Old Indie Kid's Mixtape December 2018

These are the twenty tracks that have pushed their way to the top over the last month just in time to appear on my final monthly mixtape.  But expect plenty more over the next month as I will work on the end of year best of mixtapes and maybe a few bonus playlists from my Eighties retrospectives.  Years 1977 to 1984 are already out there and I will turn my attention to 85 next.

Merry Christmas

1) My Antidote by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators
Slash appears on my playlist twice in subsequent months.  A huge return to form after 25 years of obscurity.  This is pure rock music and reminds me of "You Could Be Mine" era GN'fR!!!!

2) Lips Like Sugar (Transformed) by Echo & The Bunnymen 
This is a re-recording of a 1987 single but much better than the original which I hadn't heard before.  Taken from an album of re-recorded hits by E&TB.

3) New Direction by Sloan Peterson 
Indie rock in the best tradition - short, punky, spunky, catchy riffs and great lyrics.

4) My Friend's A Liquid by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Perth band who have dialled down the fuzz guitars and are headed in a more commercial direction - for them.  Now they sound as commercial as King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard.  KG&TLW have taken 2018 off after releasing five albums in the previous year but I expect they have been recording at their usual work rate so expect new albums soon. 

 5) Something For The Pain by She Drew The Gun
Marxist pop so probably not very popular but another great protest song.

6) My Hands by Running Touch 
A dark and deep dance track by this Melbourne producer.

7) Santa's Comin' Down The Chimney by Confidence Man
A very catchy beat and one of the cheekiest Christmas singles since The Darkness sang "Christmas Time - Don't Let The Bells End".

8) Hope You Found What You've Been Missing by Cults 
Haunting tune from Cults - do I hear sleigh bells in the mix?  Crafty bastards - that always works on me at this time of year.

9) The Poison Tree by The Good The Bad And The Ugly   
After eleven years this band resurfaces with four grumpy men moaning about Brexit Britain and the music is largely unbearable.  This closing album track is the exception - a real Damon tearjerker.

10) Bison On The Plains by Grandaddy 
A new single from the recently reformed American band.

11) Back For Good by The Wedding Present 
Perth will host a friendly game next year between Man Utd and Leeds Utd.  In this warm up The Wedding Present (Leeds) take on a Nineties hit from Take That (Manchester). 

12) Stars Around My Heart by Steve Mason
Feel good music from the former Beta Band head honcho.

13) She Works Out Too Much by MGMT  
An album track taken from the Little Dark Age album about the breakup of a relationship caused by gym membership.

14) All My Friends Are Falling In Love by The Vaccines 
New single not included on their 2018 Combat Sports album.   

15) For The Record by Winston Surfshirt 
Australia's Winston Surfshirt release some fresh Summer vibes.

16) Rudeboy by The Nextmen Vs Gentlemen's Dub Club featuring Gardna
Taken from the excellent Pound for Pound album.

17) Out Of Place by The Delta Riggs 
Aussie indie rockers who are not evolving musically at all.  However, if you liked them last time then you will again.

18) Brighton Pier by Razorlight 
Over ten years since their last album and Razorlight are back and on top form.  I've enjoyed all the new tracks I've heard so far and will be listening to their new album soon to check if its as good as I hope.

19) Leave Me Lonely by Hilltop Hoods 
New track from the biggest group in Australian Hip Hop.  Get ready for their new album The Great Expanse in February 2019.

20) Zombie Bastards by Weezer
Taken from Weezer's Black Album - an instant classic "Die! Die! You Zombie Bastards!"

The Indie Years 1984

Ah 1984! The Mid-Eighties - when popular songs dealt with the drugs, racism, famine, homophobia, war, the afterlife and going to nightclubs, standing on your own and leaving on your own.  But it wasn't all social commentary and right-on politics some established artists like Paul Weller just wanted to shout to the top in a repetitive manner and the fledgling Red Hot Chili Peppers were just enthusiastic about jumping.  Good times! 

