Rolling A Rock, Socially

I’m not a musician so this is the only playing of music in public that I can do. And I rather enjoy it. Last night saw yet another session of my cueing a curated vinyl selection at an event organised by India Record Co. which was a sort of tastemaker for the Bandland music festival…

Rage

Anger has, for as long as I can remember, been my constant companion. Not righteous wrath, rarely blind rage. Early in life I made it a friend. It drives me more often than not to do the right thing. On occasion when I have been lolling on the fence, it shook my shoulder and hauled…

Sly Granny Plays

A 45-minute spin cycle. I’ve been doing informal listening sessions at home with a few close friends for years. This was just a shortened, more restrictive version but played in public.

In Grief, A Release

‘Abandoned In Spring’ is an album which is that increasingly rare thing, a deeply personal work of art that though created by someone else becomes fiercely your own in expression.

Writer’s Ramble (Not A Rant)

Art is interpretive, at least good art definitely is. What it tells you changes with time. You discover nuances as you experience it more. All of that is lost in your hurry to be in there among the first with your ill-formed, poorly informed opinion. How can you be a trusted guide when you are constantly waylaid by the ruffians of short-term gains?

The Art And Craft Of Rule-Breaking

Recognisability and similarity bestow upon us the coziness of comfort. It’s our surprising variations, though, that make us interesting and push us to develop. What Obey Cobra has done on ‘Oblong’ is to wrap subversive art in the comfort wear of familiarity and done it well, for it’s a fine balance that the band has struck.

A Bouquet Of Excellence

To call this EP “lovely” would be to merely mouth a platitude. It is not “lovely”. It is indescribably beautiful in the perverse way that deep melancholy can be.

Fucked Up Masterpiece

…astoundingly diverse range of musical realms all of which somehow turns out natural the way this bunch does it. That takes an extreme level of intelligence, imagination, and skill to accomplish. I am tempted to use the word genius…

Satire For Our Times

…a grossly under-rated album when it should be hailed as an astonishing act of independence breaking away from the par for course. The tragedy of our world is such that years after its release its themes continue to be relevant and will do so, I’m afraid, for a long time to come.

Vylany Knows No Bounds

In throwing a fist at a smug privileged and entrenched lot and in driving for some of that change, Bob Vylan’s music is one of the most important of our times. I haven’t heard anything like this, delivered the way it is.