Nite Songs

  Well, we're underway now so let's keep this thing moving! Welcome to Part 2 of the Nite Songs end of year rundown... *** 60. SELF-ESTEEM - "A Complicated Woman" Rebecca Lucy Taylor's third solo album continues the rich vein of form of its predecessors. Angry and defiant on the one hand but sated with tunes ready to drag you to the dancefloor on the other, the likes of Mother , I Do And I Don't Care  and 69  brim with a mischievous sense of playfulness and a serious message in equal measure. *** 59.     THE VAPORS - "Wasp In A Jar" Yup, the  Turning Japanese  lot. I didn't have huge expectations for this but fair play to the Vapors, it's not often you'll come across bands from their era who are not only still going strong but putting material out that's arguably better than the stuff from their commercial heyday.  Wasp In A Jar  takes the classic power-pop formula and puts a 21st century sheen on it to good effect and mark this out a...

Oxford power-poppers Los Pepes are one of those bands who seem to have been getting better with every release since their inception a decade or so ago and having now mastered the art of capturing the tightwire ferocity of their live shows on record as well, have been on a good run of late. And on the evidence of The Happiness Program , they're continuing to move forward with an impressive self-assuredness. Weirdly, the band that this album reminds me of the most is early Dr Feelgood with the tightwire guitar lines and honking harmonica on the opening trio of Small Time , Never Get It Right  and I Want You Back  being exactly the sort of thing you could hear Lee Brilleaux growling along to. However, there's an impressive snotty punk angst underpinning the likes of the title track  Let Them Talk  (which could almost be the Replacements in one of their angrier moments) while Sick And Bored  sounds like a lost Buzzcocks power-pop number with added Lora Logic style s...

  Welcome to our monthly visit to the Singles Bar for May. Plenty of new sounds from all across the musical spectrum this month so take a seat and let us mix up something for you to enjoy... Kicking us into gear in suitably frenetic style this month are Los Pepes  with their new single Want You Back (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). This does exactly what you'd want a Los Pepes song to do essentially - whiplash riff, scowled vocals, a bit of unexpected harmonica honking and it gets in, says what it has to say and gets out again before the two minute mark. B-sides Never Get It Right  and  Tell Me  are similarly high quality too and well worth a listen in their own right.  Bandcamp link here . Making a welcome comeback this month are Desperate Journalist  with Fault (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑), the lead-off single from their upcoming fourth album Maximum Sorrow . A bit more urgent than the band's usual output, the pounding drums, swirling bass and echoey guitar remind me more of Siouxsie ...

  Well it seems oddly apt that we're visiting the Singles Bar the day before Valentine's Day for February, doesn't it? Pull up a stool, order a drink and who knows, you might just get lucky tonight. Let's take a peek and see what joys lie within this month... Definitely the most anticipated release of this month is a new single from Rich Ragany & The Digressions   ahead of their second album due in the spring and I'm pleased to report that Marionette  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is another good offering from Rags and co with a driving verse merging into a big soaring chorus. In a just world, of course, it would be a chorus that would be being bellowed from stadium rafters by hordes of adoring fans rather than this group being a well-respected cult outfit but who knows, on this evidence, they may yet change that. Either way though, this is a fine effort and well worth your attention. Bandcamp link here . It's a generally acknowledged fact that Frank Turner  is one of rock ...