Recorded music played a bigger role this year in the absence of live shows. This is some of the music that made my days just that much better.
NOTHING RHYMES WITH DAVID – DOG FLAG
The more I listen to this song, the deeper I get pulled in. I lived in Edinburgh before I moved to Australia, and there’s something so very Scottish about this. It’s craggy, it’s fractured, and it comes from a place that feels a thousand years old yet sounds as fresh as a cold sea wind. It’s a fabulous song, and I’m absolutely lost in it.
TIRED LION – BREAKFAST FOR PATHETICS
The hard part with this lot is finding just one favourite track from the album. The title track is the one that sticks with me though, that I find myself humming the most in the supermarket and on buses. A fabulous track from a fabulous album by one of the brightest stars in the Australian sky.
BUGS – CAN’T GET ENOUGH
While the popular choice this year seems to be their (excellent) Like A Version offering, this is the connoisseur’s choice from the on-fire Bugs. Enough bedroom charm to get you dancing on your own, but also packed with the sort of jaunty thrills that turns a crowd into a frothing, sweaty mess.
KIDS OF YESTERDAY – HORSIN’ AROUND
Taken from their Escape Planet LP, this is a fearsomely fast and ferociously angry song with one of the most confrontational opening lines of the year – this little beastie is all teeth. Managing to channel all that indignant crossness into a madly whaling track is no mean thing.
WISHFUL THINKING – ONE MORE TIME
While ‘What The Hell Am I Gonna Do’ is probably the “better” song on their EP this year, ‘One More Time’ is by a country mile my most addicted-to track of the year, and at this point playing it is almost more an instinct than a choice. Fast enough to jolt you out of bed, guitars that chug and roar and spit flames, a chorus that has actual wings attached to its feet… if you’re not with me on this, then hell, I don’t even want to know you.
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Live shots are mine, but I can’t find a photo credit for the Kids Of Yesterday & Wishful Thinking promo shots (let me know and I’ll update?)
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