Sufjan Stevens - a little lost cover, 2014

"Arthur’s music is all over the place, but most of it seems to be about embracing darkness (loneliness) and ambiguity (confusion) with the biggest bear hug in the world. Catharsis! He didn’t give a shit about fads or fashion even as he was influenced by popular music, club music, and all that shitty art music at the Kitchen. He kind of cobbled it all together to create his own diverse musical language, He was funny as shit (a wordsmith, a master of the innuendo), but also dead serious (and blunt) about the deepness of his feelings, unafraid to express affection in his songs, without pandering or cliche. Arthur was real as shit. You can’t fake realness."

Guillemots - never went to church cover, 2006

"Guillemots (stylized as gUiLLeMoTs) are a British indie rock band formed in November 2004, comprising three members: Fyfe Dangerfield, Aristazabal Hawkes and Greig Stewart."

Bear's Den - crow, 2019

"Crow" by Bear's Den is a nostalgic elegy remembering the loss of a father figure. Full of bittersweet gratitude, the harmonic aspects of the track are a beautiful complement to the melody and lyrics sung by Andrew Davie with such pure emotion."

The Digital Age - galaxies, 2016

"What I can hear and feel in Galaxies is a band that is searching a bit for a new identity. There are some risks and creative choices taken that definitely work, and some that don't. But the times when it is really dragged down are when the band elects to make safe, accessible musical choices rather than ones that add to the intended experience."

Vini Reilly - home recording live, 2020

"There is YouTube footage from 2020 of Reilly playing in his living room and it’s not the work of a three-time stroke victim you may expect. But it’s still not good enough for Reilly. “I carried on and on after my strokes and I got to a level, but it’s not even close [to where I was],”

Horsebeach - pure shores, 2024

"Tried my best to do this absolute banger some justice. Here's my 3rd single from the upcoming LP, it's a cover of the track 'Pure Shores. Streaming on all the usual places and link in bio ofc. Hope you like it x"

Fancy Animals - circles, 2024

"a sound with ample entrancement, hypnotic and dreamy while still retaining a punchy melodic fervency — especially apparent in the gorgeously shoegaze-y “get inside,” closing plea."

The Jesus And Mary Chain - girl seventy-one, 2024

"Our creative approach is the same as in 1984, just come to the studio and see what happens. We came in with a lot of songs and let them run their course. There are no rules, it’s a sort of telepathy, we’re those strange twins who finish each other’s sentences."

Still Corners - crystal blue, 2024

"The genesis for several of these songs comes from dreams. Every night she wrote down the dreams she could remember. During the recording, I would pull out my dream journal and sing over various music loops that Greg had prepared. This repetitive nature felt like a trance."

Crosby Stills Nash And Young - teach your children, 1969

"In 1971, "Teach Your Children" was the final song in the movie Melody."

Dave Matthews Band - mercy, 2012

"Dave Matthews Band’s video for “Mercy” embraces the song’s themes of unity and harmony (...). According to the band, 14,334 people provided original photos and videos for the inspirational clip, a James Frost-directed mash-up video that features only glimpses of the band and focuses on the fans."

My Sad Captains - don't listen to your heart, 2017

"since i started the blog, i've got to know some great bands and from time to time we talk through email or myspace or facebook... i like to call them friends because i'm an easygoing person and it's not very hard for me to make friends (through virtual medias. face to face i tend to be a bit shy). i like to think my sad captains is a band-friend of the blog. so i'm more than happy when i get news from them... they're releasing a free song taken from their album here and elsewhere, (released on stolen recordings) called 'you talk all night'. a very mellow and soothing tune. there' also a video for the song that is so simple but so well filmed that you can let your imagination flow with the images and build a story from it."

