Jon Spencer is back, sans HITmakers, with new song Orange Slice Blues. Reassuringly, it follows the tried and tested blueprint, ever since he stepped from the ashes of Pussy Galore into the Blues Explosion. A lot of fun packed into a brisk two minutes, with a dayglo video to boot.
It's not the first time that Señor Spencer has expressed an interest in the colour (or fruit, if you prefer). In the autumn of 1993, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion recorded a BBC session for John Peel, including the title track of fourth album Orange, which emerged a full 12 months later.
And, for little other reason than it's a great song and the video features Winona Ryder (sigh) impersonating Mr. Spencer in an orange shirt, here's Talk About The Blues from 1999.
Sadly, I'm going to miss the Jon Spencer trio on their UK tour, starting later his month, as the Bristol date is the night after another gig that I'm going to, but you can check full dates and places here.
Mrs. K and I have been avidly following Married At First Sight Australia (MAFSAUS) on TV, which as ever has proved to be treasure trove of narcissism, mendacity, affectation and drama.
With the exception of one couple, who genuinely seem to have developed strong feelings for each other - they use the 'L' word a lot, but let's see how things are at the 'weeks later' reunion - we're surprised that any other couple made it to the 'final vows' ceremony.
As the couples left their temporary home/bubble in Sydney in last night's episode, I thought of my stay in the city during my backpacking tour of Australia. As it happens, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May 1991 coincided with the tail end of my time there, and a memorable night time tour of King's Cross.
Looking back from a distance of three and a half decades, I'd forgotten how wet behind the ears I still was at twenty years old...
Take it away, er, me....!
Saturday 11th May 1991
The day didn't start too well, weather-wise, so I chose to stay in and write. Talking with my room-mate Jonathan on the roof of the hostel, it transpired that he was also a writer, which led to some interesting conversation.
Later, there was a new arrival from Canberra in our room. My suspicions were aroused when he praised the city, the totally opposite reaction to everyone else I've met who's been there. He complained that he was lonely after a few months' travelling. I was unsympathetic; I mean, how hard is it to make friends here?! After our tedious small talk, he decided to go for a walk.
Jonathan reappeared with an American girl, called Michelle. They'd bumped into each other earlier: it was Michelle's last day in Sydney, she'd run out of money, so was it alright for her to crash in our room? No problem.
The hostel had largely been taken over by the Malaysian national Dragon Boat team, who were competing in the annual race in the harbour over the weekend. I don't remember quite how this happened but, as night drew in, Jonathan, Michelle and I, and four of the Malaysian team, decided to go on a tour of King's Cross, Sydney's notorious red light district.
The Malaysians didn't actually speak a lot with us, and I didn't catch any of their names, although they all appeared to work for Malaysia Airlines. They seemed affable, but they were not destined to be with us for very long.
Arriving in separate taxis, we disembarked and walked along the main street. It was unbelievable. Every second building, it seemed, was a strip joint, with three or four men outside, trying to entice people to enter.
Most of them looked stoned and didn't waste time on a person, quickly moving on to the next passerby. Prostitutes and pimps were intermingled with street salesmen and panhandlers, and numerous police paraded the area, pretty much turning a blind eye to all that was taking place around them.
I'd been walking with Michelle, when we realised that the others were no longer with us. Pausing next to a 'Gypsy Rose Lee' and watching her read tarot cards for a punter, Jonathan eventually caught up with us and explained that the Malaysian quartet had succumbed to temptation a few strip clubs back. They'd made some vague promise to meet us outside McDonalds at 10.30pm.
We wandered around some more, taking in the sights: the drunk being forcibly evicted from a club by a mean-looking bouncer; a fight breaking out between two rival 'gangs' of security staff; a prostitute calmly waiting in a café for her 'pickup', then stepping into a white Rolls Royce, and the cocaine scales and equipment on display in the window of a tobacconist.
