In der Nacht ist der Mensch nicht gern alleine

Translation: a person isn't happy being alone at night. Great, great song!

Absolved

Yes, this sounds like My Life Story - but so what? MLS were great, and so's this!

Forget About You

Jan Molby on lead vocals, a maverick keyboard player in short shorts and a song that sounds not unlike the Grandstand theme tune. Yet somehow this works.

Wings of a Dove

Sometimes you just can't beat a bit of Madness. (Don't give up the day job, Bedders.)

Archie, Marry Me

Every cloud...

Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby?

Not you, Gove.

Waiting

Haunting, ethereal magnificence. I love Alice Boman's voice so much. Such a simple yet effective video, as well. Why does everything look so good in monochrome?

Lover Please

Clyde McPhatter facts: He formed the Drifters and died at the age of 39. Those two things aren't necessarily connected, though, despite the structure of that sentence. This song is magical.

Crystal Palace

This one goes out to my man Prince Charles. Zip it, jug ears!

Pull The Wires From The Wall

This song is now sixteen years old. Gordon bennett.

The Greater Good

The next release in the wiaiwya-7777777 seven inch singles club is an absolute belter.

Pre-order it here

It Takes A Strong Heart To Love

78 likes and 0 dislikes for this one on YouTube at the time of typing.

Sunday Lovely Sunday

You Know What I Mean

Mildly Interesting Pop Fact: The Vernons Girls were formed at the Vernons football pools company in Liverpool in the 1950s. Not to be confused with the Reynolds Girls, who were dreamed up at PWL headquarters in the late 1980s and had a misguided and somewhat callow dislike of Fleetwood Mac.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Heard this on the radio in a taxi the other week. Listening out for the announcement of who it was by, at the end of the record, I thought the DJ (Tony Blackburn, if memory serves) said Tangerine Dream. Almost. That Windy Miller had hidden depths, eh?

(Not sure I ever realised Saint Etienne's version was a cover, to be honest. Would find it hard to choose between the two now, but.)

Our Years in the Wilderness

The new Hi-Life Companion album, Our Years in the Wilderness, has been a long time coming - four years! Not that we've been counting - much! - but I've been listening to it all week and can confirm that it is officially ace and completely worth the wait. (Actually, thinking about it, maybe Four Years in the Wilderness would've been a better title. Haw haw.)

I've played the second track, Meet Me At The Pier, pretty much nonstop but that's not online anywhere yet so here's the video for the also great album opener, Brockweir House. Some extremely high quality footage here - although if you're scared of spiders, look away for a few seconds at the 2:30 mark!

Our Years in the Wilderness will be released on June 16th and available to buy from all the usual places, and more besides. More info here.

Leaves That Are Green

...or the song that Billy Bragg filched the opening line of A New England from.

Mars Bars

Never mind yer Teenage Kicks; this is the best Undertones song (chocolate) bar none.

Everybody Loves Me But You

This one manages to pull off the unusual trick of being both self-pitying and a bit conceited at the same time. It may also be preceded by an annoying advert - but such is modern life, I suppose. Good song but, and well worth wading through the ad for.

Juliana Hatfield - Everybody Loves Me

Monday Morning

Fab new single from Kathryn Williams - and such a sweet promo video I even managed to put my low embarrassment threshold on the back burner while watching it.