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Music Observer: June & July '24 highlights

on August 06, 2024

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The Music Observer 10: Looking back at 2021 [Albums]

on December 20, 2021

2021 Album best of Chvrches Cloves Dry Cleaning Halsey IDLES Katherine Priddy music retrospective Soda Blonde The Felice Brothers William The Conqueror Wolf Alice

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New release horizon scanner:

11/1/25 - Rosie Gault: Dim lights
29/1/25 - Dictator: Middle of the road (EP)
7/2/25 - Arliston: Disappointment machine (Album)
28/2/25 - Hachiku: The joys of being pure at heart (Album(

Labels

2021
2022
2023
2024
222
A Cause In Distress
about me
acoustic
Africa
Album

Alela Diane
Alex Jayne
alexandra leaving
Alice Robbins
alt-country
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alt-rock
alternative
Amber Saqladi
ambient
Amelia Coburn
American
Americana
amistat
Amy Papiransky
Andrea von Kampen
angst
Another Sky
Anthony D'Amato
Arcade State
Australia
Automotion
Avalyn
Baby Queen
BACKSPACE
Barn on the Farm
Be Charlotte
Beau
Ben Mark Smith
Ber
Beren Olivia
best of
Beth Orton
Big Thief
Birmingham
BLAB
Black Foxxes
Bleach Lab
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Blue Violet
blues
Bob Vylan
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BOTF
Bottlemoth
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Caity Baser
Cambridge Folk Festival
Canada
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Casii Stephan
Cassels
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Charles
Charlotte Carpenter
Chloe Foy
Chloe Lorentzen
Chris Greig
Christmas
Chvrches
cinematic
Cloves
Coach Party
Comforts
Comic Sans
Conscious Route
country
Coventry
cover
Crawlers
Cruel Sister
Das Kapitans
Death Of The High Street
Deep South
Devon
Dictator
Diving Station
DIY
Dog Race
Dogs! Teeth!
Dolores Forever
dreampop
Drew Thomas
Dry Cleaning
Dublin
duo
Durand Jones
Dutch Mustard
Dylan
Edie Bens
Editors
Eevah
electronic
electropop
Eleri
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Ella Clayton
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emo
English Teacher
EP
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exclusive
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Finland
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Five O Fives
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folk
Folk by the Oak
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Fraulein
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Friday highlights
fusion
garage rock
Gefahrgeist
Gen and the Degenerates
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Georgi Clarke
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Girl Scout
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Grace Calver
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Graywave
Greysha
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Guns n Roses
Hachiku
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Hana Lili
Hannah Grae
Hannah Mazey
Headless Heroes
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Hidden Orchestra
Hilang Child
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Holly Humberstone
Holy Coves
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Hyyts
IDLES
Imogen and the knife
indie
Indie Midlands
instrumental
interview
Ireland
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IWD
Jack Rasmussen
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Jamaica
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Jemima Coulter
Jemma Johnson
Jen Dixon
Jenny Colquitt
JJ Lovegrove
Joan Shelley
Jodie Nicholson
Jools
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Josienne Clarke
Judy Blank
Juliet Ivy
Katherine Priddy
Kathleen Edwards
King Creosote
Kingfishr
Kitty Macfarlane
Kitty Perrin
Lanterns on the Lake
Lastlings
Lauren Ann
Leeds
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Lemondaze
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Lewis Capaldi
Lincolnshire
Linn Koch-Emery
Lissy Taylor
Little Comets
live music
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Lizzie Esau
London
Lossline
Loupe
Lucy Gaffney
Lucy Spraggan
Luxembourg
Lynks
Ma.Moyo
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Mae Krell
Mali Faraz
Mama Liz's
Manchester
Mark Stevens
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Matilda Mann
Matt Maltese
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Medium Build
Megan Wyn
MEMES
Met Lounge
Metric
Millie Blooms
Mind Aid
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Minnesota
Mistine
Moonlight Parade
music
Mutual Blue
Nadia Sheikh
Netherlands
New York
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NewDad
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Nice Guy
Nick Cave
Nitin Sawhney
Noga Erez
noir
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Northern Ireland
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Nova Twins
Odd Beholder
Oliver Beardmore
Olivia Dean
Olivia Rodrigo
Omeara
online
Oxford
Ozric Tentacles
Peggy Sue
Peterborough
philine
photos
Pillow Queens
Plasticine
Platinum Mind
Pluto Shervington
poetry
pop
pop punk
post-punk
preview
psychedelic
punk
Queen Cult
Quiet Houses
Quiet The Art
Rai Kah Mercury
rap
RAYE
Record Store Day
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Region
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retrospective
rock
ROE
roots
Roots Manuva
ROSIE
Rosie Gault
Ross Stewart
Rough Trade
RSD
Saint Sappho
Sam Fender
Sam Lambeth
Sam Shields
Sara Jackson-Holman
Sarah Johnsone
Sarpa Salpa
Scotland
secret gig
Serotones
She's in parties
shoegaze
Sick Love
Sigrid
Silvi
singer-songwriter
Soda Blonde
Soot Sprite
Sophia Alexa
Sophie Janna
soul
space rock
spoken word
SPRINTS
Spyres
Stamford
Supersaurus
Swedish
Swim School
synth
Taylor Swift
Teeside
Ten Hands High
Tez
The Big Moon
The Boxer Rebellion
The Candle Thieves
The Covasettes
The Crayon Set
The Empty Page
the eves
The Felice Brothers
The Florentinas
The Great Leslie
The Hackles
The Howl and the Hum
The Innocence Mission
The Lumineers
The Merchants
The Mercians
The Murder Capital
The Musician
The Mysterines
The National
The Royston Club
The Shed Project
The Slow Readers Club
The Staves
The Tenters
The Wind and the Wave
Thom Yorke
Thrillhouse
Thyla
Tim Buckley
Tiny Desk
Tizane
Todd Snider
Tom Jones
TOMI
Tove Lo
Transviolet
Twist Heilx
Twisterella
Tyler Gelrud
Union Chapel
video
Virgins
Vona Vella
Wales
Warren Ellis
Wet Leg
Wilco
William Doyle
William The Conqueror
Wolf Alice
Wrest
Wyldest
YNES
YONAKA
Youth Lagoon
YOVA
Yumi and the Weather