There was a little boy, he must have been about eight years old, watching everything with disinterested eyes as he sucked Coca Cola through a straw [yes, he was accompanied by an adult - K]
I mean, parts of Bristol were full on, but this was something else entirely!
After a drink at McDonalds and no sign of our newfound (and lost) Malaysian friends, we carried on to the outer limits of the district. We saw another prostitute, wearing a bikini and an overcoat, climbing into an expensive car. I hate rich people.
Our taxi ride home was a nightmare. The cab driver was literally half asleep, and admitted as much. What he didn't admit to was his flatulence, which he generously expelled for the entirety of the interminable journey. Even the windows wound down couldn't shift the fug.
Needless to say, we were surprised and relieved to get back to the hostel in one piece.
Post Script: Sunday 12th May 1991
We got up at 8.00am to get ready for the Dragon Boat races and, to be honest, we didn't make too much of an effort to be quiet. Our new room-mate stared at Michelle uncomprehendingly and said, "What brings you here?"
MIchelle replied (and I love her for this), "Oh, you know, these guys found me in King's Cross last night and I had nowhere to sleep, so they brought me back".
He said nothing, but the expression on his face was priceless.
In 2007, Tracy Thorn recorded a beautiful cover version of King's Cross. I've also picked four other theme-appropriate classics to accompany this sordid tale.
Why Can't We Live Together by Timmy Thomas entered the UK singles chart in February 1973 and a month later peaked at #12.
I don't think the song will have made much impression on two-year old me but, since rediscovering the original via Sade's cover version on her 1985 debut Diamond Life, it's now guaranteed to send a shiver down my spine ever time I hear it.
Is it minimalist music, just a swirling organ and programmed percussion, that moves me?
Is it Timmy's aching, yearning voice, the sound of a man who has made this plea so many times, yet has not given up hope for change.
Is it the courage to go 1 minute 33 seconds into a song that is only 3 minutes 45 seconds, before Timmy utters his first line?
Is it the song's simple yet powerful lyrical message which, after the horrifying yet perversely unsurprising outcome of the UK elections last week, are as relevant now as they were half a century ago?
It's all of these things, of course, which make this one of the greatest songs ever written. Much covered, never bettered.
Sides 1 and 2 of a C60 cassette, collating classic live compilation Urgh! A Music War, created 14th July 1992.
When I used to visit my brother's bedsit on the edge of St. Paul's in Bristol city centre, I would always try to get this album on the turntable. I was a little obsessed with it, to be honest.
The sleeve itself was fascinating: text-heavy with a camouflage background and the illustration of a dodgy loooking character pulling a vinyl record from within his long overcoat.
My brother's copy also had, stamped firmly in embossed gold lettering, the notice that this was a promo, not for resale. For years, I mistakenly thought this meant that the album had never been officially released, let alone that it was the soundtrack to the 1981 film of the same name by Derek Burbidge.
Two slabs of vinyl squeezed into a slightly oversized sleeve (no gatefold), twenty-seven songs packed into the grooves, six on Side 1, seven on Sides 2, 3 and 4. As advertised, all previously unreleased live performances by bands that I knew and many that I didn't.
As my music obsession grew during my teens, so did my DIY cassette compilation, which continued through my twenties. I'd seize opportunities to rip my brother's vinyl to cassette and I nabbed Urgh! A Music War when circumstances meant that we were both back living with our parents, our music collections in adjoining rooms.
I'm pretty sure I could have fit most if not all of the album onto a C90 cassette, so I don't recall why I instead ended up with a cut down 17-track version on a C60 instead. Maybe there was only a limited window to get the album recorded and I didn't have a 90-min tape available.
As such, today's selection is missing Au Pairs, The Cramps, Pere Ubu and Gang Of Four, although back in 1992 I would have been less bothered at leaving off Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, John Otway or Jools Holland.
Side 1 of the mixtape literally copies and pastes the entirety of the vinyl's first side, in order, finishing off with Side 4's opener and the closing song of Side 2.