1) Original Sin by INXS

This song is about social conditioning and growing up with the beliefs of your parents. It was produced by Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers who suggested introducing the interracial relationship which in 1984 was considered controversial enough to get the song banned from several US radio stations.  It was a number one hit single in Australia and France and heralded the arrival of their fourth album The Swing.

2) The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen

Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch humbly describes this as “the best song ever written”.  Undoubtedly it the best song ever written by him.  He hasn’t described what the lyrics mean preferring to keep it mysterious and allowing the listeners to reach their own conclusions.  Ian said the “Fate up against your will” refrain was influenced by “To Be Or Not To Be”.  Typically Ian thinks his lyrics surpass William Shakespeare’s.

3) Thieves Like Us by New Order
Peter Hook rates this as New Order’s greatest song. Appropriately for a song called Thieves Like Us, Hooky admits he stole the baseline from a 1974 Hot Chocolate song called Emma.

4) Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow by Felt
Felt released ten albums between 1982 and 1989 before they disbanded leaving a distraught cult following.  They were too cult for me so I was unaffected at the time. 

5) Shout To The Top by The Style Council
Paul Weller takes his brand of white soul elevator music and sings "shout to the top" over it.

6) How Soon Is Now? by The SmithsT
his classic Smiths track was originally released as a B-Side to William, It Was Really Nothing.  A distinctive guitar intro displaying some of Johnny Marr's tightest riffs and some of Morrissey's bleakest lyrics.  A firm favourite of bedsitters wallowing in their self imposed isolation.       

7) A Sort Of Homecoming by U2

The rousing opening track from U2’s fourth album.  The lyrics include powerful imagery of bomb-blasts, explosions, fields of mourning and crucially “the land grows weary of its own”.  But the message is of overcoming the troubles tearing down walls and building bridges.

8) Don’t Go Back To (Rockville) by R.E.M.
 The Rockville in brackets could be replaced with any small town and the songs warns against moving backwards, wasting your time and getting stuck in a one horse town.  A sort of homecoming to be avoided. 

9) White Lines (Don't Do It) by Melle Mel & The Furious Five

Grandmaster Flash had already left the group over a dispute about the royalties from their previous hit The Message. Grandmaster Melle Mel, the leader of the Furious Five penned this social commentary on cocaine.  To make it commercially acceptable Melle Mel cynically inserted the “don’t do it” refrain.  Flash called out this hypocrisy saying “Now the guys are saying no to drugs on this new record, but I bet they’re out looking for the dope man just like me.”  The music was a re-recorded cover of a song called Cavern by liquid Liquid.

Incidentally the story about the businessman caught with drugs and released on bail was based on John DeLorean owner of the iconic 80s car. 

10) Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen
I always used to turn this off thinking it was an awful piece of  jingoistic crap with his arse on the cover.  It was only recently that I listened to the lyrics and realised it was actually a story about the psychological fallout of the kids drafted into the Vietnam War, brutalised  and rejected by their society when they returned - with his arse on the cover.

11) Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat 
An autobiographical story from Jimmy Somerville about getting away from the gay-bashing provinces and seeking a new life in more cosmopolitan city.  

12) Looking From A Hilltop by Section 25
A band five years ahead of their time - the opening beat sounds like The Shamen circa 1990.  This is a Blackpool band on the Factory Records label.

13) I Walk Away by Split Enz
By 1984 Tim Finn had quit the band and his younger brother Neil had taken over as the main songwriter.  I Walk Away was a taken from the final Split Enz album which was only released in Australia and New Zealand.  Neil Finn loved the song but felt it was overproduced and it was re-recorded as a stripped down version two years later and included on the first Crowded House album.  Whilst the best version is obviously subjective, and debate rages in some very nerdy corners of the internet, my preference is the Split Enz version.  

14) The Caterpillar by The Cure

The Caterpillar was the only single taken from The Top - a collection of psychedelic Cure rock songs mixing paranoia, pop and Eastern influences with mixed results.

