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Just one more thing...

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So it's a question that's been asked of me a few times in the last couple of years - is Nite Songs ever going to become a thing again? When I wound the 'zine down in early 2023, it was because real life had got in the way - I was trying to balance writing it with doing a college course (now complete), working arguably the most complex job I've had in my life (still ongoing), writing a book (currently paused) and about a million other things. Two years on and...I'm still not sure to be honest. I won't lie - the thought has entered my head of picking Nite Songs up again but I think if I did then it would be on the basis of re-starting the Sounds From The Junkshop and Garbage Days Revisited columns and giving a shout-out to any new stuff I thought was worth listening to as and when I heard it rather than just reviewing everything that came through these doors (a big factor in why I suffered the burnout first time out if I'm honest). So...I dunno. Would you lot ...
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Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 7 (The Top Ten!)

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  And so we come to the bit everybody's been waiting for - it's our Top 10 albums of the year. Did your favourite make it? Read on to find out... *** 10.     THE THE - "Ensoulment" A new album from Matt Johnson definitely wasn't something I was expecting in 2024 but it's to  Ensoulment 's credit that it stands up with the best of his work from the 1980s. Casting a caustic eye over the modern climate, the likes of  Kissing The Ring of POTUS ,  Some Days I Drink My Coffee By The Grave of William Blake  and  I Hope You Remember (The Things I Can't Forget)  prove that while Johnson may have been away for many years, he certainly hasn't lost a step in terms of sharpness. Comeback of the year? Could well be. *** 9.     THE VIRGINMARYS - "The House Beyond The Fires" The fact that the Virginmarys are a band who seem to keep getting stronger with every release is especially impressive when you consider how many hurdles they've had to navigat...
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Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 6 (20-11)

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  We're very much in the upper echelons of the list now - the Top 10's coming tomorrow but let's go through those who just missed out on the very top tier - our Top 20 albums of the year. *** 20.     LAURA JANE GRACE - "Hole In My Head" Hole In My Head   might just be Laura Jane Grace's strongest album to date. Similar to its predecessor, 2020's Stay Alive  and the 2021 At War With The Silverfish  EP, it's stripped back acoustic punk rock wearing its heart on its sleeve, similar to Frank Turner at his best and the likes of Punk Rock In Basements , Tacos and Toast  and the superb album highlight Dysphoria Hoodie  have a fist-aloft honesty to them that's near impossible to resist. A triumph of an album. *** 19.     JUKEBOX HEADACHES - "Wigston Deli" Wigston Deli   does what every good second album should by taking the best parts of Jukebox Headaches' double album debut Balkan Telescope  and building on them to great effect. Takin...
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Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 5 (30-21)

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  We're into the top half of this list now so let's get going and breach upon the Top 30... *** 30.     KID KAPICHI - "There Goes The Neighbourhood" Kid Kapichi are simply one of the best punk bands in the UK today and while some of their contemporaries have put out sadly underwhelming albums this year (Idles and Pet Needs to name but two), these Hastings natives are continuing to go from strength with There Goes The Neighbourhood  introducing a new more melodic feel to their material without losing the fury varying from the anger of Can EU Hear Me  to the more reflective Tamagotchi  and the wistful stripped-down closer Jimi . Difficult second album? Nah, this is anything but. *** 29.     MARC VALENTINE - "Basement Sparks" Following up 2022's excellent Future Obscure  was always going to be a difficult task but in Basement Sparks , former Last Great Dreamers frontman Marc Valentine has delivered a worthy sophomore effort. Packed full of the r...
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Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 4 (40-31)

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  Jump for joy, it's Top 40 time - cue Whole Lotta Love / Yellow Pearl / The Wizard /your TOTP theme of choice... *** 40.    SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS - "Revelations" Another band who I discovered pretty much by accident this year, Sarah (now River) Shook and their band are now on their fourth album and if, like me, this is the first you've heard of them then listening to it will make you quickly want to make up for lost time. Mixing the winsome country strum of prime time Tom Petty with a bratty indie-pop insouciance, Revelations  mixes sugar ( Criminal , Nightingale ) and spite ( Jane Doe , You Don't Get To Tell Me ) to great effect. Give this band a listen now.  *** 39.     X - "Smoke And Fiction" If this really does turn out to be LA punk veterans X's swansong then rest assured they've gone out on a high note. A more than worthy follow-up to 2020's storming comeback Alphabetland , it sees them throwing everything from old-school pun...
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Nite Songs Top 70 Albums of 2024 - Part 3 (50-41)

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  So then, we've finally got to the place where this list SHOULD have started if I hadn't gone down about thirty different musical rabbit holes in the last few weeks. Guess we'd better make up for lost time, welcome to the Top 50... *** 50.     SASSYHIYA - "Take You Somewhere" South Londoners Sassyhiya are a band who crucially understand that lo-fi indie music always works best when it has a mischievous sense of fun underlying it and  Take You Somewhere  has that quality in spades featuring odes to everyone from Kristin Stewart to pet cats while closer  You Can Give It (But You Can’t Take It)  is a righteous diatribe against bullies. A strong debut. *** 49.     JAMES SULLIVAN - "Vital Signs" Now on his second solo album and following the breakup of his band More Kicks,  Vital Signs  sees James Sullivan continuing to spread his wings impressively. The power-pop that was his old band's calling card is very much still there but Sulliva...
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