“Your Favorite Thing”, Sugar

This way: Your Favorite Thing

Sugar was an American alternative rock band active in the early 1990s. Formed in 1992, they were led by the singer and guitarist Bob Mould (ex-Hüsker Dü), alongside bassist David Barbe (ex-Mercyland) and drummer Malcolm Travis (ex-Human Sexual Response). 

After frontman Bob Mould departed from Hüsker Dü, he released two solo ventures, Workbook and Black Sheets of Rain; neither album was well received and Mould was released from his contract with Virgin Records America in 1991 as a result. Shortly after, Mould recorded a demo tape of over thirty songs and formed Sugar with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis. The band was named in an Athens, GA Waffle House Restaurant when Mould spotted a sugar packet on the table where he and the other two band members were sitting. Their first concert was on February 20, 1992, at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, after a few weeks warming up in R.E.M.'s downtown practice space.

Later in 1992, the band released the album Copper Blue on Rykodisc in the US and Creation Records in the UK. Copper Blue was named Album Of The Year 1992 by NME. The music videos for the singles "If I Can't Change Your Mind" and "Helpless" received extensive air time on MTV shortly after the album's release. The single for "If I Can't Change Your Mind" had moderate success in the UK Singles Chart.

[Spotify] Your Favorite Thing

“Get Inspired”, Genesis Owusu

This way: Get Inspired

Genesis Owusu, is a Ghanaian-Australian rapper and singer from Canberra. He is the younger brother of fellow hip hop rapper, Kojo Owusu-Ansah p.k.a. Citizen Kay. Owusu's debut studio album, Smiling with No Teeth (March 2021), reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 30. At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards he won four trophies for Album of the Year, Best Hip Hop Release, Best Independent Release and Best Cover Art (latter shared with Bailey Howard). 

Genesis Owusu was born Kofi Owusu-Ansah in 1998 in Koforidua, Ghana. His older brother, Kojo (born ca. 1994), is also a rapper who performs as Citizen Kay. The family migrated to Canberra, Australia in 2000.

He was dubbed "Genesis" by Kojo in primary school, who told his friends that his younger brother is Kofi: "his friends were like 'oh, what's your brother's name?' and he said 'Coffee' and they just didn't believe him, for whatever reason. So he just apparently made Genesis up on the spot, and since then it's just stuck." Owusu completed a Bachelor of Journalism at the University of Canberra in 2018.

2015–2019: Career beginnings and Cardrive

Musician Citizen Kay is Owusu's older brother, and he decided to feature his younger brother, among other relatives, on "Family Ties", a track on his album With the People (October 2015). Kay explained that "Family Ties".

[Spotify] Get Inspired

“Evidently Chickentown”, John Cooper Clarke

This way: Evidently Chickentown

John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with several punk and post-punk bands and continues to perform regularly.

His recorded output has mainly relied on musical backing from the Invisible Girls, which featured Martin Hannett, Steve Hopkins, Pete Shelley, Bill Nelson, and Paul Burgess. 

In 1979, Clarke had his only UK top 40 hit with "Gimmix! (Play Loud)". Clarke toured with Linton Kwesi Johnson, and has performed on the same bill as bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Fall, Joy Division, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Elvis Costello, Rockpile and New Order (including at their May 1984 Music for Miners benefit concert at London's Royal Festival Hall). His set is characterised by lively rapid-fire renditions of his poems, usually performed a cappella. Often referred to as "the bard of Salford", he usually refers to himself on stage as "Johnny Clarke, the name behind the hairstyle".

Clarke appeared in a 1982 music documentary compilation Urgh! A Music War, in which he performed his poem "Health Fanatic". The film featured live performances of mainstream artists (the Police, the Go-Go's, XTC, Devo) as well as more obscure bands (Pere Ubu, Invisible Girls, the Alley Cats, Athletico Spizz '80, Chelsea) using concert footage from around the world. He also starred in another 1982 film titled John Cooper Clarke – Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt produced for the Arts Council of Great Britain and Channel 4. Somewhere between a narrative film, a series of music videos and a documentary, the film features interviews and performances by Clarke and Linton Kwesi Johnson among others.

