Saturday 31 May 2014

In der Nacht ist der Mensch nicht gern alleine

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

Friday 30 May 2014

Absolved

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

Thursday 29 May 2014

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.

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Wings of a Dove

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

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Monday 26 May 2014

Sunday 25 May 2014

Saturday 24 May 2014

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?

Friday 23 May 2014

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.

Thursday 22 May 2014

Crystal Palace

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

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Pull The Wires From The Wall

This song is now sixteen years old. Gordon bennett.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

The Greater Good

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

Pre-order it here

Monday 19 May 2014

It Takes A Strong Heart To Love

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

Sunday 18 May 2014

Saturday 17 May 2014

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.

Friday 16 May 2014

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.)

Thursday 15 May 2014

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.

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Leaves That Are Green

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

Tuesday 13 May 2014

Mars Bars

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

Monday 12 May 2014

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

Sunday 11 May 2014

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.