The new album, Solstice, from the amazing A.A. Williams is with us.

The first blindingly obvious difference is the album cover – Previous covers have been deliberately blurred or just glimpses of a face hiding beneath a Claudia Winkleman style fringe but here we have a full-frontal face shot. A sign of confidence or an attempt to be more open?   

If it’s confidence, then it’s well founded. Another glorious album of languid melancholy showing absolute mastery of the quiet-loud song style. Musically it doesn’t diverge too far from the previous As The Moon Rests album with a polished post rock feel. 

Poison is a powerful and melodic opener setting the tone while later on The Veil is an achingly beautiful piano only ballad.

My favourite track is the 6-minute Hold It Together. For half the song it’s a gentle tale of piano led despondency which suddenly erupts into a febrile wall of tremulous guitars and choirs. The comedown at the end is stunning.

Lyrically it’s still dense and at times difficult to hear but that voice is so fabulous….

Another A.A. Williams album destined to make the album of the year list.

 Don’t normally do singles reviews but I chose these from opposite ends of my musical taste.

First up are Black Metal legends, Enslaved, who have decided to sing some sea shanties with the Storm Weather Shanty Choir. An odd choice but fisherman also tend to be hulking men in beards so maybe not that different.

The A side is Fire Marengo which appears to be a very popular shanty (Longest Johns and Bellowhead are just two examples of other versions I’ve seen).

Vocally it’s very standard apart from one section about 2 mins 30 in where they let the vocalist from Enslaved indulge in some very metal growling. Apart from that there’s a short fun guitar solo and an anvil being hammered just to confirm the involvement of the rest of the Viking horde.

The B side is a beautiful Norwegian shanty Anna Lovinda and a lot more traditional. Apart some huge doomy guitar chords this could easily be played in a folk club without offending those in attendance.

There is a stunning black and white splatter 7” which I couldn’t resist.

For something completely different, Vanessa Funke makes gorgeous post punk/New Order inspired rock under the name of The Occasion. However, she also has a side project called Movement for some very retro synth pop.

So Far Away is very 80’s with waves of synths over some amazing drum machine programming. It pulses along topped off by Vanessa singing where she absolutely nails the almost uninterested, jaded vocals that the Human League did so perfectly.   

The B side is an instrumental called Game of Chance. A slightly faster track making more use of stabs of keyboard – You can almost see someone stood next to a vintage synthesizer, tapping out the notes one handed. 

So far, I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from her, so I need to investigate more 

 So, we have a new album from JJ Lovegrove called History Is The Struggle of Becoming and is a loose concept on the life and works of D.H. Lawrence.

Confession time – I’m know nothing about D.H. Lawrence, so I’ll not comment about how that and the concept (I also have no idea who the apparently renowned producer Ed Harcourt is. That could just be my age or my musical preferences but I apologise for my ignorance.

 The last album from Judi, (Unravelled: The Elegies) was brilliant but so raw and personal, it was hard to listen to at times. This time it’s still lyrically vulnerable and intimate but with more than just voice and piano it feels more of a comfortable share.

Lament is an opening instrumental full of brass before we hit the single Celandine which is one of the album highlights. A slow burn, opening up with piano but with a menacing guitar lurking at the back. Slowly drums are added to the mix and then Judi’s vocals go stratospheric with a succession of astonishing high notes.

The Rainbow is more downbeat, featuring snippets of a home recording while detailing a difficult home life.

Lyrically Lost Girl is gut wrenching in its depiction of a sexual assault before depressingly listing ‘rules’ for young women – “Don’t smile too much, or wear the wrong dress. Cover your glass with your hand, don’t walk home alone.” 

The title track features big booming piano chords while the guitar weaves some glorious noise around them.

Hunger Codes is about sex and throbs with sensuous desire, the vocals a lusty purr. The low deliberate piano notes reminiscent of Talk Talk’s seminal Life’s What You Make It. Another album highlight.

Throughout, the song writing is exceptional, and Judi’s voice is stunning, full of emotion, yet never forced.

Yet another artist who should be applauded from the rafters, rather than being cherished by those of us lucky enough to have discovered her.

 Looks like end of May / start of June is going to be an amazing month for new releases.