[Spotify] Evidently Chickentown

“Why Can’t I Touch It?”, Buzzcocks

This way: Why Can’t I Touch It?

This is an early single b-side from the Buzzcocks and at one point was added to the Singles Going Steady album. Another perfectly honed pop masterpiece form a band with so many jems.

[Spotify] Why Can’t I Touch It?

“It's a Wonderful Lie”, Paul Westerburg

This way: It's a Wonderful Lie

Paul Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for The Replacements. Following the breakup of The Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him release three albums on two major record labels.

Following the release of his third solo album, Westerberg has been mostly releasing music that he has self-produced and recorded in his basement home studio.[3] He has also released two albums and an EP under the pseudonym Grandpaboy. In 2017, Westerberg released songs on SoundCloud as User 964848511 and on Bandcamp as Dry Wood Garage.[4][5][6]

In the late 1970s, Westerberg was working as a janitor for U.S. Senator David Durenberger, and one day while walking home from work, he heard a band practicing Yes's "Roundabout" in a basement. He talked his way into the band by convincing the singer that the other band members — Bob Stinson, Chris Mars and Tommy Stinson — were going to fire the singer. The singer quit, and Westerberg joined the group. The band was originally called The Impediments, and they played their first gig in the basement of a church, playing to members of a nearby halfway house who did not appreciate their drunken shenanigans. They soon changed their name to The Replacements after several venues declined to advertise the band under their original name. 

The Replacements began performing in the Twin Cities punk scene, showcasing Westerberg's songs in a classic rock–friendly punk style. The band made three albums and an EP for local label Twin/Tone before signing to Sire Records in 1985. They made four albums for Sire, each with a different lineup.

Westerberg's first solo releases were two songs, "Waiting for Somebody" and "Dyslexic Heart", for the soundtrack to the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles, for which he is also credited with composing and performing the score. The following year, Reprise Records released his first solo album, 14 Songs. Even though The Replacements had been banned for life from Saturday Night Live after a notoriously chaotic 1986 performance, Westerberg was invited back in 1993 as a solo artist while touring in support of the album. Ironically, one of his two featured songs on SNL was the Replacements tune "Can't Hardly Wait."

During the interim between solo albums, Westerberg's songs appeared on Melrose Place ("A Star Is Bored") and Friends (his cover of Jonathan Edwards' "Sunshine" and "Stain Yer Blood") television soundtracks, in 1994 and 1995 respectively.

Westerberg co-wrote the song "Backlash" with Joan Jett for her 1991 album Notorious and played guitar with her on the song's video. He also recorded a duet with Jett ("Let's Do It") for the Tank Girl soundtrack (1994).

[Spotify] It's a Wonderful Lie

“Serafina”, Bambara

This way: Serafina

Bambara is an American band formed in 2007 in Athens, Georgia, currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The trio consists of twin brothers Reid Bateh (lead vocals, guitar) and Blaze Bateh (drums), and William Brookshire (bass). 

The band is named after the character of the same name from the animated television series Æon Flux. Drummer Blaze Bateh stated that "honestly there wasn’t anything in particular about him as a character that drove us to use his name. We were just huge fans of the show. I’ve watched the show start to finish countless times and I still get blown away by aspects of it. But yeah, we just thought his name sounded really cool".

Reid Bateh's baritone vocals have been compared to Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard. The members of Bambara began playing with each other in 2001 in Athens, Georgia when twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh and school friend William Brookshire attended North Springs High School. The trio started out playing covers of bands such as Blink-182 and Red Hot Chili Peppers before developing their own sound that incorporated "funk, progressive, and a lot of Latin". They released their debut album Curtains and Cannibals in 2005 under their original name 23jinx. In October 2007, the band changed their name and formed as Bambara. The band moved to Brooklyn, where they signed to Arrowhawk Records in 2013. They recorded the album Dreamviolence from their basement apartment before releasing it in April of that same year. Their music was labeled as noise rock in part due to their use of machines, loops, and other assorted lo-fi software.

[Spotify] Serafina

“Birth, School, Work, Death”, The Godfathers

This way: Birth, School, Work, Death

The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk.

