#big star - quality opening number on what is quite possibly the best album ever written about a fibreglass gorilla heist

[hopeinthebox]

tagged by the wonderfully sensational @cordiallyfuturedwight @cosmicdreamgirl @aprylynn and @raplinenthusiasts for the monthly diagnosis. and it's not looking good gang... bon iver and katie gavin?? call a code

tagging some favs if of course they feel so inclined @thvinyl @eoieopda @jihopesjoint @hoseeok @kimchokejin @monismochi @bisexualnamjoonie <33 breakdown in all senses of the word in the tags below 🫡

[firefield]

David Bowie - Reality (2003)

“The thing, probably, that keeps me writing is this awful feeling that there are no absolutes. That there is no truth. That we are, as I’ve been thinking for so many years now, fully in the swirl of chaos theory.” DB, 2003

I always learn new things about David Bowie whenever I listen through his complete discography chronologically, and this run through is no different. As I get close to the end here, I’m reminded how much less I know about these later works, due simply to the fact that they have existed for a much shorter time, and my experience with them is more limited. “Reality” rocks more than I realized on release day, especially coming off the heels of “Heathen” with all its layers and mystery and subtleties. An empty house afforded the opportunity to really crank this one up, a vinyl pass, and CD pass, and finally the 5.1 surround sound edition - and yeah - DB said he wanted a simpler sound, and wanted a record that could be translated into a live show easily and effectively and he got that in spades.

As with all his post-80’s work, and especially his post-heart attack material, “Reality” embraces the darker and more cynical side of DB’s many characters - from the irony of the album title with album art portraying a very cartoony space-man Bowie looking about as unreal and non-Reality as possible and still be recognizable - to DB’s insistence that he made a “positive!” record despite themes of aging and death, loneliness and anonymity, geopolitical strife, day-in-day-out mundanity and the creeping threat of urbanization to nature. Regarding the subject matter of Reality he told Interview Magazine, “This is probably a period when, more than any other time, the idea that our absolutes are disintegrating is manifest in real terms. Truths that we always thought we could stand by are crumbling before our eyes. It really is quite traumatic.”

I read quotes like that and I think, for a guy that is largely known for (and criticized for) his ability to synthesize the past and his surroundings into something entirely David-Bowieingly unique, he certainly shows skill at synthesizing the future as well. Beyond things like financial chicanery like Bowie Bonds and the impact of the internet on the creation and distribution of music, Bowie often hit at the very essence of what unites as well as divides.

The seeds of this malleablity of truth that DB describes had been planted in my country during the civil rights movement and the tragedy of the Vietnam War, but began to flower and bloom after the 9/11 event - affecting Bowie’s home turf and his family profoundly. Heathen is prescient, Reality is a little angry about things. DB took time to specifically say what Reality was not: it was not an angry album, it was not a response to 9/11, it was not his “New York Album” - but then he’d spend just as much time gently walking back those claims, almost wondering aloud if it was, in fact, all of those things and more. He speaks around this time about how naturally writing music came to him. Unforced, calmly. I think this “flow” is why you can glean so many little contradictions about Reality and it’s intentions and meaning. He’s letting it happen, not dictating the plot; the tensions of that city and that moment in time allowed to mold and shape the work. Polar opposite to the Heathen recording environment at Allaire Studios in the Catskill Mountains, Reality was recorded in the cramped Studio B of Philip Glass’s Looking Glass Studios in NYC and both those disparate studio choices impact their respective products acutely.

Reality is Bowie’s most “hands-on” record since Diamond Dogs, employing all his multi-instrumentalist abilities, and it’s also one of his most thoroughly demoed. Most all of Reality was demoed out in Studio B by DB and Tony Visconti playing all the instruments, with Mario McNulty (the same engineer DB would later trust with the posthumous reimagining/re-recording of Never Let Me Down) as studio assistant. According to Tony, he had a feeling that many of these “demo tracks” would not ever actually be re-recorded, so they were laid down at a useable fidelity. Consequently, much of the demo material survived on the final album. The band brought in for final overdubs was chosen with the live show in mind specifically. This was a smaller, tighter unit of BowieLive veterans and by all accounts recording was smooth and productive.