15) Plateau by The Meat Puppets
A song about searching for the promised land or the afterlife and when you reach it there’s “nothing on top”.  A big influence on Nirvana who later toured together and performed this and two other Meat Puppet songs with them on their MTV Unplugged appearance.

16) Let's Go Crazy by Prince
Prince had a more uplifting view of the afterlife.  Starting with organs and a sermon on never ending happiness in the next life, Prince advised enjoying your mortal life before the grim reaper visits you.

17) 2 Minutes To Midnight by Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden’s song about the Atomic Armageddon Clock and the vested interests of the military industrial complex pushing the nuclear arms race.  It was released against a backdrop of increasing high tension between the West and the Soviet Union in the early eighties.  President Reagan described the Soviets as an Evil Empire after the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1980 and the US announced the development of a spaced based missile defence system dubbed Star Wars in 1983.  

18) Two Tribes - Annihilation Mix by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Two Tribes covers the same theme with pounding rhythms, American funk, Russian strings and a huge chorus. It spent 9 weeks at Number 1 in the UK and was a global hit.  I had the 12” and liked the air raid sirens, Ronald Reagan impersonations provided by Chris Barrie and apocalyptic yet calming public service announcements about radiation fallout and tagging your dead grandmother. 

19) Get Up And Jump by Red Hot Chili Peppers
This is the debut single from LA punk funk band Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

20) Do They Know It's Christmas Time? by Band Aid

This charity record to raise money for the Ethiopian famine was written and recorded in a rush to be released in time for Christmas.  Midge Ure of Ultravox and Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats collected their pop/rock star friends (Sting, U2, Bananarama, Duran Duran, Boy George) and gave them lines to sing.  The charity record raised over eight million pounds in a month and became the UK’s highest selling single holding that record for 13 years.  They followed Band Aid with the Live Aid concerts in 1985 to raise more funds.

Further Reading...
The Indie Years 1986
The Indie Years 1985
The Indie Years 1983
The Indie Years 1982
The Indie Years 1981
The Indie Years 1980
The Indie Years 1979
The Indie Years 1978
The Indie Years 1977

Old Indie Kid Mixtape November 2018

This is the third anniversary of the Old Indie Kid Mixtape series.  So celebrate with some new tunes.

1) We Belong Dead by Slash
You wait two and a half decades for Slash to do something epic and he releases a great rock album with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and a horror soundtrack which sounds like a collaboration with Skrillex. Have nightmares!

2) Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts) by The Smashing Pumpkins 
The Smashing Pumpkins have released a few new tracks since they reformed but this is the first one that can compare to their Siamese Dream / Mellon Collie output. 

3) Black Moon Rising by Black Pumas 
Drum roll introduction for the Black Pumas debut single.  They are a psychedelic soul band from Austin Texas and one to watch.

4) Retreat2018 by Chase & Status & Cutty Ranks 
This drum n bass track takes me back to the early 90's.  It wouldn't feel out of place on the Prodigy's Experience.

5) Jinglin' Janglin' by Fort Knox Five  K-Lab 
The sound of Funk being extra funky.

6)  White Coats by Baxter Dury, Etienne de Crecy & Delilah Holliday
Baxter's distinctive Laandan vocals are excellent here and it is groovy thanks to the Etienne de Crecy's French disco sound.

7)  Beyond The Outskirts by Suede
I saw a very funny spoof documentary of Suede this week - watch this.

8)  Atlas Please by Gengahr
A new single from a band I have never tried to pronounce.  Luckily Gengahr don't come up much in conversations.

9) Withorwithout by Parcels 
Finally Parcels released their debut album and I've been playing it on repeat.  Sounds like Daft Punk and will be a contender for album of the year.

10) Sometimes by Cub Sport 
Going from strength to strength Cub Sport sound very now and occasionally I am open to sounds that emerged after 1997.

11) There Will Come A Time by Orbital featuring Professor Brian Cox 
Orbital are fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and they teamed up with D:Ream's keyboard player to be the voice of The Book in their own space epic.