The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne (vocals and bass, respectively) after the demise of The Sid Presley Experience in 1985, joined by Mike Gibson (guitar), Kris Dollimore (guitar) and George Mazur (drums). Peter Coyne had briefly worked as a music journalist from 1980 to 1982 for ZigZag and Record Mirror. Fellow TSPE member, and later Godfather, Del Bartle, went on to form The Unholy Trinity with drummer Kevin Murphy. 

After independent single releases produced by Vic Maile, and collected on their debut album, Hit by Hit, they signed to Epic Records in 1987. Extensive tours of the UK, Europe and the United States followed. Single and title track of their first album "Birth, School, Work, Death" made the U.S. Billboard Top 40 in 1988 after college radio and MTV airplay but the band were less commercially successful in the UK. Albums More Songs About Love and Hate (1989) and Unreal World (1991) followed, with Chris Burrows replacing Kris Dollimore on guitar in time for the latter, after which the Godfathers left Epic and released a live album and two studio albums on German label Intercord in the early to mid-1990s. The band ceased activity in 2000.

In 2003, Peter Coyne and Kris Dollimore played briefly in a band called the Germans with Rat Scabies, formerly of the Damned.

[Spotify] Birth, School, Work, Death

“Astradyne”, Ultravox

This way: Astradyne

In 1979 John Foxx left Ultravox and was replaced by Midge Ure. And this first effort by the new band is stellar. I have always loved this LP. I saw the band on this tour in 1980 (September 25, Dooleys-Tempe, AZ). Vienna is the fourth studio album by British new wave band Ultravox, first released on 11 July 1980 through Chrysalis Records. Vienna was Ultravox's first album with their best-known line-up, after Midge Ure had taken over as lead vocalist and guitarist following the departures of John Foxx and Robin Simon, as well as the group's first release for Chrysalis.

Vienna was produced by renowned German producer Conny Plank who had also produced Ultravox's previous album Systems of Romance, and mixed at Plank's studio near Cologne, Germany. Ultravox changed pace, style and audience with the arrival of Ure, who had already participated in the formation of Visage with Ultravox's keyboard and viola player Billy Currie. Many different styles are in use on the album; "Astradyne" is a long instrumental featuring sweeping, majestic synthesizer arrangements throughout, while "Mr. X" is a simpler, much sparser Kraftwerk pastiche. The lyrics to the album's songs were mainly written by Ure and drummer Warren Cann, who also takes a rare lead vocal on "Mr. X". 

[Spotify] Astradyne

“Soon Enough”, Constantines

This way: Soon Enough

Constantines is an indie rock band from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Constantines was formed in 1999, by vocalist and guitarist Bryan Webb, drummer Doug MacGregor, and guitarist Paul Bright, all of whom had played together in the emo band Shoulder from 1994 to 1997; with the addition of bassist Dallas Wehrle. Bright was asked to leave early on and was replaced by Steve Lambke. Their style has been described as "art-punk", and they have been compared to bands like The Clash, Fugazi, Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements, and Nick Cave.

The name of the band is taken from an episode of Coast to Coast with Art Bell, in which Bell was playing recordings of ghost voices in static, and one of the ghosts' names was Constantine.

From their hometown of Guelph the band relocated to London, Ontario and then to Toronto, where in 2001 they released their self-titled first album. Constantines enjoyed widespread play on campus radio and was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Alternative Album. The first track, "Arizona", is based on the suicide of Danny Rapp, the lead singer of Danny and the Juniors of "At the Hop" fame. The song begins with the lyric "This is a song about the death of Danny Rapp. And that great gospel jest called rock 'n' roll." That year they performed at the El Mocambo in Toronto with Oneida and Grand Total.

[Spotify] Soon Enough

“Alibi”, Hurray for the Riff Raff

This way: Alibi

Hurray for the Riff Raff is an American band from formed in New Orleans in 2007 by Alynda Segarra, a singer-songwriter from the Bronx, New York. As Segarra's project, the group originally performed different styles of folk music while releasing several albums independently. 

Alynda Mariposa Segarra was raised by their aunt and uncle in the Bronx where they developed an early appreciation for doo-wop and Motown. They are of Puerto Rican heritage.

