Notes from a small island.

Finally, Autumn’s here (or ‘Fall’ as I believe my colonial chums prefer it!) and we’re back into the proper ‘grown up’ seasons.  No more adverts with teeth-whitened, permatanned ‘eejits’ enquiring whether you’re body’s ‘beach ready’ in the accusative tone that suggests they’re talking about the latest pod of whales that’s lost its way and floundered!  At last, we’re into the introspective comfort zone – the time of chilly dusks, open fires, unfashionable knitwear, and the thought of the rapidly approaching festive season.

Growing up in the UK in the early 90s, that glorious slide into Christmas and the New Year inevitably meant starting to ponder what John Peel would be including in his end-of-year ’Festive 50’ of favorite musical offerings from the preceding 12 months. After what seems to have been a particularly bountiful year so far, I was starting to mull over just that question; “What have been my songs/records of the year so far?”  And, as happenstance would have it, this same quandary was also exercising the inestimable Dr J.

Thus, following a brief bit of Twitter banter, I found myself landed with some homework!  I mean, I know in the ‘social media’ age everything’s more interactive, but I certainly didn’t foresee being set an assignment from my favorite DJ!  So, buckle up, strap in, or just assume the brace position as we careen towards what I’m going to pompously call my ‘Festive Fiasco’!  And if this doesn’t get me Magna Cum Laude in Rock ‘N Roll then harsh words will be had.

Anyway, enough of the waffle and down to business!  Whilst it would be easy to dash off a massive list of all the songs that have really made a mark for me this year, I thought I’d try and just pick the five that have resonated the most.  So, in no particular order, here goes…

1a. – Son Volt – Route (from the ‘Trace’ LP).  Yes, I’m well aware this first surfaced in the mid-90s.  But this is my post, so I make the rules. Capiche?!  Anyway, my justification is that Dr. J played this on Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative the other week and, frankly, everyone needs a bit of Jay Farrar in their lives.  To my mind, he’s got an uncanny ability to make the listener empathize with the protagonist/antagonist in his songs, which leads us neatly onto…

1b. – Matt Derda & The High Watts – Moonshine.  In a similar vein to Farrar, Matt Derda’s got the enviable ability to summon up characters that inhabit his songs in 3D, with fully rounded lives. None more so than the back woods distiller/bootlegger who’s the subject of ‘Moonshine’, originally featured in his 2022 ‘You Didn’t Know’ release. Whereas the album version can be thought of in terms of a widescreen, technicolor ‘family matinee’, the opening track from the gratefully received ‘The Law Office’ Live EP is the full John Woo ‘X-rated’ ketchup splatterer.  Due in no part to young Derda’s blistering guitar work.  More please!

2. Mike Bankhead – Latent.  Ok, could easily have gone with the beautiful ‘Mont Blanc Massif’ from Mike’s project with Ruth Fawcett (Yeah! Up the Brits!), ‘We Met In Paris’, but just had to go with this barnstormer from the ‘I Am Experienced’ EP.  Casting the mind back, I’ve got a feeling that the first episode of ‘Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative’ that I caught featured Mike in session and that’s why this one’s probably stuck with me.  Regardless, you just can’t argue with the driving riff and barely contained fury/disdain that Mike brings with the lyrics.  Definitely get the impression that, if it wasn’t in polite company, this song would happily take you outside and give you a proper kicking by the stage door.  Proper punk in my book.  This brings me to my next pick…

3. Elephants & Stars – Bled Out At The Scene. The first salvo from their awe-inspiring ‘Get Your Own Army’ EP, which features more hooks than a pirate convention.  Whilst featuring riffs that’d strip the paint off a battleship at 1,000 yards, there’s a real delicacy in the lyrics, that mourn the seemingly inevitable dissolution of a relationship.  No anger, no accusations, just helplessly observing the inevitable.  Which, inadvertently, segues neatly to my next pick.

4. Will Payne Harrison (feat. Liv.) – Full Moon Fever (from the ‘Tioga Titan’ Deluxe edition LP).  If I was given an award for ‘Single of the Year’, then I think that this would definitely be somewhere in the top one.  Unlike ‘Bled Out At The Scene’, this haunting beauty delicately documents the end of an affair with two parts regret, three-part recrimination, and a good dash of whisky in the face.  Will’s deft lyricism and stripped-back musicianship are heartrendingly brought to life thanks to the vocal contribution of Liv., whose delivery here is nothing less than immaculate.  Whilst the prevailing rule may be that ‘earworm’ tends to refer to more upbeat, ‘poppy’ numbers, this one sticks with you and you can’t help but find yourself humming along to it as you go about your day.  A classic?  Well, you tell me?

5. Van Plating – The Heron.  To be totally transparent, I could quite happily have picked any and all tracks from Van’s new record, ‘Orange Blossom Child’, for my ‘best of the year’ so far.  It really is the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of records, from sumptuous stompers like the title track (featuring the aforementioned Mr Harrison on Killer Axe), through to the more delicate numbers like ‘Joshua’ that tug the heartstrings as deftly as the most practiced of pickpockets.  However, for me, it’s this debut single that just demands attention. It’s not so much a song as the soundtrack to a songwriter’s life, where you just need to close your eyes and you’re utterly immersed in her environment.  And yet, like all superstars (and I’m absolutely convinced that we’re lucky enough to be witnessing ‘one of our own’ heading ineffably towards the ‘big leagues’), The Heron wisely counsels that whilst we mere mortals can look, we’re not getting to the other side of the velvet rope.  In the third verse, Van sings, “Looking for a hint to come my way.  A billboard I could stand on.”  And there’s a sense of inevitability about it.  Some folks just belong on that billboard, and I’m convinced Van Plating is next in the queue.  And if there’s one thing we Brits know about it’s queuing!

Cheers!!