If a music blogger is only as old as the songs he reviews I have been getting ever more youthful. And my slide backwards has never been more apparent than with this latest track-of-the-week. Strong Feelings, was only released last month as a taster for Dry Cleaning's forthcoming album, New Long Leg, due out on…Read more Strong Feelings
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Karta & Kompass
Urtidsdjur's self-titled debut album, originally released only on vinyl, is now also available on streaming services. To coincide with this milestone the band has released a video of the Karta & Kompass track. As you can see, their unerring navigational skills have brought them to their destination in high spirits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnFnilOaU1Q The figure on that…Read more Karta & Kompass
Vandringssång
We met a Swedish prehistoric beast for the first time in September when this blog featured Trippar Runt Dig, a single released ahead of Urtidsdjur's forthcoming eponymous album. It was just a short exploratory trip then but those guys are on a much longer journey now. Here's the first single taken from the album itself,…Read more Vandringssång
Trippar Runt Dig
For those of you who don't speak Swedish, "trippar runt dig" has nothing to do with weakling piglets or archeological excavations. It means "trips around you" in English and it is the title of a single by Urtidsdjur that is released today. "Urtidsdjur" translates as "prehistoric animal" but the band with that name is very…Read more Trippar Runt Dig
Radar Blips
My Release Radar this week included several interesting new pieces by not-so-new artists spanning a wide range of styles. I'm featuring them in another Spotify playlist this week. But before we get to that, I must pay tribute to Peter Green, who's death was announced yesterday. Rolling Stone placed the blues/rock guitarist born Peter Allen Greenbaum…Read more Radar Blips
Soften the Glare
A Couple of Unrelated Things Before We Start ... Robert Fripp posted a very moving tribute to Bill Rieflin on his Facebook page this week. Bill was a drummer and keyboard player who became part of the wider King Crimson family. He succumbed to cancer on Tuesday. Burning Shed is offering a free download of…Read more Soften the Glare
Fractured and Dazed
We apologise for the late running of the 3/3/19 Track of the Week service. This was due to a collision between an elderly pedestrian and a cyclist in central London at about 8:30 pm on Friday night. The pedestrian was 89 year old Crotchety Man senior, who had to spend a few days in hospital…Read more Fractured and Dazed
The Voice of Beauty Drowned
"I hear those voices that will not be drowned" is a quote from Benjamin Britten's opera, Peter Grimes. It is cut into the rim of this stunning sculpture of a scallop shell standing proudly on Aldeburgh beach on England's east coast. The Scallop is a memorial to Britten who lived in the town and used to…Read more The Voice of Beauty Drowned
Juniper
Newsflash Elbow's Magnificent (She Says) wins the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Crotchety Man commented, "I told you it was destined to be a classic". And in Other News Continuing the Welsh theme, for this Track of the Week I have chosen Juniper by the Cardiff jazz and trip hop band, Slowly…Read more Juniper
Future Strings
Crotchety Man has been bingeing on prog rock recently so I thought it was time for something rather different. As luck would have it my Release Radar this week included an enchanting track called Listen to the Grass Grow by Catrin Finch and Seckou Keita. Now, I used a photo of Catrin Finch in an…Read more Future Strings
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