Segarra became a regular attendee of hardcore punk shows at ABC No Rio when they were young. They left their home in the Bronx at age 17, spending time crossing North America, hopping freight trains.

Around 2007, Segarra became a part of the Dead Man Street Orchestra, a hobo band that was documented in a photo essay by Time Magazine in 2007. Segarra traveled with the group for two years, releasing two independent albums and embarking on freight train tours across the country.

[Spotify] Alibi

“Everything Turns Blue”, Chelsea Wolfe

This way: Everything Turns Blue

Katy Kirby is a Nashville, Tennessee based American musician and singer-songwriter from Spicewood, Texas. Kirby grew up as an evangelical Christian in Spicewood, Texas, where she was homeschooled and listened primarily to worship music. She attended college at Belmont University, where she majored in English. Kirby began releasing music in 2018, with the EP Juniper. In May 2020, she shared a new recorded version of her song "Tap Twice".  

In late 2020, she announced plans to release her debut album and, along with the announcement, released the single "Traffic!". The album, Cool Dry Place, came out on February 19, 2021, and became Stereogum's "Album of the Week". The album would eventually be included in a number of yearend best-albums-of-2021 lists, including those by Paste, Our Culture Mag, and Consequence of Sound.

[Spotify] Everything Turns Blue

“Rain Dance”, Geese

This way: Rain Dance

Geese are an American rock band based in Brooklyn, New York. The band is composed of Dominic DiGesu, Cameron Winter, Max Bassin, and Gus Green.

The band formed in 2016 while the members were attending Brooklyn Friends School and Little Red School House in New York City. During high school, the band practiced and recorded material in the basement of Bassin's home in Fort Greene.

As a few of the members had received acceptance letters to attend schools such as Oberlin College and the Berklee College of Music, the band had intended to break up once they graduated high school in 2020. Towards mid-2020, however, the band's self-produced demos attracted attention from several record labels, including 4AD, Fat Possum, and Sub Pop. Ultimately, the band signed with Partisan Records.

[Spotify] Rain Dance

“Borders Comfort”, Soft Kill

This way: Borders Comfort

Soft Kill is an american band originally from Portland (Oregon). Also, they are one of the bands that have called themselves on their personal facebook page as "sad rock", a new musical subgenre. Emerged from the post-punk scene, they have released five albums and several singles and EPs.

An Open Door (debut album) was one of the most prestigious releases of the last ten years of the post-punk genre, receiving excellent musical reviews. Bassist and singer of influential band in the 80s, The Chameleons, Mark Burgess took an interest in their music and he sponsored them for a tour around United States in addition to putting the voice on the song "On The Inside" of his fourth album Choke. 

[Spotify] Borders Comfort

“So Twisted Fate”, Frog

This way: So Twisted Fate

This is some whack shit, it's messed up, it's unreal-not real. Frog is an American indie rock band. The group was founded by Daniel Bateman and Thomas White in Queens, New York in 2012. In 2019, White left the band and was replaced on drums by Bateman's brother Steve. White has since rejoined the band on bass. 

They have released five studio albums through labels like Audio Antihero and their own Tapewormies imprint, which have received praise from Pitchfork, Stereogum, and The Line of Best Fit as well as airplay from various BBC stations.

[Spotify] So Twisted Fate

“Punchlines”, Happy Just to See You

This way: Punchlines

Band from Manchester, New Hampshire. 

[Spotify] Punchlines

Guilty Pleasures: “Bitter Fingers”, Elton John

This way: Bitter Fingers

Another musician from the first loves category. Elton owned the airwaves back in those early 70s days just as I stumbled into the AM radio universe. I had all the early records, and Capt Fantastic was a real work of art to my young ears.

[Spotify] Bitter Fingers

Guilty Pleasures: “Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day”, Jethro Tull

This way: Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day

There really is no excuse sometimes, no logical explanation. The temperature in the room runs high as the FM radio slinks into the sunset. And the ice melts as futures fade.