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Amber Saqladi: Becoming a modern-day Siren [Interview]

Amber Saqladi began her journey as a song-writer scribbling poetry at age seven, before graduating to writing songs with a felt-tipped pen on sheets of A3 paper. But it took some time for this pastime to evolve into a way of life. "It's always been something I've done but it was never anything I really took seriously growing up. I was a very academic kid, so that's what I expected to do," Amber explains. By 15, though, she had started writing music more seriously, and gigging. "Since then, it's become undeniable that that's the thing I enjoy the most - being able to be creative, and be academic at the same time," she says. Amber quickly established herself as a familiar name on the music scene in her home town of Leicester, where she also recorded her first three singles at HQ Studios . "The music scene in Leicester is absolutely lovely - it's very community based. I can always count on the other musicians there to support me, and I...

William The Conqueror + Chloe Foy: The Big Difference, Leicester [Live]

I was particularly looking forward to this gig at The Big Difference in Leicester (formerly The Cookie) on Monday night - it was an event which was meant to have happened in March, towards the end of William The Conqueror's UK tour. Unfortunately, that date and some subsequent ones had to be postponed due to - yes you guessed it - Covid. But the new date soon rolled round, and I arrived early to make sure I heard Chloe Foy . She's someone I've listened to at various points over the years, revelling in the beautiful, meditative, country-inflected folk melodies she writes. Her debut single was released in 2013, and since then she's been developing her style and repertoire. To me, it feels like she's pretty much perfected it. Her set was short but definitely sweet, featuring a carefully curated selection of songs . She was accompanied by Harry Fausing Smith, delicately and unobtrusively picking out subtle notes and harmonics on his electric guitar. Everything felt tho...

Dry Cleaning: Rescue Rooms, Nottingham [Live]

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a Dry Cleaning live performance - Would that deadpan delivery from Florence Shaw, and the toned down post-punk/alt vibes translate? Would the songs be engaging enough to carry the audience along through a full set? Simply put - yes. It all worked really well. The music sounded much heavier when played live and the musicianship of the band members was really clear to see and hear. One thing that stood out to me in particular was the drumming from Nick Buxton: this came across as several times more exciting, and much more organic - it was a more prominent part of the band's songs as compared with the studio versions, and (as an ex drummer myself) I welcomed that. The guitar work from Tom Dowse was fantastic, too. You could see and feel the energy and effort that he put in, and there were some great moments when he was the sole focus during extended solos. Meanwhile Lewis Maynard provided growling, chunky bass sounds, underpi...

Headless Heroes: True Love Will Find You in the End

I'm always on the lookout for any music featuring the sublime voice of Alela Diane . And recently, I discovered The Silence of Love. This is an album of covers by Headless Heroes, a group featuring Alela as vocalist and some very talented studio instrumentalists. The group was formed in 2008, and the album was released in 2017. You probably already know that 'True Love ...' is a Daniel Johnston original, first heard on a low-quality, self-release cassette (' Retired Boxer ') produced in 1984. It's a very poignant thing to listen to - and it feels much longer than its official 1 minute 50 seconds, although musically the version he re-recorded in 1990 (for the album, also called '1990') is probably a bit more satisfying. It's a masterful bit of songwriting - so simple, yet so moving; slightly mysterious, but coherent and flowing; comforting and yet with that slightly hollow and heart-achey feel. The song has been covered many, many times (including by...

The Music Observer 10: Looking back at 2022 [Singles]

Scroll down for my top 10 singles of 2022! But first: a special award for Epic Banger Of The Year , to Metric's 'Doomscroller' , a 10-minute track which truly deserves the often overused label of "awesome". I previously wrote: " It takes a certain kind of brilliance to create an epic, progressive but listenable track which twists and turns, rises and falls, surprises and engages from start to end ... It's a piece of music which feels like a voyage, through space rather than across seas. It's a song showcasing some high-level skills, both in the song-writing and in the interpretation and performance. It's well-judged, too, without any sense of time-wasting or unnecessary padding. This song needs 10 minutes." As well as opening the band's latest album 'Formentera' - one of my "honourable mentions" in this year's album run-down - 'Doomscroller' was released as a single in May. [Listen here ] THE MUSIC OBSE...