First up is the debut album from Abrasive Trees called Light Remaining. This is a band I’ve been following since hearing the debut single in 2020. From those early days only Matthew Rochford on guitar and vocals remains and I have been really looking forward to this.

No Solace opens with a solemn spoken word section before exploding around 90 seconds in a wall of drums and guitar.

There is a slow, glacial tempo to a lot of the tracks with a dense almost claustrophobic atmosphere which the spoken vocals accentuate.

However, the first of two instrumentals, Star Sapphire, positively bounces along on a pulsing bass line before slowing down for some monolithic riffing and then picking up the tempo again.

The first single, Carved Skull, welcomes back former band member Ben Roberts and his electric cello to stunning effect. “Are we divided?” asks the band as the music fades out before the voices. The backing vocals of Yunala Songweaver are a great addition to both this track and Flickering Flame.

The final album track I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You is an 11-minute instrumental epic in three parts. It starts at a stately pace with mournful cello to the fore. A staggering change of pace takes the track into an absolute post-rock maelstrom sweeping you up in a clattering crescendo with thunderous drumming. Pausing to take breath, the final third  tempo allows Matthew to weave some extraordinary guitar virtuosity. 

There is a bonus track, Megadrone, but I’m not sure there is a need for another largely spoken word track, and I would have left I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You to end the album.

Just to say the artwork for the album and the two singles from Grebo Gray is also perfect, giving the band a strong visual identity. 

A brilliant album to start a run of new releases this month.

 I found it strangely difficult to get into Eurovision this year. Maybe it was the boycotts, Israel’s continued attempts to gerrymander the voting or just not having the whole family around to watch it with. However, there was still plenty to enjoy, and I even predicted two of the top three!

Let start with the UK entry – Not our worst effort and the staging was fun. I thought his call and response audience participation was very good. Deserved a lot more than a single point which suggests we are still not that loved on the continent.

Part of the problem is that not once did I hear the song played on the radio or TV before the contest and if the UK media don’t think it’s worth playing then that has to influence other countries. Some songs are huge hits in their own countries beforehand and so popularity breeds popularity. We tend to think only in terms of whether our song is ‘good enough for Eurovision’ rather than thinking bigger and choosing something the average Brit would like to hear on the radio.

Anyway, some observations on a few of the other entries:

Serbia went the furthest into metal territory with swords, black leather and a rather guttural scream. 

Weirdest act of the night was Greece. A man partially dressed as a cat, riding a scooter to a song made up of computer games noises was very Eurovision (even though the song was awful). He then danced with a statue and slid down a fireman’s pole.

In terms of vocals, the 28 second note held by the Ukrainian singer was very impressive and the best of the ballads.

Malta hadn’t appeared to notice that it was no longer the 1950’s but maybe it was a deliberate nod to the competition being 70 years old.

Bulgaria won and I rather enjoyed it. The premise appeared to be a zombie version of AA – “Hi, it’s been three weeks since my last brains”. A twitchy dance tune full of tempo changes as it slowed and sped up at various points. A deserved winner.

I was absolutely knackered watching Moldova. They just bounced incessantly for three minutes shouting “Viva Moldova”.

Finally, Romania went big guitar riffs, a singer who clearly enjoys Wednesday Addams fashion sense and a controversy courting title of ‘Choke Me’. A nice blend of Evanescence and Lady Gaga meant it did very well.  

Highlight of the night though? Had to be Lordi covering Brotherhood of Man’s Save All Your Kisses For Me in the interval!

 This is a piece I’ve wanted to write about for a long time and its about the great lost Hair Metal album. If you enjoyed the late 80’s of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Poison, Motley Crue etc. then this should be essential listening.

The self-titled (and only) album from No Sweat is a true Hair Metal classic and a victim of purely being in the wrong band, at the wrong time. Even now you will struggle to find the album on streaming services. 

I saw them play live once in Sheffield in possibly 1990, supporting Roadhouse which was a band put together by ex Def Leppard guitarist Pete Willis. Little did I know that was probably the career highpoint as Seattle was about to wipe out the whole genre 

No Sweat did have some chart success in their native Ireland, but nothing cracked the top 40 in the UK which is surprising.