[Spotify] Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day

Guilty Pleasures: “Everything Louder than Everything Else”, Meat Loaf

This way: Everything Louder than Everything Else

Does it get any better than Meat Loaf? I don't think so. This is the odd case where the sequel is better the the original. Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is one of the best selling music artists in history. His Bat Out of Hell trilogy—Bat Out of Hell (1977), Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993), and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006)—has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years, as of 2016 still sold an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and is on the list of bestselling albums.

After the commercial success of Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, and earning a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love", Meat Loaf nevertheless experienced some difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. The key to this success was his popularity in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He received the 1994 Brit Award in the United Kingdom for bestselling album and single. He appeared in the 1997 film Spice World and he ranked 23rd for the number of weeks spent on the UK charts in 2006. He ranks 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

[Spotify] Everything Louder than Everything Else

Guilty Pleasures: “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five”, Wings

This way: Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

When I started listen to music The Beatles were already over. But they still owned the airwaves to a certain degree. And all the post Beatle activities got a lot of attention. Paul started a new Band called Wings, but it was soon Paul McCartney and Wings. But not the Buffalo kind. Paul had a habit of recording all kinds of garbage in what I think was a fuck you to his fame. But he still had those song writtin' chops. Here is a gem from his near perferct LP Band on the Run, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five . . . 

[Spotify] Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Guilty Pleasures: “Elected”, Alice Cooper

This way: Elected

Alice Cooper was one of my first breakthru music loves. Alice was a real fixture in AZ, having grown up here. And his over the top everything was a real draw. Certainly at the time he stood out of the crowd. But thats also some great songwriting going on. In my study or Near Perfect LPs I came to the conclusion that Alice has 3 that would make that list. No filler. This whole LP, Billion Dollar Babies is a serious masterpiece. And don't forget to vote!

[Spotify] Elected

“Dang Me”, Roger Miller

This way: Dang Me

What is this song? Someone please help. It is so left field it's in the parking lot. And that record cover is also special. Roger Millers music is often in its own place in history. Roger Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "England Swings". 

After growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the U.S. Army, Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s, writing such hits as "Billy Bayou" and "Home" for Jim Reeves and "Invitation to the Blues" for Ray Price. He later began a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the mid-1960s, continuing to record and tour into the 1990s, charting his final top 20 country hit "Old Friends" with Price and Willie Nelson in 1982. He also wrote and performed several of the songs for the 1973 Disney animated film Robin Hood. Later in his life, he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony Award−winning Broadway musical Big River, in which he acted.

Miller died from lung cancer in 1992 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later. His songs continued to be recorded by other singers, with covers of "Tall, Tall Trees" by Alan Jackson and "Husbands and Wives" by Brooks & Dunn; both reached the number one spot on country charts in the 1990s. This track from 1964.

[Spotify] Dang Me

“Up In Flames”, Grace Cummings

This way: Up In Flames

Great songwrittin' from the Melbourne folk singer Grace Cummings, this from 2022. 

[Spotify] Up In Flames

“Music Writers”, Ausmuteants

This way: Music Writers

From 2016. Melbourne band. Jake Robertson, Billy Gardner, Shaun Conner, Marc Dean are popping out some great punk rock these days. Jake Robertson formed Ausmuteants with Billy Gardner in 2011, after Robertson temporarily sat in as drummer for Gardner's band The Living Eyes. They were later joined by bandmates Marc Dean and Shaun Connor. The band first performed live together in 2012 and released a cassette Split Personalities that year, before releasing the album Amusements in 2013. Ausmuteants released three further albums, and received praise overseas, with Pitchfork listed them amongst their Best Underground Garage Punk Albums of 2016 list. A 2019 album The World in Handcuffs was written entirely by guitarist Shaun Connor. It was nominated for the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) Best Independent Punk Album or EP at the 2020 AIR Awards. 

[Spotify] Music Writers

“New Beginning”, Automatic

This way: New Beginning

Automatic is a rock band from Los Angeles. Automatic’s members are Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Halle Saxon (bass, vocals), and Lola Dompé (drums, vocals).

The three band members met while immersed in L.A.’s DIY music scene and started playing live in 2017, taking their name from the track "Automatic" from The Go-Go's album Beauty and the Beat. The group signed to Los Angeles label Stones Throw in June 2019. 