New Killer Star opens the record, and is also Reality’s debut single (that contained one of his more surprising B-sides, Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s ‘Love Missle F1-11’) and is a spectacular Earl Slick led hazy, woozy guitar statement.

This is followed by The Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso - recorded in 1972 but delayed until their 1976 debut. This track mimics the space occupied by the Pixies cover Cactus - the second track on Heathen - DB pulling tracks from his past that he enjoys and placing them where they give the record momentum. Quite a different interpretation if you have heard the original - DB took liberties with both the lyric and the arrangement and it’s a cool little track.

Never Get Old follows and addresses the common theme of time and aging in DB compositions…. (Cygnet Committee, Time, Hearts Filthy Lesson, Changes, Fantastic Voyage, and many more) and the composition itself references much of his past in Space Oddities countdown, the elongated guitar strands of Heroes, bits of melody from Crack City, the four-walls-closing-in sense of Low and some of Hunky Dory’s ominous moments. A pounding live favorite.

…and seamlessly right into The Loneliest Guy. Anyone who saw the Reality Tour knows the captivating power of this piece, and it’s honesty and fragility was one of a few reasons why I thought this would be DB’s final album.

Looking For Water. Man, I *love* this song. It’s one of my favorite vocal performances on Reality and would certainly end up on my list of “underrated DB songs” were I compelled to make one. I like repetition in music, and it’s hypnotic and mantra-esque qualities - and this is one that always gets a significant volume boost.

She’ll Drive The Big Car - a supercool stab of Bowie sash and swagger, and a killer vocal performance, masking some seriously sad lyrics. Bowie manages to sound defiant, tired, funky, deferential, sexy and soulful all in the course of a single song. He’s such an effortlessly great singer, that’s it’s easy to become so accustomed to it that you almost miss it. It’s just “him.”

The exceedingly sweet “Days” fits nicely with all of Realities reflections, and has for me become a song I pay much more attention to since we lost the man to cancer.

Fall Dog Bombs The Moon is one of DB’s most overtly political songs, and was apparently written very quickly - under a half and hour - and directly addresses the Iraq War and the profiteering involved. Relatively bleak with murky lyrics, it’s a interesting and unique DB composition.

Try Some, Buy Some is just beautiful and I think one of Bowie’s most interesting and genuinely heart-felt covers (along with Waterloo Sunset, also from these sessions.) The inspiration to do this song comes directly from the 1971 Ronnie Spector version and the impact it had on him personally. DB seems to be absolutely sincere when he claimed that he had completely forgotten that it was a George Harrison composition until he sat down to work on the album credits.

Next up is the sizzling rocker Reality that has one foot in Tin Machine and one foot in The Next Day. Love Earl’s guitar sound here. Like New Killer Star, the guitar layers in this one sound amazing on the 5.1 surround mix.

Ahh yeah. Another in an amazing number of fantastic Bowie album closers. I’ve made it a point in my life to quit ranking art into “good/better/best/sucks categories and hierarchies and see art as an experience, not a competition. My friends know this about me, and consequently tease me and attempt to prod me into breaking this creed. Under unrelenting pressure to name a “favorite David Bowie track” I named Bring Me The Disco King.

I could give many reasons why this would be the one…. The repetition I mentioned earlier, here found in Matt Chamberlain’s drum loop (interestingly snagged from ‘When The Boys Come Marching Home,’) the overwhelming sense I had when I first heard it that this was DB’s final record, the sense that the threat of jazz that had always pounded on David’s door in his chord structures and harmonies had finally broken down the door… the very tangible sense that this was a composition that had already had a long life but stayed tucked into the shadows by its unsatisfied creator, only to be given life and light on this great album after it had been stripped down to almost nothing - simplicity being the sought after key to its finally being allowed to soar. If it’s not already obvious, I think this song is magnificent. Literally. The fact that David knew it was deep inside there, he just had to mine it out over the course of a decade or so is extraordinary.

