Sticky Beak>

Beak> are back!

 

Whilst there has been a lot of attention - and deservedly so - on Beth Gibbons return after what seems like an eternity, fellow Portishead genius Geoff Barrow, together with Billy Fuller and Will Young (<sigh> no, not that one) released >>>> at the end of May.

Their first album in six years, according to the promo the songs were recorded "in a house called Pen Y Bryn in Talsarnau, Wales [...] Remote and with only ourselves and the view of Portmeirion in the distance." The album was completed at Invada in Bristol and released via the label of the same name.

A video for The Seal was posted on You Tube last week and gives you a flavour of what to expect. >>>> ploughs a similar Krautrock/motorik groove as before, though none the less engaging or infectious for that. 

Another characteristic of naming songs after places in Bristol and neighbouring counties is also present and correct. >>>>'s contribution to this alternative road map is Windmill Hill. Not an usual name as of itself, lots of places use it, but I used to live near this one in South Bristol, which is home to a rather lovely city farm.

 

 

Here's another called Iron Acton, going back to their very first release in 2009 and geographically the closest to Casa K's current location.

 

 

Coincidentally, I was there at the weekend with Mrs. K, looking for another barrow, of the wheeled variety. No luck there but we came away with a bird bath instead. First world problems, eh? As a wee boy, my parents used to drive past the road signs for this place, which I would misread as Iron Action. The reality is there's not much action in Iron Acton but the music is great...!

 

Beak> have also recorded several sessions for Mark Riley's show on BBC 6Music which are worth checking out. In July 2019, they delivered a 4-song set, opening with covers of two Gary Numan classics, Cars and Films. Great stuff.

Beak> will be playing a few summer festivals and then touring the UK later this year, concluding with a hometown gig at SWX in Bristol on 14th December. I've got my ticket...see you there?

There's Always Help, If You Know Where To Look

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded sometime in 1998. 

 

If it's Tuesday, it must be time for trance, with four epic slabs of sonic bliss. I posted side 2 back in February 2022, commenting that I'd discovered the track listing whilst sorting through a box of paperwork, the original C90 long since lost or given away. 

 

Starting things off is one of the best remixes that Underworld ever produced, Sound System by Drum Club stretched out over nearly 12 minutes with vocals from Wonder Schneider dropping in. 

Visions Of Shiva aka Cosmic Baby and Paul Van Dyk up next with a remix of L'Esperanza that ups the ante (and the tempo). The first Sven Väth record that I ever bought, fact fans.

The video for Liquid Cool by Apollo 440 was featured here in May, along with a YouTube posting of the 2CD single release with 9 - count 'em, 9 - mixes. Here's one of 'em, the 14-minute Space Colonization by Rhythm Of Space.

Finally, Suzuki K1 aka Keiichi Suzuki with Satellite Serenad, which I originally bought on CD without hearing a note, as it included a couple of remixes by The Orb which was reason enough to buy back in 1994. This version also came as a pair with - you guessed it - the Sunday Mix, both by Ryoji Oba and Simon Posford. All good, but I don't think I've heard any of Suzuki's music apart from this one song.

 

1) Sound System (Underworld Mix By Darren Emerson & Rick Smith): Drum Club ft. Wonder (1993)

2) L'Esperanza (Hope Will Move Mountains Mix By Visions Of Shiva aka Harald Blüchel & Paul Van Dyk): Sven Väth (1993)

3) Liquid Cool (Space Colonization Remix By Rhythm Of Space aka Steve Musham, Simon Lord & Jonathan Podmore): Apollo 440 (1994)

4) Satellite Serenade (Saturday Mix (With Japanese It's All Right Song) By Oba & Simon Posford): Suzuki K1 (1994)

 

Side Two (45:37) (KF) (Mega)

Side One here

Eclipsed By Smudges On A Hitlist

What little I've heard of Hamish Hawk has been courtesy of other music blogs, so I'm unfamiliar with most of his catalogue, but latest single Nancy Dearest caught my attention.

Previous single Big Cat Tattoos is equally pleasing. 

Nice production, big bass, strident guitar, urgent percussion and a deep, rich vocal, all done and dusted in a smidge over three minutes. Honours its influences whilst sounding fresh and energetic. 

Fourth album, A Firmer Hand, is out on Fri 16th August, with an in-store at Rough Trade in Bristol the same evening. Tempted.

