Author Archive
February 20, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 127: Spiritualized – “Lazer Guided Melodies”
Maybe I’m that very rare thing…a “casual” Spiritualized fan… Look, I know about Spacemen 3 (and Jason Pierce) but I really only know the great trilogy (to me at least, and who am I kidding, it won’t just be me) of Spiritualized albums: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, Let It Come Down and Amazing Grace. And it’s only here, now, seeing […]
February 20, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
UNWIND Chisholm/Meehan/Dyne: Orange
UNWIND: Chisholm/Meehan/Dyne Orange Rattle I first heard Hayden Chisholm (saxophones) – well at least first really took notice on the glorious collaborative album Small Holes In The Silence featuring Hannah Griffin’s voice and Norman Meehan’s piano. The music was sparse, the lyrics drawn from famous New Zealand poems. Griffin and Meehan have an ongoing project in collaboration with Bill Manhire. Chisholm was the silent star of […]
February 20, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Pet Shop Boys: Agenda [EP]
Pet Shop Boys Agenda [EP] x2 Recordings Ltd A ‘surprise’ new Pet Shop Boys EP? Yes, please! Apparently it’s a standalone release…which is to say these four songs won’t appear on the next new album (which is – or rather will be – a thing). So for now we have a set of political songs. Now Pet Shop Boys has always included anthems with […]
February 19, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Beatles Theory
A lot of people seem to think that Paul McCartney and John Lennon hated each other – were competitive, and the band broke up, and that Yoko was a pesky nuisance as well. The Yoko thing? That’s mostly racism. And sexism too. Paul and John are on the record as having had a bit of […]
February 19, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 333
Sheena Easton, Sugar Walls [Single] (1984) I was pretty into Sheena Easton across the 1980s. First off she had the Bond theme from the first James Bond movie I ever saw, then she had this association with Prince. She had a few big hits on the charts too, anyway, but the Prine-thing was a deal-sealer for me. I can’t remember not being […]
February 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
He likes Doing It. He Likes Being It: The Overseer of The Architecture of Songs – “I Wanted To Be A Filmmaker Anyway” – Alejandro Escovedo on Trump, his new album, overcoming “That Disease” and then the songs, the music, the influence of his family, the connection, the gift…
Alejandro Escovedo is a songwriter’s songwriter – people like Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams and Bob Dylan reference him among their favourites – not only that, he has backstory that would make you want to get on board anyway. Maybe even if his own music wasn’t super-great, which it is and has been across the last quarter-century. His enviable […]
February 18, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Sam Newton: Stare Into The Dark
Sam Newton Stare Into The Dark Sam Newton/Independent Sometimes exactly what you want is a songwriter that is dialing it right back. Across three albums Australian singer/songwriter Sam Newton has been exploring that concept. Here with his latest it is almost entirely about ‘the song’. Sure he has a pleasant voice – he summons the requisite vulnerability, heartbreak, and in fact a range of emotions. He’s […]
February 17, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
The 1001 Albums Challenge # 126: Koffi Olomide – “Haut De Gamme”
Probably couldn’t have picked a worse time to ‘discover’ Koffi Olomide. I’d never heard his music, not sure I’d even heard of the Congolese singer and musician, if I’m honest. But in a routine-Googling to find the cover image and any background guff to add to this – I found out he’s accused of multiple sexual assaults and is generally […]
February 17, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Francisca Griffin: The Spaces Between
Francisca Griffin The Spaces Between CocoMuse With 20 years off since her last release you could definitely say there have been some spaces between – but welcome back Francisca Griffin (formerly Kathy Bull of Look Blue Go Purple) and The Spaces Between, recorded over a few days in 2015 and 2016 and released now – is […]
February 17, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: The tuatara in the playground
recently, someone was telling me that the tuatara in the playground in Cuba Mall (I call it a playground, it’s a slide and this fucking tuatara-thing) is the most pointless playground-thing around.
February 17, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Matt Brewer: Ganymede
Matt Brewer Ganymede Criss Cross Master bassist and composer Matt Brewer has been making ‘heady’ art-filled jazz music across the last two decades as sideman and leader, and importantly as a writer, working with the likes of Dave Douglas, Christian McBride, Greg Osby, Brad Mehldau and many more. Most recently he’s been creating dizzyingly wonderful larger-ensemble workouts, but here it’s […]
February 17, 2019 by Simon Sweetman