Harmonica Day

In 1970 Black Sabbath released their self titled debut album. It was a monument in heavy metal and screaming guitars combined with a bluesy harmonica.

David Bowie released this song in 1973 on his album Aladine Sane when glam rock was at its peak. A timeless classic even though people keep claiming that the song sounds too much like Blockbuster by The Sweet

Ten years later Elton John released another highlight of his later work, in which he dared to incorporate a harmonica that sounded as if it were being played by Stevie Wonder.

By the time you read this, I’ll have already been in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, for a few days. It’s a city I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, but Orban’s regime has kept me from going until now.

Birthday

 

During the last weekend I found a song in the back of my hard drive. Shortly before The Sugarcubes broke up, they released It's It, an album of remixes from their debut album Life's Too Good. The standout performance came from Justin Robertson, who demonstrated just how much potential Birthday has. The standout mix came from Justin Robertson, who showcased Birthday’s potential. He transformed the new wave track into a dub gem.

The Sugarcubes - Birthday (Justin Robertson 12 Mix)

Years later the brothers Reid did also an excellent Rework of Birthday.

And finally some songs with more post-punk power from their early days. Remember when I saw them live in summer 1989 on an open-air festival playing these songs.

The Sugarcubes - Motorcrash

Monday's Long Song

Nothing has been posted here by Andy Bell for several years, and it's time to change that. 2019 saw the debut Andy Bell under his moniker GLOK, Dissident. It was an album I played often at this time because I was impressed by it's sound. Inspired by krautrock and house Bell layered guitars and synths on top of each other, letting them flow from the speakers in seemingly endless waves. It’s all so understated, and every note is perfectly placed. The songs have a hypnotic quality that draws you right into them. Yeah, it sounds corny, but I still love this album.

GLOK - Pulsing

New Song On Sunday

 

In the east of Ireland, there’s a small town called Bray in a county called Wicklow. Seven years ago, a group of childhood friends started making music there, and they recently released a new EP. They first appeared on this blog just under a year ago, when they released an EP. At the time, I wrote the result is nothing more and nothing less than a fantastic indie pop song about the end of a relationship. And that’s exactly where they pick up the thread: with clear song structures, powerful indie guitars that, in the broadest sense, bring to mind The Cranberries, catchy hooks, and Lily Aron’s clear voice. Nothing more and nothing less than what a good indie pop song should be.

Platinum

 

Last year Penelope Trappes released her last album A Requiem, featuring dark, menacing avant-garde pop and ambient elements. The central themes of all the songs are death, fear, and self-destruction. Her hollow-sounding vocals, paired with a cello, take some getting used to, but they are utterly captivating. Now they've had some of their songs reworked, and Saint Etienne manages to lighten the somber mood a bit. 

Harmonica Day

 

The new edition of songs featuring the harmonica kicks off with the wonderful Joni Mitchell. In 1974, she released *Miles of Aisles*, one of her most successful albums, recorded live in Los Angeles. It was the first time she had performed with a full backing band, which lent her songs a special depth. 

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are an Australian psych-rock band that isn't afraid to incorporate folk, garage and surf rock into their sound.

Finally, some Maori pop from 1996. OMC had only become famous for their global hit before fading back into obscurity.

Nag Champa

 

Nottingham's DJ's/producers Timm Sure and Richard Hampson aka Coyote returns with a couple of new songs to disappear only to disappear back into the realm of dub. Nag Champa is a classic Indian incense scent prized for its calming, balancing, and purifying effects on the body and mind. I don’t know how many incense sticks they burned before these songs were finished, but the result is impressive. On Nag Champa they celebrate a sound that evokes the best days of Lee Perry yet remains distinct in its own right. A song destined for the year-end charts.