Couple of thoughts about a track that didn’t fit well on Reality but made it to bonus/B-sides…

How cool is his cover of The Kinks Waterloo Sunset? In the years after his death, when I feel that loss in my heart, it’s Waterloo Sunset I turn up to 11 and allow it to yank me back out of that murk.

“People so busy

makes me feel dizzy

but I don’t feel afraid

as long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset

I am in paradise.”

[robdwebster]

Stuff of the year, 2016

Y’alright peeps. Don’t mind me, just shitting out a thing.

Game of the year: 01. Pokémon Sun & Moon 02. Stardew Valley 03. Pokémon Go

A rather threadbare year for games I was actually interested in, but I never really noticed because the Pokémon train just kept rolling. Pokémon Sun & Moon are comfortably the best-designed and most creatively fertile games in the series, and it feels absolutely berserk that this 20 year old franchise, this silly little monster-catching game that people told me I’d have grown out of by the age of ten, is continuing to snowball.

Side note: I’m looking at the release schedule for 2017 right now, and between... (big gasp) Mass Effect, Splatoon, Zelda, Cuphead, Thimbleweed Park, Ever Oasis, Lady Layton, Sonic Mania, Fire Emblem Heroes and Yooka-Laylee (...!) I may never have to leave the house. 

Other games I liked: BoxBoxBoy!, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, Pokkén Tournament, ReCore

TV show of the year: 01. Orange is the New Black 02. Taskmaster 03. Stranger Things

Orange is the New Black kicked it out of the park this year. It’s always been very solid television, but each series had been a little weaker than the last up until 2016, where it whipped up a perfect storm. The amazing, loathsome villain in C.O. Piscatella did well to kerb the show’s increasing cosiness, and I have never known a show that empathises so well with villains without forgiving their actions or playing down the horror. A new high.

Meanwhile, Taskmaster has very quietly become the most reliably hilarious show on television, and treated us to not one but two full-length series. It’s not just that Taskmaster is reliably funny, it’s that it makes me laugh until I hurt a little bit. The silliest and best show on UK television.

Other shows I liked: BoJack Horseman, Black Mirror, Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Good-ish, Designated Survivor, Dragon’s Den, Penny Dreadful, Robot Wars, Siblings, The Apprentice, The O.A.

 Album of the year: 01. Frost* - Falling Satellites 02. The Heavy - Hurt & the Merciless 03. Dream Theater - The Astonishing

A very ambitious but very flawed offering from Dream Theater this year made space for two smaller artists to take the top spots. I’ve been flapping on about Frost* for the best part of ten years, now, and although Falling Satellites is a little more conventionally “prog” than I was expecting, there’s still plenty of that defiant spirit, they’re continuing to rail against the clichés of the genre. Or maybe it’s just that Jem Godfrey’s talent for writing memorable, infectious and crucially modern songs is irrepressible - Numbers, Towerblock and Lantern are personal favourites.

The Heavy came to my attention more recently, and while Hurt & the Merciless doesn’t rip up their rulebook it did produce a couple of their very catchiest songs ever. What Happened to the Love? was my most-listened track of the year, according to Last.FM. It may never leave my head.

Other albums I liked: Errrr...

Film of the year: 01. Your Name 02. 10 Cloverfield Lane 03. Deadpool

I cried. Not even embarrassed. Your Name is gorgeous, and works best if you know as little about it as possible. It’s a body-swapping fantasy film, and it’s mesmerising. I gather it’s only just opening in the U.S. in 2017 - you are in for a treat.

