76. Charlie Parr - Little Sun



This guy should be right up my alley really.  My mate was into him a few years back, and seemed a bit miffed that I turned down the opportunity to go to a gig.  I tried to get into the albums he lent me and would definitely agree that it sounds like something I should have liked...but I never quite loved any of it.  Having said that, whenever he plays his stuff through the speakers at work apparently I always spin around to ask who it is, so there's clearly something there.

This one is Parr with a full band, which isn't his usual thing - any albums I've heard are mostly just him solo (he's been a stool + guitar/banjo guy for the vast majority of his career).  He's gone for a bigger sound here though, produced by Tucker Martine of [produced lots of albums I like] fame.  I'm still not sure if I was into it or almost into it though.  Will listen again, then probably revisit some of his old albums.  Part of the problem might be that I rarely seem to hear any specific lines to latch onto with his lyrics, so perhaps Parr's a little too dry for my tastes.  Definitely an artist of legit merit though and he sounds good with a band behind him.       

Must listen: Bear Head Lake.

Elbow - AUDIO VERTIGO



This fares much better than their last offering. If you like Elbow then there’s not much to dislike here. 3*

*Checks clock*

10. Destroy Boys - Open Mouth, Open Heart



This is Destroy Boys' 3rd album, from 2021, and not their most recent stuff, but it's the first I've heard of them. A good chunky guitar punky sound reminiscent of Sleater-Kinner or early Paramore, and just some good hard fronted female vocals. It's unabashedly retro in its late 90s punk stylings, and all the better for it.
This is also a rare occasion of the Spotify algorithm working for me, bringing up "Drink" on my discover weekly. I still think it's the best song on the album, and the one I'd advise anyone get to first, but there's plenty of good stuff on this album. I'll definitely be digging more into their catalogue.

A solid [7.5]

poprock wrote:

Love the photo collage. Sounds up my street too.

You'll dig it for sure.

Destroy Boys are one that keep popping up on my 'what Spotify plays after the albums finished'. Never done an album, so giving it a whirl now.

Olimite wrote:

Ever since I started this my ‘Discover’ has been full of new stuff - definitely a case of the more you put in the more you get out.

That Caity Baser track is a classic example. Never heard of Destroy Boys before - might have to check it out.

Fully agree with your first sentence. My Discover has been so much more interesting.

That’s the girl. This isn’t her debut, but it’s her ‘biggest’ release yet. Big UK tour to promote it, too.

Omni - Souvenir
Post Punk (2024)

81. Jesse Colin Young - Song For Juli (1973)



Groovy southern-fried soulrock.  Never heard of him until Tidal served up Ridgetop as an early morning banger today (he was in Youngbloods, apparently).  The rest of the album is a mixture of good and great, but this track was the winner.  One for @Facewon, or I'll eat my hat.

Allie X - Girl With No Face
Synthpop (2024)



My distraction from the previous. Oh what a distraction! A modern synthpop record with respectful nods to 80’s (and darker alternative 80’s) as well as old-skool electro and even Europop - with Grimes-esque vocals and a little influence to MGMT too. The production is on-point and there are very few misses here. A release that will comfortably sit in my top 10 at the end of the year. Bravo.

Must Listen: Weird World/Off With Her Tits

Listened to ELO’s ‘Out of the Blue’ today. We’re day one into an unwelcome 2-day visit from OFSTED and wanted something new, yet familiar. I was six when this came out. I wish I’d been older to marvel in its release.

Not everything hits the mark here - I think the (then) B-side is a bit flimsy but it’s Pop/symphonic rock full of feel good.

Must listen: Standin’ In The Rain

83. Bob Dylan - The Best of the Bootleg Series (2020)




The official bootleg series has been going for over 30 years now (17 volumes but I stopped buying them physically at no.12).  Despite my wife's best efforts to stop me I kept quite a few cds out of storage, including all Bob.  I'm about to buy a little HiFi too, so I can actually play CDs again.   

I particularly like the cover of the Self Portrait collection, which was clearly a factory mix-up with Mick McCarthy's effort for the front of his autobiography:



Plenty of these releases have been genuinely wonderful (I-III is an exceptional set, IV is an iconic live snapshot replete with Judas heckle, the Witmark demos are great etc.) but by the time they hit volume 12 you started to get entire discs devoted to alternate takes of one or two tracks, which is a deep dive too far for most.  I've got the 6 disc version of that, which runs just shy of 7hrs, but there's a 18 disc set out there too, which approaches 20hrs - it might focus on a heavenly purple patch but that's a lot of discarded attempts at Like A Rolling Stone.  Bet it's worth a few bob though.  

So this is a Best Of release, with tracks selected solely from the Bootleg releases.  And I can't stop listening to it, it's so well curated.  Even the fact that it kicks off with the two posterkids for 'how the fuck did that not make in onto [album]?!' seems to work.  Oh no, I'm gonna chat about them quickly: one fell on the cutting room floor during the split recordings of the already near-perfect Blood on the Tracks and the other was tossed aside during the meedy Infidels sessions (this is unlikely to trigger Bugul, but he's here in spirit).  Both are excellent, and I expect it'd be double dull to discuss whether they should have made their respective albums.  Here I go anyway: I can see why he left Up to Me off Blood on the Tracks, as despite being what sounds like a deliberate amalgamation of Tangled Up in Blue, You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go and Shelter From the Storm I think it would have been a perfect album closer and would improve what might already be my favourite Dylan album.  Still, I understand the decision - it is up to him after all - because ofc the album absolutely works without it, and bookending it with similar tracks wouldn't be to everyone's taste.  Blind Willie McTell, on the other hand, is immeasurably superior to anything on Infidels and I don't care whether it fits the tone of the record or not - Knopfler should've given Bob a slap and insisted it went on.  There's a legit shout for it being his best ever track (included below.  Shut your eyes and you'll see Big Knopf on the acoustic/visions Bob on the Joanna with a metronome ticking on top - incredible).             

There are 26 other tracks on here too btw, including notably different alternate takes of two of my favourites (Mississippi, which may even benefit from the laid-back slow groove, and Visions of Johanna, which doesn't touch the studio version but it's nice to hear the band attacking it).  

This isn't for everyone obviously.  Even so, I'd recommend it above most of his studio albums for part-time Bobbie dabblers.  

Must listens:

Now that's a name I haven't seen in a long time.

Shout out to Lost Coastlines here too.