First review of 2025 and it’s for an album full of raucous aural chaos, profanity and joyful absurdity – as well as a lot of squelchy Casio keyboard noises.

I first discovered Hens Bens on a local radio show (Last Transmission on Phonic FM) and backed their Kickstarter appeal for the debut album, World’s Strongest Band.

For the most part, the songs are frenetic short bursts of energy topped with cleverly silly lyrics.

The satirical Your Favourite Band Is On The Drugs Again takes a pop of those 90’s britpop acts out for a quick reunion buck (you all know who they mean)

Fuck Off Philip and Wanker are just slightly childish shout-alongs but both damn catchy tunes.

Unlike a novelty humorous act like Weird Al Yankovic these aren’t songs that will age badly due the references. Though maybe Arguing With The Guy From Sleaford Mods On Social Media might not make sense in a few years!

You feel they would be enormous fun to see live but as they hail from Scotland we are unlikely to see them anytime soon.

If you feel music is occasionally too serious, treat yourself to a listen to this  and find yourself with a big grin on your face

And so, we come to the obligatory end of year round up of the best new albums

Scarily this is now the 13th such round up and to follow protocol here are six of the best in alphabetical order:

• Charm of Finches – Marlinchen in the Snow
• Iress – Sleep Now, In Reverse
• JJ Lovegrove – Unraveled: The Elegies
• Midas Fall – Cold Waves Divide Us
• Public Service Broadcasting – The Last Flight
• Regan & Bricheno - Apparitions

 It’s the end of the year to time to look back at the best live gigs of 2024

Back in April it was off to the Exeter Cavern to see Vazum. A band I was unfamiliar with but the description of their music as ‘deathcore’ sold it. Great fun. 

Charm of Finches flew all the way from Australia in June to play the Exeter Phoenix.

Glorious harmonies and rather surreal to hear the band and my daughter discussing Moomin tattoos afterwards

The Exeter Cavern was a popular destination this year and in August we caught the stunning Iress on top form. Best vocal performance of the year by a mile. 

October and my first trip abroad to catch a gig. Fish at the Tivoli, Utrecht was very special – Not only as it’s the farewell tour but the Dutch fans are just amazing as was the venue. Gig of the year.  

Finally rounding out the top 5 is another return to the Cavern in November to see Winterfylleth. It seems extraordinary to catch a band of that stature in the extreme metal world to be playing such a small venue. Absolutely rammed but a blast in more ways than one. 

 Time for a mini album review – JJ Lovegrove has put together Unravelled: The Elegies in just 5 weeks but it sounds like it been thought about for much longer.

The stories behind the songs were told through the Halloween calendar that JJ lovingly crafted, and it gives you such a deep engagement with music.

Of the six tracks, five are mainly vocals and piano with just Foolish Things adding additional instruments to drive a change of pace. (there is a bonus synth demo of the last track)

It’s raw, emotional and almost unbearably personal at times.

 Lyrically, it can be heartbreaking but there is also defiance in that voice – From Unraveled for example:

“So hit me harder, I could use the attention
As I unravel all the things I shouldn’t mention
Don’t call me daughter by obligation”

If this is the last new album I buy this year, then what a beautiful way to end it.

 Here is one of those bands you take a chance on with a random gig only to fall in love with them.

I caught Iress playing the Exeter Cavern to promote their album, Sleep Now, In Reverse.

Musically, it’s very post rock, a little bit doom and very much in the territory of A.A. Williams due to the amazing vocals of Michelle Malley.

While Williams voice is powerful and formidable, Malley’s vocals are just as strong but laced with an aching fragility.

In Mercy, the tension of the music is ratcheted up as Malley coos and murmurs about a disintegrating relationship but suddenly there is that cathartic release as she simply roars the word ‘bleed’ – An absolute goosebump raising moment.

Lyrically it’s dark, very dark and you really hope it’s not overtly autobiographical.

“You say you’re really bored, and it hurts to know you really are” (Lovely – Forget Me Not) or “Always waiting for you to call my name, you say you will, you won’t” (Falling).

Another favourite track is Sanctuary where the music is angrier and Malley rages against the world as she sees red

The album ends with an odd track, Deep. Mostly just a guitar picking out individual twanging notes while Malley breathlessly pleads with us to take it easy on her. 

Recorded the songs are more controlled, almost restrained at times whereas live it was a ragged, emotional maelstrom.

I would thoroughly recommend the album and the Solace EP from 2023, both are spectacular listens. 

 Another EP from Cruel Diagonals has arrived - Calcite

Only 4 tracks and 15 minutes but it covers the creation of the earth, it’s destruction by man and it’s collapse until only rock remains. Quite a weighty subject to cover in quarter of an hour.

Opener, Scintillation, is a like a classical piece of work being performed in a cave built on washes of synths whilst the wordless mezzo-soprano voice soars and swoops beautifully over the music.

After that the weirdness really set in. In Disobedience it sounds like someone tuning the oscillator on a large power plant and if you’re listening in headphones, it rumbles and vibrates through your skull.

The last two tracks take it even further into the unknown, Sounds are twisted, stretched and distorted until you’re not really sure if you are still realms of what could be described as music. It seems at this point a long time since the beautiful opening track.

It’s another beguiling by very challenging release from an artist you will either embrace or assiduously avoid

 Public Service Broadcasting return once more with their latest concept album, The Last Flight.

There are a few subtle changes in the world of PSB for this one. Previous albums have been many stories under one overarching concept (The blitz, space exploration, South Wales mining or Berlin) but this time it’s concentrated on one person’s story, Amelia Earhart, and one specific part of their life.

This is therefore a more intimate and personal album than before.

The second big change is there are no recordings of Amelia Earhart to sample so instead extracts from her diaries and letters have been read by Kate Graham and made to sound like contemporary recordings. It works surprisingly well as a technique.

The Fun of It see the vocalist Andreya Casablanca reunited with the band after her turn on Bright Magic. A joyously upbeat piece of pop music it’s almost impossible not to smile whilst playing it.

The first single, Electra bounces along in classic funky PSB style and the closest in character to the early hits. There is fun to be had spotting the samples from previous PSB songs such as Korolev, Spitfire and Everest near the end of the song

Monsoons is a dark and ominous piece with a teeth rattling bass section and some of the most strident guitar work that Willgoose has every committed to tape.

The near 9 minute string laden coda of Howland showcases all that the band learnt from their work at the BBC proms to produce a sumptuous, orchestral but poignant ending to the album

A much better album than Bright Magic and possibly their best work  since The Race For Space