Layzi - close two u, 2024

"I’ll start with the keys and then start writing. I’ll add the chords, and then some notes on the guitar"

Van Morrison - glad tidings, 1970

"The style of Moondance stood in contrast to that of Astral Weeks. Whereas Astral Weeks had a sorrowful and vulnerable tone, Moondance restored a more optimistic and cheerful message to his music, which abandoned the previous record's abstract folk compositions in favour of more formally composed songs and a lively rhythm and blues style he expanded on throughout his career."

Jayz - empire state of mind, 2009

"There was a first phone call, and Jay hit me up like, 'I feel like I have this record that's going to be the anthem of New York. The piano, the way the style [is], the whole flow, and it couldn't be the anthem of New York without you.' Obviously, I'm very grateful to him for reaching out to me and for that type of ability to represent my hometown, like, that was crazy. So we went to the studio. I went to the studio, and [...] I fell in love [with the track] from the jump."

Still Corners - beginning to blue, 2013

"Their offering of their own little dream-pop world in a dark corner of the Austin Convention Center comes with its own pseudo-psychedelic slideshow, and singer Tessa Murray's voice has more than an echo of the late Trish Keenan in her heyday."

Tom Waits - coney island baby, 2002

"This album is all rich, complex, mysterious, dark tomes about the concussion of hatred against love. The sound is not quite industrial or grating, but there is a discord to these songs, almost a physical discomfort."

Bill Ryder-Jones - satellites live, 2015

"Ryder-Jones, pitched to the right of the stage, could alternate between looking feverishly involved or coolly relaxed. His guitar parts were simply stunning. Nobody outside the tight-knit group could have guessed he was wrestling with demons, until in 2005 he briefly stopped touring with the band, citing a stress-related illness."

The Band Of Holy Joy - to leave or remain, 2017

"To say the Band of Holy Joy were an anomaly on the late-1980s indie scene is to wallow in understatement. All around, bands took to flared jeans and trundling Madchester beats, but the Band of Holy Joy made an oompah din on brass and accordions while singer Johnny Brown sang affectingly of London lowlife in a drunken Geordie wail. It was charmingly incongruous, as if Brecht and Weill had turned up in the middle of an episode of Byker Grove."

This Mortal Coil - kangaroo, 1984

"In 2018, Pitchfork ranked It'll End in Tears at number eight on its list of "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums".

The Waterboys - red army blues, 1984

"The song tells the story of a Soviet soldier in WWII who somehow survives the war and comes in contact with American troops. Joseph Stalin felt that troops who were taken prisoner were weak and traitors to the Soviet state and that troops who came in contact with Allied troops were in danger of being Westernized. So after the war, many Red Army troops who had been held as POWs or had much contact with western troops were considered a threat to the state and were sent directly to the gulags where many would die while working and starving in forced labor camps. We’re talking in the millions here."

El Perro Del Mar - wipe me off this earth, 2024

“As the feelings of grief and loss wear off, you enter another realm of guilt. The guilt of not mourning enough, of going on living though someone’s gone. This song is about the ghost not accepting that it’s dead. I realised I was actually thinking like this which made it increasingly difficult to move on. I’d stayed on with the dead. I think it’s a common thing and it’s such a dark place to be in. You can’t really reason with the dead. That’s something I’ve come to understand.”

Black Pumas - colors live, 2019

"A nun from the Rio Grande Valley, a soccer champion from North Texas, a mariachi band from the border, and a psychedelic soul band from Austin are among an eclectic mix of Texans scheduled to be part of President Joe Biden’s inauguration events this week."

This Mortal Coil - song to the siren cover, 1983

"This Mortal Coil was a loose collective of musicians under the leadership of producer Ivo Watts-Russell, most of whom had recorded for his 4AD label. Singer Elizabeth Fraser and guitarist Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, who were at the time signed to 4AD, performed on the This Mortal Coil version of "Song to the Siren". Fraser also recorded a duet with Tim's son, Jeff Buckley."

D4RKSTAR - don't ever leave me, 2019

"Desperation and reverb from the great north. D4RKSTAR is a one-person shoegaze / post-punk / electronic project out of Gothenburg, Sweden."

