This year has produced a bounty of riches of incredible variety and wild imagination, commencing in January with a topically suitable release by Bridget Hayden called Cold Blows the Wind, before moving on to the sunny sounds of Divorce (if that doesn’t sound too odd). And there’s a bit of a Brutalist theme going on…
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The North East-based band Parastatic are back with a tweaked lineup and an intriguing new album, Concrete Reborn on Workie Ticket Records. It’s a sonic exploration of architecture, specifically Brutalism, which coincidentally happens to be enjoying its own cinematic moment. I was surprised to realise that nearly a decade has gone by since I last…
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Here are my top recommended albums of 2015 in no particular order. 1 Richard Hawley Hollow Meadows A confident collection of beautiful tracks, Hawley’s voice at its most sublimely expressive. My favourite track is the non-ballad Which Way shall I go?, sexy with a touch of menace. Hawley’s performance at The Roundhouse a few weeks’ ago was one…
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Parastatic played at The Sebright Arms, an East London venue which is one of my top ‘most welcoming’ pubs in London. The Tyneside outfit Parastatic came to my attention via Radio 6 Music, when I just happened to catch the tail-end of a track which delivered an utterly euphoric guitar riff. I felt a ‘here’s a new addiction’ moment coming on.…
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