13/12/2023

Albums of 2023



 2023 has been another bumper year for albums on the independent scene.  I've had to make some hard decisions to cull the list to just 30 and fear I've probably forgotten a few that could have made it.  The order is entirely subjective etc etc. But all albums on this list are worth exploring if any of my short reviews piques your interest.  I've included a Spotify playlist with a tune from each album to play whilst you browse through my ramblings.  I've included links to purchase the albums where I found them and twitter handles (where they still exist) to engage with the artists and keep tabs on their future releases and gigs. Thanks to all the artists featured here for keeping me entertained and making the new music scene fresh and lively. 


A few vinyls from my album list that have already arrived Down Under  





#30 Lulu - Hey Calamity 

Dave Thomas from South Australia has been very prolific in 2023 and released two albums this year in quick succession following from his debut in 2022.  Urbania came out in October following Lulu's release in April 2023.  A mixture of Shoegaze and Dreampop with a nod to the early records of The Cure which deserves the attention of your best headphones.  A couple of songs feature the vocals of Emily Thomas including one of my highlights Soft Illusion.     

Favourite songs: Soft Illusion & Saving Grace

Twitter: @HeyCalamity22

Bandcamp: https://heycalamity.bandcamp.com/album/lulu


#29 Jake Davey - You Are What You're Spoonfed

Jake Davey's second album You Are What You're Spoonfed offers the listener plenty of wonderful songs that build up and capture your heart.  Just listen to the totally underated music on Like Dynamite and Grind Our Bones for that laidback Seventies groove.       

Favourite songs: Like Dynamite & Grind Our Bones

#28 As The Crow Flies - Kevin Robertson 


Kevin Robertson has followed up his excellent 2022 album Teaspoon of Time with another fine collection of melodic jangly pop with Magic Spells Abound. If you like the Cosmic Rough Riders this is in a similar vein. Kevin is also a member of Aberdeen band The Vapour Trails who have three albums in their catalogue.

Favourite songs: Sunset & As The Crow Flies

Twitter: @KevinRo17521365

Bandcamp: https://kevinrobertson.bandcamp.com/album/magic-spells-abound


#27 Twenty-First Century Times - Joe Astley


Released in January 2023 the debut album from Joe Astley collects four of his best singles released over the last few years alongside new material full of social commentary on the state of the nation. There’s a doff of the flat cap to Springsteen, Dylan, Shane MacGowan and Billy Joel.  The sublime Anthem For The North is still the centrepiece and even gets a reprise here.

Favourite songs: Anthem For The North & The Battle of Wigan Lane

Twitter: @JAstleyOfficial


#26 Get On The End Of It! - Laurie Wright

 
A loud raucous rock n roll debut album from London’s premier busking mod punk. This is one huge redemptive riot of an LP from one of the new music scene’s brightest stars who almost burnt out but survived and used that to fuel his fire. If you’ve not heard of him then Laurie Wright is an artist you should discover today.

Favourite songs: Butter Side Up Boy & Wings Of Gold And Platinum 
 

#25 Between The Lies - MantraRay


This second album has another great selection of indie rock and pop tunes on it.  Topics include war, family, love, heartbreak and holidays in the Sun. Their self production has improved in leaps and bounds and I’ve written up a track by track review which can be found here oldindiekid.blogspot.com mantraray-between-lies-album-review

Favourite songs: My Broken Heart & Just Like The Sun

#24 Woke Up - Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson’s Wake Up is in his own words “10th Generation, bargain basement, white man blues” with funky electro noodling.  This is ten top examples of the new crossover genre Big Beat Blues with a mixture of poignant and humorous self deprecating lyrics.  Cheer up Andy! Might never happen. 

Favourite songs: Big Bad Dose Of You & 44 More


#23 Mode - Mode


From Adelaide, South Australia comes this five piece power pop Britpop band who self-released their debut album on vinyl in March.  Mode mix the sounds of the Sixties and the Nineties with a New Wave influence and create some perfect pop music.  If you enjoy their labelmates Cigarillo then you should check out Mode who also share singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Garnett.  This album isn't available on Spotify so head to bandcamp to hear and purchase it.        

