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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This month we’ve got garage punk and psych sounds from the ’60s,
some electro funk and classic country, a blend of rockabilly, noise and vintage French folk and some soothing neo-classical piano to end on a quiet note.

Soft, soothing and serene, this is the opening movement of Dustin O’Halloran’s new solo album ‘1 0 0 1’ which he describes as “intentional listening.”

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I’m often drawn to a band by their name, their song and album titles and their artwork. So it was no surprise I loved Death In Vegas when they released their debut album Dead Elvis.

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I first heard his name when Gerry Rafferty released Baker Street. Everyone knew who played that sax solo. Almost as many knew that the same guy played the two sax solos on Bowie’s Young Americans.

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