November is still in it’s infancy but by the end of last week, there was a flurry or singles that were on my radar. I’ll leave my favourite until last, but let’s kick things off with Death Valley Girls who have already left Halloween behind and have their minds on the next holiday season on the sublime Season of Dreaming, a swoonsome Christmas offering shrouded in atmospheric tenor saxophone, with the addition of bells to give it that Christmas vibe. As Bonnie Bloomgarden sings of “dreaming of the year you will make” and the “season for dreaming and believing” they do feel like the perfect band to bridge the seasons, with plenty of their spooky psych-goth remaining, and just enough festive spirit to start the feels. The song will appear on Volume 5 of Slow Xmas.
Virtual hip-hop group Gorillaz collaborate with IDLES on their latest offering the reggae-tinged The God of Lying, a song which hints at their early hit Feel Good Inc.
One of my favourite songs on the 1990’s was from Shudder to Think, that single was So Into You and listening to it today still sends shivers up my spine. After nearly 30 years the band are back with 2 new songs Thirst Walk and Playback which are being released on 7″ vinyl. Both Thirst Walk and Playback pick up the baton and delight this listener just as if the band had never been away, the songs showcasing Craig Wedren’s extraordinary vocal range atop their alt-guitar riffs just as they did on old favourites like X French Tee.
And As Always from The New Cut bursts into life with a sense of urgency and a bassline The Cure would be proud of, the song builds with angular post punk guitars, and a strident vocals that encapsulates that sense of urgency shown from the off.
A return to the singles round up for a few names in this initial burst of activity in November, with cruush providing their mix of dream-pop and shoe-gaze in the form of the soaraway Rupert Giles while…
We Three Kings bring the noise and huge guitar riffs with Your Love is My Disease…
And it’s a welcome return for one of my favourite underground discoveries since I started writing this blog with Sloan Brothers and their tell-it-as-it-is song Middle Aged Love, the upbeat and high energy lead track, despite the trials and tribulations listed in the lyrics, from their latest EP, of the same title. Those who read this blog, may remember my love for their System Update album, and more recently their similarly open and honest single Breathing Distress Blues. Follow the link to purchase a copy of the new EP on vinyl.
I know some who are (hopefully) reading this… you never know with sharing links on Facebook these days, there may be no-one here… are fans of Slyder Smith from back in his Last Great Dreamers days and beyond, and will also recognise one of our Glasgow homeboys in the video to latest single Plan to Fail. This is an addictive slice of glam rock with a message in the lyrics that those of us who are prone to self sabotage can relate to only too well. Given the moreish nature of this song, I’m sure the title is a form of misdirection…
Adding this Dropkick Murphys song to the list as they have just released a video to go along with the song which gives it an even more poignant feel as A Hero Among Many tells the story of Welles Croether, “the man in the red bandana,” one of the many heroes who lost their lives trying to save others from the twin Towers attack. The video comes out as part the release of the expanded version of their For the People album.
Typing this reminds me that I’ve still to finish and publish my review of the divine debut album by The Cords who cite The Primitives as one of their influences. This video for Thru the Flowers was release to mark the 40th anniversary of the songs release, which to me sounds just as vital now as the day I heard it all those years ago.
If you are of a certain vintage, like me, when you hear the name The Man from Delmonte, your first reaction is “he says yes!” And I say a huge yes to Every Time which has the original line up of the band return to record together and release their first album in 35 years, the forthcoming Better Things.
Maybe it’s because I’m of that certain vintage mentioned above that before I heard the new single by Babyshambles my first thought was of Adam and the Ants? The single itself is as far from Adam and the Ants as it could get, Dandy Hooligan, is a triumph, a delightfully louche brass infused reggae influenced number, the only complainy? It’s over too soon.
I nearly overlooked Phwoar because I didn’t like the name, I’m glad I overcame that and gave Pleasure Island a blast, its flash of fuzzy guitars and lyrics condemning the fucked up state of the UK hitting the mark.
Despite their youth, Brontës seem to have been on my radar for years (in reality they only actually released their first single in 2022), with early singles like First Hand Arrogance and Groove piquing my interest. Over the intervening years, I’ve seen them live on several occasions including on a stage in George Square during the World Cycling Championships where they should have played to a huge crowd but, like all the events in George Square during that event, was criminally under promoted (if it was at all), and I’ve seen band members come and go. Brontës are now settled as a four piece and are sounding better than ever, and in San Francisco they have already set the bar high in the challenge for single of the month for November despite there still being 2/3rds of the month still to come. San Francisco follows up Cognitive Dissonance as the second song to be released from their debut album due to be released in April 2026.
What can I say about the single? Well first and foremost it is a bit of an emotional one, it takes you on a rollercoaster ride of sensations, from moments of downright heart-breaking melancholy right through to full blown world is your oyster optimism. The arrangement and playing gives off an effortless cool and soothing calmness, there is a laidback elegance to the sound that carries you with it, a quiet power that somehow lifts you up you and fortifies the soul. At times it feels that Eva’s lyrics carry the weight of the world, reminiscing about a future that could have been, now lost to the past, but when she evokes the image of that dream through her utterly divine vocals, the high is so high that If you don’t want to sell up and move to San Francisco by the time this song ends, then you have no soul. Powerful stuff. “Pack your things and go…”
Part 2 coming soon…
Here’s the playlist for the month so far:
https://tidal.com/playlist/face1552-59b5-462d-9848-da967013960a