Favourite songs: Hold On To Yesterday & Rundle Mall 

#22 The Long Way - Leigh Thomas


An awesome album of thunderous Aussie rock.  Big anthems, sing along choruses, great lyrics and melodic hooks to snare your interest.  The Leigh Thomas debut album contains 3 previous singles and seven spanking new tracks including the bombastic Underground and my favourite the eco-warrior album closer Kids of Tomorrow. The Long Way album is a full face blast of classic contemporary guitar music from a talented singer songwriter and purveyor of total tunes.

Favourite songs: Kids Of Tomorrow & Higher Low 


#21 Don'ts And Dos - The Radio Field


Lars from Subtafuge formed a side project in Dussledorf during the lockdown which morphed into a fully fledged band playing breezey jangle pop.  This is their debut album and its bloody great.  

Favourite songs: Other One (featuring Phantom Handshakes) & Love

#20 The Only Light In This Tunnel Is The Oncoming Train - Afflecks Palace

Hazy jangle Pop introduced by a buzzing bee. Eighteen months after the excellent debut album, this second album from Afflecks Palace deals up another big batch of baggy tunes that I have personally road tested on the dance floor. 

Favourite songs: Wide Eyes On The Night Bus & I’m So Glad You’re On Ecstasy 

#19 Unmask The Circus - Mark Sharp & The Bicycle Thieves


Hailing from the musical hotbed of West Lothian, Mark Sharp and The Bicycle Thieves released their wonderful debut album Unmask The Circus in August 2023 and it is a strong collection of great hooky indie pop and rock songs.  

Favourite songs: All That Northern Soul & Sink Or Swim

Twitter: @MarkSharpMusic

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/marksharpmusic


#18 Counting To Three - Portable Radio


Manchester’s Portable Radio mix the Pop sensibilities of Supergrass with the harmonies of The Beach Boys in a joyful blast of pop hedonism drunk on Chipper Juice.

Favourite songs: I Feel Like A Dog & Good News

#17 Here We Are - Apollo Junction 


The Leeds band’s third album contains ten prime cuts of well produced 80s influenced indie rock anthems.  There are moments which sound like The Joshua Tree with synths and everything is turned up to eleven. Each song has that lighters in the air, sing along, feel good factor. 

Favourite songs: History & By The River

#16 Pictures Of You: A Compilation of Covers of Songs by the Cure - Various Artists

With 45 cover versions of one of my favourite artists I couldn't lose on this mental health charity indie compilation.  I've picked out three favourites from artists I know but the whole album is brilliant.

Favourite songs: In Your House by dunkie, The Kiss by Pocket Lint, Just Like The Cure by Sean Buckley 


#15 False Starts, Open Endings - Katie MF

Katie MF is a London based artist with a punk ethos and a bucketful of talent. The opening song Lucky MF tells the story of her near death accident that nearly finished her off and her reactions to this traumatic experience. Katie brings infectious humour and anger as her songs take on the Tories, the patriarchy, sexism, and an errent piece of metal trying to take her fucking head off. 

Favourite songs: Lucky MF & Confidence Crisis 


#14 Quasars and Fluff - Blokeacola


Blokeacola’s double album is well worth exploring.  Inspired by the Beatles White album there are a variety of styles on this latest opus. His brilliant lyrics are always a pleasure to listen to and there is a strong Beck influence on many of the acoustic songs that adorn Quasars and Fluff. The difficulty here was picking highlights as each song you hear quickly becomes a new favourite. Not yet on Spotify so head to Bandcamp if you want a copy on CD on a digital download. 

Favourite songs: Carrion & Troublesome Lie

Twitter: @blokeacolazero

Bandcamp: https://blokeacola.bandcamp.com/album/quasars-and-fluff


#13 Fires In The Night - 3 Little Wolves 🐺🐺🐺


It’s been a real pleasure seeing how 3 Little Wolves have grown from their first official release in 2021 until the release of their debut album two years later. They have been busy in the transfer market and tinkering with formations but they keep improving.  Really excited for their next album but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  Fires In The Night contains about seven singles and many of them re-recorded to beef up the original sound with extra layers of guitar and keyboard. 