The flip side of the C60 bounces from Side 3 to four straight songs from Side 2 to two from Side 4, before returning to Side 3 for the epic closer.
By the 2000s, and access to the internet, I had acquired not only a vinyl rip of the album - the source of today's selection - but also the ten 'bonus' performances from the film, lifted from its DVD release in the 1990s.
There are a few gems, with John Cooper Clarke, Dead Kennedys, Pere Ubu and UB40 with a great performance of Madam Medusa and, but I think the 1981 vinyl track list pretty much got it right first time.
Side One
1) Driven To Tears (Live @ The Frejus Amphitheater, Paris, 28 August 1980): The Police
2) Back In Flesh (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, 16 August 1980): Wall Of Voodoo
3) Dance (Live @ The ICA, London, 05 September 1980): Toyah
If you have a couple of hours to spare, then treat yourself to the movie, available in full online.
It's a thrill to see O.M.D., Echo & The Bunnymen, XTC, Steel Pulse and Magazine. The sight of Gary Numan tootling about on stage in his precursor to the Sinclair C5 is perhaps unintentionally amusing in 2026, whilst Klaus Nomi is a fantastical being that perhaps would only be imagined via CGI these days. Tragically, Klaus died barely two years after the release of Urgh! A Music War, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS.
If you've never seen Urgh! A Music War, or haven't for a long while, give it a go. I suspect that there's nothing better on TV this Sunday (especially if you're in the UK)>
The Guerilla record label shone briefly but oh so brightly. Launched in 1990 by William Orbit and Richard O'Dell aka Disc O'Dell, it ran until 1994 (although it was 2003 before the company was formally dissolved).
The sight of the custom camouflage 12" single designed by Steven Cook - sometimes in blue, sometimes in green - in the record rack was a happy moment, a guarantee of quality locked in the grooves.
Guerilla was instrumental in bringing progressive house music to a wider audience and in particular introducing me to artists such as Spooky, D.O.P.and React 2 Rhythm, who have remained required listening ever since.
William Orbit debuted Bassomatic (or Bass-o-matic, if you prefer) on the Guerilla before a deal with Virgin Records beckoned, and released the seminal Water From A Vine Leaf, featuring Beth Orton and remixes from Spooky and Underworld. An edit of the original version closes this selection.
Spooky and Underworld teamed up for a classic remix of the former's single Schmoo, getting today's mixtape off to a rousing start.
Spooky make three further appearances, firstly remixing Jo Bogaert (the brains behind Technotronic) and The Chameleon Project aka D.O.P. aka Kevin Hurry and Kevin Swain.
There's also Persuasion, their frankly stunning collaboration with Billie Ray Martin on the Throbbing Gristle song, with D.O.P. returning the favour on remix duties.
D.O.P. (Dance Only Productions, if you were wondering) released two volumes of Musicians Of The Mind, which don't get the attention and respect afforded to contemporary albums by Underworld, Orbital or Fluke, but were must-have purchases at the time and still hold up, thirty years on.
I could go on about the rest of the selection, the glaringly obvious omissions, the expertly curated compilations that Guerilla issued in those golden years. Instead, I'll just point you to the music for the next 87 minutes. I'd love to hear what you think.