Dompé is the daughter of Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins. She joined her first band, art-rock outfit Blackblack, when she was 13.

Automatic announced their debut album Signal with the release of their first single "Calling It" on 3 June 2019. The band put out two more singles, a cover of Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business" and title track "Signal", before releasing the album on 27 September 2019. Pitchfork described Signal as "an exercise in post-punk and no-wave galvanism". The band released Signal Remixes on 26 March 2021, which included reworks from artists such as Peanut Butter Wolf, Sudan Archives, Peaking Lights, Osees' John Dwyer, and Kevin Haskins.

On 8 March 2022, Automatic announced their new album Excess with their first single "New Beginning". Stereogum described "New Beginning" as "’60s pop kitsch". The group followed it up with their second single "Venus Hour" on 7 April 2022. Excess was released on 24 June 2022 on Stones Throw.

[Spotify] New Beginning

[Charming Live] New Beginning

“Thriving”, Diet Cig

This way: Thriving

Diet Cig is an American indie rock duo that formed in September 2014 in New Paltz, New York, United States. The band consists of Alex Luciano on guitar/vocals and Noah Bowman on drums. Their first studio album, Swear I'm Good At This, was released in April 2017. Their second studio album, Do You Wonder About Me, was released in May 2020. 

Luciano and Bowman met at a house show in New Paltz during the summer of 2014. Bowman's old band, Earl Boykins, was playing at the house show, where Luciano needed a cigarette lighter. She interrupted the band's set to ask Bowman for one, but he gave her a bottle of wine instead. Afterwards, Luciano got his number and told him she'd make a music video for him. The next day, Bowman tattooed a daisy on Luciano's foot and by August 2014, the pair were making music together. Bowman had been in bands since he was 13, but Luciano had never been in a band before and only knew a few chords on the guitar. They officially named their act Diet Cig in September 2014. Luciano and Bowman confirmed in an interview with Pigeons and Planes that the name has no significance.

[Spotify] Thriving

“I Want My Minutes Back”, Snapped Ankles

This way:  Want My Minutes Back

This is some good new fashioned punk rock.

Snapped Ankles are an English, London-based post-punk band, incorporating elements of performance art and art rock. They signed to The Leaf Label in 2017 and have released four albums, two EPs and numerous singles to date. The band members' identities are unknown, due to the fact that the group performs in ghillie suits, but they claim to be "forest folk...descended from the trees". 

Formed in East London in 2011, the band began performing at DIY nights creating live improvisations by chopping up 1960s films before sequencing and augmenting them with synthesisers. The band released their first single, "True Ecology (Shit Everywhere)", in December 2012, on Ears Have Eyes records. Their next release came in early 2015 with "I Want My Minutes Back", issued on white label, and reissued in 2017 as their first release on The Leaf Label. From 2015 to 2016, they performed in Daniel Oliver's participatory performance show 'Weird".

[Spotify]  I Want My Minutes Back

“Queens”, Aeon Station

This way: Queens

The bittersweet solo debut from Kevin Whelan—formerly of the Wrens—should it be electronica? No its just a rock band, some great songs here . . . . Aeon Station’s debut album Observatory, was released by Sub Pop Records on December 10, 2021. It was  previewed by the singles "Queens", "Leaves" and "Fade".

[Spotify] Queens

[So Charming Live] Queens live

“Sigalert”, Flat Worms

This way: Sigalert

Flat Worms are from Los Angeles, California. Frontman Will Ivy is flanked by drummer Justin Sullivan (Kevin Morby, The Babies) and bassist Tim Hellman, who’s played with Ty Segall and Oh Sees. 

[Spotify] Sigalert

“Saturday Night Friends”, Morphia Slow

This way: Saturday Night Friends

Morphia Slow is an artist Living in Phoenix, Arizona. Great folky pop song sound here. She refers to her genre as Fol-Murder-Pop.

[Spotify] Saturday Night Friends

“The Greyhound”, TRAAMS

This way: The Greyhound

TRAAMS are an English indie rock band, formed in 2011 in Chichester, West Sussex, England.