Favourite songs: Darkside & My House


#12 Night and Day - Dub Shepherds 


A French based reggae outfit I recently discovered via the Keep Yourself Nice podcast.  They play dub reggae and it feels like a lost Seventies classic with great songwriting and chilled Island grooves. 

Favourite songs: Rebel Souls & Ain’t Coming Back


#11 HOOPLA - Super 8


Paul ‘Trip’ Ryan mostly records under the Super 8 name but he always has a few side projects on the go. Hoopla is a brilliant album a couple of years in the making and filled with twelve gorgeous indie songs. The influences include The Beatles, The Smiths, Teenage Fanclub, The La’s and Shack to name a few. I’ve played half of the songs here on my Daftpom podcasts and love this album. 

Favourite songs:  Our Town & Moments In Time

Twitter: @super_8_music

Bandcamp: https://trip8.bandcamp.com/album/hoopla-super-8-album


#10 The Synesthete - Joe Adhemar



The album was released in February 2023 on Bandcamp and has since appeared as a series of EPs on streaming sites with a full extra b-sides thrown in.  Another top collection of songs with headphone ear popping production from one of the new music scenes most thought provoking songwriters. The topics covered on Joe’s sixth album of the decade include calling for the youth to rebel, blocking internet trolls, Stranger Things, Tory incompetence and corruption, alongside more personal songs. This is a more guitar oriented album than the previous About The Soul thanks to collaborator and axeman Jim Sanger.

Favourite songs: Hopper (ft Skylu) & Revolution By Hashtag

Twitter: @JoeAdhemar

Bandcamp: https://joeadhemar.bandcamp.com/album/the-synesthete


#9 Four Sides Of The Circle - The Mariners

Nottingham’s finest 60s throwbacks The Mariners have been very prolific this year. As well as releasing a Christmas CD they released their third album and a double one at that. The recurring theme’s are the passing of time, memories of the past and the changing of the seasons. There are too many songs to do it justice in this short review.  But give it a listen and let The Mariners guide you on a journey once around the sun and up the garden path for a pot of tea and some lawn maintenance. Marvellous stuff! 

Favourite songs: Autumn Will Come Soon & Bathley Street


#8  Our Fear Is Their Power -  The Shed Project


The Shed Project second album is a brilliant album commenting on the state of the world.  Themes tackled include government corruption, the decline of Britains cities, the scourge of addiction and industry charlatans (not Tim Burgess & friends).  

Favourite songs: Naughty & Ghost Town


#7 Your Cuckoo - Teenage Waitress


Southampton’s Daniel Ash is a talented songwriter and has created a fantastic second album with many songs reminiscing on youth and relationships. Great use of sound effects as alarm clocks, car indicators, crashing waves, seagulls and jangling keys all add to the ambience. 

Favourite songs: Grey Sky & Back Seat


#6 Little Pictures Without Sound - SENSES

The debut album by SENSES has been a long time coming.  The band have been playing together since they teenagers but life mishaps kept getting in the way of releasing their debut album. Senses dusted off the decade-old recordings during the lockdown and decided to finish what they started. Little Pictures Without Sound was finally released on 42 Records in April 2023 to widespread acclaim. But when the music’s this good it’s worth waiting for.

Favourite songs: Drop Your Arms & Let Me In 


#5 Standard Patter - Fire Up The Sun


ArrCee & MC Burnoot are baldy white Scottish rappers who just don’t give a fuck. They ain’t in it for the money because they realise there isn’t any but it keeps them off the streets. After a number of EPs they have expanded to a debut album with ten quality well produced tunes, social commentary and very dry dark humour. There are guest spots for MC Bongo and Lewca as collaborators in the madness. I’ve been listening to this album regularly since its release in May 2023.  Are you listening? Cause you fuckin should be! 