The first single Heart And Soul was produced by Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) should have been a hit with its massive AOR radio friendly chorus and strong melodic/bluesy vocals from Paul Quinn.

However, it’s when you get to the credits of that debut album that its staggering they didn’t succeed.

Firstly, they didn’t have a full-time drummer at the time of recording, so James Kottak (Kingdom Come) helps out behind the kit. The producer is Keith Olsen (Whitesnake, Night Ranger, Pat Benetar), Michael Sadler and Jim Crichton of Saga help out with backing vocals and keyboards.

Bizarrely even Pol Brennan (Clannad) produces vocals on one of the tracks.

With that sort of backing, you wonder why no one has heard of them.

Musically the songs are catchy hard rock with the occasional twists – There is some stunning slide guitar on the intro to Mover and Stay is a high-level blues ballad.

Lyrically they may not have been the best. The line “Rock is rock and I’m rocking you” from Tear Down The Walls is unintentionally one of my favourite silly lyrics ever.

Over the last few years, I’ve been able to pick up both a vinyl copy of the album and a few of singles, while single handedly boring anyone that will listen as to what a great band this was.

If you can have a listen and enjoy. 

 All been a bit quiet recently for the blog and I was beginning to worry this year would be a write off for new music but in the last few weeks things are looking much, much brighter

Albums expected from all these great people

JJ Lovegrove – May 29

Abrasive Trees – May

A.A. Williams – June 6

Blueneck – Summer

Marillion – Autumn?

 Whilst not being overly familiar with Wolverine I had heard a track or two from them before including one (Liar On The Mount)  that sampled George Bush speeches! 

It’s taken them a decade to finish the new album, Anomalies, so these Swedes are not the quickest workers. They are however clearly talented musicians and there is a lot to like about their take on prog/metal but somewhere it’s just missing that extra something. 

You won’t see a single review that doesn’t mention the word ‘Katatonia’ and there is a very, very good reason for that. There are times when you could wonder if they were the same band. 

I have the same issue with the vocals of Jonas Renske from Katatonia as I do here in that there is only so much yearning melancholy you can take before it gets a little monotonous. 

Some tracks break away from the formula; Circuits adds some brass to the mix and Automaton is a lovely piano ballad. Nightfall is probably my favourite of the prog/metal tracks with a bit more drive behind the drums and a catchy chorus. 

So, there you have it, if you enjoy the music of latter day Katatonia then you will undoubtably enjoy Wolverine.

 It’s been a really quiet start to the year in terms of new music so I’m actually going to start 2026 with a part review.

The original Smoke & Mirrors from The Eden House was released in 2009. A beguiling confection of lush, sensual, string laden goth with a cast list to die for – Tony Pettitt, Nod and Peter Wright, Peter Yates (all Fields of the Nephilim), Simon Rippin (The Nefilim), Julianne Regan (All About Eve), Evi Vine, Monica Richards (Faith and the Muse) …

Now we get Smoke & Mirrors + Other Ghosts which extends the original album with six bonus tracks which is what I will be looking at.

Freakshow features the vocal talents of Candia McKormack (Inkubus Sukkubus) who didn’t appear on the album. A song very similar in style to To Believe in Something which is probably why it didn’t make the cut

Burn is a slower, swirling track with Amandine Ferrari doing a very good Kate Bush impression on the earlier part of the song. 

Maelstrom is a jaunty little instrumental lasting all of two minutes again with that instantly recognisable bass guitar.  

Half-Light with Evi Vine is the track that most easily could have slotted onto the album but feels unfinished and the abrupt fade out at the end sort of confirms that.

Killer is the most upbeat of the bonus tracks with another great vocal from Amandine Ferrari but it was correctly not included in the final track listing

To Believe in Something was the only track on the album to feature Monica Richards and here we get the Redshifted version which was released as a digital only single. It sounds like a demo of what was finally included on the album. A bit heavier, a bit less refined and with that throbbing Nephilim style bass of Tony Pettitt pushed more to the fore. 