10 Cloverfield Lane was a brilliant film in its own right, and if tying it in with the Cloverfield universe was what it took to put my bum on that seat, fine. Besides which, I rather like the idea of sequels that aren’t sequels. I hate the idea that each film in a series needs to compete with its daddy’s shadow, so I think it’s quite neat that 10 Cloverfield Lane was an altogether different beast.

Other films I liked: Dr. Strange, Fantastic Beasts..., Finding Dory, Money Monster, Star Trek Beyond, The Jungle Book

Late discovery of the year: 01. Spirited Away (film) 02. Rick & Morty (TV) 03. Undertale (game)

Rick & Morty was the more immediately satisfying of the three. I love the loose, improvisational feel, and the focus on quantity over quality means I am not at all concerned about it exhausting itself the same way The Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy all eventually did (some sooner than others) - but we’ll see how it goes. 

Undertale didn’t quite catch my imagination in quite the same way it did many others, but I love how much it makes the interface part of the story by revealing characters through its bullet-hell elements, and how playing as a pacifist isn’t boring - it doesn’t cheat you out of any gameplay. Smartly written.

Spirited Away was a funny one, because I didn’t immediately adore it. I enjoyed the film when I watched it, went away and thought, “Okay, that’s about a 7/10, 8/10,” but it just sort of... played on my mind. There’s something very special and haunting about it that goes far beyond the story itself - the world ensnared me. It stole my heart, a little bit, in a low-key way that’s very rare. I love it dearly.

[thepermanentrainpress]

SKOOKUM FESTIVAL: DAY 3 RECAP

The final day of SKOOKUM was just as exciting and diverse as the rest of the weekend.

I began the day with the short (40 minute) set of Vancouver’s own Belle Game. This group has one of the most distinctive, ethereal, and emotional sounds in all of the city. I’ve caught many of their shows throughout the past five years, and they never fail in giving the best performance imaginable. Few bands have the on-stage dynamic and sync that this foursome does in performing cerebral dark-pop. There’s a special bond shared between them all while they perform that isn’t reflected with many other bands—the result of years of dedication and passion.

Lead singer Andrea Lo doesn’t just use her voice to sing − her entire body moves and bends with every high note hit, projecting vocals with her entire self. The movements and body language of the band bring an emotional component to the music, and Lo immerses herself in the performance. Every time I see Belle Game, I see a mix of knowing audience members once again impressed, and new fans who just witnessed something special. This time was no exception, and I’m glad SKOOKUM invited this group to blow away even more of Vancouver.

Next up was locals Yukon Blonde. This quintet has a very 80s like sound, full of synth and classic rock-inspired riffs. Even their visuals, a screen with the band’s name in vivid fonts atop a CGI grid, echoed an aesthetic of thirty years ago. Frontman Jeff Innes revealed his van had been broken into and his outfit (a leather jacket and button-up red plaid) was the only tour clothes he had. He jokingly asked the audience to throw shirts on stage so he’d have another outfit for the month, ever good-natured. They played mostly songs from their recently released album Critical Hit. Their set was characterized by a lot of instrumental jamming and solos, really showing off their talent live. It was my first time seeing them, but I’m definitely excited to hear more and see another show.

Michigan rockers Greta Van Fleet were a visiting highlight of the Sunday. These boys, especially lead vocalist Josh Kiszka, look like teenagers—but their sound indicates something much more mature. Josh is famous for his gruff, powerful vocals, frequently compared to Robert Plant. I walked around the fest for most of the set, but his voice echoed throughout the grounds. I had heard a lot of praise just from word of mouth, and from the crowd size I’d say this set was one of the most anticipated of SKOOKUM. This band is releasing their debut album next month, and I’m confident they’re about to really hit it big. SKOOKUM had a great mix of A-listers, local bands, and rising stars, and Greta Van Fleet were an amazing and very popular part of that.

