Best albums of 2019

These are the 2019 albums that I have on restric­t­ed-play mode, in case I over­do it. These are best played when you’re on your own. No dis­trac­tions and no play­ing them as mood music in the back­ground – who wants some ran­dom per­son to sud­den­ly start talk­ing to you just as you get to the…

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Green Man festival 2017 review

This year was the 15th anniver­sary of Green Man, the bucol­ic fes­ti­val set in the Bre­con Bea­cons. It is – since the demise of Big Chill – my favourite fes­ti­val venue, with its lush moun­tain­ous set­ting and main stage framed dra­mat­i­cal­ly by the Black Moun­tains. For those short of stature (like myself), you’ll always have…

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Favourite albums of 2016

Putting togeth­er a list of favourite albums of 2016, I recalled writ­ing last year’s col­lec­tion. What a dif­fer­ent world we now inhab­it. Every­thing feels brit­tle and frag­ile, a sense of per­ma­nence lost. The loss of so many great musi­cians and artists this year has been raw and shock­ing. How­ev­er… there are plen­ty of releas­es I’ve real­ly enjoyed this year, and inevitably…

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Green Man 2012

Into this post-Olympic, rain-drenched mid sum­mer, the tenth Green Man fes­ti­val burst into life. Nes­tled in the Black Moun­tains of mid Wales, Green Man’s are­na on Fri­day is a won­der to behold; still at this point a green and pleas­ant land with its beau­ti­ful­ly posi­tioned main Moun­tain Stage – a nat­ur­al amphithe­atre, with a con­ve­nient steep…

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