Compared to some expanded albums where they are padded out with poorly recorded demos or superfluous live tracks, I think this is a worthwhile addition to the collection

 Drumroll please as it's album of the year time

for the fourteenth time and in alphabetical order - Five reviewed here and one very late entry

• Death Of The High Street - Bragging About Breaking
• Hens Bens - World's Strongest Band
• The Occasion - Songs Of The Night
• PERTURBATOR - Age Of Aquarius
• John Reed - A Proliferation Of Pointlessness
• Unreqvited - A Pathway To The Moon

 It was my best year for live music since Covid with 14 gigs and here are my favourites

February was a very poignant visit to Bristol as it was my final Fish gig, 36 years after the first one

March bought a trip to Truro to catch Public Service Broadcasting on the excellent The Last Flight tour

Onto May it was Grice at the Exeter Phoenix. Here paying tribute to Raphael Ravenscroft

October brought a new venue to visit (Things Happen Here in Dartington) to see the album launch for Abrasive Trees

And we rounded out the year with the ever brilliant Blockheads back for their annual Exeter Phoenix gig

 Probably the last review of the year and one of those albums you luckily stumble across by accident.

I was aware of PERTURBATOR as he had done some remixes for Alcest and Cult of Luna, but I’d never really looked at his albums.

Age of Aquarius is a fantastic analog synth driven album with thudding drums, think of it as a night club version of John Carpenter (especially Lunacy which could easily feature on one of his soundtracks).

Approximately half the tracks are instrumental but it’s those with the guest vocalist that caught my attention in the first place – Ulver, Author & Punisher and Alcest.

The opening track, Apocalypse Now features Ulver and would have fitted in perfectly on their Assassination of Julius Caesar album. Lyrically dark and deliciously unsettling.

The best is saved to last – the title track is a ten minute epic featuring the wordless vocals of Neige from Alcest. It ebbs and flows marvelously, almost coming to a stop at 7 minutes in before cranking up the drums for a suitable monumental finale   A note of hope after all the previous bleak dystopian sounds. 

I shall definitely be investigating the PERTURBATOR back catalogue after this.

 Very rare nowadays to be excited about a debut album as most you just come across them by accident or recommendation but Death Of The High Street have been teasing us with excellent singles since 2014.

So here is Bragging About Breaking with ten new tracks and none of the earlier singles.

It's loud, gritty, spiky and ragged in places (possibly deliberate) but then the lyrics grab you and suddenly you notice the melodies and realise this is a bloody fantastic album.

Scott Baxter is a supremely talented lyricist, a sort of northern Ian Dury or a shoutier Justin Sullivan - he is that good. 

the themes are both personal and political - from Monster (an abusive father and the worry of following the same path) to Over Now (a messy break up) and on to Never Going to Get It (justice denied).

The vitriol in Don't Look Into The Sun is palpable:

"And god save the king drowning in his Royal regalia. A palace full of pomp , fat pockets full of c*nts, it's a shame. Black limos pass the poor to make way for the tacky carriage. And they wave and chuckle safe in the bosom of money"

There are some gorgeous walking bass lines as well (the one in Present Deranged is brilliant).

Perhaps the best is left to last where the addition of some cello and female backing vocal add another dash of colour to the palette of Communication's Failed.

A resigned state of the nation address, it's almost a spiritual successor to Del Amitri's 1989 hit Nothing Ever Happens.

I maybe would have like some of those excellent early single to have been included (Exit, Age of Bronze, Mental Wealth) but that's a minor complaint.

Album of the year? Very possibly

 

 A really fascinating release from Cult Of Luna. 

Beyond I and II appear on the Long Road North album but now versions III, IV and V appear as a stand alone single.

Beyond III is the original version sung by the band guitarist with clean vocals over a brooding atmosphere and ominous synths. 

However Beyond IV takes the song to a new superlative level. The synths are replaced by strummed guitars and A.A. Williams provides her own distinct vocals. The change in key as she swoons "beneath a sky of black and blue" is spine tingling. You won't hear a better 3 minutes all year.

Finally we have a live take on version III. Beyond V adds a background of wind chimes and an extra 30 seconds to the outro.

For such an extreme band this is such a beautiful gift.

"Someone's calling out my name. I hear the echo, bleak and frail.

Every time I close my eyes. I see you.