And Suddenly! Once Again

Side 1 of a cassette compilation featuring The Teardrop Explodes, recorded 30th August 1993. With apologies to blureu for taking nearly a year to get to it...!

 

It's been a long while since Julian Cope and The Teardrop Explodes have featured here, so what better way to counter what's so far proving to be a rather cold, wet and miserable June in the UK (well, this part anyway).

As I told in my previous post, I was already deeply committed to Julian Cope's music...and yet, by the summer of 1993 I still hadn't bought a copy of the 'lost' third album, Everybody Wants To Shag....The Teardrop Explodes, which had come out a few years previously. 

I was also trying to stoke the fires of passion for the Arch Drude in my then-girlfriend and, being a penniless student and all that, not for her flowers, romantic dinners and ad-hoc trips away, oh no. What could profess my affection more than a C90 cassette featuring 26 songs by The Teardrop Explodes? Hmmm, on reflection, it's no wonder we split up the following summer....

So, another three quarters of an hour of Cope & co. brilliance, originally culled from vinyl copies of Kilimanjaro and Wilder, a secondhand bargain purchase of You Disappear From View on 12" from Plastic Wax Records in Bristol and, opening this selection, Count To Ten And Run For Cover from the 12" single on loan from my friend Stuart. 

 

Mirroring the previous cassette side, the big hit (Reward) is dispatched by track two, but there's no let up in quality for the remainder of the compilation. Imagining this as a double vinyl album, I think this works well as two distinct sides, with Poppies getting the second side (or phase, as Julian was wont to use) off to an equally strong start.

Several songs on the You Disappear From View 12" were remixed by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum, including a lovely string-laden version of Suffocate, arranged by Nicky Holland. Suffocate and Ouch Monkeys (and Soft Enough For You on phase 3) all differ from the versions that eventually appeared on Everybody Wants To Shag....The Teardrop Explodes, Hughes exercising more restraint and less bombast than on his later work on Tears For Fears' Songs From The Big Chair.

Things have been a little quiet on the Julian Cope front of late, with only a 'new' Queen Elizabeth CD emerging recently and no word of gigs since the previous tour was curtailed by illness and the COVID lockdown in 2020. 

 

After completing this post, I popped over to Head Heritage as I regularly do and was delighted to see that Julian's just released #6 in his Cope's Notes booklet/CD series, this time focusing on his 1992 magnum opus, Jehovahkill. Always an essential purchase as far as I'm concerned, this one includes 13 demos and unreleased outtakes which I'm looking forward to hearing. 

 

Head Heritage has also made the Jehovahkill T-shirt available again. I originally bought one from the merch stand when Julian was touring the album but it's been lost a long time, so I added it to the shopping cart. It's what all the hippest pagans are wearing, I hear.

 

Phase One

1) Count To Ten And Run For Cover (Single Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley) (1982)

2) Reward (Single Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley) (1980)

3) Seven Views Of Jerusalem (Album Version By Clive Langer & Colin Fairley) (1981)

4) Brave Boys Keep Their Promises (Album Version By Bill Drummond & David Balfe) (1980)

5) Like Leila Khaled Said (Album Version By Clive Langer & Colin Fairley) (1981)

6) Suffocate (Baroque Version By Chris Hughes & Ross Cullum) (1982)

7) The Great Dominions (Album Version By Clive Langer & Colin Fairley) (1981)

Phase Two

8) Poppies In The Field (Album Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley) (1980)

9) Treason (It's Just A Story) (Remixed Version By Hugh Jones) (1981)

10) Ouch Monkeys (Remix By Chris Hughes & Ross Cullum) (1983)

11) The Thief Of Baghdad (Album Version By Bill Drummond & David Balfe) (1980)

12) Pure Joy (Album Version By Clive Langer & Colin Fairley) (1981)

13) .....And The Fighting Takes Over (Album Version By Clive Langer & Colin Fairley) (1981)

 

1980: Kilimanjaro: 2, 4, 8, 11

1981: Treason EP: 9

1981: Wilder: 3, 5, 7, 12, 13

1983: You Disappear From View EP: 6, 10 

1990: Count To Ten And Run For Cover EP: 1

Phase One (24:05) (KF) (Mega)

Phase Two (22:04) (KF) (Mega)

 

Phases Three and Four can be found here.