Vaya Con Dios - at the parallel, 1992

"At the Parallel" explores themes of longing, missed opportunities, and the sense of being stuck in a mundane existence. The Parallel serves as a metaphor for a place of repetition and unfulfilled desires, while the characters represent individuals who seek something more meaningful in their lives but struggle to find it within their current circumstances."

Jason Isbell - children of children, 2015

"Whether you grew up in a happy home or a hotbed of dysfunction, feelings and memories concerning family are always emotionally complex. There are purely happy moments, sad times and shared coping, and of course there's always guilt about things said or unsaid."

Frightened Rabbit - woke up hurting, 2016

“Scott battled bravely with his own issues for many years and we are immensely proud of him for being so open with his struggles. His willingness to discuss these matters in the public domain undoubtedly raised awareness of mental health issues and gave others confidence and believe to discuss their own issues.”

El Perro Del Mar - god knows you gotta give to get, 2006

"Julie Burchill once described St Etienne's nostalgic pop as the aural equivalent of "a perfect 60s girl jumping ceaselessly in slow-mo into the perfect MG". Fitting that description even better is El Perro Del Mar, the alter-ego of Swedish singer-songwriter Sarah Assbring. Looking like Jean Seberg and sounding like a softer Nico, El Perro sings of loss and longing against walls of majestic sound; every twist and turn of gentle narratives with titles like Party and People aches with romance and sadness."

CHVRCHES - my enemy, 2018

"It's airy, light, and more downbeat than its predecessor, and is especially significant as a different sonic landscape from the sort that we're used to from Berninger, who for the record sounds great here."

I'm From Barcelona - violins, 2015

"I'm from Barcelona is a Swedish pop group from Jönköping, Sweden, best known for its 29 band members and eclectic mix of instruments such as clarinets, saxophones, flutes, trumpets, banjos, accordions, kazoos, guitars, drums, and keyboards among others. While most band members provide backing vocals on releases and during live performances, Emanuel Lundgren is founder, principal songwriter and lead singer for the group."

William Fitzsimmons - light years cover, 2020

"Fitzsimmons was born the youngest child of two blind parents and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(...) Fitzsimmons' writing often includes references to personal and family subject matter. His 2006 sophomore album, Goodnight, also self-produced and recorded at home, is said to have been based largely on his parents' divorce during his adolescence, and his 2008 work, The Sparrow and the Crow, his first recorded in a studio, was written entirely about and following his own divorce."

Frazier Chorus - cloud eight, 1991

"What seems at first play to aspire to be little more than a collection of richly produced but understated songs turns out to be a peculiar, ambitious combination of sweet instrumentation and perversely harsh lyrics."

Black Pumas - colors, 2019

"Written with the multicolored tones of the sky in mind, Burton’s songwriting portrays “themes of mortality and togetherness,” belting away his deeply raspy vocals alongside Quesada’s ingenious instrumentation and production. If there’s a way to describe what these two are providing, it’s an idiosyncratically modern update of the height of the Motown era, while simultaneously keeping it uniquely novel through juxtaposing it against present-day musical sensibilities."

Sufjan Stevens - the transfiguration, 2004

"The progression through the song becomes a musical procession of sorts: voices and instruments like bass, drums, and even glockenspiel are added one by one and then caught up in the tune, moving together toward the song’s summit. This musical layering creates a shimmering effect, a sonic analogue to the dazzling radiance of the face and clothing of the transfigured Christ. The layers increase in range and complexity, building on one another until the song’s climactic ending, when all complexity vanishes, the instruments and voices end in unison—a powerful musical image of the moment when Moses, Elijah, the cloud, and the voice disappear, and only Jesus remains, his divinity hidden in his humanity once again."