Somethings moving up ahead. Shadows flickering and vague.

My feet are cold. My eyes are dim as I lay down.

Beneath a sky of black and blue. Into a night that never ends.

Every time I close my eyes. I see you"

 There have been very few posts on here that don’t relate to new albums, but this one isn’t even music related. I want to rant and it’s my blog so I can!

It turns out I really, really REALLY don’t like the Netflix series of Wednesday.

I managed the first episode of the second part of series 2 and realised that I don’t know what is going on and equally that I no longer give a crap about what is going on.

I should point out that I consider the Addams Family Values film one of the top five films made in my lifetime (all you cultural snobs can stop sniggering now) and that the first Addams Family film is not too far behind. Both my daughter and I can quote these films off by heart and we must watch them at least three time a year

There is so much wrong with Wednesday, but I can break it down in a few simple sections:

The Premise

The whole point of the Addams is that the humour derives from this strange family being put in everyday situations and their interaction with everyday people.

Examples from the films are Gomez reporting Fester missing to the Police, the whole family at the school play, the children at Summer Camp and Morticia reading to the nursey class in the first film – that scene alone deserved an Oscar (It’s my blog, sue me for over exaggeration).

The set up for Wednesday feels like it dribbled out of the collective fetid brains of a room full of marketing executives –

“I don’t think this has been done before…. Let’s set it in a boarding school / castle. Like Hogwarts.”     

“And let’s give all the pupils special powers. Like Hogwarts”

“Oh, and let’s have lots of famous actors playing the teachers. Like Hogwarts”.

What’s the point of being an outcast family if you’re surrounded by other outcasts?

The great love affair

Whether its John Astin and Carolyn Jones or Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston the simple fact is that Gomez and Morticia should be besotted with each other even to the point that the rest of the world doesn’t exist. At a single word of French from Morticia, Gomez should be kissing her hand and then up her arms whilst offering promises of whips and chains.

In Wednesday, Catherine Zeta-Jones says ‘Mon Cher’ and Gomez DOES NOTHING. LITERALLY NOTHING. It's almost as if they are not interested in each other.

This is just so not right, and this alone should have resulted in the cancellation of the series.

The enemy

The bad guy shouldn’t be some awful CGI monster (I mean, look at the state of it) it should be normal people with their petty vices.

From the Addams Family it’s Tully and Dr Pinder-Schloss and a simple case of greed

For the Addams Family Values, it’s the dogma of Gary Granger and Becky Martin-Granger that everyone can have a great time as long as they are good looking, white and Christian (and of course the homicidal mania of the serial killing nanny).   

Whilst I understand that Wednesday looks amazing, as any Tim Burton film does, and that the purist will bleat that “Gomez is now closer to the original comic version” I just can’t bring myself to get any sort of enjoyment out of it.    

 Coincidentally two recent reviews of albums featuring a man and his guitar but very different projects.

A Proliferation Of Pointlessness from John Reed may just be his last as sales haven’t been as expected but if sadly it is, then it’s great way to go out.

Such a shame that a determinedly independent artist making music away from the mainstream social media and the industry can’t get his music heard.

These are songs of protest, despair and no little anger. The vocals are clear and strong but with the lyrical themes, I would have been happy for them to get a bit ragged at times – a howl of indignation or a shout of rage maybe.

By layering up different guitars (acoustic and electric) on different tracks, the album avoids the pitfall of the tracks merging into each other as the Phil Cooper album did.

Of the more traditional acoustic songs, Maverick is my favourite with some fantastic lyrics.  “Is it me who is the maverick, expecting far too much?”

I particularly enjoy the closing one-two punch of The Hill Country and Project Freedom. This is my type of folk – Urgent, meaningful, spoiling for a fight.

Might just be me but Project Freedom strikes me as a very Fish like song and hopefully that is taken as a compliment.

A really good album for those willing to step off the beaten path and take a chance.

 Discovered a favourite new label called Dune Altar and I’ve enjoyed a lot of what they release (Iress, Faetooth, Osnova, Caress).

This is a bit different though. Kocaze are a duo from Belgium and the album is called D’Or & de Sang.