I Broke The Bolt

Happy birthday, Rolo McGinty... or belated happy birthday, as I'm not 100% sure if it falls on the 14th or 15th June. Call myself a fan?!

 

Well...yes, I do, not least because earlier this year, Rolo gifted the world with a brand new album by The Woodentops, Fruits Of The Deep. Head off to Bandcamp to buy it straight away and later, you can read what I thought of it back in April.

 

To celebrate in slightly different style, I'm not posting a selection of The Woodentops' many indie classics from the 1980s, as you might reasonably have expected seeing as one of them popped up in yesterday's Indie Top 20 post.

 

Instead, I'm focusing on Rolo's beat-heavy excursions, taking in The Woodentops from 1990s and the past couple of years, and squeezing in several tracks from his other projects Pluto and Dogs Deluxe, the latter with Rob Miller. There’s also a collaboration with Andres Y Xavi and a remix for Dubversive, featuring Boy George, who also celebrated his birthday yesterday.

 

Several of the featured tracks have been gifted via Rolo's WebArchive page and remain otherwise unreleased.

 

I've chopped, sequenced, faded and edited tracks together to deliver an hour-long selection that will have you up, down, up, down...then staying down. Consider it your weekend workout!

 

Love and respect to Mr. McGinty, I hope the sun shines and all is fine. Have a good one, Rolo.

 

1) Dream On (Rolo Dub): The Woodentops (2024)

2) Stay Out Of The Light (Midi Mix): The Woodentops (1991)

3) Because Of You (Dub): The Woodentops *

4) Tainted World (Kid Batchelor Rub): The Woodentops vs. Bang The Party (1991)

5) Chainsaw: Ambient Mic **

6) Indian Runner: Pluto (1995)

7) Ambient Filth: Bad Apples ***

8) What Do You See In Me (Max Essa Dub): Andres Y Xavi ft. Rolo McGinty (2022)

9) Smokin' (Original Version): The Woodentops *

10) Police And Thieves (Dog's Deluxe Mix) (Cover of Junior Murvin): Dubversive ft. Boy George (1998)

11) Ride A Cloud (Xavi's Campfire Mix): The Woodentops ft. Kyoko Sato (2023)

12) Ride A Cloud (Rolo's Dub): The Woodentops (2024) 

 

1991: Stay Out Of The Light EP: 2 

1991: Tainted World EP: 4

1995: Rising: 6

1998: Police And Thieves EP: 10

2022: What Do You See In Me EP: 8

2023: Ride A Cloud EP: 11

2024: Dream On EP: 1 

2024: Ride A Cloud (Rolo's Dub) EP: 12

* Because Of You eventually turned up on The Woodentops' 2014 album Granular Tales. This dub and a vocal version date (I think) from the 1990s. The same goes for Smokin’.

** One of three "Experiments with video game play sounds" available online, date unknown. 

*** "A bunch of songs written with Richard Thomas and Konrad Kinard", which Rolo recorded with Richard in Somerset. Date unknown, poss. late 1990s/early 2000s.

 

I Broke The Bolt (1:00:13) (KF) (Mega)

Indie Top 20 Jukebox

Indie Top 20 was a visible presence on the record racks everywhere from your friendly neighbourhood record shop to HMV and Our Price, Woolies and WH Smith. 

A modest start in 1987 saw Volume 1 issued by Band Of Joy Music Ltd., stating that "This high definition Ferric Cassette contains 20 full length hits by the original artists selected from the National Indie Charts in the weeks immediately preceding this release." 

The cassette was repackaged and relaunched in conjunction with Melody Maker and Beechwood Music, the latter continuing with the series (and expanding to vinyl) until volume 23 in 1996. 

Volume 1, side 1, track 1 was Mickey Way (The Candy Bar) by A Certain Ratio. The final song on volume 23 was Andrex Puppy Love by Orange Deluxe.

Today's selection culls from volumes 1-10. Not an original idea, by any stretch of the mark: Beechwood themselves issued their own 'best of' in the 1990s and, before that, the self-explanatory CD88, the series' first shiny disc issue and an essential snapshot, in my opinion.

I wasn't an avid collector of the series, to be honest. I got a couple of the early issues but I pretty much bailed out after CD88 as by then I was more interested (and financially able) to pick up the individual singles and albums of the artists I liked. That said, I'd always pick up a copy of the latest issue for most of the 1980s, just to have a look at the track list.