Mother Mother is an established Vancouver group with songs we’ve all heard on the radio, even if we don’t recognize them at first. Surprisingly, they played mostly old stuff instead of highlighting their newest album No Culture. I was a bit surprised and disappointed at their lack of stage presence: they had fun, but there wasn’t a lot of movement or banter. It was still a high energy set and their music is solid rock, but I felt like it could’ve used just a little bit of something else. Even so, the audience danced and sang a fair amount, and their music live sounds almost identical to studio recordings. I had never seen these locals before, and I hope to see them again headlining with a set longer than 50 minutes. They’re true rock stars of Vancouver, and I really have to praise SKOOKUM for bringing just about every established local rock band to this event.

The eccentric indie master Father John Misty played in the evening as twilight dawned. Dressed in an all-white suit and sporting a full beard with long shaggy hair, Father John looked more like a cult leader than a traditional rock star. He may tour as a solo artist, but his backing band was an integral part of the set and really good at complimenting his performance. Father John’s music is elaborate and diverse, anything from a soft (and often nonsensical) ballad to a full-on rock opera-sounding track. The most beautiful part of the set was the detailed visuals. There were many slightly psychedelic projections of deserts, multiple colourful sprites of Father John himself, and other detailed animations. The visuals reminded me of The Killers, and he alluded to the resemblance (and perhaps poked some fun) by asking the audience, “Are you ready to all sing along with me to Mr. Brightside?” Nighttime fell as he closed with his most popular tracks “Pure Comedy” and “I Love You, Honeybear” − both soft, long songs with poetic language. This set may have been the most moved I’ve seen the crowd all weekend—Father John gives a performance that has to be experienced to understand. He brings feelings and art into his sets, much more than a traditional concert. My only complaint with this set was the scheduling: it overlapped with Canadian folk legend Buffy Sainte-Marie and I had to miss her set. Her style and legacy may be different, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wished they didn’t have to choose between the two.

I found Blue Rodeo to be a slightly odd choice for SKOOKUM simply because of their age and demographic. They were the only band showcased that I’d describe as “classic rock,” and their music tends to be enjoyed by an older crowd. Still, they’re one of the most popular Canadian bands of their era, and they drew a very large audience. This may have been due to being one of the final acts of the night and not on during anyone else, wrapping up just before The Killers. They’re seasoned performers and know exactly what the audience wants, playing one soft and sweet love ballad after another. (On a personal note, I was able to dance with my girlfriend to their opening number and one of their most iconic hits, “5 Days In May,” and it was very romantic. It’s truly one of the most essential Canadian love songs.) I hope next year SKOOKUM can bring more classic rock groups to the festivities, as this set was a welcome addition in diversity and appealing to older attendees.

“From fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!,” a cry that opens every one of their shows. The Killers was the final band to close SKOOKUM, and quite possibly the highlight of the whole fest. They may well be the most popular active rock band in the world, and for good reason. There are few, if any, groups dedicated to putting on a production and experience alongside their many, many hits. They played fifteen songs over about 90 minutes, and every single one had the entire festival clapping, singing, and jumping. There wasn’t a single dull or passive moment: from the opening riffs of their new single “The Man” to the final breaths of “Mr. Brightside.”

The visual experience alone was worth the admission: cowboy projections, flashing giant ♂ symbols on stage, lasers, and not one but two exploding streamer and confetti displays. Still, it was the music that really showed how amazing a show The Killers bring with them. Pretty much everybody (at least the sort of crowd attending SKOOKUM) likes this band and knows their lyrics. Their songs are passionate, emotional, dance-worthy anthems. It’s a special feeling to chant “I GOT SOUL BUT I’M NOT A SOLDIER!” alongside thousands of other people just as excited and entertained as you in the moment, coming off the heels of a great weekend of music.

Brandon Flowers is a true showman, the epitome of rock star entertainer. He never gave a lot of banter or took himself too seriously, and it was a better show for it. He and every band member was focused on giving the best performance possible, and I know they bring this energy with every show. They’re perfect for festivals: well-known hits, dazzling visuals, and a performing style that encourages and amplifies a crowd. They even brought up a local (as confirmed by Brandon) audience member known only as “Stefon” to perform the drums on “For Reasons Unknown.”