Outros olhares: Tailândia, Koh samui, 31 graus centígrados, 73% humidade

The Streets - never went to church, 2006

"Never Went to Church" is a single by English rapper and producer Mike Skinner under the music project the Streets, from their third studio album, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. "Never Went to Church" is a tribute to Mike Skinner's late father."

Whitelands - tell me about it, 2024

“I love how sweet the two vocals sound together, especially when the lyrics have a soft sadness to them.”

Busty Brown - to love somebody cover, 1969

"The Upsetter is a studio album of Lee "Scratch" Perry productions, released in 1969. The album largely comprises instrumentals from Perry's studio band The Upsetters, but also features vocal tracks by Busty Brown and The Muskyteers (aka the Silvertones)."

Postiljonen - atlantis, 2013

"Postiljonen has managed to create a characteristic sound, where ethereal and alluring vocals are interwoven in a mystical, ambient, dreamy and lovable expression. Postiljonen is often compared to the likes of M83, Sigur Rós, JJ and Cocteau Twins."

The Durutti Column - the missing boy live, 1984

"Reilly is incredibly softly spoken. Despite my efforts to catch every word, sometimes the gentle gusts of wind whisk them away. At times he speaks so quietly, it’s as if he has swallowed his words before he can let them out."

Death Cab For Cutie - binary sea, 2015

"Binary Sea in the end is about trying to swim in a "binary sea" of an ever-changing world and about preserving memories."

Lee Scratch Perry - scratch the dub organizer, 1981

"When the stones clash, I hear like the thunder clash... and I hear words... These words send me to Kingston. Kingston means King's Stone, the Son of the King... the stone that I was throwing in Negril send me to King Stone for my graduation."

John Murry - the ballad of the pajama kid, 2012

"There is more than a touch of Cave's brooding darkness about Murry, whose rumbling voice and preoccupation with mortality place him in a genre somewhere between Mark Lanegan and Mark Linkous"

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - talking straight, 2018

“The concept came about when I heard someone talking about the possibility of us, humans, being alone in the universe, and how sad that would be. The idea in this song is that we might be lonely, but we could be lonely together.”

Lee Scratch Perry - autobiography of the upsetter, 2019

"As well as his music, he was known for his eternally youthful and chaotic dress sense, and his mythical statements about himself. “I am an alien from the other world,” he has claimed. “I live in space – I’m only a visitor here.” He was also devoutly religious, telling the Guardian in 2016: “God is the teacher, the high priest, the coach, where we are coming from,” and in 2015: “There is no better teacher than Christ … Christ’s words are perfect.”

The Four Tops - reach out i'll be there, 1966

"Make sure your taxes are taken care of – because we're going to release the biggest record you've ever had."

Beach Novels - home movie, 2024

"The tune first enters your ears with the otherworldly sounds of an oscillating synth, effectively setting an ethereal tempo. Like explosive magic, the full band production begins, complete with lively drums and a bass that tethers down an upbeat foundation."

Bad Lieutenant - sink or swim, 2009

"On 11 March 2011, the group announced that they would be headlining Friends of Mine Festival at Capesthorne Hall on Friday 20 May alongside The Charlatans, The Lightning Seeds, Buzzcocks, The Fall, The Cribs, The Farm, John Cooper Clarke, Mr Scruff and Goldblade. The band are now on an indefinite hiatus since Sumner and Cunningham's return to New Order. Evans is currently working on new solo material and supported New Order on their tour in early 2012."

Beirut - the rip tide, 2011

"During a quiet moment at the beach between shows, a rip tide took me out pretty far — I was struggling to get back in"

Scott Matthews - cinnamon, 2018

"The pain and self revelations that he captures in this single are shared in an incredibly beautiful way with the audience, and the feelings that he sings are shared by way of bittersweet memory. The piano and guitar are slow and played as a ballad, which highlights his empowering vocals."

Isobel Campbell - four three one six, 2024

"Isobel Campbell was partly responsible for many of the best moments on early Belle And Sebastian records. She left that band in 2002, and she’s put together a pretty great solo career, often working with her late collaborator Mark Lanegan."