1) Schmoo (Underworld Mix): Spooky ft. Heather Sian Wildman (1993)
2) Go Getta Nutha Man (The Whole Shabang Mix By Phil Kelsey): Bassomatic ft. Divine & Glory B (1991)
3) I Still Want Ya (Nooshty Mix By Lisa Loud & Mat Clark): Outer Mind (1992)
4) Ooh La La (Album Version): D.O.P. (1993)
5) Your Face In My Mind (Pat Pong Ghekko Blast Mix By William Orbit): Lizzie Tear (1990)
6) Rhythm Addiction (Lea Bridge Road Mix By Sugar J. & F.C. Harmony): React 2 Rhythm (1990)
7) Alchemy (Phasers On Dub Mix By Orbital): Drum Club ft. Kate Holmes (1993)
8) Water (Spooky's Heavy Water Mix): Jo Bogaert (1994)
9) Feel (Spooky Remix (Part 1)): The Chameleon Project (1993)
10) Persuasion (D.O.P. Mix) (Cover of Throbbing Gristle): Billie Ray Martin & Spooky (1993)
11) United State Of Love (The Slam Remix): Supereal ft. Janet Cofie (1992)
12) Fight Back (Rootsman Version By Digidub aka Lee Berwick): The Moody Boys (1994)
13) Water From A Vine Leaf (Album Edit): William Orbit ft. Beth Orton (1993)
1990: Rhythm Addiction EP: 6
1990: Your Face In My Mind EP: 5
1991: Go Getta Nutha Man EP: 2
1992: I Still Want Ya EP: 3
1992: United State Of Love EP: 11
1993: Alchemy EP: 7
1993: Guerilla Remix EP: At The Moment Of Impact: 9
Bookending the week, with a companion to Monday's post, collecting another dozen picks from my May Day music haul, once again a mixture of new releases and new discoveries.
Broken Chanter starts off with a song from latest album This Could Be Us, You, Or Anybody Else, which is just fantastic from start to finish. Birding, the debut from deary, is one that I'd describe as a grower. It's hasn't had the immediacy and impact of Broken Chanter, but it's shoegaze-inspired soundscapes are gradually seeping in and taking over with each listen.
More selections from the PRAH label, by way of their 'Scratching The Surface...' samplers, this time highlighting uh, aka siblings Dominic & Fionnuala Kennedy, and Donna Thompson.
Another compilation (two, actually) that comes highly recommended is The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace, issued by Partick Sailing Club via Bandcamp. Each 10-track compilation costs a fiver, proceeds "donated to The Sameer Project, a mutual aid organisation run by Palestinians in Gaza, providing food, water, medical aid and essential supplies to those in need."
Monday's and today's selection features a pick from Volumes 1 and 2, 100 Poems and Cosmikuro respectively. If I add that other artists include Bedford Falls Players, Rude Audio, Airsine, Ben Hunt and Katakana's delightful remix of Cocteau Twins' Cherry Coloured Funk, and everyone donated their music for free, then surely it's a no-brainer. Buy now.
From the archives, a belated EP purchase from Billie Ray Martin's back catalogue, a remix of Steve Jansen featuring brother David Sylvian that languished in the archives for fourteen years, and an unreleased Julian Cope outtake from the Peggy Suicide sessions that has been dusted off for the latest release in the essential Cope's Notes book & CD series.
Happy Friday, everyone!
1) Atrocity/Adverts/Idiocy: Broken Chanter (2026)
2) After All (Original Version): Billie Ray Martin (2014)
3) nostos: uh (2025)
4) Frog Lick: Cosmikuro (2026)
5) Summon (East Coast Love Affair Mix): Joe Goddard ft. Hayden Thorpe (2024)
6) You Remind Me Of You: Julian Cope (1991)
7) Deadman's Cut ('Ballad Of A Deadman' Remix By Rhinoceros): Steve Jansen ft. David Sylvian (2008)
8) Baby's Breath: deary (2026)
9) Sneakanon Pt2 (6161 + Andrew Remix): 6161 (2026)
10) Rapture In Blue (Midnight Version): Daniel Avery ft. Cecile Believe (2025)
11) Matchstick: Donna Thompson (2022)
12) Return To Coney (Attrition Mix By Martin Bowes): Warriors Of The Dystotheque ft. Ella Joy (2016)
2014: After All EP: 2
2016: Return To Coney EP: 12
2022: Deadman's Cut EP: 7
2022: Something True EP: 11
2024: Summon Remixed: 5
2025: pleroma EP: 3
2026: Birding: 8
2026: Cope's Notes 8: Peggy Suicide: 6
2026: Partick Sailing Club PSC#002: The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace Vol. 2: 4
The past week has seen the release of director Joshua Gordon's companion film, "An intimate road-trip across England", creating a visual narrative for all ten songs on the reimagined album.
