Features

Big name week here, as you’ll see from some of the new arrivals on the playlist below. A couple of things worth flagging, though: the second Diskjokke album, which should work for those of you enamoured with Lindstrom and Prins Thomas; and one last Jack Rose EP, a rowdy electric session with a No Neck Blues Band spin-off. I’ll do the business on these soon.

I must admit that my knowledge of Graham Nash’s solo career was virtually non-existent until the release of that box set and reissue of “Songs For Beginners” a couple of years back. I can’t pretend that I’ve subsequently investigated much further, in spite of the allure of the coat of questions and the answer hat, and your helpful suggestions on the “Song For Beginners” blog.

In the two or three years since Ariel Pink put out an album, it seems that a lot of undergroundish American music has fallen under the thrall of his curious discography. From hypnagogic pop to chillwave, and all faintly daft genres in between, Pink’s music has become a kind of touchstone for bands who specialise in distressed, strung-out lo-fi renderings of the mainstream music of their youth or beyond (focusing on the ‘80s, as a rule).

Slightly depressing as it is to plug a designated day on which people should buy music in a shop, a probably unnecessary reminder that Record Store Day is this coming Saturday. Quickly flicking through the listings, one highlight: Rough Trade East have Michael Rother signing copies of a new Neu! 12-inch, which is presumably from the “Neu! ‘86” part of the forthcoming boxset.

There are some bands that somewhat cluelessly, from album to album, I tend to forget I like. Portland’s Blitzen Trapper probably fall into that category. I was re-reading what I wrote about their “Wild Mountain Nation” back in 2007, about how much I enjoyed it, how much I enjoyed “Field Rexx” before that, then more or less forgot about them. I have a vaguely optimistic feeling, however, that “Destroyer Of The Void” will make more of a lasting impact.

Been pondering this one for a while and, as I possibly implied in the blog about James Murphy’s “Greenberg” soundtrack, it’s hard not to conclude that the third LCD Soundsystem album is a bit of a letdown.

A beautiful day, in London at least, and one which inspired me to find some salute-to-the-sun music for heading into work. “Unbroken Chain” and “What Would I Want, Sky?” worked pretty harmoniously as I was crossing Millennium Bridge; just wondering if something akin to spring has changed your listening habits in any way?

A packed Borderline gets suitably rowdy later on, when Port O’Brien turn in a surprisingly rocking set. For the moment, though, the crowd’s hushed. Walking in on Laura Gibson, mid-song, you could have heard the proverbial pin drop. People are hanging on her every word, their muted quiet close to something like reverence.

Not exactly a Great Lost Column or anything, but here, as promised, is the piece on Sir Richard Bishop that fell out of the current issue of Uncut to make room for David Cavanagh's superb piece on Alex Chilton. Talking of the issue, by the way, thanks for your Great Lost Albums suggestions here; please keep them coming, and we'll feature as many as we can in a forthcoming issue of the mag.

Always nice to discover your personal enthusiasms are shared by people you respect. The new Trembling Bells album promo comes with a longish encomium from Joe Boyd. Among many wise things, he notes that they, “Incorporate in their music the essence of ‘folk’ without the form that can annoy many listeners. That means that their melodies and lyrics have a sense of history and Britishness that most contemporary bands lack, but without any of the ‘heritage’ atmosphere that clings to even the best revivalists in the folk world.”