So, why an 11-track selection? Indie Top 20 Volume 4 (1988) was issued in two separate volumes. Part 1, sub-titled State Of Independents, featured The Smiths, The Woodentops, Pop Will Eat Itself and The Wedding Present. Part 2, sub-titled House, was a nod to the inescapable wave of club music, so S'Express, Coco, Steel & Lovebomb and Smith & Mighty. 

The latter appear in my selection, though the remainder is more firmly rooted in the guitar-based alternative scene, whether jangly (Talulah Gosh, The Field Mice) or jarring (The Leather Nun, Thee Hypnotics). Some of these I will have first heard on the radio, courtesy of Janice Long, Andy Kershaw, Annie Nightingale or John Peel. Considering A Move To Memphis by The Colorblind James Experience was a Peel favourite and swiftly became one of mine too.

As the first volume noted, these songs were hits as far as the National Indie Charts were concerned, but none of the choices on this selection particularly troubled the UK singles charts. So, what better way to bring things to a close than with a bonafide smash hit from The Charlatans? The Only One I Know was their second single and on this day in 1990, was sitting at a high of #9, the second of three weeks in the Top 10. And it still sounds fantastic today.

1) Please Don't Sandblast My House: One Thousand Violins (1986)

2) Talulah Gosh (Single Version): Talulah Gosh (1987)

3) Lost And Found: The Leather Nun (1987)

4) You Make Me Feel (Album Version): The Woodentops (1988)

5) The Dark, Dark House (Special Re-Mix): Smith & Mighty ft. Jackie Jackson (1988)

6) I'm In Love With A Girl Who Doesn't Know I Exist (Single Version): Another Sunny Day (1988)

7) Considering A Move To Memphis (Album Version): The Colorblind James Experience (1987)

8) Preachin’ & Ramblin’: Thee Hypnotics (1989)

9) If You Need Someone: The Field Mice (1990)

10) One Of Our Girls Has Gone Missing (Album Version): A.C. Marias (1989)

11) The Only One I Know (Album Version): The Charlatans (1990)

Indie Top 20 Jukebox (44:10) (KF) (Mega)

Don't Worry, Enjoy The Ride

Humanist is better known to his GP and dentist as Rob Marshall, a one man guitar-led musical journey that released a self-titled debut album in 2020 and is about to follow up with a second, On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World, on 26th July. 

 

What's immediately apparent from the track listing of both albums is that Rob's contacts list is crammed with singer/songwriters. Rob co-wrote frequently with Mark Lanegan, so it's perhaps little surprise that he appeared on three songs on the first album.

 

Sadly, Mark's passing in 2022 has meant that it was his first and last collaboration with Humanist, but another singer who has made the transition from the first to second album is Dave Gahan. 

 

Brother has just been released as a single with a moody video to boot. Ironically, given that Richard Butler co-wrote several songs with Martin Gore sung by Dave on Depeche Mode's most recent album, Memento Mori, my immediate impression of Brother is that it sounds like The Psychedelic Furs! Art imitating life imitating art...

 

I've just heard and seen the video for the previous single, Too Many Rivals, which came out in April. This one features Tim Smith who, apart from the occasional guest vocal elsewhere, I've mostly lost track of since he parted ways with Midlake over a decade ago. That melancholy vocal soaring over the shimmering guitar sounds really hits the spot.

I'm going to check out both albums on the back of this, not least because I'm intrigued by the previous and forthcoming songs featuring Carl Hancock Rux (who also appears on both albums), Ed Harcourt, Ilse Maria (aka Kate Smith), Isobel Campbell, James Allen (Glasvegas), James Cox (Crows), Jim Jones, Joel Cadbury (South/UNKLE), Mark Gardener (Ride), Peter Hayes (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club), Rachel Fannan and Ron Sexsmith.

 

Oh, and the legend that is John Robb...

 

On The Edge Of A Lost And Lonely World is available on digital and physical formats via Bandcamp and all the usual outlets, hopefully including your friendly local record shop.

Gaps On My Radio

Celebrating Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson, 29th April 1951 to 11th June 2024.

 

I was terribly sad to read that Gaps has passed away after a short illness. Barely a week ago, I posted The Selecter delivering a brilliant live show in 2017, on the back of belatedly buying their 2023 album Human Algebra and being reminded how utterly fantastic the band were, and still are.