Real Estate - somebody new, 2024

"The first four songs are absolute vintage RE, with sunny melodies and intricate, polished guitar lines. The lyrics are whimsical ('Flowers inside my head / Everywhere, all the time'), meandering (Water Underground; Somebody New), with just a hint of darkness under the cheery veneer ('The sun is shining through the world / This haunted world is killing me')."

Simon And Garfunkel - america, 1968

"Many other empty, aching, and lost souls are on the highway, each on their own journey alone even if someone is traveling with them."

Fleet Foxes - in the morning solstice version cover live, 2021

"Despite its billing – “a very lonely solstice” – this live stream doesn’t start lonely at all. Dressed all in white, a masked, socially distanced choir fills the pews of this gothic-arched New York church. These angelic figures are members of the Resistance Revival Chorus – female and non-binary singers whose aim is to motivate and uplift."

Mike Oldfield - moonlight shadow, 1983

"It was originally inspired by a film I loved – Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism... it was originally a song influenced by that, but a lot of other things must have crept in there without me realising it."

Khruangbin - may ninth, 2024

"a funky short story about the circle of life and the interconnectedness of all things"

Bear's Den - hiding bottles, 2019

"Lead singer Andrew Davie spent time at Al-Anon meetings following experiences of addiction within his own family, and needed to speak to others from a similar background. Al-Anon is a charity that helps to support family and friends who have experienced the struggle of addiction, and these meetings form the spine of 'Hiding Bottles'."

Neil Young And Crazy Horse - broken circle over and over, 2024

"In the spirit it’s offered, we made this for the Horse lovers. I can’t stop it. The Horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe, and I am so happy to have this to share.”

Robert Wyatt - the age of self, 1985

 

"the targets he has chosen are slippery, ambiguous ones; the treacherous duplicity of political language, the lies that democracy depends on, the so-called plurality of thought that Western culture contains and the infectious spread of cultural amnesia. Behind this array of inter-related topics lurks the spirit of Marxist writer Noam Chomsky, that most mischievous disseminator of Western capitalist mores and guiding light in Wyatt's current way of seeing." 

"They say the working class is dead, we're all consumers now

They say that we have moved ahead – we're all just people now

There's people doing 'frightfully well' there's others on the shelf

But never mind the second kind this is the age of self

And it seems to me if we forget our roots and where we stand

The movement will disintegrate like castles built on sand

They say we need new images to help our movement grow

They say that life is broader based as if we didn't know

While Martin Jacques and Robert Maxwell play with printer's ink

The workers 'round the world still die for Rio Tinto zinc

And it seems to me if we forget our roots and where we stand

The movement will disintegrate like castles built on sand

Castles built on sand"

Genesis - the carpet crawlers, 1974

"The Genesis song, whose lyrics were written by Peter Gabriel, has a dense, religious imagery leading to considerable discussion over the years as to what is the meaning of the The Carpet Crawlers lyrics. Here I’ll offer an interpretation that it is, at heart, addressing a terrible truth: that our world is hellish and those whom we believe we are following out of our own choice are keeping us trapped in illusion."

Spain - you and i, 2014

"the album marks an artistic departure for the band and is arguably their finest work since 1995's The Blue Moods of Spain."

The Flaming Lips - after the gold rush cover, 1989

"The Bridge: A Tribute To Neil Young is a 1989 tribute album that features alternative rock bands covering songs written by Neil Young."

Mia Loucks - body, 2024

"In “Body,” Mia Loucks confronts the complexities of living with a rare connective tissue disease. With hauntingly delicate vocals, she sings, “It’s weird how my body feels like a boulder.” The song serves as an ode to her body before everything changed."

Au Revoir Simone - all or nothing live, 2009

"Borrowing their name from a minor character in the Tim Burton comedy Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, the Casio-centric group came together in late 2003, when Forster and Hart befriended one another while traveling by train from Vermont to New York."

