Matt Hunter & the Dusty Fates - Reindeer Soul - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2017 solo record by Matt Hunter of the legendary Western Mass. Indie rock outfits New Radiant Storm King and Silver Jews. New Rotations is the first solo record from Matt. As half the songwriting team of New Radiant Storm King, Matt's songs have always stood out as more introspective, pastoral, jangly and often have that certain New Zealand indie pop/rock feel. Acoustic piano and guitar, plus fiddle and pedal steel guitar play an integral part to balance and round out electric guitars, bass and drums on New Rotations. Matt knows how to tell a story simultaneously lyrical and poignant, which always distills bits of everyday life into something more sublime, personal and profound. That's always an treat. Matt has an endearing gift in his ability to communicate under the noise of life. Recommended if you like The Verlaines, Richard Lloyd, Chris Bell, Mission of Burma, Velvet Underground.

The 24 Preludes of Adam Gorb (born in Cardiff in 1958 and a feature of musical life in Manchester for over two decades) follow the examples of Chopin and Shostakovich in describing a cycle of fifths - though his descend, whereas Chopin's and Shostakovich's go up. Like those earlier exemplars, as also the preludes of Debussy, Rachmaninov and others, Gorb's are miniature studies of personality and mood - charming, brittle, perky, languorous, bat-flight fast, borderline violent or tender, as required. His Velocity does what it says on the can it's a wild, even manic, chase, over rhythmically dislocating ground

Recorded at Abbey Road in autumn of 2024, Rainy Sunday Afternoon' nis The Divine Comedy's thirteenth album and their first studio album since 2019's Office Politics. The band's Neil Hannon most recently wrote the original songs for the Warner Bros blockbuster Wonka. Neil says InchMy musical output is, for better or worse, a representation of my personality. A good chunk of that personality revels in the rumbumptious; celebrates the silly. And I made ample use of that for the Wonka songs. I have though, like everyone, a darker, more melancholy side. And for one reason or another it has been much in evidence of late. I needed to use this album as an outlet for those feelings. To work through some stuff. Mortality; memories; relationships; political and social upheaval. Everyone should get to make an orchestral pop album once in a while. It should be available on the NHS.Inch One listen to Rainy Sunday Afternoon will certainly provide a tonic for these turbulent times. Two listens and you'll be addicted.