There are lots of lovely but deeply sad tributes out there and rightly so. I can't begin to come close to that, not least because the span of The Selecter in my collection amounts to the albums Celebrate The Bullet (1981), Human Algebra, a greatest hits collection and a random selection of singles, B-sides and live tracks.

So, it's a strange 10-song selection, veering wildly between 1980/81 and 2023 with nothing in between. Hopefully, like their last album did for me, it's a reminder that heritage bands can not only celebrate the hits but continue to have something to say. And does The Selecter's music deserve to be heard.

An absolute legend, Gaps, you'll be greatly missed. Thanks for everything.

1) Armchair Guevara (2023)

2) Murder (1980)

3) Celebrate The Bullet (1981)

4) On My Radio (1979)

5) Star Fell Out Of The Blue (2023)

6) Missing Words (Live @ The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV) (1980)

7) Too Much Pressure (1980)

8) Three Minute Hero (1980)

9) Boxing Clever (2023)

10) Train To Skaville (Extended Version) (Cover of The Ethiopians) (1980)

Gaps On My Radio (40:00) (KF) (Mega)

…Deserve This?

Pet Shop Boys are continuing to take their greatest hits show around the world and last Saturday (8th), they performed at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. I wasn't there, but I know a man who was!

 

 

Hi Khayem,

I've written a review of The Pet Shop Boys from last night. I primarily did it so that I could remind myself of things about the gig in future years but if you would like to use it as a guest review be my guest!

 

(NB The feeble picture is an obvious pun but is better than any pictures I took of the show at the time being 5 miles away from the stage and all that. The lack of decent photos might be why you don't use it... 

 

TBH it's just if you think the readers may like it and if you have a day in the next couple of weeks / months where you are busy and need something to fill in.)

 

Regards, Mike

 

 

I really enjoyed Mike's review of the Blancmange gig in Bristol a couple of weeks ago, so I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to share this dispatch from Dreamworld (aka Birmingham). I've sourced (& credited) a few photos tweeted by other audience members on the night.

In a departure from the norm (sorry, Norm) I've eschewed a Dubhed selection - either too long or too hard to choose my favourites - and included links to some interesting cover versions and bootleg remixes available on Bandcamp. Consider it a homage to Messrs. Tennant and Lowe's subversion of pop and/or their willingness not to be taken too seriously. You may actually enjoy some of these, but apologies to Mike just in case!

Anyway, enough of my yakking, over to Mike....

Dear reader,

Is there anyone out there (like me) who were a bit ‘meh’ about a band from the 80’s but have changed their mind recently?

I always thought Pet Shop Boys were OK, had the ‘Greatest Hits’ but had never seen them live. Then in 2022 whilst going through the Glasto highlights on BBC iplayer  thought I would have a quick glance at PSB expecting to last about 5-10 minutes and then move on to the next ‘Bright Young Thing’...

But there’s the thing…it was really good! And this started off a chain of events which culminated in a desire to see 80’s artists before we could see them no more. So at the start of 2024 3 bands I had never seen before were booked ; the stipulation was that none were going to be over £60 and that even if I was underwhelmed I had seen ‘X’ before they retired/died.

So – Depeche Mode – January; Simple Minds – March and PSB – June.

If I’m honest I was looking forward to them in date order eg expected Depeche Mode to be the most impressive; then SM then PSB.. I’ll come back to this...

Support was Dave Pearce and his 90’s anthems…. Each to their own but not for me. I’ve always wondered what these people earn from hitting a few buttons on a machine in front of them, waving their hands around a bit, muttering something indecipherable and basically playing music someone else created. Always struck me as a bit of a con…
 

So PSB came on at roughly 8.30pm kicking off with Suburbia.

 

 

Dreamworld has been billed as a ‘Greatest Hits’ tour and by goodness you get them. 27 songs in just over 2 hours with a few off the new album added in the middle. I would imagine a few of you have seen clips but at the start Neil and Chris are donning headgear not unlike tuning forks. I suppose if the power went off in Brum then they could have a ‘twang’ and keep the crowd happy...

