Alternative Christmas Playlist

Every celebration is in need of a good soundtrack and of all the public holidays, Christmas has no shortage in this department.

However, if you a bit worn out from the incessant playing of ‘classics’, we’ve got you covered with this Alternative Christmas Playlist on Spotify. There’s a nice two hour mix of alternative Christmas cuts from Julian Casblancas, Slow Club, Sweet Baboo, We Cut Corners, Spectrals, Jinx Lennon, Half Man Half Biscuit & more. All in all it’s a pretty nice spread of tunes, and one that’ll hopefully serve you well.

Right, time for me to leave you to it – enjoy!

BarryGruff Albums of the Year (2016)

Yes. It is that time of year again, lists, lists and more lists. Well, not be out done, here are my 13 (lucky for some) albums of 2016.

There was lots of great music in 2016 but I decided to keep it to a short list this year. Also, I’m hoping the festive period will provide some time to catch up on some records I’ve missed throughout the year, so feel free to recommend some listening material.

Anyway, without further ado, here are my favourite records from 2016:

There is also a Spotify playlist of all the albums, to save you time and hassle, and it is here.

13. Amber Arcades – ‘Fading Lines’

Amber Arcades‘ – Dutch-born musician Annelotte de Graaf – debut album is a dazzling blend of ‘60s tinged psych, lush jangly guitars, floating pop melodies and an abundance of propulsive, hypnotic krautrocky moments. [Listen here]

12. Tuff Love – ‘Resort’

Glaswegian scuzz-pop aficionados Tuff Love, combine a terrific trilogy of EPs into an LP of dazzling, fuzzy indie pop with sugar-sweet melodies and crunching choruses and shoegazey guitars galore. [Listen here]

11. Underworld – ‘Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future’

A first proper Underworld record in half a decade, Karl Hyde and Rick Smith deliver a stomping electronic record that is up there with the best of their work. [Listen here]

10. The Coral – ‘Distance Inbetween’

Distance Inbetween – their eighth LP and first in over five years – saw The Coral rediscover their roots, mojo and discover their dark side and add a harder edge to their brand of psychedelic indie. It’s an evolution of the Wirral five piece’s sound into a cohesive, weird and imaginative psych-rock record, and one that grows with time. [Listen here]

09. Mr Huw – ‘Gwna Dy Feddwl I Lawr’

Gwna Dy Feddwl I Lawr is album number five from one of Wales’ finest, Mr. Huw and with it, he has delivered an irresistible set of inventive, electrifying indie. Sang in his native tongue, these are melodic songs with a spiky edge. Post-punk riffs and snappy drum-machine punctuate infectious pop melodies, mild psychedelic leanings and Huw’s affable Welsh lilt. A magnificent collection of soul consuming tunes which provide proof if proof be needed, that we should never underestimate the power of great music to overcome a small matter, like a language barrier. [Listen here]

08. Jinx Lennon – ‘Magic Bullets of Madness To Uplift The Grief Magnets’

2016 saw Jinx Lennon return with two new albums – Past Pupil Stay Sane and Magic Bullets of Madness To Uplift The Grief Magnets – with each offering distinctly different brilliance. Magic Bullets… is the pick of the pair but in fairness, both find the folk punk poet at his uncompromising best. Recorded with Liverpool experimentalists Clinic, it is a collection of instantly catchy tunes that boasts a meatier, more beat-driven sound, combined with Jinx’s raw truths kicking back against the humdrum bullshit of modern life. Jinx Lennon is a unique talent, a national treasure to be exact and this is him at his inherently brilliant best. [Listen here]

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Millions Like Us Podcast #21

Hello! We’re back (again) with another delightful mix of music and chat that is, Millions Like Us Podcast, Episode #21.

First off, apologies for the delay with this one but it was entirely out of our control. Some technical mumbo-jumbo put a spanner in the works but we (and by that I mean Stevie, poor sod) finally pulled it together after a lot of hard graft. Some sound issues remain but hopefully it doesn’t hamper the listening experience any more than usual. 😉

Anyway, back to the Pod. For Episode #21 we – Justin, Barry & Stephen – brave some dodgy internet connections, technological misadventures and timezone challenges, to bring you a bumper 90 minutes plus of music chat and an eclectic, hand-picked selection of superb new tunes.

