The second half of tunes that have tickled my fancy in the first 26 weeks of '26
deary has confidently picked up the shoegaze baton and are running away. Thankfully, being shoegaze, it's at a fairly languid pace so you'll have no trouble catching up. And it is worth catching up with their debut album, as today's pick No Sweeter Feeling will attest.
With
A Sense Of You, The Rotations offer up another song that sounds like
it's been transmitted from a parallel universe, very much like our own,
just a little...off. The vocals sound like Tom Waits belatedly finding
out that Neighbours has been cancelled (again), which only adds to the
charm.
If
you only remember Chad Jackson for Hear The Drummer (Get Wicked) way,
way back in the mists of time, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.
Genius Of Skank Pt. 1 is not an overreaching title and sums up the track
perfectly. This track appears on the excellent Evil Acid Barons double
album and is well worth your pennies. Now, when we get Pt. 2, Chad?
I
enthused about Fluke's gorgeous new double album The Second Bite
yesterday, albeit as a side reference to an accompanying Daniel Avery
remix of their classic Atom Bomb. This time, I've picked from the album
itself. Several of the tracks are subtle tweaks, polishes and updates of
the original, others take the song on a bit more of an excursion. Case
in point: 1995 single Tosh goes cruising around mid-70s New York, gets
funked up and wakes up the following morning, wanting to do it all
again. Great stuff.
In
the 1980s, both The Bluebells and The Kane Gang flirted with the UK
record-buying masses. The former have come back in the 21st Century,
arguably even stronger than before and latest album This Is... proves
more than a match for anything they've done.
Whilst
The Kane Gang are no more, two thirds of the band have reconvened as
Autoleisureland. In many respects, the New Road Movie album sounds like
barely a day has passed since Closest Thing To Heaven and Motortown.
Your personal history with 80s pop whether you enjoy Autoleisureland's album or not. I like it.
In
the 2000s, a band called The Strange Death Of Liberal England existed.
No, me neither. However, thanks to being a fan of Roberta Fidora, I've
been hooked up with TSDOLE's former organ player and their latest
project, dee eye why. Debut song Autonomous features Roberta on vocals
and is most enjoyable.
Spanish
DJ/producer Roglar aka Victor Balaguer Alonso nest, getting the remix
treatment courtesy of London boy Ian Vale and, as ever, neither
disappoint. Fly With Dumbo is pumped up without going over the top...
...by
contrast with the dappled sounds of Rays Of Sunshine, just one example
of why Pye Corner Audio's current album More Songs About The Sun is a
gift to the ears. Writer Ian Rankin features on another song and Andy
Bell (Ride/GLOK) lends his guitar talent to several others.
Speaking
of which, Alliance, the GLOK / Timothy Clerkin album from 2025 has been
reworked and remixed by a host of contemporary artists. I've gone back
to the old school for a remarkable job by Richard Sen. Well, I say
remarkable, but I'm struggling to think of a time when Richard has been
anything less. The competition is stiff, but this reimagining of The
Witching Hour is a standout on the record.
The Moonrocks are new to me but their song Cardiac Arrest definitely leans
more heavily on the classic rock stylings that the cosmiche that their
name suggests. You don't always have to innovate to be fun.
That
said, Broken Chanter is a perfect example of great pop rock songs that
manage to sound familiar and catchy whilst having something fresh to
play and say. I've fallen deeply in love with Broken Chanter since being
introduced them a few years ago and the latest album is brilliant.
Almost as a response to Scarlet Fantastic's opening call on Volume 1, a year without a summer is almost too much to contemplate.
And, as if on cue, rays of sunshine through the window and a nudge for me to get up and get out.
1) No Sweeter Feeling: deary (Birding)
2) A Sense Of You: The Rotations (Gung-Ho)
3) Love Is Gonna Keep Us Cryin': Autoleisureland (New Road Movie)
4) Nave (Malaphors Mix): Sister Ray Davies (Holy Island Baby EP)
5) Autonomous: dee eye why ft. Roberta Fidora (Bungalow Legs EP)
6) Tosh (The Second Bite): Fluke (The Second Bite)
7) Cardiac Arrest: The Moonrocks (A Room With A View)
8) Fly With Dumbo (Ian Vale Remix): Roglar (I Know EP)
9) Rays Of Sunshine: Pye Corner Audio (More Songs About The Sun)
10) Indian Summer: The Bluebells (This Is...The Bluebells)
11) Genius Of Skank Pt. 1: Chad Jackson (Evil Acid Barons)
12) The Witching Hour (Richard Sen Remix): GLOK / Timothy Clerkin (Alliance Remixed)
13) A Year Without A Summer: Broken Chanter (This Could be Us, You, Or Anybody Else)
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