12) First World Problems by Ian Brown
Nine years since his last solo material due to the revival of The Stone Roses.  I didn't like this at first but it is growing on me.  His new album Ripples is scheduled for release in March.

13) Bassackwards by Kurt Vile 
The bass is sampled backwards on this ten minute epic taken from Kurt's latest album Bottle It In.

14) Innocence Module (UK Mix) by Null 
Australian producer Hayden Quinn has just released his debut album Med which includes this pulsating slab of acid trance.  

15) Like This (Radio Edit) by Protoje
Token reggae track from perennial favourite Protoje.  This radio edit removes the annoying and ill advised chatting intro found on the album version.

16) Sixteen Days by Pond
Western Australian psychedelic indie rock is always a pleasure to promote.

17) Can't Forget by The Lemonheads
A new song - it's a cover I believe from Evan Dando and friends.

18) When I Dream by San Cisco 
Great new single from a local Aussie indie pop band.

19) Perfect Person by Mystic Braves 
The best thing about this is it sounds like classic Teenage Fanclub.

20) White Star Liner by Public Service Broadcasting
A titanic new single that will probably sink without trace.  Too soon?

Old Indie Kid Mixtape October 2018

This month I have focused exclusively on Australian music.
Twenty new songs from a Land Down Under.

1) Our Place by Verge Collection
Verge Collection have released their debut album this year although this is an earlier single that makes me smile from ear to ear.

2) Scream Whole by Methyl Ethel
Fresh psychedelic music from Perth's Methyl Ethel, the first from their forthcoming third album.

 3) Outlaw by Deep Sea Arcade
It has been six years since the debut album of DSA and it appears a second may be imminent. That is a gap longer than the Stone Roses took to record the Second Coming.  Still it could be quicker than the sixteen years that the Avalanches took.

4)  Our Love by Sloan Peterson
Sloan is a singer/songwriter from Sydney as she's ace!

5) Shoot The Breeze by Thundamentals
This Aussie Hip Hop act has been around for ten years now and this stoner's song is taken from their sixth album - I Love Songs. 

6) Fake That by The Delta Riggs
Australian Indie Rock coming out of Melbourne.  Does what it says on the tin.

7) Talking Straight by Rolling Blackouts, Coastal Fever
Melbourne indie rock band - taken from their debut album Hope Downs.

8) Worship by Golden Features
Sydney dance music producer who released his impressively intense debut album SECT in July.

9) Graceville by Strangely Enough
I know nothing about this band but what I can piece together from Spotify is they have released two singles and have 32 monthly listeners.  I am one of two people who listen to them in Perth.  I wonder if these stats will be boosted by featuring them in this blog?  Probably not.

10) Exactly How You Are by Bell Park Music
Another track lifted from their treasure trove fifth album - Good Mood.

11) Treaty '18 by Youthu Yindi, Gavin Campbell featuring Baker Boy
Originally written in the late 1980s this political song from Aboriginal band Youthu Yindi from the Northern Territory's Arnham Land has been re-recorded with additional raps from Baker Boy.

12) Seven by Tash Sultana
Tash is very talented and has produced a number of excellent tracks over the last few years.  Her debut album has just been released and is good background music for stroking your hipster beard.  However, this instrumental shoots off in all directions and is a sublime piece of music.

13) Lightenup by Parcels
The Byron Bay band relocated to Berlin and have worked with their disco heroes including Nile Rodgers, Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder.  They have released many awesome singles over the years and are presumably working on a album that will propel them into the mainstream.     



14) Faces by Holy Holy
A new direction ahead of their third album - doesn't sound like their earlier material but the quality is just as high.

15) Embracing Me by SAFIA
This laid back electronic song was actually released a couple of years ago but I only discovered it recently so I'm going to allow it.  My blog - my rules and I can ignore them when I feel like it.

16) Deserve by Ivan Ooze
Melbourne hip hopper getting what he deserves.