Thanks for your patience with us with this one, we really appreciate it. We’ve all got the thinking caps on to figure out a more efficient way of doing this so once again, thanks for baring with us and we hope you enjoy Pod #21!

You can subscribe to MLU on iTunes and Podcast Republic, Mixcloud & SoundCloud, or find us on Facebook & Twitter. Or you can email us at millionslikeuspodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

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Playlist: Best Songs of 2016

Lists, lists, lists and more lists. Yes, it is that time of year when lists become more common place than overly optimistic Liverpool fans in August.

Time, or lack of it, truly is the enemy once again but I’ve compiled a 100+ strong song Spotify playlist; selection of personal favourites from throughout the year. Pretty self-explanatory this, but there’s loads of great stuff in there from many styles and genres and, from across the globe.

I hope to have an ‘Albums of 2016’ post completed this week. Anyway, for now, I hope you enjoy the playlist.

Introducing: Psychic Love

Psychic Love are LA-based woozy indie merchants who, spearheaded by Laura Peters along with Max Harrison (guitar) and Liam McCormack (bass) released their debut LP The Hive Mind last month.

The album is rather impressive. Its bewitching allure emanating from a resplendent ebbing and flowing through moody, spectral dramatics and woozy lackadaisical jangle; a motif played out perfectly on new single ‘Dye Pack’. It is woozy and dreamy yet dramatic and brooding as jangling guitar chords are filtered through reverb and mild distortion. An anthemic hook and propulsive drumming pair up to provide a surging optimism, while Peters’ sultry vocals bristles with nostalgia and melancholy. Psychic Love’s moody, laid-back indie stylings shimmer, swagger and swoon in equal measure. A spectacular intro to a band that will improve your day, immensely.

You can check out ‘Dye Pack’ below – see also ‘Red Sun’ & ‘Pink Parlor’ – and Psychic Love’s debut album The Hive Mind is out now, stream it here.

Conor Mason Returns With New Single ‘On The Surface’

Derry singer-songwriter Conor Mason has revealed his intention to release a new EP early next year.

While Mason already has three albums under his belt, his last release (solo that is) was 2012’s beautiful and assured LP, Standstill. New material from Mason is long overdue and joining this news is the wonderful single, ‘On The Surface’. It seems Mason is picking up where he left off, having found his space on the musical landscape, not dissimilar to that occupied by Elliot Smith, Villagers or Matthew Jay. ‘On The Surface’ gently trickles by, amid a soothing sea of soft lilting vocals, whispering lyrical delicacies, subtle instrumentation and twinkling synth. Permeated by a rich and comforting warmth, a hint of melancholy and dash of uncertainty – it is a wonderfully crafted five minutes, reminding us how much a master Mason is when it comes to wistful whispering, harmony and hook. For a long, long time, Mason has been one of Ireland’s finest – if somewhat overlooked – artists and delectable talents. Lets hope the latter gets rectified in 2017.

There is no concrete date for the forthcoming EP’s release, just sometime, early in the new year. For now, you can listen to ‘On The Surface’ below. Prepare to be bedazzled.

The Orange Kyte – ‘Just Like Leningrad’

Vancouver’s The Orange Kyte is on the cusp of completing a mammoth quest, releasing a single-a-month throughout the year.

Centred around Vancouver-based, Dublin-raised Stevie Moonboots and a revolving cast of friends and collaborators, The Orange Kyte has shared ‘Just Like Leningrad’; the penultimate single in 2016’s single-a-month series. A sprawling five-minutes of spiralling, shape-shifting psych-rock, the droning organ takes centre stage alongside Moonboots’ irresistible vocals as a heady sonic brew of oscillating guitars, throbbing bassline, fevered percussive assault and blistering brass is unleashed to devastating effect. We’ve been treated to some fine music already but this is up there with the very best. The Orange Kyte, the songs and the project has been most enjoyable throughout 2016, but keeping up this level of output in 2017 is probably asking a bit much, eh? Hopefully there is still more to come from The Orange Kyte.

