is what this is. I hear so many albums trying to achieve what this achieves, which is a well-written album of well-written pop songs. It even has good lyrics and hummable melodies, which is indeed a rarity believe me. C86, power pop and 60s garage pop combined beautifully to make an album of perfect pop.
Vlimmer ‘Menschenleere’
(Blackjack Illuminist Records)
I will be honest; I very rarely listen to goth music anymore. Back in my youth in the 80s I did enjoy the Sisters Of Mercy, Rose Of Avalanche, the Skeletal Family and such, like even having some of their albums. So I do not claim to be an expert on the genre, but I must admit to enjoying this album; an album of darkness with a slight pop edge at times reminding me of the Sisters Of Mercy being covered by Aha – can you imagine how much better the Sisters Of Mercy would have been with Morten Hacket singing lead.
This album will be up so many old goths streets they will be breaking out their velvet trousers and hairspray in a second of hearing the first doom laden chord. If it is possible to have an enjoyable romp through darkwave or whatever the pesky kids are calling it this week, then Vlimmer isindeed your man.
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