17) Clark Griswold by Hilltop Hoods featuring Adrian Eagle
The Hilltop Hoods team up with a fellow Adelaide singer on this track celebrating being a dad.

18) Undecided by JEFFE
Brooding second single from electronic indie artist from Sydney.

19) Such Great Heights by Cub Sport
Brisbane band with a chilling cover of this classic originally recorded by American band The Postal Service back in 2003.

20) We Are The People by Tia Gostelow
Another cover but this time an all Aussie affair with the song originally written by Empire of the Sun and covered here by the Queenslander in the Triple J studios for Like A Version.

Mixtape September 2018

This month the guitars have taken a backseat making room for lots of reggae, dub, drum n bass and Welsh Gansta Rap.  This blog was accidentally deleted so I had to do it again and second time around I couldn't be bothered to rewrite additional info or witty comments for all the songs - so you will have to use your imagination - Appreciated ;-)

1) Kontraband by Kabaka Pyramid & Damien Marley
Mr Pyramid appears twice on this playlist - he he is with one of Bob Marley's sons.

2) Cry On My Guitar by Miles Kane
A glam rock shuffle with a random fight video.

3) Run Out Of Time by Mystic Braves
L.A. 60's influenced band have just released their latest LP The Great Unknown.

4) See You Next Tuesday by The Nextmen Vs Gentleman's Dub Club
Cheeky track taken from their excellent album Pound for Pound.

5) No Fenke Fenke by Yardcore ft Shanique Marie & Kabaka Pyramid
Mr Pyramid's second entry - Fenke means "Puny" in Jamaican slang - I had to look it up.

6) Rebel Lion by Freestylers ft K-OSS
Reggae drum n bass from the UK.

7) Need Some1 (Friction Remix) by The Prodigy
The Prodigy's new single provides extra drum n bass and the now obligatory Friction Remix.

8) Trapped by Underworld ft Iggy Pop
The one where Iggy berates mortgage holders.

 9) Sticky Dub by Sons Of Dub

10) You Look So Fine (Fun Lovin Criminals Remix) by Garbage

11) Wasted Years by Ryan Adams
Acoustic cover of Iron Maiden's 1986 single.

12) Loading Zones by Kurt Vile
Everyone's favourite stoner troubadour rambles through his stream of semi-consciousness.

 13) Lessons by Protoje

14) Sweet Like Chocolate by Hollie Cook

15) Dub Like Chocolate by Hollie Cook

16) There's A Reason Why (I Never Return Your Calls) (Satin Jackets Remix) by Blossoms

17) Moonshine Freeze (Drones Club Remix) by This Is The Kit

18) Put Your Money On Me (Steve Mackey Remix) by Arcade Fire
The Arcade Fire's last album was produced by Steve Mackay from Pulp and Thomas from Daft Punk.

19) Resister by She Drew The Gun

20) Auf Wiedershen Mate by Goldie Lookin Chain
The Welsh Rap collective with their Brexit breakup song sampling Dry Your Eyes by The Streets - originally released in 2016 but still topical today.

The Indie Years 1983

The Eighties are well under way here and a strong alternative scene was thriving.  New Order started dancing and fellow Mancunians The Smiths began their five year dominance of indie.  Liverpool unleashed Frankie Goes To Hollywood, from America R.E.M. and Talking Heads led the college radio scene and all around excellent alternative bands were busy releasing yearly albums at a work rate that would shame today's bands.    

1) Blue Monday by New Order (Factory)
New Order still refused to include their singles on their albums so Blue Monday was only available as a single.  The floppy disc sleeve with cut out sections cost more to produce than they sold it for.  It became the best selling 12-inch single of all time selling over 700,000 copies in 1983 and cost Factory Records a fortune.  Created as a song that could be played by the machines while the band went to the bar early it heralded the indie dance crossover and served as the blueprint for Madchester.

2) This Is The Day by The The (Epic)
Another classic song that was not popular at the time but its quality shines through the decades.  Harmonicas were all the rage in '83.

