2020 has been an awful year for many reasons and.... Music has had to be made in lockdown and promotional tours seem so long ago

I'm afraid the whole live streaming thing is not the same and so I've avoided it - However albums are still being made and I'm still buying them so here is the ninth(!) end of year list of my favourite top six albums

• A. A. Williams - Forever Blue
• Bryde - The Volume of Things
• Fish - Weltschmerz
• Myrkur - Folkesange
• Ulver - Flowers of Evil
• Witch of the Vale - Commemorate

And the winner overall was Fish for a quite brilliant double album swansong

Also honorable mentions for the two best re releases which were All Living Fear  - Widows Blame (25th Anniversary) and New Model Army - Carnival (redux)

Lets hope for the return of live music in 2021 and a better year for everyone

Just thought I'd do something different for a post so here are a few gig going pictures from the past - I'm not normally one for the old selfie but a certain friend of mine usually has a camera at the ready!!

firstly one from a road trip to the Orange Box in Yeovil to see Fish in 2010

Next up are the fabulous Smoke Fairies at the Exeter Phoenix in 2011

Also from 2011 and this was rather surreal, meeting Lacuna Coil in the Phoenix Car Park!

Sharing a sofa with the gorgeous Katherine Ryan in 2014 (again in the Exeter Phoenix)

And finally my favourite gig going photo. It's just a fantastically framed shot of just me watching one of my favourite bands - All Living Fear at Unit 23, Totnes in 2017

 The final part of my whirlwind tour of recent Bandcamp purchases starts with:

Abrasive Trees - Bound for an Infinite Sea

This is a debut EP from what is basically a one man band with some talented help. The title track has some gorgeous rumbling bass and a musical palette pitched somewhere around the sound of the more underground early goth bands and maybe a dash of post punk. The guitars are more brooding than flash while the vocals definitely remind me of the Dream Disciples

The rest of the EP is two instrumentals - The first is more plaintive, played solely on guitar with repeating refrains from the title track. The second slows things down even further with just washes of sounds easing you to it's conclusion

I'm really looking forward to where this project goes next

 Rosetta Stone – Cryptology

Now this is more like it. A proper comeback album for Rosetta Stone rather than the rehashed Miserylab songs the last album gave us.

All the classic elements are here - Drum machine, throbbing bass lines and big choruses. It very recognisable as the work of Porl King

There are ten new original songs with all but one being under 4 minutes so it’s a short punchy set of songs. A bit more light and shade in terms of tempo would be nice but that’s been a minor criticism of most of the Rosetta Stone back catalogue

If you like a bit of early 90’s goth then this album will not only satisfy nostalgia seekers but also serve as a good introduction for new listeners

Korn – The Devil Went Down to Georgia

There’s not really a lot you can say about this that you couldn’t guess from the song title and artist.

It’s a much more muscular version with the fiddle parts replaced with trademark down tuned guitars from Korn and guest vocal from Yelawolf (possibly a rapper, though my knowledge on that subject is very patchy) 

It is for charity and it’s nowhere near as awful as the idea sounds. It’s rather fun in its own way but it will never be declared a classic

 Next up on the whirlwind review of Bandcamp purchases are:

Happy Axe – Tiny Stromlo

This is just strange on a large scale. Armed only with a computer, a violin and a saw(!) the artist known as Happy Axe climbed a mountain in Australia and embarked on a massive improv session. The original Stromlo was over 40 mins long but this is two shorter 4 min singles taken from the session.

Part ambient, part soundtrack, all very weird - However it's curiously listenable

Witch of the Vale – Boys of Summer

Now for something you know but not as you know it. The Don Henley classic is given an electro gothic makeover with some beautiful female vocals. Slowed downed to a stately pace it really is a great version. Not a great referemce, as no one else will know them but this reminds me of a band called Roman Remains who I saw live once

Unreqvited  - Empathica 

The word you use with this album a lot is epic. The sheer ambition of this one man project is off the scale. The orchestration, choirs and tinkling piano runs of Empathica I: Heart of the Spectral Mountains is up there with anything Nightwish can produce (which is a good thing). However Empathica II: Everwinter ups the epic content with huge guitar riffing and wordless screams to remind you this is a black metal album. The mix of brutal metal, melody and orchestration is nothing like I've heard and I love it.

Jo Beth Young – Allumez

I could listen to this voice all day. The music takes a back seat as vocals swoop and soar in the most beautiful way. Comparisons would be lazy as this is Jo Beth Young and  she deserves to be recognised in her own right.

 So to the first batch and all singles...

Lost Trades – Down to the River

A traditional song I first heard in the Film O Brother Where are Thou? This is a simple 3 minute acapella track with some gorgeous vocal harmonies - Still hoping to see them live in September

Anchoress – Martha’s Harbour

It  take a brave person to attempt this as a cover. few added strings but not too different from the All About Eve version. The vocal is good but was never going to match Julianne Regan's rendition

Manuela Iwansson – Strangers on a Train

Now this is one of my favourite tracks of the year so far. A sort of homage to the 80's but never a cheap copy. Starting with some spiky post punk bass and synths, there is suddenly a stadium style rock chorus that you just want to shout along to. Oh, and then they end the song with a good old fashion guitar solo circa LA in 1987. The vocals are quite detached and aloof (some Siouxsie in there) but I think its a fantastic song.

Little Red – Apathy

This starts out as a fragile acoustic track but about half way through the refrain of the chorus starts and some booming electric chords swirl around the track - Love the lyric of "Oh is the world on fire? Is it just me that feels the heat?" 

Matthew North – Save Your Kisses…..For Me

Now this is how you do a cover. You take an original and do something different with it, not just a note for note copy. In this case take an upbeat Eurovision song, slow it right down and make it rather sinister (just the right side of creepy stalker). Also there are two great guitar solos so even more reasons to enjoy

"Welcome back my friends to the blog that never ends....." Well I signed off my last entry on here suggesting 2020 would be rather good, so psychic is coming off my CV

With no live music and the amount of new releases getting less, I thought I would revive my reviews for a while to keep my interest in music going.

Since the lockdown started, Bandcamp having been running a Friday each month where they wave their fees so a lot of my purchases have come from that site - As such I thought it would be a good idea to review some of those

However I will restrict review to only releases since March this year (would be here for ages else!)

First batch of musical musing will be here soon....