The Mountain Goats - andrew eldritch is moving back to leeds, 2017

"First single “Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back To Leeds” is a sort of story-song about the frontman of goth overlords the Sisters Of Mercy."

Daniel b - driving, 2024

"Following on from the rousing response to his much-loved debut EP 'tidal wave' back in 2021, Slovakian singer-songwriter daniel b is now looking to cement his vibrant legacy to date as he releases his eagerly-awaited debut album 'songs of youth & innocence'."

Bright Eyes And Neva Dinova - poison, 2004

"One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels is a collaborative split EP by Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova. It was released in 2004 on Crank! Records. It was also reissued on CD/LP/Digital by Saddle Creek Records on March 23, 2010, with four newly recorded bonus tracks not included on the original release, which were written/recorded in late 2009."

Arcade Fire - everything now, 2017

"Arcade Fire insists that even the frothiest pop can still reach deep and perhaps even save lives. Arcade Fire has always been acutely conscious of music history, using stylistic allusions to underline or tease against its messages."

Paul Weller - i'm where i should be live, 2015

"Saturn’s Pattern features a “kazoo through a fuzzbox” and was recorded with his usual bandmates Steve Cradock and Andy Lewis, and members of psychedelic jazz group Syd Arthur."

Noah Kahan - stick season, 2022

“I feel like I’m floating above myself and I come to this sudden realisation that I don’t feel like I am in the world – it’s like living in a dream. I think, looking back, that’s probably the first manifestation of my depression and anxiety.”

Tame Impala - patience, 2019

"It’s going to shape up to be fantastic driving music, or cooking music, or something to nod your head to when you’re lounging in the autumn sun with a glass/bottle of wine on a Sunday afternoon."

Sufjan Stevens - love yourself, 2019

"a delicate synthpop tune based on a four-track demo that Stevens first recorded in 1996. (Stevens is 43 now, so he would’ve been 20 or 21 when he recorded that.)"

Alvvays - in undertow, 2017

"In Undertow is a breakup song, albeit one set in the moment when the tears have started to dry out and the voice begins to calm after all the fighting and the shouting."

Bill Ryder-Jones - this can't go on, 2024

“rooted in love, loss, pain, heartache and often a deep darkness, but also one that frequently ends up in places of profound beauty, hope and joy”

Nada Surf - love goes on cover live, 2012

"I sometimes feel like adult life is just too much for me and there's just too much that can be upsetting"

Jet City Sports Club - sunny morning, 2024

"As the band’s first release for 2024, ‘Sunny Morning’ is a fitting track to reposition Jet City Sports Club as one of the most exciting names to be keeping your attention across as the year gets underway."

Neil Young And Crazy Horse - love earth, 2022

"how the songs like “Love Earth” came to be. “I was whistling it in the forest, that melody. And I recorded it on a flip phone. And I put it on my computer, and months later I wrote the song, just after hearing me whistle the melody, walking along through the forest. So that’s how I got that song, and 7 or 8 others that are on this record. I was just walking.”

Outros olhares: Bélgica, Bruxelas, ainda a 15 de Fevereiro de 2024

REM - man on the moon, 1992

“He’s the perfect ghost to lead you through this tour of questioning things. Did the moon landing really happen? Is Elvis really dead? He was kind of an ephemeral figure at that point so he was the perfect guy to tie all this stuff together as you journey through childhood and touchstones of life.”

Outros olhares: Bélgica, Bruxelas, 15 de Fevereiro de 2024

Mike Oldfield - moonlight shadow extended version, 1983

"A 12-inch single (later reissued on a 3" CD single) featured an extended version of the song with an extra verse. The extended mix also appears on his compilation album The Platinum Collection."

Stuart Staples - step into the grey, 2018

"Stuart Ashton Staples (born 14 November 1965 in Basford, Nottinghamshire) is an English musician best known as the lead singer of indie band Tindersticks, in which he also plays guitar."

