Nite Songs

  So here we go, the Top 50. *** 50. LILY ALLEN - "West End Girl" It's probably inevitable that we will end up including at least one "big" album on this list but West End Girl  genuinely is worthy of its place here. A brutally honest dissection by Allen of the end of her relationship, it shows that beneath the pop princess image is a very accomplished and savvy songwriter. Often uncomfortable but always cathartic listening, this might just be her best album to date. *** 49. MANIC STREET PREACHERS - "Critical Thinking" For those of us as a certain age, the idea of the Manics as a solid dependable long term rock outfit still arguably takes a bit of getting used to but at least Critical Thinking shows that they've still got the ability to produce good albums and occasionally surprise you as proved by the confrontational title track sung by Nicky Wire here. Elsewhere, the likes of People Ruin Paintings , One Man Militia  and Decline And Fall  show tha...

  Okay, here we go friends, once more unto the breach... You know how this thing works now, ten albums a day from now until New Year's Eve - Bandcamp links (where we've got 'em) by clicking on the title. Let's do this. 50.=     ASH - "Race The Night" I suppose the big problem with Ash is that, for better or worse, they will always be singing over the echoes of their glory years in the late '90s and early '00s. However, Race The Night  might just be their strongest effort since Meltdown  way back in 2004 - an enjoyable slice of power-pop with the tunes and melodies of old rightly pushed back to the fore where they belong. One of the more unexpectedly enjoyable comebacks of 2023. *** 50.=     OBEY ROBOTS - "One In A Thousand" This collaboration between Laura Kidd (She Makes War/Penfriend) and guitarist Rat (Ned's Atomic Dustbin) proved to be another good addition to both of the involved parties' back catalogue. A collection of dark odes...

  Kubix Day 1 Review here And so on to Day 2 of Kubix. While yesterday was a fairly slow-paced opening day to the festival, today proves to be a lot more busy with several stage clashes. In the interest of covering as much as possible, please be aware that for quite a few of the bands I've reviewed here, I didn't catch the full set due to hot footing it to/from the other stage. But hopefully I've done this justice... It's weird how a nice sunny day (a stark contrast to yesterday which alternated between clouds and rain) can make even bands you weren't a fan of first time out seem pleasant enough and Republica , who open the Main Stage today, are a case in point. Back when I was 18, I generally found their Essex girl techno-Britpop about as much fun as root canal surgery without the anaesthetic but today they're enjoyable enough with an energy and enthusiasm to their set that means you'd have to be a bit of a miserable bugger not to enjoy it. They play the hi...