The band's name "TRAAMS" comes from the acronym for "Time Reference Angle of Arrival Measurement System". The trio's roots originated in mid-2011 when the bandmembers met at Goo a club night based in Bognor Regis. There, Stuart Hopkins was a DJ where he spun songs by Wire, New Order, and Le Tigre along with mainstream pop and rap. The three bandmembers bonded over their mutual tastes of music, specifically musicians such as McLusky, Pavement, Television and Kraftwerk. The influences caused the band to begin jamming together and in late 2011, to begin recording music with each other. Much of the band's earliest demo work has been described as a hybrid of Krautrock and punk rock. 

[Spotify] The Greyhound

“Friends On Ice”, Yung

This way: Friends On Ice

This quartet is from Denmark and began in 2014. 

[Spotify] Friends On Ice

“Sing Sing”, The Bones of J.R. Jones

This way: Sing Sing

The Bones of J.R. Jones is a project from American singer, guitarist, and songwriter Jonathon Linaberry (from central New York State).

A self-taught guitar and banjo player, J.R.’s fondness for old gospel hymns, bluesmen like Son House and R.L. Burnside, and artists like The Carter Family and Tom Waits, helped shape his sound, which has been described as “haunting stomp blues tempered with a touch of honey.”

Performing on stage with a kick drum, high-hat, and guitar/banjo (as well as the occasional harmonica and kazoo) J.R.’s live shows are visually impressive – a powerful and dynamic display that showcases his musical and emotional range. 

His songs speak of sorrow and hope, a longing for home, and, he says, “The more unsavory desires and wants in your life – those demons and devils that haunt you.” 

[Spotify] Sing Sing

[Charming live] Sing Sing

“Barracuda”, John Cale

This way: Barracuda

Fear is the fourth solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released on 1 October 1974 by Island Records.

Fear is the first of Cale's three studio albums for Island Records, all of which were released in a period of just over a year. During this time Cale was also producing records for other artists, working on albums such as Horses (1975) by Patti Smith, one of the most influential of all punk records.

 

In addition to his lead vocals on Fear, Cale also played keyboards, guitars, viola, violin and bass, and was joined by Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson, Roxy Music's Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera, and other artists who were signed to Island at the time.

"Gun" features an unusual two-man guitar solo from Manzanera and Eno, with the latter using a synthesizer to process the former's guitar playing in real-time. The promotional album for Fear released by Island Records contained an interview with Cale. He announced an adaption of the William Blake poem "Jerusalem", and cover versions of the songs "Girl from the North Country" by Bob Dylan, "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds and "I Can See for Miles" by the Who.

[Spotify] Barracuda

“The Wind Was Like a Train”, Wild Pink

This way: The Wind Was Like a Train

Wild Pink is an American indie rock band from the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. 

Wild Pink began in 2015, releasing an EP titled 2 Songs. In May 2015, Wild Pink joined Texas Is Funny Records and released a new single, as well as announcing a second EP, Good Life, which was released on June 30, 2015. In 2016, the band announced their self-titled debut full-length album, which was released on the Tiny Engines label in February 2017. The band's second album, Yolk in the Fur, was released on July 20, 2018. The band's third album, A Billion Little Lights, was released on February 19, 2021, with Royal Mountain Records. Two months later, in April 2021, the band released the EP 6 Cover Songs, which includes covers of songs by Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and a cover of the Jeopardy! theme tune.

[Spotify] The Wind Was Like a Train

“South Gotta Change”, Adia Victoria

This way: South Gotta Change

Adia Victoria (born July 22, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. In addition to playing and writing music, she also writes poetry. She is currently based in Nashville.

Victoria has described her music as "gothic blues". It incorporates elements of rock, blues, punk rock and country music. Critics and journalists have classified her style as blues, folk, Southern Gothic, indie rock, blues rock,[9] gothic country, gothic folk, swamp blues, garage punk, punk blues and soul music. Although Victoria is sometimes associated with Americana music, she has distanced herself from the genre, saying, "I’m not an Americana artist. I have no interest in being appropriated by that genre." However, her position seems to have softened as, in 2022, she performed at a nominations event hosted by the Americana Music Association and was nominated for their Emerging Artist of the Year award at their 21st awards ceremony. 

[Spotify] South Gotta Change