Full Time Plagiarist - Thee Headcoats

Finally got round to listening to one of my Christmas present CDs from Mrs Baron yesterday, Thee Headcoats most recent album Irregularis (The Great Hiatus), and it's everything you'd want from a Billy Childish release, witty lyrics and a raw garage rock sound played with all the energy of a man half...or possibly even a quarter...his age. Remarkably Billy turns 65 this December. This is how you do it kids. 

Keep That Music Simple - Dr John

After seeing a copy of Dr John's Tango Palace on CD in Oxfam at a wallet busting £19.99 I've been on the lookout for a more sanely priced one and eventually picked up mine via eBay for £8 plus postage, Originally released in 1979 it's got more of  P Funk/Disco vibe than some of the good Dr's other releases  but sadly it got nowhere back in the day. Madness. Here's another cut...

Nothing Matters - Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Ace live cover version of The Last Dinner Party's Nothing Matters from Sophie Ellis-Bextor (at the request of the band apparently). And here's the ever so slightly ruder original version...

Fixin' To Die Blues - Bukka White

Listening to a lot of Blues stuff at the moment and picked up four 2CD compilation albums at the weekend stuffed full of classic tracks, like this one, originally released waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1940 and later covered by Bob Dylan. Of course people like Bukka had a lot to be blue about in 1940 and that comes across loud and clear in early Blues tracks. Music doesn't get rawer and more real than this and in a world that's rapidly doing away with anything 'human'...what could possibly go wrong with that eh?...I find it all strangely comforting. 

The Bug Club / Langkamer @ The Cornish Bank, Falmouth – Friday February 16th 2024

A new venue and a couple of new bands (all new to me at least, although I’d heard a few tracks from The Bug Club on 6Music over the past year or so). The Cornish Bank’s a cracking place to see live music and it’s just the kind of venue that up-and-coming acts need to build their fanbase. Sadly it appears as though the owners are, in common with most venues, having a tough time so if you’re ever anywhere near Falmouth pop in and show ‘em some love…and spend a little dosh too…I can recommend the cider.

Anyway, back to the music and first up Bristol’s Langkamer. 

Country-tinged indie slackers – imagine the love children of The Band and Pavement…yep, they’re that good…with a healthy dash of punk spirit for good measure.  And singing drummers (sadly out of shot here...I'm no David Bailey...or whoever takes decent snaps these days), who doesn’t love a singing drummer eh?

If you’ve been bitten by The Bug Club’s recorded stuff you’ll love the meatier live versions. 

Sam, guitar and vocals, dished out some surprisingly bluesy riffs whilst Tilly, bass and vocals, rocked out like Angus Young on amphetamines. Drummer Dan kept up with a pretty relentless pace as the trio blazed through several sackfuls of witty, pithy and occasionally ever so slightly bonkers tracks (see, for example, Rare Birds) that come across like an indie kid’s wet dream. Trust me, this is one bug that’s well worth catching.

Emmylou (live) - First Aid Kit

Picked up a copy of First Aid Kit's second album, The Lion's Roar, the other week primarily for this one track, arguably their finest few minutes to date. This performance is extra special though as they got to play the song to its inspiration, Emmylou Harris herself. Clearly the experience was pretty moving for both parties. 

I Am Damo Suzuki - The Fall

The recent passing of Damo Suzuki reminded me of this great track by The Fall. 

And here's the man himself performing one of his most well known tracks, Vitamin C, in Can.

Two classics for the price of one. 

You're welcome.  

Man Dance - Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society

It's Friday! So what better track to kick off the weekend than a little funky jazz...or jazzy funk...from...deep breath...Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society.  

Matt's the way to do it...The Trail Of Matt Philip Hale

 

Adding to his already enviable body of work Matt's back with another fine cache of tracks from, on this album at least, the Black Country's answer to Bob Dylan. Albeit a Bob Dylan that can actually carry a tune. Sorry Bob. There are 11 tracks to dive into, Absolutely Outta My Mind's my current favourite, closely followed by Ashamed to Admit and Unique or Ten a Penny, but the whole thing's a bitter sweet treat from start to finish. 

I'm Your Slave - Harmonica Red and Clarence Williams

Picked up this amazing blues harmonica CD from a local charity shop last weekend for...wait for it...10p. The era of cheap CDs is clearly still with us but bidding on eBay's heating up, with one or two Bowie albums on the RCA label fetching a wallet/purse melting £100 recently (David Bowie - RCA CD -The Man Who Sold The World . | eBay). As I've been banging on about for a few years now, the CD revival was inevitable. People like to collect stuff...music's cool...CDs are pretty resilient...they sound great...they have cute little booklets...awwww bless 'em...and you can pick up a half decent second hand portable CD player for £10-£20 as well. Trust me, get stuck in now before the hipsters do.