Frans Asthma - disappear, 2024

"The latest track has a more mellow and dreamy vibe to it, with a touch of shoegaze that adds to its charm."

Guillemots - made-up lovesong forty-three, 2006

"Made-Up Lovesong #43" is a song by Guillemots, from their album, Through the Windowpane. It was released as a single; their first to be chart-eligible, reaching number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. An older version of the song appears on I Saw Such Things in My Sleep EP and From the Cliffs."

The The - slow emotion replay, 1993

"Slow Emotion Replay" was the 94th best-selling single in Iceland."

The Triffids - wide open road, 1986

"I just tried to keep it as blunt and direct as possible, even if the results made myself or the listener squirm"

Bones - rooting for you, 2024

"With its dreamy instrumentals and mesmerizing synths, this song is an absolute treat for the ears."

Jim James - here in spirit live, 2016

"It’s like God or the universe or whatever gave us this gift of a compass. We’ve all got this compass inside of us that says what we should really do, but we fucking ignore it so much of the time."

Car Seat Headrest - beach life-in-death, 2011

"a matryoshka doll of rock tropes: call-and-response vocals cave into winding guitar solos and narratives build and then collapse into desperate monologues"

Peter Bjorn And John - gut feeling, 2018

"There’s a guy throwing a stone on the water and it creates three rings on it. It represents us. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but all our titles are two words and three spellings."

Beirut - nantes live, 2019

"The much loved sound incorporating shades of gypsy dance rhythms, swaying romantic vocals, shockingly powerful horn blasts and the all important underlying indie vibe was interspersed with new songs that have built on the already multi-layered music with a more electronic, synthesised edginess."

Ride - last frontier, 2024

"New single ‘Last Frontier’ is out now, a bruising, direct return whose brutal low-end recalls post-punk greats such as Joy Division. There’s also a yearning for beauty, with Andy Bell taking lead vocal, using improvisatory takes to build up the melody."

The Wedding Present - kennedy, 1988

"Bizarro may be The Wedding Present’s defining album."

The Rubens – liquid gold, 2024

"At the core of ‘Liquid Gold’ lies a narrative of self-destruction, cleverly concealed beneath bright, sunny melodies."

Charlie Havenick - overture, 2023

"Longtime drummer and instrumentalist for several LA indie rock outfits, Charlie steps to the forefront in her own band. In the space between conducting and maudlin shoegazing, Havenick’s project is a force to be reckoned with."

Echo And The Bunnymen - bring on the dancing horses live, 2018

"Bring on the Dancing Horses has a dreamily catchy chorus and a nice melody"

The Mountain Goats - rain in soho, 2017

"The lyric "There's a club where you'd like to go / You could meet someone who's lost like you" is a reference to The Smith's song 'How Soon Is Now'. D. B. Cooper is an infamous, anonymous plane hijacker who stole $200,000 and has never been found. The Batcave was a nightclub in London, considered a birthplace of goth subculture. The line "No greater love than to lay my life down for a friend" is derived from John 15:13. The lines "Children piping in the main square / But no one’s dancing / No one’s dancing down there" and "We played for you but you would not sing" recall Matthew 11:16-17 (compare the lyrics of Matthew 11:14-19 from The Life of the World in Flux)."

Beirut - nantes, 2007

"I was listening to a lot of Jacques Brel and French chanson music—pop songs shrouded in big, glorious, over-the-top arrangements and all this drama—and that was in some sense unfamiliar territory to me. So I started buying new instruments and relying on things I wasn't necessarily comfortable with, like French horns and euphoniums, carrying these big, epic big brass parts that I used to do all on trumpets, and working with accordion and organ instead of all ukulele—very much throwing myself in the world of classical pop music, I guess you could say."

Kinnel - locked in heaven this is manchester, 1990

"Various – This Is Manchester (14 Songs From The North West)"