So this my TWELTH (!) end of year list which seems faintly unbelievable....

And so to my top ten albums in their customary alphabetical order

• Abrasive Trees - Nothing Exists for a Moment
• Arabrot – Of Darkness & Light
• Jenny Colquitt – Lost Animals
• Cruel Diagonals – Fractured Whole
• Happy Axe – The Tiger Dream
• The Lost Trades – Petrichor
• Myrkur – Spine
• New Model Army – Sinfonia
• Public Service Broadcasting – This New Noise
• Silver Moth – Black Bay

If I was really pushed to choose a favourite it would be either Silver Moth or Myrkur but it would be impossible to call.

 Second part of my 2023 roundup are my favourite gigs:

In June I saw Carcass at the Exeter Phoenix. Absolutely packed and possibly the most brutal bands I've seen live. Great to enjoy it as well with friends from the Pig & Pickle pub.

October took me to my first church gig at St Mary’s Church in Totnes to see Jo-Beth Young & Serious Child - The acoustics were amazing and the whole experience was magical

On to November a trip to see The Sisters of Mercy at the Marble Factory in Bristol. One of my favourite ever gigs - The band were sensational even with a set full of unreleased songs.

Finally the only band I saw twice in 2023 was The Lost Trades. The best of the two gigs was the November gig at the All Saints Church in Kenton. The church acoustics suited the acapella voices of the band beautifully.

 Think it might be time to start the festive round up of 2023 - First up are my favourite half dozen standalone singles

• Marie Eidolon – Drive
• Maer – Poisoned Waters
• Regan & Bricheno – Winter 2023
• True Foxes – 17
• Tusks – Artificial Flame
• A.A. Williams – Without You I’m Nothing

Interesting that the list is very female orientated and hopefully some of these will appear on albums in 2024.

Finally it is so great to see Julianne Regan and Tim Bricheno working together again.

 We return to the beguiling and unique world of Australian Emma Kelly and her third album as Happy Axe. As with previous releases, The Tiger Dream, doesn’t adhere to any regular notion of song writing such as verse or chorus but exists in its own realm.

At only four tracks and 30 minutes I guess this just about qualifies as an album rather than EP

Canopy, the opening track, is almost like a dream like soundscape with ghostly vocals floating over harp and flute with plucked violin strings providing what rhythm there is. It sounds like the soundtrack to a spookily atmospheric but as yet un-filmed cinematic masterpiece.

The throb of a heartbeat and violins dominate Injuries while the title track is possibly the most straightforward song on the album.

I would suggest there was no set plan for the aptly named final track, Something Strange is About to Happen, before recording it – We are looking instead at an intuitive 15 minute piece of improvisation where the music ebbs and flows. More plucked violins, the eerie whine of a saw and wordless intonations conjure up strange, unsettling images in your head.

Even if I don’t fully understand it, I love her work