Two lampposts adorn the stage and an electronic screen covers the backing band. It does add a bit of intimacy in a cavernous arena and is a clever concept. In the first third of the gig we get Opportunities (let’s make lots of money), Rent and So Hard all sounding fantastic with Neil looking like he is having the time of his life even though this tour is on its last legs after touring the world since 2022.

 

 

After Left To My Own Devices the screen raises so we can see the other 3 members of the band. Neil explains how and why Domino Dancing was written and he doesn’t need to sing the chorus as 15,800 Brummies sing it back to him. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a crowd so up for it and there are all ages on display here so there may be some new hip joint action later this year off the back of this gig.

We then have 3 songs off the new album interspersed with New York City Boy and Jealousy a track written in 1982.

 

  

Loneliness is the one that goes down the best with the audience but I do have a soft spot for A New Bohemia kindly flagged by Khayem last week. If there is a relatively flat bit to the gig it’s around here but TBH most of us need to get our breath back for the big finale.

 

  

The final 10 tracks go by in blur and are just fantastic. Love Comes Quickly is brilliantly conceived with Neil slowly walking across a back lit screen and this was one of my favourite tracks of the night. Then Paninaro (how was that only a B side?) gives Chris a chance to do some vocals.

  

Soon there is Heart which Paul and I agreed was superb – graphics, vocals, etc and then What Have I Done To Deserve This with Clare Uchima taking Dusty’s original part brilliantly.

 

  

Final two songs before the encore Go West and then It’s a Sin. It’s just iconic music innit.

PSB go off and return for two more songs – West End Girls which is as majestic as you would imagine and a poignant Being Boring reminding us of our youth and those we have lost along the way. 

 

  

 

  

Well, what can I say. Firstly a lot of credit needs to go to Production Designer, Tom Scutt; Stage Director, Lynne Page; Lighting Designers, Bruno Poet and Matt Daw; along with video content design outfit, Luke Halls Studio who developed the show. It is a truly remarkable visual feast and the best light and sound I think I’ve ever seen at a gig.

Secondly Neil Tennant is 70 next month and Chris Lowe is 65. You would never know it – the energy from them and the band is off the scale.

When I booked the gig it was more in hope than expectation. Both Paul and I came out agreeing it was one of the best gigs we had ever seen and writing this review in the morning I have not changed my opinion. PSB knocked Depeche Mode and Simple Minds onto a cocked hat and that’s not something I thought I would be saying at any time in my life….

 

Mike

 

 

...Wow (again) and thanks (again) Mike!

 

Thanks and credit also to a few other audience members who I've borrowed from for this post:

Various lovely people for posting the truly epic setlist here

Louisa Passfield for photo #1

Claire Stoneman for photo #2

Daniel Chapman for photo #3

...and Mike (once again!) for the uncredited headline photo.

The Unthinkable Is Now Thinkable

The The have featured here a lot recently but when Matt Johnson and co. are about to release their first album* of new material since 2000, followed by a major world tour, then it's something to get excited about.

 

The album is titled Ensoulment and it's due on 6th September. In the meantime, opening track Cognitive Dissident was released as the lead single last month. This weekend, it was accompanied by a video directed by long time foil Tim Pope as well as a limited edition release on 7" vinyl.

Cognitive Dissident skillfully manages to sound instantly like The The, lots of familiar musical and lyrical touches whilst sounding fresh and bang on the moment. 

 

In the 1980s and 1990s, I would buy The The singles on release on 12" and/or CD. Sadly, I won’t be in the queue to buy Cognitive Dissident, even though it boasts an exclusive non-album B-side, When Is The Heart Of Waiting. 

 

Gorgeously packaged in a quality sleeve featuring previously unused art by Matt's brother Andy (RIP) it may be, but between £10 & £12 (plus postage) for what will amount to be just one song - I will buy the album - is more than my budget can withstand. The completist in me will wait in the hope that the B-side will eventually be available elsewhere.

 

If you're tempted, lots of retailers offering it for sale, including the wonderfully-named Pie & Vinyl Record Cafe in Southsea. That's a place worth visiting one day!

 

A bit closer to home - well, my working patch annyway - is the wonderful Badlands based in Cheltenham. One of many friendly retailers who are taking pre-orders for Ensoulment. But what to choose, the regular formats, crystal clear double vinyl or CD in mediabook packaging?

 

* not counting the four film soundtrack albums released between 2010 and 2020, which were largely instrumental and effectively Matt Johnson solo.