I haven't watched the film (available as individual videos) in its entirety, but I was immediately drawn to Kelly Watch The Stars, which is great fun.
On 5th May 2007, French broadcaster Canal + transmitted AIR performing a private concert in La Plaine Saint Denis, including a lush version of Kelly Watch The Stars.
Going back to 1st May 1998, BBC2 screened AIR's debut on Later...With Jools Holland (on British TV, in fact), performing a punked up version of Kelly Watch The Stars with help from fellow Frenchmen Phoenix.
It's nobody's fault but mine if you don't enjoy Beth Rowley's cover of It's Nobody's Fault But Mine.
Blind Willie Johnson originally recorded the song in December 1927 and released it in April 1928. Such is it's resonance that, in the last century, there have been over 100 cover versions by artists including NIna Simone, Willie Nelson, The Staple Singers, Lucinda Williams, Tom Jones, Nina Hagen and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
These guys were so impressed that they had to haul their band and gear halfway up a mountain to do it justice.
And here's where it all started.
Beth Rowley is Bristol-based and has an incredible voice, but not one that I've experienced either in depth via her albums or in a live setting. Sixth album, Pale Jewel Vol. II, came out in 2024 and Beth's about to hit the road again for an 11-date UK tour, kicking off in Nottingham on Friday.
A dozen picks from my weekend music haul, half-and-half new releases and newly discovered.
I've been dipping into the PRAH label archives, including their annual 'Scratching The Surface...' samplers, mostly name your price and bursting with curiosities from their catalogue. Choice picks here are from Gentle Stranger and Raven Bush, plus a remix of Stroud-based 4-piece The Umlauts by label mate Hiro Ama. All good stuff and well worth a visit.
Autumns are new to me and I've been listening to the Through The Re-Construction Of Grace EP on repeat. The remix of Trolley Coin featured here has a real Mark Stewart vibe, which I love. A perfect counterpoint is DJ Lui's edit of a Fad Gadget classic, Lady Shave.
Wrapping things up is a remix of Not On The Radar, the title track of Mark Fry's 2025 album. As a teenager in 1971, Mark released Dreaming With Alice, which went on to become a psychedelic cult album. Three and a half decades later, the difficult second album appeared and Mark's been on a roll since, Not On The Radar being album #5.
And who to remix? None other than Richard Norris, delivering another slice of sonic sunshine.
It was such a fruitful shopping trip that a second 12-song selection will be popping up here sometime this week. In the meantime, try then go off and buy!
1) Boiler Suits & Combat Boots (Hiro Ama Remix): The Umlauts (2022)
2) Cycle: Pye Corner Audio ft. Andy Bell (2026)
3) Once In A While: Gentle Stranger (2021)
4) Løveskatt (Prins Thomas Diskomiks): Ora The Molecule (2025)
5) Winner: 10:40 (2026)
6) Perfect We Are Not: Soulwax (2026)
7) To Ziggy With Love (Cover of 'Ziggy Stardust' by David Bowie): 100 Poems (2026)
8) Floss: Raven Bush (2019)
9) Trolley Coin (Dyslexia Mix): Autumns (2026)
10) Lady Shave (DJ Lui Danceteria Edit): Fad Gadget (2015)
11) Don't Touch (Luke Vibert Remix): The Veees (2016)
12) Not On The Radar (Richard Norris Remix): Mark Fry (2025)
2015: Lady Shave EP: 10
2016: The Veees: 11
2019: Jeté EP: 8
2021: Phantom Thoroughfare: 3
2022: Boiler Suits & Combat Boots EP: 1
2025: Løveskatt EP: 4
2025: Not On The Radar: 12
2026: More Songs About The Sun: 2
2026: Partick Sailing Club Presents PSC#001: The Beautiful Flowers Wait For Peace: 7