After closing with one of their most successful songs “When You Were Young,” they returned for an encore with the warm and slightly sad melody “Human.” Then began a familiar electronic loop I immediately recognized from “Mr. Brightside - Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Remix.” It was a given they were going to play the signature song, but I really didn’t expect that opening remix and it was a lovely surprise. As we all jumped around, they launched into the regular version − and I’m not exaggerating when I say every single crowd member shouted back every single lyric. “Mr. Brightside” is one of the most popular sing-along hits of the 21st century, and there’s nothing quite like experiencing it live with so many other people. The Killers headline festivals all around the world and, at least in my opinion, there was no better group SKOOKUM could’ve booked to finish. A festival set by The Killers is unmatched in entertainment quality. It’s something every attendee will remember forever.

Written by: Cazzy Lewchuk Photographed by: Rachael Buckoski

[themoonfromsyb]

Top Moon Tunes 2018 Volume 1

As threatened  in A Best of 2017 on The Moon here is the first of monthlyish Top tunes of 2018 presented via Playmoss and so playable via any old internet connected device.  Although, this playlist could be called "2017  - the ones that got away", as it consists entirely of tracks released in 2017. Some were released too late in the year to be considered for A best of 2017 and some I have only got to checking out this year. A few are ones that I had checked out on release, but was then inspired to give it another go by various best of year posts. 

Below is the 15 track version and here it is on Spotify, but it does not include the last track as it is not available. As with The Moon yearly best of posts there is a bit of guff on each artist beneath the playlist.

1. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard  - Beginner's Luck

This is the opening track from their 5th album of 2017 which was released on 31 Dec. It's is another surprise as it is 10 songs of no more than 5 minutes and is a bit 70s soft rock in sound. I think it is my second favourite album of the 5. The first and best featured in a Moon post and a best of all 5 would be quite something and why they were The Moon artists of 2017

2. Neil Young, Promise of the Real  -  Already Great

Until recently, I may have been the only Uncut magazine subscriber to have not listened to a Neil Young album. I was aware he had written a load of great songs but I often preferred the cover versions as I am not a big fan of his voice. But when I heard this track it was an instant boat floater and with the Promise of the Real he has brought together a cracking new band. The rest of the album is also mostly great, apart from a couple of tracks which sound like they should be part of an overly right-on musical, but the likes of Change of Heart is classic Neil Young and then there are the ones that are surprisingly different with some great backing vocals, one of which is Carnival which has one of my fave lines of recent times:

"I do exempt too much time was spent, in the tent of the strange elephant of enlightenment."

Now I am only possibly the only Uncut subscriber to have never listened to a Bob Dylan album.. 

3. Lars Finberg -  Born Shopping

The first track of many on this list which was brought or re-brought to my attention by A Finest Kiss, mostly from their ever excellent best of albums and singles of the year posts. Lars Finberg is the main man of the Seattle band The Intelligence who have released 9 albums since 2000. For this solo LP  released in December, he has teamed up with Ty Segall to record what A Finest Kiss describe as a  "record that sounds like an Intelligence record" And it is very good indeed with this track an excellent duet with Lauren Mikus.

4. Faith Healer  - I Try ;-)

Faith Healer was the solo project of Jessica Jalbert, but for this second album it has become a duo with the addition  of drummer/multi-instrumentalist Renny Wilson and they hail from Edmunton in The Land of Enlightenment to the north of Trumpyland. The album was released back in September but I only came across it via the A Finest Kiss albums of 2017 post and it is one of the best albums from 2017 that I did not hear till thisyear. It is varied and hard to pigeonhole album with great vocals. This title track is one of the more straight up tracks but just one of many highlights. 

