Arab Strap put on their disco shoes for new single Bliss, calling out toxic masculinity, online violence and harassment of women.

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The Streets came out of nowhere, creating kitchen sink dramas of life as a young working-class man in the UK at the turn of the millennium.

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DAF’s minimalist electro and ironic lyrics are a far cry from the sweet synthpop coming out of the UK, and didn’t get past the radio censors in 1981.

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I’ve liked Goat Girl ever since they emerged punkishly from the DiY scene at The Windmill nearly a decade ago. Their latest doesn’t disappoint.

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No, this is not my guilty pleasure. In fact Black Lace’s novelty hit Agadoo has been voted the worst pop song of all time by a panel of critics.

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Postpunk sextet Deadletter have been building up a fervent live following for some time. Today they preview their debut album with this song, Mother. (more…)

Harry Chapin is someone I vaguely recall in the same MoR mould as John Denver and Jim Croce, making sentimental string-laden songs with sermonising social messages. Which is true. But I do him a disservice.

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Here’s a strange slice of ’60s psych, with fuzz guitars and synthesised strings, from the strangely named and even more strangely (mis-)spelt Hooterville Trolly.

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In 2000 I was flown to Paris (business class) and plied with food and drink at the beautiful Hotel Costes just to interview an unknown French bloke called Mirwais.

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This is skin-crawlingly sleazy – the slippery funk bassline, the euphoric sweep of the strings, the jagged disco guitar… but most of all the words. And the way they’re delivered.

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