Well, there is one more single before the year is out but for now, why not gift your years the joys of ‘Just Like Leningrad’. And also, The Orange Kyte has announced some Irish shows for December, check them after the jump.

The Orange Kyte: Irish Dates

Dec 28th: The Grand Social, Dublin
Dec 29th: The Kino, Cork
Dec 30th: Sandino’s, Derry

Gulp Share New Single ‘Search For Your Love’

The Cardiff-based spacey psych-poppers, Gulp – revolving around Lindsey Leven & Guto Pryce of Super Furry Animals fame – have shared their new single ‘Search For Your Love’.

Recorded in the summer of 2016 on a farm in mid Wales, ‘Search For Your Love’ follows on from Gulp’s bewitching 2014 debut album Season Sun and it is a wonderfully natural successor. ‘Search For Your Love’ further refines the pair’s warm, fuzzy, lush psych-pop by combining spacey sounds and textures with a luscious melody proggy-guitars and synths. In doing so they create something hypnotic and unique, and topped off by Leven’s sultry vocals, this is the very essence of dreams. What a magnificent return. Now is the time to sit back and let ‘Search For Your Love’ flow over you and seep into your senses, and leave you better for it.

‘Search For Your Love’ is available now via via Tim Burgess’ independent label O Genesis and Gulp are currently working with Luke Abbott on their second album, which is set to be released in 2017.

Eoin Dolan – ‘Rockerfeller Christmas Address’

We are now well into December so it is safe to mention Christmas, right?

Whatever your feelings surrounding the commencement of Christmas, Galway-based singer-songwriter Eoin Dolan, has released a suitably festive new single, which will go a long way to getting you in the mood. Entitled ‘Rockerfeller Christmas Address’, it is a Christmas pop song wrapped in, as Dolan calls it “the political madness of the modern world. Global anxiety mixed with holiday convention”. Dolan’s recognisable charming, surfy psych-pop is treated with a sprinkle of festive magic – in sound at least – as a blend of woozy, soothing sounds, sinuous melodies, a gentle strum and splotches of synth evoke feelings of warm nostalgia. As well as festivities, nostalgia, friends and family this stage of the year is a time for reflection – and there is a lot to reflect on – and lyrically, Dolan offers his assessment on 2016. ‘Rockerfeller Christmas Address’ is Dolan at his dazzlingly brilliant best, capping of an great year for Galwegian, which saw him release his wonderful self-titled debut LP (you can find it here).

‘Rockerfeller Christmas Address’ is below for your listening pleasure and you can download it for free here.

Minor Moon – ‘So Composed’

Minor Moon is the songwriting project of Sam Cantor – a musician based in Chicago – which began life as a series of bedroom demos back in 2011.

Since then, he’s been firmly on the front foot gigging extensively and releasing EP, Faultines, and debut LP, A Whisper, A Shout. Minor Moon’s latest effort, a five track EP, What Our Enemies Know, is marked for on January 20th, 2017. Ahead of its release, we’ve been given a taste of the EP in single ‘So Composed’. The inspiration for this, and Minor Moon’s sound, seems rooted in classic practitioners of the craft – Nick Drake, Neil Young, Van Morrison with a touch of The Doors – while owing much also, to more contemporary artists like Wilco or Grizzly Bear. What is certain though, is Minor Moon strikes a wonderful balance between vintage and modern. ‘So Composed’ is a smooth and stylish infusion of laid-back indie with elements of jazz and airy Americana. Stellar pop-craft enhanced further with peppered brass, dripping keys and soulful vocals; rather great by any estimation.

What Our Enemies Know EP isn’t released until January 20, 2017 but you can listen to ‘So Composed’, right now, below.

BARRYGRUFF

Music and other warblings from the man who should have shot JR

DATE ARCHIVES : December 2016

Alternative Christmas Playlist

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