5. Baxter Dury - Porcelain

This is from my fave album from 2017 that I did not get into until this year. Baxter is the son of Ian and when I first heard his music back in 2002 it was quite different to his father's and very 60s sounding, but on this album he sounds a more like his dad, or to be more precise rather like Damon Albarn trying to sound like his Dad. The result is a cracking LP with great if rather potty mouthed lyrics and great melodies. He is also aided and abetted by some excellent vocals from ex Pippett Rose Elinor Dougall. She sings the lead on this track and all the others are duets bar one.

6. The Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY - My God Has a Telephone

This has belatedly become my 2017 debut single  of the year thanks to the A Finest Kiss singles of the year post.  Hopefully more is to follow this year that matches it or at least gets close.

7. James Elkington - Grief is not coming to you

This is a Chicago based chap from Brexshit Blighty who has previously worked with the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson and Tortoise.  This, his debut LP, was recorded in the Wilco Loft and this track is a good representative of the general acoustic sound and one of many highlights.

8. Mo Trooper - Dictator Out of Work

From an album that was featured in the November roundup from A Finest Kiss but it took a prompt from their yearly roundup for me to fully appreciate it. It is his second LP and he is from Portland, Oregon in Trumpyland. His voice is not quite my cup of tea, but it is a fine 15 track album of varied and ambitious tuneage which is well represented by this track.

9. Jack Cheshire - Join the Dots

More great non-folk music brought to my attention by FRUK. He is London based and this is his fourth LP. This track is one of the more instantly gettable and as a whole it impressive sounding modern rock n' roll, but it could do with a few more hooks.

10. Star Tropics  - All The Way to Heaven

This is from a trio from Chicago in Trumpyland, that I had checked out earlier on in 2017, but then went back to it thanks to the albums of 2017 post from A Finest Kiss. And as they pointed out in their post, this is not a band that will win any rewards for originality, but their debut album does have a number of top tunes and a classic C86 sound, though this highlight is one of a couple with a male lead vocal and is a welcome introduction to a more robust alt-80s sound. 

11. Cape Snow - Morning Sun

More late 2017 non-folk brought to my attention by FRUK. This is from the second LP from this  "trans-Atlantic collaboration between the London-based singer Bree Scanlon and members of the long-running New England based band Tiger Saw". This track is a good representative of a fine and gorgeous sounding LP.

12. The Beginner's Mynd - Don't Lose Your Mind

The Beginner's Mynd is a Danny McNab from Washington DC in Trumpyland. This is his debut LP but he has also released an EP and three singles since 2013. He was first brought to my attention by the Rocksucker Blog in 2013 and also featured in the singles of 2016 from A Finest Kiss. But I only got to know of the album thanks to a Spotify or Record Bird email. Like Star Tropics, it won't win any awards for originality, but it is full of top psychedelic and Byrdsian top tuneage. 

13. Katie Von Schleicher - Going Down

This is from the second LP from this Brooklyn, NY in Trumpyland singer. It was released back in July 2017 and was brought to my attention by God Is In The TV. It should have been on A best of 2017 on The Moon, but it is a bit of a slow burner and I only really fully got into it recently. This is the one instant boat-floater on the album, but the rest is very much worth persevering with.  

14. Voyages  - New Year's Day

From the debut 5 track EP released in December from a band based in Bath in Brexshit Blighty. Also brought to my attention by God is in The TV. There is not a lot of info out there on them, but their sound is so fully formed I suspect that  at least some members may have been in previous bands. The vocals are very early Beatles Lennonesque, but with a more later 60s sound and a touch of Brian Wilson. All five tracks are very good, if all of a similar pace. I hope that their debut LP maintains the quality but adds a bit more variation.

15. cua -  The Other Man

An actual folk song via FRUK and one of the songs of 2017. cua are from The Land that will still be in the (relative) Union of Enlightenment but have a border with Brexshit Blighty.  Although this track is like a classic from the folk tradition, their album is apparently very varied and influenced by American West coast rock to East European folk. I say apparently as the album is not on Spotify or Bandcamp, there is just a couple of other tracks on Ubend and their debut is EP on Bandcamp.