Favourite songs: Life Logistics & Last Orders

#4 Boombap for Boomers - Lewca

Fire Up The Sun return the favour by appearing on Lewca’s album to rip the piss out of him on the first track. Lewca and S.O.A.P. (DJ Son Of A Pitch) return with a blinding album of tunes in a variety of genres that refuse to be pigeonholed.  Lewca’s lyrics are humorous and poignant and really resonate with me as a Forty-Nothing Dad. Guest spots for OrangeG, Fayabraz, Mick Swagger and Dancehall Legend Elephant Man! I reviewed the album in more detail on my blog article below…

oldindiekid.blogspot.com/lewca-boombap-for-boomers-album-review

Favourite songs: Roundabout & Monday Morning 


#3 Delta Shakedown - The Heavy North


Blues n Soul n Rock n Roll is what we’ve come to expect from Merseyside’s Twelve Legged Groove Machine and this second album delivers in spades. You’ll be forgiven for mistaking the title song Delta Shakedown as a lost classic by The Doors. Next come the three singles that preceded the album each catchier than the last. When they slow the tempo they demonstrate their musical maturity and you are left in no doubt that you listening to a classic rock band at the heading for the peak of their powers. 

Favourite songs: Delta Shakedown & Where Are You Now?


#2 Something About This Place - Thrillhouse


This is the long awaited Thrillhouse debut album - four years after the Brighton band started releasing dance tinged indie singles.  For the album they have taken a different direction with guitars to the fore and a country rock tinge that nods at The War On Drugs, Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits.  The meloncholy songwriting is brilliant and reminisces about childhood memories, growing up and the passing of time.  They used Kickstarter to fund their album's physical release on CD and Vinyl.  Not sure if any copies remain but you can ask them if you missed out. They talk themselves down but they should be bigged up because  Something About This Place is a triumph and a timeless record I can see myself enjoying for years.

Favourite song: So Far From Where I Started From & Butch Reilly

Twitter: @Thrillhouseok


#1 Demons - Brownbear



What else could it be?  An absolute classic album from the band from Ayeshire.  This second album arrived five years after 2018's debut album What Is Home?  Hopefully we won't have to wait half a decade for the follow up.  Ten quality songs largely dealing with the ups and downs of relationships that pulls at your heartstrings, makes you want to dance, cry and sing along.  This is all killer no filler territory and picking favourites from this album is very hard.  There are no wrong answers!  The music is influenced by acoustic indie, pop, northern soul, reggae and rock.  There are less than 10 copies remaining on red vinyl if you hurry you might nab one for your record collection.  

Favourite songs: Unity & Telling Stories 

Twitter: @BrownBearBand

Bandcamp: https://brownbear.bandcamp.com/album/demons

Buy the vinyl: Brownbear Demons Vinyl LP Red 2023 — Assai Records


And that’s a wrap. Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year.  I’ll be back in 2024 with a few more reviews and the return of the DaftPom Show on InYourEarsMusic.com 

If you can’t wait for my December 2024 recommendations you can follow my new music playlist which I try and update twice a week.  

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

28/11/2023

MantraRay - Between The Lies - Album Review

The second album from MantraRay is an excellent collection of indie rock songs recorded over the last couple of years.  Two years on from their debut album Mantraray (The Collection) they have pulled out all the stops for the follow up.  Trevor Brill from Cardiff and Billy Raymond-Barker from Devon were once bandmates on the 90s London gig circuit but have reunited to record new material        

Between The Lies is released on 1st December 2023 on all good (and many bad) streaming platforms.

Bandcamp Friday is 1st December 2023 so all digital or physical CD purchases go straight to the artist who will kindly donate all profits for the album to mental health charities.  

▶︎ Between The Lies | MantraRay (bandcamp.com)       


The album opens with a trio of new rocky numbers.  Rockstar tells the tale of the big man who has outlived his fame and is clinging to the past whilst drifting into obscurity.  My Broken Heart is unsurprisingly a heartbreak song if you listen to the lyrics but the music sneers at that genre and is played as a high tempo angry guitar rock song.  Filthy takes things up another notch and vents at politicians who darken their door.  There could be a few candidates on the recieving end of some well deserved verbal abuse come the next election. 