3) Hand in Glove by The Smiths (Rough Trade)
The brilliant debut single by The Smiths released on Rough Trade was not the huge hit single that Morrissey and Marr were expecting.  It reached #124 in the charts.  After it appeared on their debut album and was re-recorded with Sandie Shaw on vocals it did make the charts the following year.

4) Mad World by Tears for Fears (Phonogram)
A new wave hit taken from their debut album.  It was covered twenty years later for the soundtrack of the movie Donnie Darko and it became a #1 single for Michael Andrews and Gary Jules.

5) A New England by Billy Bragg (Utility)
Folk protest singer Billy Bragg wrote this a year before it was a hit for Kirsty MacColl.  This original only had two verses but Kirsty asked him to write another verse for her cover version.

6) This Is Not A Love Song by Public Image Limited (Virgin)
This was Public Image Limited's biggest hit single reaching the top 5 in the UK charts.  PiL were formed by John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten after he left the Sex Pistols.  PiL had started to head in a more commercial direction and this song was written as a response to their fans who believed they were selling out.


7) Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Polydor)
Their second cover of a Beatles White Album song after Helter-Skelter.  Robert Smith of The Cure had joined the Banshees for two separate tours during their early years and wanted to appear on a Banshees record so suggested they released this cover which became their biggest hit.

8) Sugar Hiccup by Cocteau Twins (4AD)
Scottish rock band drench this track with lush guitars and nonsensical vocals and possibly invent dream pop.  I was listening to this track heavily years later whilst trying to feed my baby son mashed fruit and in my mind the lyrics will forever be "banana throw-up".

9) Burning Down The House by Talking Heads (Sire)
This was the result of Talking Heads attending a Parliament-Funkadelic gig and trying to emulate them.

10) Southern Mark Smith (Big Return) by The Jazz Butcher (Glass)
Name checking the leader of the Fall is one way to remain obscure and the Jazz Butcher achieved this easily.  And they went on to repeat this feat many times resulting in an obscure career.  However some members went on to star in The Woodentops.

11) Radio Free Europe by R.E.M. (Hib-tone)
Their debut single from 1981 re-recorded for their 1983 debut album "Murmur" it helped establish R.E.M. as a big band on the US College Radio circuit.  The lyrics were largely improvised and mumbled which would be Michael Stipe's preferred vocal method until the Mid-80's. 

12) Testify by Stevie Ray Vaughan (T-Neck)
Stevie Ray Vaughan sounds like the Jimi Hendrix of the 1980s and you can see what John Squire was aiming for on The Second Coming.


13) Sixty Eight Guns by The Alarm (I.R.S.)
Originally called The Toilets in 1977 these Welsh punks went through many line ups and several name changes (Quasimodo, Seventeen and Alarm Alarm) before they became The Alarm in 1981.  This was their biggest hit and was inspired by a book on 1960's Glasgow Street Gangs.  The Alarm are still touring and recording music but I've never heard anything else by them.   


14) New Year's Day by U2 (Island)
Taken from the War album, a song about the Polish Solidarity labour union movement which opposed the Communist Government.

15) Temple Of Love by Sisters Of Mercy (Merciful Release)
Gothic rock band formed in Leeds in 1980 who released several singles and three albums between 1980 and 1993.  Their biggest hit was an epic 1992 remix of this early single but here it is in the original form.


16) 99 Luftballons by Nena (Epic)
An anti-war song from West Berlin - It was re-recorded into English as 99 Red Balloons but the original was sung in German and tells a story of 99 air balloons being released on the border of the Iron Curtain which a pilot shoots down and this escalates into a full scale war. 

17) Temptation by Heaven 17 (Virgin)
Formed when some members of The Human League split away. Great dance tune which later featured in the disco scene in the film Trainspotting.

18) The Love Cats by The Cure (Friction)

One of the first happy poppy songs released by The Cure.  Unfortunately if you listen to the lyrics "Into the sea, you and me", is a reference to drowning cats in a bag.  Still they were definitely lightening up and subverting the mainstream.

19) Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (ZTT)
Liverpool's FGTH originally released Relax in October '83.  It would sell millions of copies all over the world and become one of the biggest hits of the decade.  It was the first of their trio of epic singles covering the topical issues of the Mid-Eighties: gay sex, nuclear war and horny vampires.

20) The Trooper by Iron Maiden (EMI)
Maiden's Eighties output was very educational.  This single details the battle of the Balaclava in 1854 with a retelling of Lord Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Further Reading...

The Indie Years 1986
The Indie Years 1985
The Indie Years 1984

The Indie Years 1982

The Indie Years 1981

The Indie Years 1980

The Indie Years 1979

The Indie Years 1978

The Indie Years 1977

Mixtape August 2018

This month's playlist has been a hard one to compile due the amount of awesome music I've stumbled over.  I've picked twenty of the best songs and remixes which have either moved me or got me moving.   

1) Idaho by Gorillaz
Their latest album The Now Now is a more low key affair without the hundreds of rappers who crowded their previous effort, Humanz.   This allows 2D or Damon's voice to take centre stage and often it sounds more like Blur.

2) As You Said Your So Longs by El Goodo
A 60's influenced Welsh dream pop band - friends of the Super Furry Animals. Very similar sound to the Cosmic Rough Riders if anyone remembers them.

3) Demon Is A Monster by Cornershop
This funky instrumental was used as the theme music to one of my favourite podcasts so happy to share it.

4) Black Magic by Baker Boy ft Dallas Woods
Arnhem Land's Baker Boy is back rapping in both English and his native tongue over indigenous instruments and an epic riff.  Sending a middle finger to Australia's politicians.

5) Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by  Arctic Monkeys
It's certainly a departure from their previous sound but their sixth album is very rewarding and has been on high rotation over the last few months.

6) Out The Window (Andrew Weatherall Remix) by Confidence Man
The original was featured on this blog a few months ago and at the time I said it sounded like Primal Scream.  And now Andrew Weatherall has remixed it so it sounds even more like Screamadelica.

7) Cactus (Boxed In Desert Mix) by Teleman
This is another tune that I featured the original on a recent playlist and it is included again because of another wicked remix.

8) Dancing (Dawn Wall Remix) by Friction ft JP Cooper
Drum N Bass star Friction given a banging remix treatment by Dawn Wall.

9)  Downtown Shutdown by The Presets
Electro-pop from Australia's dance act.

10) You Worry Me by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Another mature rock number very reminiscent of Kings of Leon.

11) Too Little Too Late by Miles Kane
Damn catchy power punk pop - what's not to like?

12) Mambo Rap by Parov Stelar
A talented Austrian (not Australian) musician with a mambo beat and amusing lyrics.  It's a banger!

13) Double Denim by Helen Love
They haven't changed in quarter of a century and seem destined to rewrite the same song forever.  Gotta love them for it.  They have never sold out - perhaps no-one would buy them!

14) Burnt Out Star by Pond
Perth's Pond have returned with an eight minute space prog rock opus. 

15) Ready Now by The Cat Empire
This has Triple J's Hottest Hundred written all over it.

16) My Own Sunshine by Fraser A. Gorman
Heart-jerking sad song which builds to an uplifting end.

17) Civil War by A-Sides Club
An Australian indie super-group comprising members of Boy & Bear, The Whitlams, All Our Exes Live In Texas and Hot Spoke.  They have just released their second album comprised of Guns N Roses cover versions.   This song was originally released by GNR in 1990 and the album is well worth a deeper dive. 

18) Texas by Mallrat
Talented Aussie indie singer songwriter with another track from her In The Sky EP.

19) Works Every Time by Mini Mansions
LA band return with their first new song in three years, and it's a corker.

20) Oh Dear! by Gruff Rhys
SFA frontman with another catchy song from the excellent orchestral pop Babelsberg album.