Only six tracks long and sung in French(?), it’s a strange combination of Edith Piaf style chanson and the softer end of post rock.

The track Aboyer en Silence leads with some insistent piano draped with strings with occasional outbursts of furious noise.

The only downside is the description of that track could apply to the other five. The album is more a mood rather than distinctive songs.

The opening song Cimes et Souvenirs, when it gets going, is probably the heaviest track in terms of drums and guitar and is an odd choice to lead with. 

Overall, it would definitely be something worth exploring.

 I've loved both of the Lost Trades albums and now there is a new album from one third of the band, Phil Cooper.

Playing Solitaire contains ten tracks all written and played by Phil alone.

And there is my problem with the album.... 

There are some great folk tunes (Still Holding My Breath and Beauty In The Cracks for example) but one voice and an acoustic guitar tends to mean the songs merge and become less memorable if not heard in isolation.

This is the same problem I have with all singer/songwriter albums so it's not saying this is a bad album.

My favourite tracks is Nectan's Glen which all about finding the special place in nature that is just yours

The Lost Trades of course have three voices to work with from three multi instrumentalists and occasional surprises such as the violin in Road Of Solid Gold or the almost acapella of Valhalla.

 As a singer/songwriter and lyricist, Phil is excellent but this album just doesn't quite do it for me.

 So, it rolls round again and yet this year’s Eurovision was one of the safest, and most forgettable shows in years. The lunacy was stripped backed and no one seemed to want to take a risk. It might be all the fun was voted out in the semi-finals, but I didn’t watch them.

At least the UK entry this year wasn’t a complete stinker but there was still something odd about it. The singing was excellent, but the tune just seemed the wrong way round – It sped up in the verses and slowed down for the chorus which is where you need the big hook. Actually deserved a lot better in the scores.

As for the rest     

Sweden – Infuriatingly catchy (my daughter is still singing it) and the brown suits had a Public Service Broadcasting feel.

Finland – As subtle as a brick to the face. A buxom blonde in studded leather bodysuit and stockings straddling various microphone stands and singing about having an orgasm was the most Eurovision song of the night.

Lithuania – Bonus points to the band who really looked as if he would rather be anywhere rather than on that stage. Even in the green room, they were the most uninterested contestants ever.

Albania – Clearly someone watched too many YouTube videos of Toyah and Robert Fripp in their kitchen.

Latvia – Six women dressed as axolotl’s sang the best harmonies I think I’ve heard at Eurovision unfortunately the song dragged a bit.

Israel – A forgettable ballad which just highlighted the public vote manipulation to the maximum.

Italy – Had the feel of Bowie/ Ronson doing Starman on TOTP with the singer’s greasepaint makeup and the way he draped an arm around the guitarist. Bonus points for the live harmonica solo.    

Highlight of the whole night was the face-off between previous contestants Baby Lasagna (Rim Tim Tagi Dim) and Kaarja (Cha Cha Cha) in the interval showing that it is possible to go hugely OTT and still have an absolute earworm of a hit.   

 There is a new live New Model Army out called Live SO36. It’s a companion album to last year’s Sinfonia and was recorded around the same time. The two albums contrast perfectly with Sinfonia being recorded in an opulent music theatre with a full orchestra, while Live SO36 was a stripped back, raw recording in a small sweaty club.

There’s little need to review the album… It’s the New Model Army bristling with righteous indignation and unashamed passion communing with their family of fans.

What I did decide to do is pick my favourite tracks from their various live albums that I own:

Raw Melody Men – Get Me Out

• Honestly, I could choose any song from this album but right from Justin’s intro “So you wanna dance, yeah? Dance to this…” it’s impossible not to get swept along

And Nobody Else – No Sense

• Nelson puts down his bass and starts on a second drum kit to make this a special rendition. 

Fuck Texas, Sing For Us – Vagabonds

• Marshall Gill replaces that oh so familiar violin intro with a fantastic new guitar version

Sinfonia – Winter

• A song that turned out to be a perfect fit for the orchestral setting so. It soars magnificently 

Live SO36 – Lust For Power

• You can almost smell the sweat from the crowd reaction. A perfect encapsulation of that special bond between this band and their devoted following.