A surprise faithful cover of Plush by Grunge legends Stone Temple Pilots is a real pleasure.  It is the only cover they have ever recorded and they've rugby tackled a classic here and come up smiling.  Devil You Know (sadly not a Kylie Minogue cover - but I'ld love to hear that).  This is a song about being stuck together in a relationship which you know isn't working and trying to end it.  Interlude is a fifty second acoustic anti-war song.  It's MantraRay's Elizabeth My Dear.  It is followed by Sunflowers inspired by an act of bravery of a Ukrainian woman who offered a Russian soldier sunflower seeds so something good would come from his death. This is the first song on the album that has been released previously and it also features the talents of Joe Adhemar on piano and backing vocals.   


The second half of the album begins with the magnificent Kaleidoscope - a dark song with strings, beats, chruching guitars and plenty of aural treats. The message is take chances and live your best life.  Cuts Too Deep is a Noel Rock style ballad if Noel wrote songs about being saved from suicidal thoughts.    Forever Your Pleasure is another previously released single featuring the elusive Invisible Squirrel dropping a handful of his winter cache of squelchy beats into the mix.


Sorry Not Sorry is a song about facing your demons and struggling with them.  Lazy Days however is  a carefree song about enjoying your holiday and wishing it would never end.  Complete with Mexican horns and the smell of aftersun lotion.  It also features Speedy Gonzales on backing vocals - which is quite a coup!    Just Like The Sun is a fantastic woozy song that I've enjoyed for a long time and its pleasing to find it on this album as the penultimate track.  The album closer Grown is a another short acoustic song written to their grown up children and it's lovely.

In summary - bloody great album - go get it! 


Social media and streaming links  MantraRay | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

 ▶︎ Between The Lies | MantraRay (bandcamp.com)

MantraRay (formerly known as Pet Shop Boys) 

at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

19/10/2023

The Shed Project - Our Fear Is Their Power - Album Review

Hallelujah!  The Bolton Boys are back to release their second long player to their growing fanbase.  They have been cooking up some very tasty flavours in their Shed over the last year and it arrives on cd and vinyl wrapped with The Shed Project’s own print media project delivering the scoops via Editor in Chief Roy Fletcher.

The album title/headline comes from a slogan painted on a motorway bridge near Manchester warning that governments use whatever boogeymen they can to scare people and then offer themselves as the saviours to retain control.  Yes it’s political. But in the thirteenth year of a zombie Tory government on the take and desperately clinging to power,whilst the country literally crumbles, how could it not be?

Side A begins with a radio tuning betweeen stations - each of them playing the early hits taken from The Shed Project's debut  (The Curious Mind Of The Common Man - Album Review).   A killer juggernault-size riff cuts through the static and we're off!  If You Know You Know was released as a single back in July 2022 only a few months after their debut album dropped.  The sound is massive and despite the wall of sound guitars, the vocals and piano shine through.  Shout out to drummer, Shane, who plays with precision and flair - it's both tight and loose if you know what I mean?   It’s a strong opening with a jumbo dollop of  Second Coming vibes and the follow up Easy doesn't let up the pace and is a short song with pounding beats and guitars turned up to eleven. 

The next two songs tackle the subject of people putting on a show whilst hiding their internal thoughts and the reality of their daily lives.  Crowdpleaser is about a girl putting on a public face which masks her true feelings.  Weekend Millionaire is a character tale of a weekend warrior living it up and flashing the cash in the pub and then scraping through the rest of the week totally skint.  It feels like a lost 60's track as Roy channels his inner Ray Davies.  

Excuses closes the first half with acoustic jangle as Roy laments as a friend slides deeper into a drug hell and offers suggestions to help  them turn their life around.  This is a recurring theme on the album.  


