Nite Songs

  On into the Top 30 we go then. Brace yourselves... *** 30.     RICKY WARWICK - "When Life Was Hard And Fast" When Life Was Hard And Fast   sees Ricky Warwick back to the no-nonsense rock music he's made his name with first in the Almighty and more recently with Black Star Riders. Veering from fired up punk to more moody reflective moments, this is straight ahead fist-in-the-air singalong rock anthems done by a master of the craft. Great stuff. *** 29.     BEANS ON TOAST - "Survival Of The Friendliest" Jay McAllister aka Beans On Toast is one of those songwriters who can make you see the light in even the most dark of times and Survival of the Friendliest  was a much needed ray of sunshine as the bleakness of December and the prospect of yet another lockdown set in. Working with a full band for this one, it's an album full of songs of hope to put an arm around your shoulder and see you through your long dark night of the soul. *** 28.     PE...

  Regulars on the Camden indie/scuzz-punk circuit for the last few years, Idestroy have been slowly building their profile in recent years and this debut album definitely comes with a bit of expectation attached to it. And I'm happy to say it delivers - hand on heart, I'd heard a couple of the band's songs prior to this and they hadn't really grabbed me but this is a good debut album which is definitely worth a listen. Similar to Dream Nails, who they share a righteously angry DIY aesthetic with, Idestroy take the fury of early '90s riotgrrl but they remember to add some tunes and hooks to the formula which, truth be told, was the downfall of a lot of the band from the original scene 25 years ago. While the furious Petting Zoo  is a warning against groping perverts and the ode to post-one night stand self-loathing of Swim  is the sort of thing Hole would've done before they signed to a major and smoothed their sound out, there's also a sly sense of humour at...