listening2: 17/5/24
I've been listening to... new series #02
listening2… is a new series of regular posts on what I’ve been listening to over the past week or so. Tracks from my travels. New songs and music to explore further. Half forgotten tracks from my digital collection. Roadtrip gems.
If you like this post, let me know or, even better, let someone else know! If you’d like to see what’s coming down the line, hit subscribe and get each episode by email as it’s published.
May 17th 2024: I’ve been listening to… #02
In this week’s listening2… My new soul obsession, together with art-pop for the anthropocene. Plus tracks from two albums being released today. I also delve into Oxford’s Shifty Disco series from the mid 90s, and there’s a punk banger from one of my albums of 2023… (and a rock solid bonus track from an unexpected quarter). Dig in!!
1. MRCY – Flowers In Mourning
My new soul obsession is MRCY - a bit like Sault, a bit like Jungle, a bit like the coolest 70’s funk and soul you’ve ever heard. A bit just like itself. This track is from their first album, Volume 1, you can find it on Bandcamp HERE. I’ll be keeping my eye on them…
2. Beaker – Backgarden
Thirty years ago, Oxford label Shifty Disco, launched their Shifty Disco Singles Club subscription service, which I signed up to (of course I did!). One a month over a couple of years and a couple of compilation albums that might still be out there. There were some gems and some less than ‘gemmie’ releases – as you’d imagine. Shifty Disco might be an #oddfind feature one day, as there’s a lot to dig through. Back in the day, however, I would alway pull this out single by Beaker. It’s just gloriously weird and, on listening back this week, a little bit creepy! I love Sam Battle’s voice and all the tempo changes. Apparently they were amazing live…
3. The Lovely Eggs- Nothing/Everything
An admission. When I first heard The Lovely Eggs on Mark Radcliffe’s 6 Music show, a couple of years back, I thought they were rubbish.
Confession: I was wrong. Sorry Lovely Eggs.
They are seriously strange, utterly honest and don’t work or sound like anyone else does, but they’re definitely not rubbish. I still have to be in the right mood for some of their stuff, but this is their new single, and it’s great. Their new album, Eggstistentialism, is out today (May 17th) and you can get it from https://www.thelovelyeggs.co.uk
4. Beth Gibbons – Lost Changes
So, so excited about this one! Beth Gibbons, her out of Portishead, has been involved in some of the most interesting music in the three and a bit decades since the band was formed back in 1991. As well as the three Portishead albums (plus a live set just re-released in a special 25th anniversary edition), she also sang on one of my favourite classical albums, Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Górecki with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Out of Season her album collaboration with Rustin Man (Paul Webb from Talk Talk) is also well worth a listen. Quality over quantity every time…
And her first - yes first - solo album is also out today (HOORAY), and the pre-release singles are beautiful. Hard to choose, but I fell for this one. Gorgeous…
5. William Doyle - Now In Motion
A new one to me, but William Doyle’s back catalogue includes four volumes of ambient music and several albums of experimental, melodic pop-rock. He’s also on Substack at William Doyle's Variable Rewards. He’s had a Mercury Music nomination (for Total Strife Forever in 2014) and I love his new album, Springs Eternal - described as “serving up art-pop for the anthropocene”. I bopped my way home to this.
(Q: can you spot the #soundslike Crazy Horses organ in the mix?)1
6. Bob Vylan - Pretty Songs
Bob Vylan’s album Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life was one of my favourite albums of last year. Uncompromising, loud, angry and very, very funny. You can imagine what it’s like on a car journey!!! There’s a new Bob Vylan album out now – Humble As The Sun. I’m really looking forward to hearing it…
Notes
The Crazy Horses organ comes in first at 1' 20'' and carries on through the William Doyle track, Now In Motion. According to Jay Osmond, the 1972 Osmonds single, Crazy Horses “was recorded at MGM in Hollywood and we added that distinctive "Wah! Wah!" intro sound afterwards. Alan had written the lyrics, which talked about horsepower, and he said: "It's got to sound like a horse somehow". We tried everything, then finally found something on Donny's organ that sounded like a neighing stallion.”
OK - if you insist… here’s your bonus listening2… it’s a fxxxing classic!