Side B opens with a montage of quotes from political leaders set to a drum beat and the now familiar sound of the title track emerges.  Whether it’s drugs, crime, terrorism, disease or refugees, there is always some problem that can be weaponised and used to justify more powers for the state whilst the liberties of the people are constantly eroded.  This song is a call to wake up and realise the government assisted by the press barons are spreading fear to coerce the masses whilst those at the top are self serving and taking what they can.  In the 2020s we have sunk so low that this feels like accepted wisdom rather than a conspiracy theory.  Ian Brown’s influence is strong here. 

Ghost Town opens with a crashing of glass and an upbeat jangling riff favoured by Afflecks Palace. Roy despairs at the decline of his hometown and just a glimmer of optimism that it might be reversed. The music becomes a hypnotic kaleidoscope of sound - are they still guitars or are we listening to sirens? Forty years after The Specials used the same song title it is still relevant in many parts of the country. 

Lower Than A Snake is a high tempo reggae song with some top imagery in the lyrics.  The middle part  slows the pace down and allows some guitar solos and rattlesnake noises before ramping up to a frantic finish.  The lying piece of scum who inspired this song is not named, but it appears to be based on unscrupulous fake character(s) in the independent music scene.  You know the type - one who promises much and delivers too little, too late.  Do it yourself is the message that The Sheds have learned.         

The penultimate track is called Naughty and it's a mind blowing joyous banger of the first order.  It honestly sounds like Happy Mondays remixed by The Chemical Brothers.  The bass is fierce on this one and the the Madchester baggy and trance vibes are spot on.  It even ends with a sly wink to Blue Monday.  Roy's in full voice on this one and it's another anti-drugs song for old ravers to get off their tits to.  It's also my new favourite song!           

Side B closes with the Beatlesque I’ve Got The Blues.  The first part is dominated by a heavy piano accompanied by synthesied strings.  The drums kick in during the second minute and guitar licks reminescent of Champaign Supernova join them.  They've thrown the kitchen sink at this ending and it's all stuck.  It contains some of Roy's finest lyrics and it is nothing less than a modern Britpop anthem. There's not many albums with a better Side B. 

The Shed Project have been improving with every release over the last three years. The band have been doing it their way and delivered an emotional rollercoaster with well crafted songs, bangers galore, killer guitars, intricate drumming and moody atmospherics.   Ignore them at your peril and catch 'em if you can! 


Album release date: 24/11/23

Get the signed vinyl or CD exclusively from Wax and Beans

Merch and gig news from: The Shed Project – One Love Records

Digital downloads: Music | The Shed Project (bandcamp.com)

Social Media: You can't miss em!

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Location: Perth, Australia

13/09/2023

Lewca - Boombap For Boomers - Album Review

Album released: 15/09/23

Get the vinyl: Lewca - Boombap For Boomers (Halloween Orange Vinyl) – Wax and Beans

Or a digital download from Bandcamp: https://lewca.bandcamp.com/music



Another year, another Lewca album review.  Since the 2022 release of Friday Night Rockstar (Reviewed here: Old Indie Kid: Lewca - Friday Night Rockstar - Album Review ), Lewca has appeared on the anti-Tory anthem Gaslight, a standalone single with Le Spectre and Burn It To The Ground with Fire Up The Sun.  Whilst mainstream success has studiously avoided Lewca up to this point, he has become a cult icon to the selective gang of loyal fans and fellow artists that are happy to collaborate to create such awesome music. The great news is his second official album is out and can be enjoyed by everyone who takes a punt on this dodgiest of geezers.




Fire Up The Intro

The album opens with  rising bagpipes and a guest introduction from Fire Up The Sun's  MC Burnoot  who roasts Lewca before anyone else has the chance. It sends a clear message to anyone who hasn't got it yet, Lewca is aware of his public image and is determined to have fun with it.  Lewca also appeared on a couple of tracks on the excellent debut album Standard Patter | Fire Up The Sun (bandcamp.com) 

Peace of Mind

A comedown song about facing yourself on the morning after selling your soul to the Devil.  Already we have stumbled on the theme of the new album.  After the highs of 2022's Friday Night's Rockstar, we have a collection of more chilled introspective songs dealing with life's hangovers.

Roundabout

A song recalling teenage thrills with old friends enjoying a wasted Summer in the 90s.  Roundabout also discusses how that comraderie is easily recaptured when they meet up years later, and then comes full circle anticipating your kids doing the same shit.  Roundabout has a great chorus and a is song that is already a firm favourite appealing to two generations in my household.  (I haven't played it to my Mum yet).  God knows what instruments are used on this track - it sounds like Lewca and S.O.A.P. are strategically squeezing a gaggle of geese with penny whistles gaffer tapped to their bills.  

I Got It All

This is a song about people who are busy chasing their fame and fortune and ponders whether success ever satisfies. Lewca decides to celebrate all the things he already has.  "I don't need shit, King of the World, Mate". 

Day Job (featuring Mick Swagger)

The music industry is broken for independent artists, and Lewca and guest vocalist Mick Swagger decide that they better not quit their day jobs just yet.  The tune has a groovy swing beat and it's another classic track held back until the album's release date.    

Quite Like Me (featuring Elephant Man)

Lewca and S.O.A.P. team up with the Jamaican Dancehall legend on this collaboration and it's a head bopping experience.  Lewca told me he has been a huge fan of Elephant Man since the 90s and is made up to have recorded a song together.  The message here is to be yourself - don't be another sequel.    

All Grown Up

A drum n bass tune with Lewca refusing to be an adult. Kids singing, squeeky toys squeeking and general chaos is unleashed.  

Monday Morning

A brilliant ska tune about packing the kids off to school and heading to work with a hangover.  Lovely trombone parts provided by of Ian Williamson, who appears on four tracks on the LP.  

Boombap For Boomers

A brilliant fun tune with self-deprecating lyics, full of hooks, scratches and beats.  The album's titular song and one of the highlights of  Lewca's impressive catalogue.  "Like a tab of acid in a pint of Guiness".

Discoboy (featuring Faya Braz)

Piano house tune which encourages escapism from the background noise of the daily grind via hedonistic dance moves.  Another message here - don't be a hater, embrace the variety of genders, live and let live, and throw some outlandish shapes on the dancefloor.  

Internet Recovery

This is the ultimate 80's electro pop stomper with added dial up tones.  The lyrics are brilliant and based on reviving your soul via the metaphor of a computer reboot.  "The last few decades I've been under the weather, My addictions and me are two birds of a feather... Best guess is to erase the whole damn disk, Format my mind, I may cease to exist".

Life, Innit? 

Another classic autobiographical Lewca story of his marriage over an infectious bass-heavy tune. 

Daydreaming (featuring OrangeG) 

Banjo strumming from Pittsburgh artist OrangeG provides a chilled and trippy ending to the album.  In another world I can imagine Kermit singing this in his swamp.  Daydreaming contains some of my favourite lyrics on the album "I played a fool, Make believe that i break the rules, My life is one big bluff, But too much is never enough".  The video is below. 


I can't recommend this album highly enough and it's my learned opinion that this album tops Friday Night Rockstar.  Lewca is a unique talent and given he hasn't broken through into the mainstream consciousness yet, then just be thankful that you've heard his music.  Hopefully Lewca's Boombap for Boomers album will increase his musical reach.  Hey Lewca, stop being such a cult! 

   

at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Location: Perth WA, Australia
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The Shop Window - Daysdream - Album Review

Album Review Daysdream The Shop Window reviewed by Old Indie Kid  Released date: 3 May 2024 on their own Jangleshop Records Purchase on CD, ...

  • Albums of 2023
     2023 has been another bumper year for albums on the independent scene.  I've had to make some hard decisions to cull the list to just 3...
  • Albums of 2022
     2022 - What a year it was / still is.  This isn't the place for a news retrospective, this is all about the music.  Specifically the mu...
  • The Shed Project - Our Fear Is Their Power - Album Review
    Hallelujah!  The Bolton Boys are back to release their second long player to their growing fanbase.  They have been cooking up some very tas...